[24+] Best T-shirt Design Softwares For eCommerce - Free & Paid

T-shirt design software is your simple digital canvas for producing distinctive, eye-catching designs. In today's fashion landscape, individuals increasingly seek clothing that reflects their identity and personal style. Custom-made T-shirts offer a fantastic way for people to express themselves, turning fashion into a canvas for personal creativity.

In this blog, we’ll introduce you to the Best T-shirt Design Softwares For eCommerce Businesses. We aim to make designing bespoke t-shirts enjoyable, easy, and affordable so you can concentrate on what counts: realizing your artistic vision and wowing your clients with exceptional, unique designs.

Benefits of T-shirt Design Software

T-shirt design software has transformed the fashion industry, offering numerous advantages for consumers and businesses. Here’s a look at its key benefits:

• Personalization and Creativity: This software empowers individuals to craft custom designs, making each t-shirt unique. It’s a fantastic way for customers to express their style or for businesses to offer personalized products.
• Cost-Efficiency: Businesses can cut costs significantly by using design software. It reduces the need for costly printed templates and helps manage inventory more effectively, minimizing waste and saving money.
• Enhanced Customer Engagement: Interactive design tools create a more engaging customer experience. They are involved in the design process, strengthening their connection with the brand and boosting customer satisfaction.
• Rapid Prototyping and Iteration: Design software allows for fast creation and modification of t-shirt designs. This means you can test and tweak designs quickly without producing physical samples, speeding up the overall design process.
• Business Opportunities: T-shirt design software's flexibility opens up various business possibilities. From launching custom shirt lines to partnering with events or creating a unique brand, it provides diverse avenues for growth and innovation.

Top 24 Free & Paid T-shirt Design Softwares

1. GNU Image Manipulation Program

GIMP is a free alternative to Adobe Photoshop. It's an adaptable image editing program ideal for creating T-shirts, with many graphic design and photo retouching options. Without the cost of proprietary software, GIMP offers powerful T-shirt creation capabilities at an affordable price. Because of its vibrant community and wide selection of plugins and extensions, it is a well-liked option for inexperienced and seasoned designers looking for high-quality image editing.

Pricing: FREE and open-source software.

2. Placeit

Placeit is a user-friendly platform offering many templates and mockups for T-shirt designs. Because of its convenience, designers and business owners like it. Placeit's mockup generator allows you to see how your designs will appear on actual products, and its templates allow you to create T-shirt designs with professionalism. Placeit is ideal for quickly creating designs for online stores and promotions, making it a quick and easy way to design T-shirts for designers and business owners.

Pricing: Start at $7.47 per month.

3. CorelDRAW

CorelDRAW is a professional vector graphics editor ideal for T-shirt design. It is known for its user-friendly interface and robust design tools, empowering users to create vector-based designs suitable for top-quality printing. With CorelDRAW, you can draw, illustrate, and arrange design elements precisely, making it an excellent option for crafting custom T-shirt designs. CorelDRAW offers different versions with added features, allowing you to select the one that best fits your needs, budget, skills, and preferences.

Pricing: 15-day Free Trial

• Annual Plan - US$36.58/mo
• One-Time Purchase - US$859.00

4. Printify

Printify Mockup Generator is a print-on-demand platform equipped with a mockup generator for visualizing T-shirt designs before printing. It allows online store owners and entrepreneurs to sell custom T-shirts without holding inventory. Printify simplifies the process by integrating seamlessly with e-commerce sites, enabling business owners to offer personalized T-shirts to customers while managing the printing and shipping logistics.

Pricing: 

• FREE
• Premium - USD 24.99/month
• Enterprise - Custom pricing

5. Adobe Photoshop

As its name suggests, Adobe Photoshop is primarily designed for photo editing, though it also excels in editing other graphics and creating digital paintings. It employs raster graphics, differentiating it from Adobe Illustrator's vector-based approach. Photoshop offers a full range of design tools, making it suitable for professional T-shirt design despite not having native templates.

