15 Companies That Can Help You Make Money By Designing T-Shirts

Have you thought about making money from your design ideas or catchy slogans that you put on T-shirts, and then sell online?

Selling and designing T-shirts for a profit sounds easy enough, but you have questions!

• Does it cost a lot of money to get started?
• How much money do T-shirt designers make?
• Do I have to use my own designs?
• Can I set my own prices?
• Where will I sell my T-shirts?

Well, you’re in luck; we have your answers!

Here are 15 companies that can help you make money by designing T-shirts online.

1. Teespring

Don’t have money to invest in a business, no problem! Teespring is a free platform where you can design and sell your T-shirts for money.

Simply use their online design tool to create your product by either uploading your own design or using clip art from the site. You’ll have to set a sales goal or tipping point, which is the minimum you need to sell in order to have your shirts printed. Then share your campaign via email, your website, or your favorite social media sites. Your customers won’t be charged unless your campaign reaches the tipping point. Once your campaign ends, shirts are printed and sent out, and you’ll be paid via PayPal or Payoneer.

There are many factors to consider when figuring out how much you can make with Teespring. You’ll need to think about the text and design that you use and your choice of shirt.

So you can get an idea of your possible earnings with Teespring, you can start with a basic shirt, add a design and text for a total cost of $10 per shirt. You can choose your retail price, let’s say $20 each, and have a goal of selling 50 shirts. That would give you a profit of $500. Of course, the more shirts you sell, the higher your profit.

With Teespring, you can also design and sell hoodies, tanks, leggings, bags, phone and tablet cases, posters, drinkware, hats, and more!

Wondering if you can really make money using Teespring? See how Benny Hsu made $100,000 in five months using this T-shirt selling platform!

2. Spread Group

Spread Group is a family of brands that offers three different ways to make money designing T-shirts and other custom-printed goods. You can choose to sell your products on a custom e-commerce store, an existing platform like Shopify or Etsy, or on their online marketplace.

If you’re ready to go into business for yourself, Spreadshop, their print-on-demand e-commerce platform, makes it super easy to start your own website! The Spreadshop platform includes everything you need to run your store – including a custom domain, marketing and analytics, and automatic fulfillment of your orders. The best part about it? It’s totally FREE to use! You just pay for products once they sell.

Already have an e-commerce platform you love? You can use Spread Group’s app, SPOD, to sell products on Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, Magento, and more! You get all of the same printing and shipping services and can choose from over 150 products to sell.

If you’re looking for a more traditional T-shirt marketplace, Spreadshirt allows you to upload a design and sell to its built-in audience. You set your own commissions. If you have mad design skills, you can also sell your designs to other creators and earn anywhere from $1.50 and more on each design sold.

On all Spread Groups platforms, accounts are free forever, and you control your profit margin. T-shirts cost around $14 to create, and at that point, you tack on your commission — whatever amount you’d like based on your design and what you think you can earn. I would stick around the same pricing as the other sites to stay competitive.

3. Zazzle

You can join Zazzle as a designer and upload and sell your artwork on T-shirts and many other products. Open a FREE designer store (you even get to choose your store name), select a product to add your design to, and post your creations for sale. Zazzle has a large selection of products: T-Shirts, coffee mugs, wall art, office supplies, electronics accessories, and much more! Even pillows and jewelry!

There are no upfront costs, and you set your royalty rates yourself that can be anywhere from 5% to 99%. Zazzle produces the products and ships everything directly to the customer.

Don’t have killer design skills? Become a Zazzle Associate! Link and share your favorite shops and items made by others, and you can still earn a commission!

At Zazzle, T-shirts are priced a little higher right out of the gate, but you can still make a decent profit — plus, there isn’t a minimum amount you have to sell.

Again, there are many variables here. An example would be, you can create a simple design, the T-shirt will run you $17.45, and then you set the percentage of your royalty rate. So if you choose a 20% royalty rate, your shirt will sell for $20.94, earning you a profit of $3.25 per shirt after the $0.24 transaction fee (which only applies when your royalty rate is set at 20% or above). Sell 50 shirts, earn about $162.

4. CafePress

See your artwork on T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, posters, and bumper stickers. You can sell in the CafePress Marketplace for free or set up your own branded online shop to sell on your website for around $5-$10 a month, depending on the options you choose.

Big brands are using CafePress; you’ll find the likes of ABC, Paramount, Sprout, and National Geographic among the shop owners.

Prices vary to create a shirt depending on your design and text, but I created a simple shirt with text and a graphic and listed it for $20.

5. BlueCotton

BlueCotton has 20 years of experience and guarantees its quality, which is nice to hear nowadays. They are a custom print T-shirt shop that has an amazing design studio. For the most part, individuals order shirts for personal use or keep stock on hand, like in a physical storefront. While they don’t offer an online store option for you to sell your shirts, they do offer campaigns as a way for you to make money.

With campaigns, there is no risk and no inventory. You design the T-shirts, set the price, add a description, and set your goal. Then get to work at sharing your campaign on your social media channels, on your blog or website, in emails, and with friends and family. When your campaign is over, your customers will receive their shirts, and you’ll receive a nice check (or PayPal deposit) with the profits.

6. Printful

Printful gives you the benefits of running a store without all the hassle. There are no minimum purchases, monthly fees, or inventory. If you already have a store or are planning on opening one, this is an excellent choice as you can connect it with Printful. They integrate with Shopify, Amazon, Storenvy, Squarespace, WooCommerce, and more. That being said, if you don’t have a store or aren’t planning on having one, then this won’t be an option for you. T-shirt prices start at $7.95. They also have a whole lineup of items you can design, including leggings, pillows, posters, tote bags, cell phone cases, and more.

