How Much Does It Cost to Get Shirts Screen Printed? Screen Printing vs Print on Demand Pricing

Is screen printing shirts expensive? The honest answer is: it depends entirely on quantity. A local shop quote of "$9 a shirt" sounds cheap until you realize it assumes a 48-piece minimum and a $35 setup fee baked into the total. Here is the actual math on custom screen printed shirt cost, compared line by line against a no-minimum print on demand model, so a business owner can pick the cheaper option for their actual order size instead of guessing.

What a Screen Print Quote Actually Includes

A typical local screen print quote breaks into three line items, even when the shop only shows you one number:

• Setup fee. $15-$40 per screen (one screen per ink color), charged once regardless of quantity.
• Blank shirt cost. $3-$8 depending on brand and style, before printing.
• Print charge per shirt. $2-$6 per shirt, dropping as order size climbs.

At 24 shirts with a single-color design and a $30 setup fee, that works out to roughly $1.25 per shirt just for setup, on top of $5-$12 per shirt for the blank and printing. At 100 shirts, the same $30 setup fee is only $0.30 per shirt, which is why screen printing gets meaningfully cheaper at higher volume.

Screen Printing Cost by Quantity (Typical Ranges)

Quantity	Setup fee per shirt	Typical total per shirt
12 shirts	$2.50-$3.30	$12-$18
24 shirts	$1.25-$1.65	$9-$14
50 shirts	$0.60-$0.80	$7-$11
100+ shirts	$0.30-$0.40	$6-$9

These are typical market ranges, not a Bear Grips Pro Shops quote. We are a print on demand platform and do not run screen print jobs. Use this table to know what to expect when calling a local screen printer for comparison.

Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.

The Print on Demand Side of the Comparison

Bear Grips Pro Shops charges one flat VIP base price per piece with no setup fee at any quantity:

Product	VIP base price	Notes
Airlume cotton tee	$19.88	Same price at 1 or 100 pieces
Premium cotton crew tee	$23.88	Same price at 1 or 100 pieces
Comfort Soft hoodie	$36.88	Same price at 1 or 100 pieces
Performance polo	$34.88	Same price at 1 or 100 pieces

The Free plan runs $0/mo with 3 live products at a slightly higher base price. Self-Service VIP is $59/mo for 200 products at the lowest base pricing shown above.

Where the Break-Even Point Actually Sits

Comparing the two tables: at 12-24 identical shirts, print on demand is usually the same cost or cheaper than screen printing once the setup fee is counted. Somewhere around 30-75 identical pieces, high-volume screen printing typically pulls ahead on pure per-shirt cost. Above that, screen printing generally wins on a big one-time event order. The catch: that math only holds if every shirt is the exact same size and color. The moment a business needs a mixed size run that changes over time, the screen print minimum resets on every reorder, while POD does not.

Which Model Fits Which Kind of Order

• One-time 100-shirt event, one size breakdown known in advance: screen printing likely wins on raw cost.
• Ongoing shop selling to customers in mixed sizes: print on demand wins because there is no minimum to hit on any single reorder.
• Testing a design before committing budget: print on demand wins, no setup fee at risk.
• Small business wanting to keep zero inventory: print on demand wins outright, nothing is printed until it sells.

Set up a shop and see the full 63-product catalog and pricing at Bear Grips Pro Shops.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is screen printing cheaper than print on demand?

At high volume (roughly 50-100+ identical pieces), traditional screen printing is usually cheaper per shirt. Below that, once the setup fee is factored in, print on demand is typically the same cost or lower, with no minimum required.

How much does it cost to get shirts screen printed at a local shop?

Typical ranges run $12-$18 per shirt at a 12-piece minimum, dropping to $6-$9 per shirt at 100+ pieces, once the setup fee and blank cost are included. Bear Grips Pro Shops does not run screen print jobs; these are market ranges for comparison.

Does Bear Grips Pro Shops charge a setup fee?

No. There is no setup fee at any order quantity. Airlume cotton tees start at $19.88 VIP base, the same price whether you order 1 or 100.

What is the cheapest option for a 10-shirt order?

At 10 shirts, a no-minimum print on demand shop is almost always cheaper once a screen print shop's setup fee is added in, unless the local shop is running a promotion.