Custom Ink alternatives: 10 Options for group orders and merch

Looking for Custom Ink alternatives? Whether you need shirts for a team, club, or event – or you want to sell merch – you’ve got options, each with different perks and trade-offs. Some cost less in bulk, some skip order minimums, and others let you sell under your own brand.

Keep reading for the ten best alternatives to Custom Ink, with a breakdown of pricing, features, and drawbacks. You’ll see which companies like Custom Ink are best for a one-time group order and which make more sense if you’re selling for the long haul.

What is Custom Ink and why look for alternatives?

Custom Ink is a US-based custom apparel and promotional products company that lets groups design and order personalized merch online, from t-shirts and hoodies to hats and corporate swag. Group orders are at the heart of what it does, and that focus explains both its greatest strengths and its main limitations.

What Custom Ink does well

Here’s what it gets right:

• A big catalog. Choose from 15,000+ products, including plenty of sustainable options.

• Group order forms. Everyone picks their own size and pays separately. Orders ship to one address or to each member.

• Fundraising tools. Groups can set up a fundraising page and sell custom gear to raise money for a cause.

• Free standard shipping. Standard delivery arrives in about two weeks. Rush and Super Rush options are available for orders shipping within the contiguous 48 US states.
  
  

Where Custom Ink falls short

Limitations that make sellers reconsider:

• Minimums on some methods. Screen printing, embroidery, laser engraving, and debossing all have minimum order quantities.

• US-focused shipping. International delivery is available, but it requires a minimum of six items.

• No eCommerce integrations. You can sell through Custom Ink’s own online stores and fundraising pages, but you can’t connect it to Shopify, Etsy, or your own website.

• No 24/7 support. Phone and chat help are only available during set hours.

• Rush costs extra. One-week rush delivery adds 15% to your order.
  
  

Custom Ink alternatives at a glance

Need a quick overview? See how ten websites like Custom Ink compare on minimums, printing methods, and whether you can sell online.

10 Companies like Custom Ink

Here’s a quick overview of each company: who it’s best for, its pricing, its standout feature, and the trade-off to keep in mind.

1. Printful

Source: Printful

• Best for: Small businesses, creators, and teams selling merch online or ordering in bulk

• Pricing: Free plan available, Printful Growth costs $24.99/month

• Standout feature: Free Design Maker, a wide range of eCommerce integrations, MerchShare for group orders

• The trade-off: A smaller product catalog than Custom Ink, no phone support

Printful makes each item on demand, so there’s no minimum quantity, no inventory, and no upfront costs. You can order one shirt or run a whole merch shop. The catalog of 599 custom products is smaller than Custom Ink’s, but it spans apparel, accessories, and home and living items.

Every item goes through a three-step quality check, and only 0.24% of orders need a reprint.

Connect Printful to Shopify, Etsy, TikTok Shop, and other platforms, or set up a free Quick Store in minutes if you’re in the US. Upload your own designs, or use the built-in tools in the Design Maker to add custom text and graphics.

Choose from several customization options, including DTG, unlimited-color embroidery on select products, and knitting. For teams, MerchShare lets everyone pick their own size, color, and delivery address. Bulk orders of more than 25 units of the same product qualify for discounts.

Printful’s sample orders give you 20% off almost any item in the catalog, so you can test the print quality and see the final product in person. You’ll need a connected store to qualify. You start with one sample order a month, up to three items, and unlock more as your sales grow.

Read more: Print-on-demand comparison: Printful vs competitors

2. RushOrderTees

Source: RushOrderTees

• Best for: Teams, events, and businesses that need shirts fast

• Pricing: Pay per order, free to start

• Standout feature: Free standard shipping, Rush Shipping, Design Studio

• The trade-off: No online store integrations; shipping is limited to the US and Canada unless you request international delivery

RushOrderTees handles every order in-house at its Philadelphia headquarters. Printed custom tees have no minimum order, while embroidery starts at six pieces.

Bulk discounts begin at ten pieces of the same item and increase on larger orders, up to 1,000 pieces. Standard shipping is free to the US, Canada, and US APO/FPO addresses and takes 9-12 business days. If you need shirts sooner, Rush Shipping shortens the turnaround to two business days for an extra fee.