7. Threadless

At Threadless, you make art, and they’ll do the rest! You can open your completely customizable artist shop for free and sell anywhere in the world. You set your prices and earn a profit on anything over the base cost of the merchandise. T-shirts and tanks have a base cost of $15.75, so if you sell them for $25.75, you’re earning $10 bucks on every single shirt. That’s not too bad! There are no minimums, no shipping fees, and they handle inventory and customer care.

8. Red Bubble

At Redbubble, you create and upload your designs to sell on T-shirts, vinyl stickers, posters, device cases, and more. They give you total control of what you sell your art for; just add your margin to their base price and list your products. Most artists earn an average of 17%, but it’s totally up to you to decide. Redbubble does all the heavy lifting, including handling the sale transactions, coordinating the printing, arranging the delivery, and providing customer service. With no monthly fees and free sign-up, it’s another great way to get started making money online designing T-shirts.

9. TeePublic

TeePublic is a good option, even if you’re not an artist or designer per se. You can make money with this T-shirt company in two ways. First, you can create your own designs and upload them to products for your store. This earns you a set price commission that varies depending on the product but ranges from $3-$5 on shirts, tanks, and hoodies.

Second, you can become a partner and have a merch store. This is a neat option because you can feature shirts with designs from other artists. You get to choose what you like and what to carry in your store. You earn an 11% commission on existing TeePublic designs and an additional $3-$5 on sales of your own merchandise. So even if you’re not a designer, you can make money online selling T-shirts!

10. Society6

Even though Society6 is for primarily selling art prints, you can add T-shirts to the mix once you have uploaded your design for a print. We wanted to include it here because many people who design T-shirts are artists, so this could be a viable option to sell your artwork on many different items, including T-shirts.

One thing that might be considered a downfall is that although you can set your own prices on your art prints, the rest of the products — such as T-shirts, travel mugs, and throw pillows — have a fixed price. Society6 pays a 10% commission that is paid on their base price, so the amount varies depending on the product. Still, with no minimums and no cost to sign up, it might be worth a try if you’re an artist. You simply share your unique creator link with friends, family, and followers through email or on your favorite social media platforms and get a cut of their purchase profits.

11. Printify

With Printify, you can design anything from T-shirts and leggings to accessories and décor. They have over 300 products you can customize with your art and sell. Printify works by connecting to your existing e-commerce store or online marketplace, so you’ll need to have that in place to start selling. They integrate with eBay, Etsy, Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, and more!

Printify is totally free to use; all you need to do is pay for the base price of your product once an item sells, and you can charge whatever you want for the retail price. T-shirts start at around $8, though the costs vary, depending on which printer you use. Printify contracts with printers all over the world, so be sure to find one in your area for the fastest shipping.

12. Gelato

Gelato is a print-on-demand company that is capable of producing just about any print product. T-shirts are a top product, but you can also use the company to design and sell notebooks, wall art, stationery, and more. They stand out as a greener option for printing if you are environmentally-minded. Gelato participates in the UN Global Compact, which means they create sustainably and ethically produced products.

They are a global company that prints in 33 countries worldwide and ships to over 170, so you’re bound to find something in your area. Basic T-shirts start at $8.24, and then you set your retail price. To start selling, you’ll need to set up your e-commerce website or online marketplace profile on Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, Wix, or Squarespace, and then Gelato will handle the rest.

13. T-pop

T-pop is a European-based option for print-on-demand services, though they offer shipping worldwide. They integrate with Shopify, WooCommerce, and Etsy, so you’ll want to have your account on one of those platforms in place before you get started. This company is another option for greener products. They offer eco-friendly products and printing processes and a carbon-neutral delivery service.

Despite being a dropshipping company, T-pop offers completely customized branding for all your orders, including branded packaging, shipping slips, and a thank you note – all for no additional charge! Their T-shirt prices start at about $12.22, and then you can sell for however much you want.

14. Gooten

Gooten is another print-on-demand company that exclusively connects to your existing e-commerce platforms. You can use them to sell your custom designs on Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, Big Commerce, and more.

While Gooten’s seller reviews are mostly positive and say the company offers competitive pricing, they do not list prices on their website upfront. That said, they offer over 150 products you can customize with your designs, and you get to set your own commissions.

15. Teelaunch

Teelaunch is a super fun site that will let you create just about anything! In addition to offering traditional printing services for products like T-shirts and hoodies, they also offer laser etching, which you can use on products like bamboo cutting boards. T-shirts start at about $9 to create, and you can set your own retail prices.

Teelaunch integrates with your Etsy or Shopify store, and the platform offers lots of resources to do so easily.

Conclusion

Designing and selling T-shirts online is a great way to make money if you have a flair for creativity! In many cases, you can start for free, and it’s an excellent passive-income option. You create your design once and sell it over and over again. And all with no shipping, inventory management, big investment, or stress!

But that doesn’t mean that selling T-shirts is easy. You’ll need to turn out professional-looking designs, promote your products regularly, and set goals for your business. It will take some time and dedication, but many people make excellent money selling T-shirts online; maybe you’re next!

Need help getting started on your T-shirt selling journey? Grab our free business plan template here and set your T-shirt selling business up for success!

Originally published May 28, 2015. Content updated October 1, 2021.