How Much Do Custom T-Shirts Cost in Canada? (2026 Pricing Guide)

Quick Answer: Custom T-Shirt Prices by Quantity

Based on real paid orders placed between June 2025 and June 2026, here is what Canadians actually paid per printed t-shirt, all-in (blank shirt + printing), in CAD:

Simple one-colour designs on basic garments come in below these medians — bulk screen printing starts as low as $8.99 per shirt. Premium brands, full-colour designs, and multiple print locations come in above them.

Where These Numbers Come From

Most pricing guides quote made-up ranges. This one does not. Every figure on this page is computed from 7,641 real, paid customer orders placed at T-Shirt Elephant between June 2025 and June 2026, combined with our published list pricing.

• Medians, not averages — a handful of very large or premium orders would distort averages, so we report the middle order in each bracket.
• All-in pricing — every number includes the blank garment plus printing. Shipping and tax are excluded.
• Paid orders only — quotes, cancellations, and unpaid carts are excluded.
• CAD throughout — no exchange-rate surprises.

All Custom Apparel: Price Ranges by Quantity

Across all garment types — tees, hoodies, polos, hats, and jackets — here is the per-unit price distribution. The middle 50% column shows the range between the 25th and 75th percentile of real orders:

These numbers run higher than the t-shirt-only table above because they include hoodies, jackets, and premium garments. If you are budgeting for a mixed order — say tees plus hoodies for a team — the middle 50% column is your realistic range.

T-Shirts vs Hoodies: What Each Actually Costs

Hoodies cost roughly 50–60% more per unit than t-shirts at every quantity, driven almost entirely by the blank garment cost:

Based on 1,732 t-shirt-only orders and 622 hoodie-only orders. Browse custom t-shirts and custom hoodies to see garment options, or read our Gildan fabric reviews for quality comparisons.

Screen Printing vs DTF: List Pricing Per Print Location

The medians above bundle garment and printing together. Here is our actual list pricing for the printing itself, per print location (front, back, or sleeve), so you can see exactly how quantity drives the price down:

Digital / DTF Printing (full colour, no colour limits)

Screen Printing (per location, 1–4 ink colours)

Designs with 5+ ink colours add roughly $1.00 per location. Add the blank garment (basic tees from $4.95) to get your total per-shirt cost. The crossover: under ~10 shirts, DTF wins; at 12+, screen printing wins — full details in our screen printing and DTF printing service pages, or our complete t-shirt printing overview.

What Actually Changes Your Price

1. Quantity — the single biggest factor. Per-location print cost falls about 75% between 1 shirt and 100 shirts. The biggest breaks hit at 12, 26, and 76 units.
2. Garment choice — a basic Gildan tee starts at $4.95 blank; premium brands (Bella+Canvas, American Apparel, Nike) and heavier garments (hoodies, jackets) raise the floor.
3. Print locations — each additional location (back, sleeves) adds its own per-location cost from the tables above.
4. Ink colours (screen printing only) — 1–4 colours price the same; 5+ adds about $1.00 per shirt per location. DTF has no colour limit.
5. Names and numbers — team personalization adds $6.00 per name and $3.50 per number.
6. Turnaround — standard production is 10 business days; rush (5–7 business days) adds roughly 50%.

Worked Examples

20 staff shirts, one-colour logo on the front

Blank Gildan tee ~$5–8 + screen print $6.50 per shirt = roughly $12–15 per shirt, $240–300 total. Comparable real orders (12–23 tees) had a median of $22.95 — higher because many customers choose premium garments or add a back print.

50 event shirts, full-colour front design

Blank tee ~$5–8 + DTF $7.50 = roughly $13–16 per shirt, $650–800 total. The real-order median for 50–99 tees was $17.95.

One custom hoodie as a gift

Blank hoodie ~$20–25 + single DTF print $21 = roughly $41–46. Real small hoodie orders had a median of $42.00 — right on the money.

Fees, Minimums & Shipping

• No minimum order — order a single shirt if you want.
• No setup or artwork fees on standard digital printing, and free design help.
• Free shipping across Canada on orders over $250 — which most 12+ shirt orders clear.
• No customs or duties — everything is printed in Canada, unlike US printers where Canadian buyers face exchange rates, brokerage fees, and border delays.
• Rush available — 5–7 business days at about a 50% surcharge, versus 10 business days standard.