You can upload your artwork or try AI-generated custom designs in the free Design Studio. RushOrderTees offers several customization options, including screen printing, DTG, HD digital printing, and embroidery. Support is available by phone, email, and live chat every day during business hours.

Just keep in mind that you pay for every shirt upfront and keep any leftovers. If you want to sell your shirts, you’ll need to buy stock in advance, store it, and pack and ship each order yourself.

3. UberPrints

Source: UberPrints

• Best for: Small batches and budget-friendly group orders

• Pricing: Pay-per-order, free to start

• Standout feature: No minimum on digitally printed items, unlimited ink colors on digital prints, Money Back Guarantee

• The trade-off: No-minimum printing is limited to select products; shipping is limited to the US and Canada

UberPrints offers two main print methods, and the right one depends on how many shirts you need.

Ordering just a few? Digital printing has no minimum, and the price stays the same no matter how many colors your design has. Production takes one to two business days.

For 12 pieces or more per design, you can switch to screen printing or embroidery. Screen printing works on more styles and gets cheaper as your order grows, but each extra color adds to the cost. These orders take seven days to produce.

Orders ship to the US, Canada, and APO addresses, with standard delivery taking one to five business days in transit. Digitally printed orders can upgrade to Next Day delivery, while screen-printed and embroidered orders can add Rush Delivery for 10% of the apparel subtotal, guaranteed to arrive within seven days.

The Design Studio includes ready-made templates from experienced designers, so you can customize one instead of designing from scratch.

4. Bluecotton

Source: Bluecotton

• Best for: Teams, schools, and businesses with a fixed event date

• Pricing: Pay-per-order, free to start

• Standout feature: Guaranteed delivery dates, one-day rush production, and a free design review by in-house artists

• The trade-off: A six-piece minimum on every order, and no print-on-demand or online store integrations

Bluecotton is built around deadlines. Each order comes with a guaranteed delivery date, and standard orders arrive within ten business days with free shipping in the US. Five-day and three-day rush options are available for an extra fee, and Shirts in a Day cuts production down to one day.

Before anything is printed, a Bluecotton artist manually reviews your design. Orders then go through quality checks at the company’s in-house facility in Kentucky. Depending on your design, you can choose screen printing, embroidery, or digital printing.

The minimum order is six pieces. Bluecotton focuses on US fulfillment, so orders headed to Canada or other countries ship standard only. You’ll get a shipping quote at checkout, and customs fees are your responsibility.

5. 4imprint

Source: 4imprint

• Best for: Businesses ordering branded apparel and giveaways for events

• Pricing: Pay-per-order, free to start

• Standout feature: On-Time or Free Guarantee, free samples and e-proofs, and 24-hour production on select t-shirt styles

• The trade-off: Minimum order quantities vary by product, no eCommerce integrations

4imprint is a promotional products distributor. You can order logo shirts alongside pens, drinkware, and bags in one place, which is handy for trade shows and company events. You can even add your logo to pens from brands like BIC, Paper Mate, Pilot, and Sharpie.

Deadlines are covered by the On-Time or Free Guarantee. If your order misses your event because 4imprint didn’t ship on the agreed date, it’s free.

For tight deadlines, dozens of t-shirt styles qualify for 24-hour production, with orders produced the next business day after proof approval. Decoration options include screen printing, full-color printing, embroidery, appliqué, and patches.

4imprint runs regional sites for the US, Canada, UK, and Ireland. Shipping anywhere else requires contacting its Customer Care team and is handled case by case. Shipping time depends on the style and print method, but most custom t-shirt orders ship within 3-10 business days after artwork approval.

6. VistaPrint

Source: VistaPrint

• Best for: Small businesses ordering shirts alongside business cards, flyers, and signs

• Pricing: Free account and pay per order, or VistaPrint Advantage for $59.99/year

• Standout feature: A wide range of marketing materials, design help through 99designs by Vista, Rush delivery on eligible products

• The trade-off: Higher per-shirt prices on small orders, no native store integrations

VistaPrint works like a one-stop print shop for small businesses. Besides custom t-shirts, you can order business cards, flyers, signs, and packaging inserts in one place, keeping your branding consistent across everything you hand out.

