Products, prices and production locations checked on each supplier's own website on 11 November 2026.
For most sellers, Printful is the safest place to start with print-on-demand hats: it embroiders or prints 59 hats for US buyers and makes them in the US, Canada, the UK, the EU or Japan, depending on the hat. Pick Printify if you want to compare several print providers for the same cap, Gelato or Inkthreadable if most of your buyers are in Europe or the UK, and CustomCat for leather patch hats.
Who this is for. Etsy and Shopify sellers, creators and brand owners who want to sell caps, trucker hats or beanies without holding stock. With print on demand, the supplier makes and ships each hat when a customer orders it. We compared hat suppliers by hat range, decoration (embroidery, print or patch), base price for a named hat, where the hats are made and how long production takes. Every supplier name links to its profile in our directory. To see every hat supplier we list, search the directory for hats.
| Use case | Best pick | Why it stands out | Main downside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best all-rounder for embroidered hats | Printful | 59 hats for US buyers in eight styles, embroidery or DTF print, and production in five regions | A one-time US$6.50 digitizing fee for each new embroidery design, waived on orders of 25 or more items |
| Most hats and providers | Printify | 276 hats, some with several print providers (three for the classic dad cap), so you can compare price and location for the same cap | Price, speed and quality depend on the provider you pick |
| Buyers in Europe | Gelato | Embroidery on most of its hat styles with no minimum order; its Beechfield B610 snapback is made in the UK, Italy and Sweden | Where a hat is made depends on the model: its Yupoong 6245CM dad cap is made only in the US |
| Hats made in the UK | Inkthreadable | Caps, beanies and bucket hats made and packed in the UK, with embroidery in up to 6 colors on caps and beanies | A one-time set-up fee applies to each new embroidery design |
| Leather patch hats | CustomCat | Printed vegan leather patches in six shapes and sizes, made in Detroit and fulfilled in 1 to 3 business days | We saw no embroidery on its hat pages |
| Private label and mixed decoration | Apliiq | Embroidery, printed transfers and sewn-on patches on 266 hats, made in Los Angeles | Seller prices appear only after you connect a store; most orders take about a week |
| Fast embroidery turnaround | Dreamship | Production in 1 to 3 business days, the shortest time stated by the embroidery suppliers we checked | Only three hats to choose from |
| White-label shipping from the US | Printed Mint | Embroidered caps and trucker hats made in the USA and shipped under your brand | Extra fees can apply to designs over 15,000 stitches |
Tip Start with the use case that matches your store. For hats, decoration and where the hat is made usually matter more to your buyers than a small difference in base price.
Best for different seller types
Testing hats on Etsy for the first time. Start with Printful or Printify. Both carry the classic Yupoong 6245CM dad hat and the Richardson 112 trucker cap. For the same embroidered 6245CM dad hat, Printful charged US$14.94 and Printify US$21.36 (US$15.79 with Printify Premium). Printful has no order minimums and lets store owners place one sample order a month, up to three items, at 20% off.
Building a brand on Shopify. Apliiq lets you mix embroidery, prints and patches and offers private-label options. Printed Mint makes embroidered hats in the USA and ships them without its own branding.
Selling mainly in Europe or the UK. Gelato makes its Beechfield B610 snapback in the UK, Italy and Sweden, and Inkthreadable makes and packs everything in the UK. Printful also stocks its classic dad hat in Latvia, Spain and the UK. Check the production country of each hat before you list it, because one supplier can make different hats in different countries.
Selling patch hats. CustomCat puts printed vegan leather patches on knit caps, trucker snapbacks and twill caps, in circle, rectangle and oval shapes. Apliiq can sew embroidered patches onto hats.
Hat supplier comparison
| Supplier | Hats | Decoration | Example base price | Made in | Production time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printful | 59 for US delivery: dad hats, snapbacks, trucker, 5-panel, mesh and bucket hats, beanies, visors | Embroidery, DTF print, all-over print on one beanie and one bucket hat | US$14.94, Yupoong 6245CM dad hat with one embroidery placement | US, Canada, UK, EU (Latvia, Spain), Japan, depending on the hat | 2 to 5 business days |
| Printify | 276 | Embroidery or DTF, depending on product and provider | US$21.36, Yupoong 6245CM embroidered (US$15.79 with Printify Premium) | Depends on the provider: US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, China | Depends on the provider (3.7 days on average at Fulfill Engine for the 6245CM) |
| Gelato | Dad caps, snapbacks, trucker hats, knit beanies, bucket hats | Embroidery on most styles, printing on some | €11.67 excl. VAT, Beechfield B610 snapback (€9.34 with Gelato+) | B610: UK, Italy, Sweden. Yupoong 6245CM: US | Not stated; delivery to Germany 4 to 5 business days for the B610 |
| CustomCat | 13 hats and visors | Printed vegan leather patch on the hat pages we checked | US$13.22, Pacific Headwear 104C trucker snapback (US$10.58 on CC Pro) | Detroit, Michigan, US | 1 to 3 business days |
| Apliiq | 266 | Embroidery, DTF transfer, sewn-on embroidered patches | US$12.27 for the blank Richardson 112 with a connected store, decoration extra | Los Angeles, US | About a week for most orders |
| Dreamship | 3 embroidered caps | Embroidery, 15 thread colors | US$23.89, washed baseball cap (US$19.09 with Dreamship Plus) | Not stated on its hat pages | 1 to 3 business days |
| Printed Mint | Embroidered 5-panel caps and trucker hats | Embroidery | US$15.50, Otto 39-165 foam trucker (as low as US$12.40) | USA | Ships in 2 to 4+ business days |
| Inkthreadable | 29 caps, 9 beanies, bucket and children's hats | Embroidery in up to 6 colors | £7.50 incl. VAT, Beechfield cuffed beanie; £13.24 Beechfield snapback trucker | UK | 3 to 5 working days |
| Gooten | 8, four of them out of stock when we checked | DTF on three Richardson caps, embroidery on beanies | Not shown without an account | Not stated on its hat pages | Not stated |
Tip Prices change with color, size, decoration, plan and destination. Use them to compare suppliers, then check the exact hat before you set your retail price.
