Pricing Custom Shirts: A Beginner-Friendly Pricing Formula (So You Actually Profit)

If you are selling custom shirts, the fastest way to burn out is underpricing.

A good price is not just what other people charge. It is a price that covers your costs, pays you for your time, and leaves real profit.

At Primal Graphx - Charlotte's #1 Premium DTF Provider, we work with creators every day who are building a business with DTF transfers. Here is a simple pricing formula you can use.

The simple pricing formula

Use this:

Price = Materials + Labor + Overhead + Fees + Profit

If you want it even simpler:

Price = Total Cost x Markup

Both work. The key is knowing your real costs.

Step 1: Calculate your materials cost

Materials usually include:

• blank shirt

• DTF transfer (or gang sheet portion)

• finishing supplies (parchment, tape, etc.)

• packaging (bag, label, mailer)

Write down the cost for each item and total it.

Step 2: Pay yourself for labor

Labor is not optional. Your time matters.

Labor can include:

• design setup

• pressing

• peeling and finish press

• folding and packaging

• customer communication

Pick an hourly rate you want to earn, then estimate minutes per shirt.

Example method:

• hourly rate you want

• minutes per shirt

• labor per shirt = (hourly rate / 60) x minutes

Step 3: Add overhead

Overhead is the cost of running your setup.

Examples:

• electricity

• heat press wear and tear

• tools and supplies

• workspace costs

You can keep this simple by adding a small overhead amount per shirt.

Step 4: Add fees (if you sell online)

If you sell online, do not forget:

• platform fees

• payment processing fees

• shipping materials

• shipping cost (if you offer free shipping, it is still a cost)

If you sell locally, you may still have:

• vendor market booth fees

• gas and setup costs

Step 5: Add profit on purpose

Profit is what allows you to:

• restock inventory

• run promotions

• upgrade equipment

• grow your business

Do not leave profit as an accident. Build it in.

A simple way to set your markup

Once you know your total cost per shirt, choose a markup that makes sense for your market.

Tip: if you are doing custom one-off work, your markup usually needs to be higher than bulk work.

Pro tip: price by product type, not by guesswork

Create a simple price menu for yourself:

• basic front print

• left chest logo

• front plus back

• sleeve add-on

• name add-on

This makes quoting fast and keeps your pricing consistent.

Need help lowering your cost per print?

Gang sheets are one of the easiest ways to improve profit because they help you maximize space and reduce waste.

If you want premium transfers that are cured properly and ready to press, order from Primal Graphx - Charlotte's #1 Premium DTF Provider.

And if your artwork needs help, Primal Graphx offers graphic designing to get your files press-ready.

Primal Graphx Team

Charlotte's #1 Premium DTF Provider