Dropshipping has emerged as a popular business model due to its low upfront costs and minimal inventory requirements. One of the standout companies facilitating this model is Printful, a print-on-demand and fulfilment service that allows entrepreneurs to sell custom products without the hassle of managing inventory. However, understanding Printful’s pricing structure is crucial for businesses looking to maximise profits and streamline operations. This guide offers a comprehensive review of Printful pricing across its different versions and tiers, tailored for a UK business audience.
What is Printful?
Printful is a print-on-demand service that handles everything from printing to packaging and shipping, allowing businesses to offer a wide range of customisable products such as apparel, accessories, and home decor.
Entrepreneurs can design products, list them on their online stores, and have Printful fulfil orders directly to customers. This model eliminates the need for maintaining stock, making it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes.
Printful pricing list
| Category | Details | Cost (approximate) |
|---|---|---|
| Base Product Costs | Standard T-shirt | £7.00 |
| Hoodie | £15.00 | |
| Mug | £6.00 | |
| Tote Bag | £8.00 | |
| Printing Costs | Included in base product cost for front print | £0.00 |
| Additional back print | £2.50 | |
| Sleeve print | £2.00 | |
| Embroidery (e.g., hats) | £3.00 – £6.00 | |
| Shipping Costs (to UK) | Standard Shipping (e.g., for a T-shirt) | £3.50 |
| Express Shipping | £8.00 | |
| Shipping for larger items (e.g., posters) | £5.00 – £10.00 | |
| Optional Service Fees | Custom Branding (labels, pack-ins) | £2.50 per item |
| Design Services (per hour) | £40.00 | |
| Printful Pricing Tiers | Free Plan | £0.00/month |
| Printful Plus | £9.00/month | |
| Printful Pro | £45.00/month | |
| Additional Services | Warehousing (per item per month) | £1.20 |
| Premium Mock-ups (included in Pro plan) | £0.00 | |
| Custom Product Video Maker (included in Pro plan) | £0.00 |
Understanding the Printful pricing structure
Printful pricing can be broken down into several components: product costs, printing costs, shipping costs, and optional service fees. Each of these components contributes to the final price that businesses need to consider when calculating their profit margins.
- Product costs: This is the base cost of the item you choose to customise. For example, a standard t-shirt might have a base cost of £7.00, while a hoodie could be around £15.00.
- Printing costs: The cost of printing on the products varies depending on the type of printing used (e.g., direct-to-garment, embroidery). Typically, printing costs are included in the base product cost, but additional prints (such as back or sleeve prints) may incur extra charges.
- Shipping costs: Shipping fees depend on the destination, product type, and shipping speed. Printful provides a shipping calculator on their website to help estimate these costs accurately.
- Optional service fees: These can include design services, custom branding options like labels and packaging, and additional services like warehousing and fulfilment for other products.
Printful pricing tiers
Printful offers various plans to cater to different business needs. Here’s a breakdown of the available pricing tiers:
1. Free Plan
Printful’s Free Plan allows businesses to get started without any upfront subscription fees. This plan includes:
- Access to the full product catalogue
- Integration with major e-commerce platforms (e.g., Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce)
- Basic design tools
- Standard printing options
- Basic mock-up generator
- 24/7 customer support
The Free Plan is ideal for businesses just starting out or those with a limited budget. However, it does not include advanced features such as premium design tools or custom branding options.
2. Printful Plus
The Printful Plus plan is designed for businesses looking to enhance their product offerings with more customisation options and marketing tools. Priced at approximately £9 per month, Printful Plus includes everything in the Free Plan, plus:
- Access to the premium mock-up generator
- Custom mock-up images to better showcase products
- Basic product video maker
- Removal of the Printful watermark from images
- Access to additional design tools
This tier is suitable for businesses that want to differentiate their products and improve their marketing efforts without a significant increase in costs.
3. Printful Pro
For established businesses or those scaling quickly, the Printful Pro plan, at around £45 per month, offers a comprehensive suite of features:
- All features included in Printful Plus
- Access to exclusive product clips and promo maker
- Advanced design maker with features like pattern maker and background removal
- Custom branding options (pack-ins, custom labels)
- Access to keyword scouting tools for SEO optimisation
- Premium product mock-ups with more customisation options
- Enhanced integrations with e-commerce platforms
- Early access to new features
The Pro plan is ideal for businesses looking to fully utilise Printful’s capabilities, offering significant value for money by providing tools that can help optimise the entire product development and sales process.
Additional considerations
While Printful’s pricing plans are straightforward, there are additional costs to consider for UK businesses:
- Currency exchange rates: As Printful operates primarily in USD, UK businesses may face exchange rate fluctuations. Monitoring these rates can help manage costs more effectively.
- VAT and customs duties: Depending on the shipping destination, businesses may need to account for VAT and potential customs duties, which can impact the overall cost to the customer and profit margins.
- Shipping times: Standard shipping times to the UK from Printful’s fulfilment centres in the US or Europe vary, potentially affecting customer satisfaction. Choosing the right shipping method based on cost and delivery speed is crucial.
Conclusion – Printful pricing review
Printful provides a flexible and scalable solution for businesses looking to enter the dropshipping market or expand their existing offerings. Understanding the Printful pricing structure and choosing the right plan can significantly impact a business’s profitability and customer satisfaction.
By carefully considering product costs, printing and shipping fees, and optional services, UK businesses can leverage Printful’s offerings to build a successful and sustainable dropshipping operation. Whether just starting out or seeking to optimise a growing business, Printful’s varied pricing tiers offer options for all levels of e-commerce enterprises.
If you’re just getting started with dropshipping, see our explainer for ecommerce fulfilment options. For more, see our list of the best dropshipping suppliers in London, or our guide to ecommerce fulfilment costs.
FAQ – Printful pricing
Printful offers bulk discounts starting at 25 items. For example, a bulk order of 25–49 items receives a 5% discount, and orders of 50–99 items receive a 10% discount. Discounts increase with the order size.
Printful is transparent about its fees. There are no hidden fees, but businesses should account for potential costs such as additional prints (£2.00–£2.50), custom labels (£2.50 per item), and specific shipping options (£5.00–£10.00 for larger items).
If Printful is at fault (e.g., a printing error), there are no return fees, and replacements are free. However, if the issue is customer-related, the return cost is typically around £5.00–£10.00, depending on the item and location.
Printful does not generally offer free shipping by default. Standard shipping costs to the UK are approximately £3.50 for small items. However, businesses can choose to absorb these costs and offer free shipping to their customers.
Custom branding options are reasonably priced, starting at £2.50 per item for custom labels or pack-ins. This allows businesses to enhance their brand presence without significantly increasing their per-item cost.
Some Pro features are exclusive to the Pro plan (£45.00/month), such as advanced design tools and premium mock-ups. However, basic design and branding tools are available in the Plus plan (£9.00/month), which includes several Pro features.
Printful’s international shipping rates vary based on location. For example, shipping to Europe generally costs between £4.00 and £6.00, while shipping to more distant regions like Australia or Asia can cost £8.00–£12.00, depending on the item and speed.
Basic integrations with major platforms like Shopify, Etsy, and WooCommerce are included in all plans. Advanced integrations and features, such as custom API access, may be available with the Pro plan (£45.00/month) for businesses needing more control.
Printful’s product costs range from £6.00 for smaller items like mugs to £15.00 for apparel such as hoodies. Customisation options like additional prints or embroidery can add £2.00–£6.00, depending on the specific customisation.
Printful occasionally offers seasonal discounts or promotions, typically around major holidays. These can range from 10% to 20% off select items or services. However, such promotions are not guaranteed and vary from year to year.