Top Places to Order Custom T-Shirts and Sportswear Online
Ordering custom T-shirts online can be as simple as printing a logo on 10 shirts or as complicated as outfitting an entire club, school, business, tournament, or organization.
That is why there is no single best custom apparel company for every order.
A small group may want an easy online designer and no minimum order. A sports team may need performance shirts in youth and adult sizes. A business ordering hundreds of shirts may care more about bulk pricing and screen printing. Someone launching an apparel brand may need print-on-demand fulfillment rather than one large shipment.
The best place to order custom T-shirts therefore depends on what you need printed, how many pieces you need, your deadline, the decoration method, and how much help you want with artwork and ordering.
This guide compares several established online custom apparel companies and, more importantly, explains which type of order each one is best suited for.
✔️ Key Takeaway
Do not choose a custom T-shirt company from the advertised shirt price alone. Compare the same garment, quantity, decoration, print locations, artwork requirements, sizes, shipping, taxes, and delivery date. Custom Ink is particularly useful for organized group orders, RushOrderTees emphasizes fast turnaround, UberPrints offers straightforward no-minimum ordering, and Printful is structured around print-on-demand and ecommerce fulfillment. The best supplier depends on the job.
Custom T-Shirt Companies at a Glance
01
Teams & Groups
Look for easy size collection, group ordering, youth and adult apparel, artwork assistance, and clear order management.
02
Rush Orders
When the deadline is fixed, compare the guaranteed delivery date rather than relying on a general production-time estimate.
Start With the Type of Custom Apparel Order You Need
Before comparing companies, define the order.
Custom T-shirt printing can involve several very different buying situations:
- One personalized shirt
- A dozen shirts for a family or event
- 50 shirts for a sports team or school
- Hundreds of shirts for a business or fundraiser
- Performance apparel for athletes
- Employee uniforms
- Embroidered polos and jackets
- Merchandise that customers order individually online
A company designed around individual print-on-demand orders may not be the best choice for 500 screen-printed event shirts. A bulk screen printer may be unnecessary when you need only two personalized shirts.
Start with the order rather than the printer.
Quick Comparison of Online Custom T-Shirt Companies
| Company | Worth Considering For | Ordering Model |
|---|---|---|
| Custom Ink | Teams, schools, events and organized group orders | Custom printing with group-order tools |
| RushOrderTees | Orders with short deadlines | Custom printing with standard and rush delivery options |
| UberPrints | Small orders and straightforward online designing | No-minimum digital printing plus bulk options |
| Broken Arrow Wear | Screen printing, embroidery and artwork assistance | Traditional custom apparel production |
| Spreadshirt | Small personalized orders and design-driven apparel | No-minimum customization |
| Printful | Creators, ecommerce stores and print-on-demand | On-demand production and fulfillment |
This is not a ranking from best to worst. Each company serves a somewhat different purchasing situation.
For coaches, managers, schools, businesses, and event organizers, collecting the order can be almost as difficult as printing it.
Custom Ink: A Strong Option for Teams and Group Orders
Custom Ink is one of the most recognizable online custom apparel companies and is particularly relevant when several people are involved in one order.
Its online Design Lab allows customers to create or upload artwork, while its Group Order Form can collect participant sizes and payments.
That can eliminate one of the most frustrating parts of ordering apparel for a team or organization: manually chasing everyone for sizes and money.
Custom Ink is worth considering for:
- Sports teams
- Schools
- Clubs
- Company apparel
- Fundraisers
- Family events
- Large group orders
The company also reviews artwork before production, which can help identify problems such as inadequate image resolution or design elements that may not reproduce properly.
For a team manager, that service may be more valuable than saving a small amount per shirt with a supplier that provides less ordering support.
Sometimes price is not the first priority. The shirts simply have to arrive before the event.
RushOrderTees: Worth Comparing When the Deadline Is Tight
RushOrderTees specializes heavily in turnaround speed and offers both standard and expedited delivery options.
The company offers custom T-shirts, performance shirts, hoodies, polos, hats, and other apparel through an online Design Studio.
Customers can upload artwork, add text, preview placement, and see pricing while configuring the order.
RushOrderTees currently advertises printed-shirt turnaround as fast as two business days on qualifying rush orders.
That does not mean every product, decoration method, quantity, or destination can arrive that quickly.
If your order has a hard deadline, verify:
- The exact garment is in stock.
- Your quantity is available.
- Your decoration method qualifies for rush production.
- Artwork can be approved immediately.
- The promised date includes delivery rather than only production.
A rush order that ships the day before your tournament may still be useless if transit takes another three days.
Bulk pricing is attractive only when you actually need a bulk quantity.
UberPrints: Useful for Small and No-Minimum Orders
UberPrints offers custom T-shirts and other apparel through an online design studio with no minimum requirement on qualifying digital-print orders.
