Table of Contents
Short version: Printful is the strongest all-rounder, because it runs more decoration methods than anything else here and it actually publishes its prices. Printify gives you the widest choice of blanks. Apliiq is the one if your own branding matters more than catalog size. Gelato suits you when buyers are spread across countries, and Contrado when you want something closer to a made garment.
Now the part most lists skip. The decision that matters is not price. It’s how your design gets onto the hat. Stitched thread, printed film and dyed fabric are three separate processes, and not every supplier runs all three. Sort that out first and the shortlist gets very short very fast.
All five will make you a single hat, by the way. You don’t need a store to use any of them.
How we picked these five
Six things: how many styles each one carries, which decoration methods they support, whether there’s a minimum, where they produce, which platforms they connect to, and how openly they publish costs.
That last one matters more than it sounds. A supplier who hides pricing until you’ve built a product makes comparison shopping painful. Prices below were checked in September 2026.
Side by side
| Supplier | Best for | Decoration | Minimum | Produces in |
| Printful | Range and published pricing | Embroidery, unlimited colour, DTF, sublimation | None | International fulfillment centers |
| Printify | Widest choice of blanks | Embroidery, DTF, sublimation | None | Provider network |
| Apliiq | Own-brand labelling | Embroidery, patches, appliqué | None | Los Angeles |
| Gelato | Buyers in many countries | Embroidery, print | None | Many countries |
| Contrado | Premium cut-and-sew | Sublimation | None | UK |
Breadth costs a little more per unit. Specialists are cheaper in their lane and no use outside it.
Work this out before you order
Start with your artwork
Regular embroidery stitches thread into fabric. It looks sharp, lasts years, and suits logos and short text. It cannot do gradients or photographs, because you’re limited to a small set of thread colours.
Unlimited colour embroidery lifts that ceiling for busier logos, though it runs on fewer models and costs more.
Printing, including DTF, is what handles detailed or photographic artwork. It only works on hats built for printing rather than stitching.
Sublimation dyes the fabric itself, so coverage runs edge to edge with nothing to crack or peel. Polyester cut-and-sew styles only, which is why sublimated bucket hats are everywhere and sublimated structured caps basically don’t exist.
A supplier who can’t run your method isn’t cheaper. They’re just not an option.
Crown shape changes how your design sits
Structured caps hold their shape, unstructured ones don’t. On a six-panel cap there’s a seam up the middle of the front, and a wide logo crossing it can pull or distort. Five-panel styles give you a flat front instead.
This catches people out constantly and no mockup warns you.
Where they print decides what you really pay
A cheap hat shipped from another continent isn’t cheap once you add shipping, customs and the wait. If your buyers sit in one country, print in that country.
Minimums and bulk pricing aren’t opposites
Every supplier here makes one hat. Most also drop the unit price at volume. You don’t have to pick a side.
The five suppliers
1. Printful
Printful makes every hat to order, with a wide range of styles covering trucker hats, bucket hats, snapbacks, dad hats, beanies, baseball caps and visors, built on blanks from Richardson, Yupoong, Otto Cap and Flexfit.
It’s the only one here running all four decoration methods, so a stitched company logo and a full-colour printed design can come from the same account.
Ordering is straightforward. With Printful, you open the catalog, pick a hat, upload your logo or artwork in the free design tool, and order. No minimum, so one hat for yourself is fine, and bulk pricing starts at 25 units.
Pros: all four decoration methods in one place, wide style range, recognised blank brands, free design tool, no minimum, volume discounts from 25 units, live price quote for every style.
Cons: turnaround isn’t stated on the hat page itself, and it sits at the pricier end of the market.
Pricing: every style carries live pricing and a quote before you order, and orders of 25 or more hats cost up to 55% less. Printful ships worldwide.
Best for: one supplier covering stitched and printed work across a wide range.
Not for you if: you’re chasing the absolute lowest base cost.