To create a design, start from a ready-made template or use the online design tools. If you’d rather skip the design process altogether, 99designs by Vista gives you access to professional designers.

Digitally printed shirts have no minimum, and the price per shirt drops as your order size grows. Standard delivery takes as few as six business days, including production, with Economy, Express, and Rush options available. VistaPrint ships to the US and 19 European countries, and US orders over $100 ship free.

The Advantage membership lowers that free shipping threshold to $60 and adds up to 20% off select products, 10% off clothing, white-label shipping, and weekday live chat support.

Just note that VistaPrint doesn’t sync with online stores, so every merch sale has to be ordered by hand.

7. Zazzle

Source: Zazzle

• Best for: One-off personalized shirts and gifts

• Pricing: Free account and pay per order, or Zazzle Plus for $19.95/year

• Standout feature: Flexible royalty rates, referral commissions through the Ambassador Program, and specialty paper printing

• The trade-off: No integrations with outside sales channels, fees on sales that come through Zazzle’s marketing or referrals

On Zazzle, you choose your royalty rate, and the platform adds it to its base price to set what shoppers pay. Royalties can go up to 50% on most physical products and up to 99% on digital downloads.

The marketplace is best known for personalized stationery, gifts, and party supplies, with real foil, letterpress, and HD printing for a premium finish on invitations and cards. Shirts are printed with DTG in a Classic or brighter Vivid finish, and embroidery is also available. If you’d rather not design yourself, Zazzle LIVE connects you with an experienced designer for free.

Your shop stays on Zazzle, since it doesn’t connect to other online selling sites. You can link Google Analytics, though, to see where your traffic comes from and how shoppers browse your designs.

If you order often, Zazzle Plus covers standard shipping on eligible items for a full year.

8. Bonfire

Source: Bonfire

• Best for: Schools, nonprofits, and community groups raising money with custom merch

• Pricing: Free to use, Bonfire Pro starts at $8.25/month paid yearly

• Standout feature: No upfront costs, optional donations and tips at checkout, base costs drop as more items sell

• The trade-off: Batch campaigns delay delivery until the campaign ends, POD mode lowers profit per item

Bonfire campaigns work like pre-orders. You design a shirt with your own artwork or free graphics, set the price, and share the campaign page with your supporters. Orders are collected over a 2-21-day campaign window, then Bonfire prints everything and ships it directly to each buyer, so you never pay upfront or handle inventory.

Supporters can add an optional donation or tip when they check out, and base costs fall as more items sell in a batch, so a bigger push means more profit per shirt. Payouts are usually ready to request within one to three business days after orders go to print. Verified nonprofits receive their funds through Bonfire’s donation partner, Change.

The wait is the main downside. Domestic orders arrive 7-14 business days after the campaign ends, not after purchase, and international orders take 12-24 business days. POD mode sends each order to print the next business day, but the base cost resets to its maximum every day, which cuts into your earnings.

For team shirts you’ll hand out yourself, Bonfire also offers custom orders at cost to US customers, delivered in one shipment within 7-14 business days.

9. Fourthwall

Source: Fourthwall

• Best for: Creators selling merch to an online audience

• Pricing: Free plan available, Fourthwall Pro costs $15/month paid yearly

• Standout feature: Merch, memberships, and digital products on one platform, integrations with social channels, sales tax handled for you

• The trade-off: The free plan caps your shop at 50 product listings; memberships carry a 5% fee on every plan

Where Custom Ink prints a batch of shirts for one event, Fourthwall gives creators a branded site to sell from all year. Merch, memberships, digital downloads, and tips from fans all live on one platform, so you don’t need separate tools for each revenue stream.

Every item is made to order. Fourthwall’s customization options include DTG prints, embroidered pieces, sublimated designs, and screen-printed items, and you can lay out your own designs with the platform’s built-in tools.

Your shop connects to the places your audience already spends time, including YouTube, Twitch, TikTok Shop, and Discord. Fourthwall takes care of production, shipping, customer support, and taxes as your merchant of record.

The free plan has no monthly fee but takes 5% of digital product sales. Pro removes that fee and raises the listing limit to 500 products. Standard payment processing fees apply on both plans.

