Short answer: real shop management software runs from roughly $50 to $400+ per month, and the sticker price is the least interesting part. The pricing structure — per-seat vs. flat, quote caps, one-time license fees — determines what you'll actually pay a year from now, after you've hired someone or had a busy season. Here's the category as of September 2026; treat every number as "published pricing, verify on their site," because vendors change plans.
The pricing structures you'll run into
- Flat monthly. One price, every feature, any usage. InkTracker is $99/month flat with unlimited quotes and users on one plan. Predictable by design.
- Per-seat tiers. Printavo's published plans are tiered per user — entry tiers around $50–$110/month with monthly quote caps, mid tiers in the low-to-mid $200s for around five users. Fine at two people; do the math at eight.
- Platform + license. DecoNetwork publishes plans roughly $199–$399/month, plus a one-time license fee. You're buying an e-commerce platform, not just shop software, and the price reflects it.
- Budget tools. Teesom and similar start very cheap or free-with-limits. What you give up is usually automation and integrations, not correctness.
The costs that don't show up on the pricing page
- Setup and configuration time. Board-builder systems can take days-to-weeks of workflow design before they run your shop. Opinionated systems trade flexibility for a working day one. Your time is the largest unbilled line item in the purchase.
- Quote caps. A cap that fits January can bite in September. If a plan meters quotes, price the tier you'd need in your busiest month, not your slowest.
- Payment processing. Everyone routes card payments through a processor (typically ~3%). That's a cost of taking cards, not of the software — but check whether the tool adds its own platform fee on top.
- The margin you can't see. The most expensive software is the one that lets you quote off last year's blank costs. One mispriced 100-piece job can eat a month's subscription. Live supplier pricing is a feature that pays for the tool.
What a small shop should actually budget
For a one-to-ten-person shop: $99–$250/month covers the serious options, and the decision is mostly structure. Flat pricing (InkTracker, $99 all-in) stays constant as you add people; per-seat tiers start cheaper and climb as you grow; store-platform pricing (DecoNetwork) is worth it exactly when online stores are revenue, and not before. Run your real numbers through a free trial before believing anyone's pricing page — including ours.
Common questions
- How much does InkTracker cost?
- One plan: $99/month, every feature included — quoting with live supplier pricing, art approval and payment links, production tracking, shop-floor mode, QuickBooks two-way sync, and broker pricing. The trial is free with no card required.
- How much does Printavo cost per month?
- Printavo publishes per-user tiered plans — entry tiers around $50–$110/month with monthly quote caps, and mid tiers in the low-to-mid $200s for about five users, as of September 2026. Check printavo.com for current plans.
- How much does DecoNetwork cost?
- DecoNetwork publishes plans from roughly $199 to $399 per month plus a one-time license fee, as of September 2026. It bundles a full online-store platform with shop management. Check deconetwork.com for current plans.
- Is free screen printing software worth it?
- For a brand-new one-person shop, free or very cheap tools (or a spreadsheet) can be fine while volume is low. The switch usually pays for itself the first time stale garment pricing or a forgotten follow-up costs you a job — for most shops that's around the point quoting becomes a daily task.