That makes it worth considering when you need:
- One custom shirt
- A small group order
- A design sample
- A replacement garment
- A personalized gift
- A test version before committing to a larger order
The Design Studio allows users to add text and graphics or upload their own artwork.
UberPrints also handles larger quantities, so the company is not limited to one-off printing.
For buyers, the important distinction is that digital printing makes very small quantities practical without requiring the same setup economics associated with traditional screen printing.
Broken Arrow Wear: Screen Printing, Embroidery and Artwork Help
Broken Arrow Wear takes a more traditional custom-apparel approach, offering services that include screen printing and embroidery along with online ordering and artwork assistance.
This can be useful when the order requires more interaction with an art department rather than simply uploading a finished file and pressing an order button.
The company allows customers to upload existing artwork or request assistance developing a design.
Broken Arrow Wear is worth comparing for:
- Bulk screen-printed shirts
- Business apparel
- Team clothing
- Embroidered garments
- Orders requiring artwork assistance
For larger orders, compare the complete quote with competing printers rather than assuming that the lowest advertised blank-shirt price represents the final cost.
Spreadshirt: Personalized Apparel Without a Large Minimum
Spreadshirt combines custom apparel with a large library of existing designs.
Customers can upload their own artwork, add text, use available designs, and customize shirts without a minimum order requirement.
This makes Spreadshirt more relevant for personal projects, gifts, small groups, and design-oriented custom apparel than for buyers whose main objective is managing a complicated team-uniform program.
It can be useful when you want:
- A single customized shirt
- A small quantity
- Access to existing graphics
- Personalized gifts
- Simple online customization
As with any no-minimum printer, compare the per-item price with bulk-oriented companies if the order becomes large.
Print-on-demand solves a different problem from ordinary group printing.
Printful: Better Suited to Print-on-Demand and Ecommerce
Printful allows customers to create custom apparel without purchasing inventory in advance.
Products are produced when orders are placed, and Printful can fulfill and ship those orders directly.
This makes the service particularly relevant for:
- Online apparel stores
- Creators selling merchandise
- Organizations that do not want to hold inventory
- Businesses testing new designs
- Individual custom products
Printful integrates with ecommerce platforms and marketplaces, making it fundamentally different from placing one traditional bulk order for a team.
It also offers no-minimum ordering, while bulk discounts are available when larger quantities are purchased.
For Canadian customers, Printful also operates Canadian fulfillment, which can be worth investigating when comparing cross-border shipping and fulfillment options.
What About VistaPrint?
VistaPrint is best known for business printing, but custom apparel is also part of its product range.
That can make it convenient for businesses that want shirts alongside other branded materials.
Convenience, however, should not replace comparison shopping.
If T-shirts are a major part of the order, compare VistaPrint’s garment selection, decoration, quantities, delivery, and final cost against companies that specialize more heavily in custom apparel.
Choose the Printing Method Before Comparing Prices
Two suppliers may quote very different prices because they are not proposing the same decoration method.
The major options for custom T-shirts include screen printing, direct-to-garment printing, direct-to-film transfers, heat-applied graphics, sublimation for appropriate polyester garments, and embroidery for products where stitching is suitable.
Screen Printing
Screen printing is commonly used for larger quantities of shirts using the same design.
Setup requirements can make very small quantities less economical, while larger runs can reduce the cost per garment.
Direct-to-Garment Printing
Direct-to-garment, or DTG, prints artwork directly onto the garment.
It is particularly useful for smaller quantities and designs containing substantial color or detail.
Heat-Applied and Direct-to-Film Graphics
Transfer methods can work well for smaller orders, personalized garments, names, numbers, and designs that do not justify traditional screen-print setup.
Sublimation
Sublimation is particularly important in performance sportswear because the design can become part of the polyester fabric rather than sitting as a separate printed layer on top.
It is widely used for fully customized jerseys and other performance garments.
Embroidery
Embroidery is commonly used for polos, hats, jackets, quarter-zips, bags, and staff apparel.
It provides a different appearance from printing and may not be appropriate for every lightweight athletic garment.
Do Not Compare Custom T-Shirt Quotes Until the Specifications Match
A $9 shirt and a $15 shirt may not actually be competing products.
One quote might include a basic heavyweight cotton shirt with a one-color front print. Another might include a softer premium shirt, full-color artwork, printing on two locations, artwork preparation, and shipping.
Before comparing suppliers, send each company the same basic specification:
- Garment brand and model, or equivalent quality level
- Fabric type and weight
- Total quantity
- Size breakdown
- Garment colors
- Number of print locations
- Artwork and number of colors
- Decoration method
- Personalization requirements
- Required delivery date
- Shipping destination
Then ask for the complete delivered cost.
Check the Blank Shirt Before Falling in Love With the Design
The print receives most of the attention, but the garment underneath it determines whether people will actually want to wear the shirt.