10. Spreadshirt

Source: Spreadshirt

• Best for: Creators who want a ready-made marketplace plus the option of their own storefront

• Pricing: Free to join

• Standout feature: Free branded Spreadshop, Spreadconnect fulfillment for Etsy and Shopify

• The trade-off: Limited production sites, fewer storefront features than a full eCommerce platform

Spreadshirt gives you three ways to sell on one platform. You can list designs on its marketplace to reach existing shoppers, build a Spreadshop that matches your brand, or use Spreadconnect, its free fulfillment service, to sell on Etsy or Shopify. All three can run at once, with no upfront costs.

Spreadshirt offers DTF transfers for complex, full-color artwork. For bold text and simple graphics, like names and numbers on team shirts, flex and flock printing work best. You can try out ideas across different products in Spreadshirt’s design tool before publishing.

Shoppers can return items within 30 days for an exchange, voucher, or refund, which gives them more confidence to buy.

Production happens at a handful of sites in Europe and the US, so buyers in other regions may wait longer for their orders.

How to choose a Custom Ink alternative

The right pick comes down to what you’re ordering and why. Keep these factors in mind.

Order size and minimums

Screen printing and embroidery often have minimums of 6-12 pieces per design, but the price per t-shirt drops as you order more. That makes them great for larger team or event orders.

DTG has no minimum, so you can order one shirt or just a few. For a small batch of custom tees, the overall cost is usually lower.

Turnaround and rush options

Plan around when your shirts need to arrive, not when they ship. Standard turnaround runs from a few business days to about two weeks, and most orders arrive on time with standard delivery if you order early.

Rush options help with a last-minute tournament or event, but they cost extra. Custom Ink, for example, adds a 15% rush delivery fee.

Printing method

Each printing method offers different customization options and durability. Screen printing gives bold, durable colors that hold up to washing, so it suits simple graphics and larger runs. DTG prints detailed, full-color designs directly onto the fabric, which works well for photos and small orders. Embroidery adds a premium, stitched finish to polos, hats, and team apparel.

The blank shirt matters too. Fabric, fit, and quality vary between brands, so order a sample before a big run.

One-time order vs ongoing sales

If you only need shirts once, a group order from a printer works fine.

If you’re a business or creator selling merch over time, a print-on-demand platform is a better fit, since each item is made only after a customer pays. You can upload your own designs or create custom designs from scratch, test new ideas, and post products to your site without spending money on inventory.

Not a designer? Look for a platform with a built-in design tool and templates, like Printful.

Group ordering tools

For teams, clubs, and fundraisers, look for tools that handle the coordination. Group order forms let everyone pick a size and pay separately, while campaign pages allow supporters to order and pay for themselves, which is handy for a school club or a dog rescue fundraiser.

Custom Ink and some of its alternatives ship to each person directly, so nobody has to sort and hand out boxes of shirts.

Order custom apparel or sell merch with Printful

Whether you need t-shirts for one event or want to sell merch all year, Printful covers both in four steps.

1. Sign up for a free Printful account. Browse the Catalog to find the style that works for your goal.

2. Design your merch. Upload your artwork or build a design in the free Design Maker with custom text, graphics, and templates.

3. Choose how you want to order.

   • For a team or event: Place a bulk order to save up to 55% on more than 25 units of the same product, depending on product type and quantity. You can also share a MerchShare link so everyone picks their own size, color, and delivery address.

   • For an online shop: Connect Printful to Shopify, Etsy, TikTok Shop, and other platforms, or set up a free Quick Store if you’re in the US.

4. Let Printful handle the rest. Every order is printed, quality-checked, and shipped for you, with no minimums and no inventory to manage.

Which Custom Ink alternative is right for you?

Custom Ink is a solid choice for group orders, but minimums, rush fees, and the lack of eCommerce integrations can hold you back.

Whether you’re starting a merch store, gearing up for an event, or planning a fundraiser, these are our top three picks for Custom Ink alternatives:

• Printful – No minimums or inventory, 599 customizable products, and integrations with top sales channels, plus bulk discounts for team orders.

• Bluecotton – Guaranteed delivery dates and one-day rush production for events with tight deadlines.

• Bonfire – Free fundraising campaigns where supporters order and pay for themselves, with optional donations.

Join Printful for free and get your merch ready to order or sell today.