Embroidery, print or patch?
Embroidery stitches your design into the hat with thread. Eight of the nine suppliers in our table offer it, and it suits logos and short text. Thread colors are limited: Printful offers 15 colors with up to 6 in one design, Dreamship 15 colors, and Inkthreadable up to 6 colors per design. The stitched area is small, from 2 × 1 inches to 6.3 × 2.56 inches at Printful, depending on the hat and placement. Printify advises keeping embroidered designs simple and text-based, with no more than 3 colors.
DTF print (direct-to-film) prints your design on a film that is then heat-pressed onto the hat. Choose it when your design has more colors or finer detail than embroidery allows. Printful, Printify, Apliiq and Gooten offer it on hats.
Patches are a third option. CustomCat prints your design on a vegan leather patch in one of six shapes and sizes, and Apliiq sews embroidered patches onto hats.
Costs beyond the base price
Digitizing and set-up fees. Embroidery needs your design turned into a stitch file first, and most suppliers charge for that once per design. Printful charges US$6.50 and waives it on orders of 25 or more items. Gelato charges from €3.70. Inkthreadable charges a one-time set-up fee, and the first order with a new design may take a few extra days. Printed Mint may add fees for designs over 15,000 stitches.
Extra decoration. Printful's price includes one embroidery placement. Its unlimited-color option adds US$3.50.
Monthly plans. Several suppliers sell lower base prices for a monthly fee. CustomCat Pro costs US$30 a month for 20 to 40% off listed prices; on the 104C trucker snapback it saves US$2.64 per hat, so it pays off from about 12 hats a month. Gelato+ starts at US$19.99 a month, billed annually. Printify Premium and Dreamship Plus also lower base prices.
Shipping. Shipping is extra everywhere. Examples: Printful's dad hat ships to the US from US$4.69, Dreamship's US economy shipping costs US$8.99, and Gelato ships the B610 to Germany from €3.99.
Other hat suppliers to know
Hoplix embroiders caps on the front and sides in Italy, with no minimum order. Prices are by quote, including any set-up cost.
Printbelle lists 27 printed hats from US$6.70 (a leather mesh-back trucker cap printed on one side). The hats in its main catalog are made in China, and a few versions, such as a washed denim cap from US$9.50, are printed in the USA. The hat pages we checked offered printing, with no embroidery.
What to read next
Selling hoodies too? Read Best Print on Demand for Hoodies.
Still deciding between the big POD platforms? Read Printful vs Printify vs Gelato.
Selling mainly on Etsy? Read Best POD Providers for Etsy Sellers.
How we checked
We started from the hat suppliers in our directory and checked each supplier's own website on 11 November 2026 for its hat range, decoration methods, the base price of a named hat, where its hats are made and how long production takes. Prices are what a seller pays before shipping and tax, in the currency the supplier shows. Where a supplier's site does not state a value, the table says so. Prices change often, so check the product page before you set your retail prices.
FAQ
What is the best print-on-demand company for hats? It depends on your buyers and your design. Printful is the safest all-rounder for embroidered hats, Printify offers the most hats and providers, Gelato and Inkthreadable suit buyers in Europe and the UK, CustomCat suits leather patch hats, and Apliiq suits private-label brands.
Can I sell embroidered hats with no minimum order? Yes. Printful, Gelato, Apliiq, Printed Mint, Inkthreadable and Hoplix all state that they have no minimum order. Plan for a one-time digitizing or set-up fee for each new embroidery design.
Should I choose embroidery or DTF print for hats? Choose embroidery for logos and short text in a few colors. Choose DTF print for designs with many colors or fine detail that thread cannot reproduce.
How much does a print-on-demand hat cost? Most hats we priced in US dollars cost a seller US$10 to US$25 on the suppliers' free plans, before shipping. The cheapest were Printbelle's printed hats from US$6.70, and the most expensive was Dreamship's embroidered flat-brim snapback at US$29.29.
How long do print-on-demand hats take? Most suppliers that state a production time make hats in 1 to 5 business days, and Apliiq says most of its orders take about a week. Shipping comes on top. Printful gives an average shipping time of 5 business days, and Dreamship's US economy shipping averages 5 business days.
Which hat suppliers work with Etsy and Shopify? Printful, Printify, Gelato, CustomCat, Apliiq, Dreamship, Printed Mint and Inkthreadable all connect to both. Printful, Printify and Dreamship also list Amazon, Gelato lists it as a closed beta for selected merchants, and all of them except Apliiq list TikTok Shop.
Can buyers machine-wash embroidered hats? Printful says its embroidered hats can't be machine-washed. Add care instructions to your listings so buyers know.