Pricing: 7-day free trial

• Photography - US$19.99/month
• Photoshop - US$22.99/month
• Creative Cloud All Apps - US$35.99/mo

6. Adobe Illustrator

High-quality T-shirt creation is made easy with Adobe Illustrator, a top graphic design program known for its vector-based drawings that keep resolution at any size. Widely used among creative professionals, Illustrator offers a comprehensive range of graphic design tools. Despite its high cost, it remains a top choice for many designers.

Pricing: 7-day free trial

• Illustrator - US$22.99/month
• Creative Cloud All Apps - US$59.99/month

7. Inkscape

Inkscape is a free, open-source vector graphics editor that offers professional-quality tools similar to those in Adobe Illustrator. While it provides a range of features for creating vector-based designs, its complexity may make it unsuitable for beginners.

Pricing: FREE

8. InkXE – Use Across All Devices

InkXE is a versatile online tool for creating custom T-shirt designs. It is compatible with desktops, tablets, and smartphones, making it an excellent choice for users who need flexibility in their design work. Its user-friendly interface and diverse design elements cater to individual designers and businesses looking to offer custom apparel.

Pricing: One-Time Payment

• Essential - $2999.00
• Pro - $3999.00
• Enterprise - Reach out for a quote

9. Design Wizard

Design Wizard is an online tool known for its extensive template selection for T-shirt designs. It offers a user-friendly platform ideal for beginners and those seeking a straightforward design process. The tool simplifies creating T-shirt designs for personal or promotional purposes with easy customization options.

Pricing: One-Time Payment

• Basic - FREE
• Pro - $9.99/month

10. GraffixPro Studio

GraffixPro Studio is specialized software for custom T-shirt design focusing on heat transfer printing. It benefits garment decoration businesses and professionals in the custom apparel industry. The software is designed to handle various aspects of T-shirt design, including color separation and detailed customization, making it a valuable tool for high-quality garment designs.

Pricing

• Estimated around $900 for a lifetime license (availability limited to the US and Canada)

11. Gelato

Gelato is a platform that makes it easier for companies to create and distribute personalized T-shirts by connecting them with print providers worldwide. It manages the entire process, from design to printing and shipping. Gelato is ideal for online store owners and brands offering personalized T-shirts globally, ensuring high-quality prints and efficient global shipping.

Pricing: Free trial available

• Gelato+ - $14.99 per month
• Gelato+ Gold - $99 per month

12. Canva

Canva is an online graphic design tool that makes T-shirt design easier with its drag-and-drop tools and user-friendly layout. Because it offers a large selection of templates and design features, it's perfect for non-designers who must rapidly and effectively create T-shirts. Canva offers free and paid plans and can be accessed from any device with an internet connection.

Pricing: 

• Canva for Teams: $29.99 per month for up to 5 people
• Additional costs for more team members

13. Krita

For artists and illustrators, Krita is a free and open-source digital painting application perfect for designing T-shirts. It is well-regarded for its extensive collection of brushes and drawing tools. Krita offers professional-quality design tools at no cost, allowing workspace customization and precise drawing with graphic tablets.

Pricing: FREE

14. Snaptee – For Mobile

Using a smartphone software called Snaptee, users can design t-shirts. It offers a user-friendly interface, allowing users to create and order custom T-shirts conveniently. Snaptee provides various customization options, making on-the-go design and ordering practical.

Pricing: 

• A basic T-shirt costs around $20
• Shipping within the U.S. is $5

15. Figma

Figma is a versatile design tool for creating digital assets, including T-shirt designs. Figma's collaborative features, which let numerous users work on a single project, make it a popular tool for team-based creative work.

Pricing: 

• Starter Team - FREE
• Professional Team - $15/full seat/month
• Organization - $45/full seat/month
• Enterprise - $75/full seat/month
• Other - Explore more plans

16. Procreate

Procreate is a popular digital painting app, particularly favored by iPad users. While not exclusively designed for T-shirt design, it excels in creating intricate, artistic T-shirt designs due to its extensive brush selection and advanced drawing tools. Procreate is well-suited for artists looking for a cost-effective and powerful design tool.