Compare:
- Fabric composition
- Fabric weight
- Fit
- Available sizes
- Youth sizing
- Women’s-specific options
- Color availability
- Performance characteristics
- Brand and garment model
A great print on an uncomfortable shirt is still an unsuccessful apparel order.
Prepare Artwork That Can Actually Be Printed
Artwork quality affects the finished product.
A logo copied from a website or social-media profile may look acceptable on a computer screen but be too small or low-resolution for clean printing.
When possible, provide the printer with the original artwork file.
Vector files are particularly useful for logos because they can be enlarged without losing edge quality.
If you do not have production-ready artwork, ask whether the supplier provides artwork cleanup, recreation, or design assistance and whether that service costs extra.
Ask for a Proof Before Production
A proof gives you a final opportunity to verify the design before the complete order is produced.
Check:
- Spelling
- Logo
- Print size
- Print location
- Garment color
- Artwork colors
- Names and numbers
- Quantity
- Size breakdown
Do not approve a proof casually.
Once production begins, correcting an error can mean replacing the entire order.
Understand the Difference Between Production Time and Delivery Time
This is particularly important for teams, tournaments, businesses, reunions, and events with fixed dates.
Production time is how long the printer needs to manufacture the order.
Delivery time includes transportation to you.
There may also be time required for:
- Artwork preparation
- Proof creation
- Your approval
- Garment sourcing
- Production
- Quality control
- Shipping
Ask for the expected arrival date, not simply the number of production days.
Ordering for a Sports Team Requires Extra Questions
A team order creates issues that a family reunion or promotional shirt order may not have.
Before choosing a supplier, ask about:
- Youth and adult sizing
- Women’s-specific fits
- Performance fabrics
- Player names and numbers
- Roster collection
- Replacement garments
- Late registrations
- Reorders
- Minimum quantities
- Color consistency between orders
A supplier that is excellent for a one-time promotional shirt order may be less suitable for a team that needs matching replacement garments six months later.
Custom T-Shirt Supplier Checklist
Before You Place the Order
- Define exactly what garments you need.
- Confirm the total quantity and size breakdown.
- Choose the garment quality before comparing prices.
- Confirm the decoration method.
- Provide the best artwork file available.
- Ask about artwork or setup charges.
- Check minimum order requirements.
- Ask about volume discounts.
- Confirm personalization costs.
- Review shipping charges and taxes.
- Ask for the expected delivery date.
- Check the supplier’s reorder policy.
- Review the proof carefully.
- Compare the complete delivered cost.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ordering Custom T-Shirts Online
What is the best website for ordering custom T-shirts?
There is no single best company for every order. Custom Ink is worth considering for teams and organized group orders, RushOrderTees for tight deadlines, UberPrints and Spreadshirt for smaller no-minimum orders, and Printful for print-on-demand and ecommerce fulfillment.
Can I order just one custom T-shirt?
Yes. Several online companies offer no-minimum printing, including UberPrints, Spreadshirt, RushOrderTees, and Printful. The per-shirt cost may be higher than it would be in a bulk order.
What is the best printing method for bulk T-shirts?
Screen printing is often a strong option for larger quantities using the same artwork, particularly when the design has a limited number of colors. The best method still depends on the garment, artwork, quantity, and required finish.
What printing method is best for one custom shirt?
Digital printing methods are generally better suited to very small quantities because they do not require the same screen setup used in traditional screen printing.
How far in advance should I order custom shirts?
Order as early as practical, particularly when you have a fixed event date. Production time varies by company, product, decoration method, quantity, artwork approval, and shipping destination. Rush service may be available, but it can reduce your options and increase the cost.
Should I order extra shirts?
For teams, businesses, events, and organizations, a small quantity of extras can be useful for late additions, sizing problems, damaged garments, or replacements. Whether extras make sense depends on the size and purpose of the order.
What file should I send for a custom T-shirt logo?
Use the highest-quality original artwork available. Vector artwork is particularly useful for logos because it can be resized cleanly. If you only have a low-resolution image, ask the printer whether artwork recreation is available before placing the order.
How do I compare custom T-shirt prices?
Compare equivalent garments using the same quantity, sizes, decoration method, artwork, print locations, personalization, shipping destination, and delivery requirement. Then compare the final delivered price rather than the advertised starting price.
The Best Custom T-Shirt Company Depends on the Order
Custom Ink, RushOrderTees, UberPrints, Broken Arrow Wear, Spreadshirt, Printful, and other online printers can all be useful, but they do not solve exactly the same problem.
A coach managing 30 players has different requirements from a business ordering 500 promotional shirts. A creator selling merchandise one shirt at a time needs something different again.
Start by defining the garment, quantity, decoration, sizes, artwork, deadline, and how the shirts will be distributed.
Then compare suppliers using the same specifications.
That approach is far more reliable than choosing whichever website happens to advertise the lowest starting price.