2. Printify
Printify prints nothing itself. It routes your order to one of many independent print providers, and you choose which one. The same design can land at different prices and lead times depending on who you pick.
The catalog is the widest here by some distance, including printed caps and leather-patch styles alongside standard embroidery.
Pros: biggest choice of blanks, compare providers on price and location, no minimum, free design tool, connects to most platforms.
Cons: quality varies between providers, and base costs aren’t shown in the catalog, so you find out what a hat costs by building it rather than comparing upfront.
Pricing: free to use with paid tiers. Costs depend entirely on the provider you select.
Best for: sellers happy to test providers to find the right cost and quality mix.
Not for you if: you want to compare prices quickly.
3. Apliiq
Apliiq works out of Los Angeles and focuses on customisation past a printed logo. Alongside embroidery it does patches, appliqué and woven labels, which is why clothing labels use it more than merch sellers do. If you’re selling wholesale to other retailers as well as direct to customers, that own-brand finish carries more weight, because the hat ends up on someone else’s shelf with your label in it.
It’ll also store your own pack-ins and include them with orders, so the parcel looks like yours.
Pros: strong private-label options, patches and appliqué as well as embroidery, US production, warehouses your inserts, discounts start at low quantities, free US shipping over $100.
Cons: smaller catalog than the platforms, longer processing, and hats are embroidery only.
Pricing: free to use, pay per order. A one-off setup charge applies to each new embroidery design.
Best for: brands who want the hat carrying their identity rather than a supplier’s.
Not for you if: you need printed artwork or a wide style choice.
4. Gelato
Gelato spreads production across facilities in a lot of countries and sends each order to whichever sits closest to the buyer. If your customers are scattered, that shortens delivery and trims the shipping bill.
The headwear range is narrower than the platforms, so check what’s available in your markets before planning around it.
Pros: production in many countries, shorter delivery distances, lower cross-border costs, no minimum, connects to major platforms.
Cons: hat availability differs by country, and the headwear range is limited.
Pricing: free tier plus paid plans. Product and shipping costs vary by production country.
Best for: sellers with buyers across several continents.
Not for you if: you need one specific style available everywhere.
5. Contrado
Contrado builds hats rather than decorating existing ones. Everything is cut and sewn in the UK from sublimated fabric, which opens up things the others can’t do, like reversible designs with different artwork on each side, plus fabric choices including denim, canvas and waterproof oilcloth.
It feels like a made garment. The price says so too.
Pros: cut-and-sew rather than decorated blanks, reversible designs, several fabrics, UK production, custom inside labels, no minimum.
Cons: comfortably the most expensive option here, sublimation only, and limited store integrations.
Pricing: free to use, pay per order, with unit costs well above the rest of this list.
Best for: premium pieces in small numbers where the product sells itself.
Not for you if: you’re reselling and need margin.
Which one is right for you
Buying one hat for yourself, a team, or an event? Any of them will do it. Choose a decoration method and where they print.
Building a line? Start with Printful for range and clear pricing, or Printify if you want to shop providers.
Want the hat to carry your own branding? Apliiq.
Selling across countries? Gelato.
Making something premium in small numbers? Contrado.
One last thing people skip. Order a sample before you list anything. Hat sizing, crown shape, and where embroidery actually lands vary far more between suppliers than flat apparel does, and no mockup shows you how a design behaves on a curved panel.
Frequently asked questions
Can you order without a minimum?
Yes. All five here make a single item. Minimums have largely disappeared from print-on-demand, which is why it works just as well for a one-off gift as for a store.
Is embroidery or printing better?
Depends on your artwork. Embroidery suits logos and short text and wears better over time. Printing handles photographs, gradients and fine detail that thread can’t reproduce.
How do you put a logo on a hat?
Upload your logo to the supplier’s design tool, position it, choose your decoration method and order. Most tools take standard image files and show a preview first.
How long does production take?
Usually a few business days, plus shipping. Overseas production adds more. If you’re working to a deadline, confirm the window with the supplier rather than trusting a published estimate.