Pricing: One-time purchase for the app (typically around $9.99)

17. Printful

Printful is a print-on-demand service that simplifies T-shirt design and customization for online store owners. It offers a range of T-shirt design templates and manages printing, branding, and shipping. Printful integrates seamlessly with e-commerce platforms, allowing businesses to offer a wide array of personalized T-shirts without holding inventory.

Pricing: Printful software begins at $9.99.

18. Design A Shirt

Design A Shirt is an online platform tailored to create personalized T-shirt designs. It makes creating personalized and promotional custom T-shirts simple by providing various tools and templates. Users can upload their images, choose from the platform’s options, and customize their designs.

Pricing: You may hire an expert design consultant for $25 for an hour's work or $5 for a day.

19. Affinity Designer

A strong substitute for Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer is a proficient vector graphics editor. It's particularly favored by T-shirt designers for its comprehensive suite of design tools and its one-time purchase pricing model, making it an attractive option for those who prefer to avoid recurring subscriptions.

Pricing: 

• Basic Plan: $49.99 for desktop users
• iPad Plan: $19.49 for iPad users

20. Design ’N’ Buy

Design ’N’ Buy is a web-to-print software tailored for businesses needing to create and manage custom T-shirt designs. It provides a platform for creating print-ready files, customizing products, and designing templates. This tool is ideal for print shops, online storefronts, and e-commerce businesses looking to offer custom T-shirts.

Pricing: Annual Subscription - $119 per year

21. Sketchbook

Autodesk Sketchbook is a versatile art app available for PCs and smartphones. It offers a broad range of drawing and painting tools and is ideal for artists looking to create T-shirt designs. Sketchbook supports work across different devices, making it suitable for artists who prefer flexibility in their design process.

Pricing: 

• Mobile Version: $1.99
• Free Version Available

22. Fatpaint

Fatpaint is an online graphic design software with a built-in T-shirt design tool. It provides a large assortment of design elements along with an easy-to-use interface. Being web-based, it eliminates compatibility issues and the need for software installation, making it a practical choice for designing custom T-shirts.

Pricing: Pro Subscription - $9

23. Customily

Customily is a powerful tool for product personalization. It allows users to design their own products, such as T-shirts and mugs, through a drag-and-drop interface. It offers an easy way for customers to add their text, images, and arrangements to products, with live previews to visualize their designs. The platform generates high-resolution files for businesses to manufacture, and it integrates seamlessly with major e-commerce platforms for streamlined customization.

Pricing: $49/month

24. Kittl

Kittl is a user-friendly platform for creating custom T-shirt designs online. It offers various tools and features suitable for all skill levels. Kittl provides thousands of editable templates, a vast library of over 3 million high-resolution images and fonts, and advanced features like AI-generated graphics and custom illustration tools. Users can design T-shirts directly on the platform, order prints through Kittl’s partners, or download files for local printing.

Pricing: 

• Free
• Pro - $15
• Expert - $30
• Business - Custom

How to Choose the Right T-shirt Design Software?

Selecting the right t-shirt design software is essential for creating standout designs and managing your business efficiently. Here’s what to consider:

• User-Friendliness: Choose user-friendly software, particularly if you need to become an expert in design. An intuitive UI will save you time and reduce your frustration.
• Design Features: Look for software that offers a wide range of design tools. Essential features include text options, shapes, and image manipulation. Advanced capabilities like layers and filters can also enhance your creative possibilities.
• Compatibility and Integration: Ensure the software integrates smoothly with your e-commerce platform and printing equipment. This compatibility is crucial for a seamless workflow from design to production.
• Scalability: Select software that can expand with your company. It ought to accommodate growing design volume and complexity without significantly raising expenses.
• Feedback and Recommendations: Gather insights from industry peers and current software users. Their experiences and reviews can provide valuable guidance in making your final choice.

How To Start A Profitable T-shirt Business - 5 Basic Steps

Starting a profitable t-shirt business involves careful planning, market research, and smart execution. Here’s a streamlined five-step guide to help you get started:

Step 1 - Conduct Market Research

To determine the best course for your t-shirt business, conduct market research. Find popular t-shirt-related subjects like "vintage band t-shirts" or "funny quote t-shirts" using resources like Google Trends. Trending t-shirt design ideas can also be found on social media sites like Pinterest and Instagram.

Analyze other t-shirt brands to understand the competition and identify market gaps you can fill with your unique designs. For example, if ‘funny quote t-shirts’ are trending but underrepresented in the market, this could be a lucrative opportunity for your business.

Read more: [+15] Best Product Research Tools Must-Have

Step 2 - Identify Your Target Market and Niche

Based on your research, narrow your niche and identify your target audience. Conduct polls on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to gauge potential demand and gather demographic information about your target market, such as age, style preferences, and buying habits. This data will benefit your marketing techniques and the designs you make to appeal to your target demographic.

Step 3 - Select a Print on Demand (POD) Service

Choose a POD service provider to handle the production, fulfillment, and shipping of your t-shirts. This cost-effective method allows you to avoid holding inventory and reduces upfront costs. Research various POD providers to ensure they offer high-quality products and a range of options, including different fabrics, styles, and sizes for men, women, and children. Test samples from your chosen provider to ensure they meet your standards.

Read more: 

• 25+ Best Selling Print On Demand Products
• [+15] Best Print-On-Demand Jewelry Suppliers
• 15+ Best Shopify Print-on-Demand (POD) Apps

Step 4 - Design Your T-Shirts

With your niche and target market in mind, start designing your t-shirts. Use design software to create digital mock-ups and experiment with different fonts, colors, and design placements. Keep your designs clean and uncluttered for maximum impact. We believe that you can easily create unique and satisfying t-shirt designs with the apps we've suggested above.

Once satisfied with your designs, order samples to ensure the quality and appearance meet your expectations. Then, share these samples with friends, family, or social media followers for feedback and validation.

Step 5 - Set Up and Market Your Online Store

Choose the right sales platform for your t-shirt business. Your options include a custom website, an e-commerce platform like Shopify or WooCommerce, an e-commerce marketplace like Etsy or Amazon, or a social media platform like Instagram or Pinterest.

Set up your online store with a catchy name and a memorable logo that reflects your brand. Creating a user-friendly website is easier than ever with tools like EComposer Page Builder or support services like The4 Services. If you opt for Shopify, you can use their $1/month starter package for new stores. Hurry, as this offer is limited!

Read more: How to Build a Website for Beginners

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is t-shirt design profitable?

Designing and selling custom t-shirts can be profitable if you have compelling designs, high-quality materials, and a robust business strategy. T-shirts are a popular item in e-commerce, with strong demand for personalized designs. To achieve profitability, it’s essential to have a well-thought-out business plan that helps you manage production, inventory, and shipping costs effectively.

2. Is Canva good for t-shirt design?

Canva is a great tool for t-shirt designs, especially if you’re working with original ideas, have basic editing needs, or create shirts for personal use. However, if you plan to sell your t-shirts, remember that you don’t own the copyrights for any graphics or logos from Canvas stock libraries. Canva’s licensing agreement also prohibits selling t-shirts with stock images as-is without making your original changes. You’ll need to pay a one-time licensing fee to remove the watermark from Canvas stock images.

3. Do I need to be a professional designer?

No, you don’t need to be a professional designer. Many t-shirt design software options are beginner-friendly and come with easy-to-use tools and templates that make the design process accessible for everyone.

Final Thoughts

Custom T-shirt design is not just about creating products; it's about expressing creativity, building a brand, and connecting with your audience personally. With the correct tools, you can improve your creative capacity, expedite the design process, and grow your business. So, explore these options and create great T-shirts that tell your brand's story. Happy designing!