How Free Business Cards Actually Work (Updated for 2026)

How Our Free Business Cards Program Works (Quick Overview)

Free business cards are available through two different paths. One option is completely free through our loyalty program. The second option allows people to skip tasks and pay only for shipping. This page explains how the free business cards program works, what is actually free, what changed recently, and how real offers compare to companies that only rank for “free business cards” without printing anything.

How It All Started

We launched our free business cards program back in 2011.

We were the only company in the United States actually offering a program that provided real, printed business cards for free. Not templates. Not paper samples. Real cards with your design, shipped to your door.

People thought we were crazy. "You're just gonna give them away? How does that make any money?"

We had a theory. If we let people try our printing for free, theyd see the quality. Theyd come back. Theyd tell their friends. And over time, that would build something bigger than any ad campaign could.

Turns out we were right.

13 Years and 8.8 Million Cards Later

Since 2011, we've given away over 8.8 million free business cards.

Thats not a typo. Eight million.

We've helped around 45,000 businesses get started: freelancers, small shops, side hustles, startups, people just trying to put themselves out there. For a long time, we were the single real free business cards offer in the entire country. Everyone else was either charging hidden fees or just giving you templates and calling it "free."

We built an online designer so people could make their cards from scratch. We added templates. We added the option to upload your own design. About 75% of people going through the free business cards ordering process use our designer; the other 25% bring their own files.

And we set up a loyalty program where you could earn coins by doing simple tasks. Collect enough coins, and the program provides access to 200 free business cards with free shipping. Completely free. $0 out of pocket.

That system worked great for years. We have almost 5,000 reviews. We've shipped over 40,000 packages. About 40% of people who use the free business cards program come back to buy other stuff: flyers, postcards, banners, whatever they need.

But then we started hearing something over and over again.

The Feedback We Kept Getting

"We love that you offer free business cards, but we dont have time to collect coins. Can we just pay for shipping and be done with it?"

We heard this dozens of times. Then hundreds. People wanted the free cards, but they didnt want to spend 10 minutes doing tasks. They just wanted to pay a few bucks and get their order.

Fair enough. We listened.

So we made a change.

What We Changed

Starting now, you have two ways to get free business cards from us:

View the Free Business Cards Product Page

No coins. No points. No games. You choose a design, we print it, and it gets shipped to you.

You get the same cards either way. Same quality. Same paper. We dont cheap out on the free ones — we run them through the same printers as our paid orders.

The loyalty program still exists if you want to go that route. But now you have a choice.

What About the Logo on the Back?

Yeah lets talk about this because people always ask us.

Our free cards do have a small 4OVER4 logo on the back. Its pretty subtle — not like a giant ad or anything. Most people dont even notice it.

But heres the thing: we're the only free business cards provider that lets you remove it.

We call it the "Clean Back Upgrade" — pay $3 and we take the logo off. Done. Three bucks and the back is completely blank, ready for your own design or just left clean. A simple, professional card with nothing on the back except what you put there.

Around 5,000 of our customers have done exactly that. They wanted free cards but wanted full control of both sides. We get it. Thats why we offer it.

The Other Companies That Actually Give Free Cards

Were not the only ones anymore. A couple other companies have started offering free business cards too. Heres how they stack up:

Tank Prints

They give you 100 cards — half what we offer. No online designer, so you need to bring your own design or figure out Canva. Their logo is stuck on the back permanently — you cant remove it no matter what. Shipping runs around $9.99.

InoPrints

Same deal — 100 cards, their logo permanently on the back, no way to remove it. No design tools. And heres the kicker: shipping is about $20. Twenty damn dollars. For 100 cards.

Both of these are real offers. They exist. But when you compare them to what we offer...

	4OVER4 (Us) ⭐	Tank Prints	InoPrints
How many cards	200	100	100
Started giving free cards	2011	Later	Later
Customer reviews	~5,000	Way fewer	Way fewer
Logo on back	Removable $3 Clean Back Upgrade	Permanent Stuck forever	Permanent Stuck forever
Logo removal cost	$3	Not available	Not available
Shipping cost	Free (with coins) or $5.99	~$9.99	~$20
Online designer	Full featured	None Bring your own	None Canva only
Total cards given away	~8.8 million	Unknown	Unknown

We started this. We've been doing it longer. We give you more cards. We have better tools. We let you remove the logo. And our shipping is cheaper.

Theres a reason we're still the number one in this space.

The Fake "Free Business Cards" Flooding Google

Now heres the frustrating part.

If you search "free business cards" on Google, you'll see a lot of companies ranking for that keyword. But most of them arent actually giving you free business cards. Theyre just gaming the SEO.

Heres what theyre actually offering:

So when youre searching for free business cards, youre wading through a bunch of companies that are just trying to get you on their site. They show up for "free business cards" but then try to sell you something else.

The only companies that actually give you real, printed, shipped-to-your-door free business cards are us, Tank Prints, and InoPrints. Thats it. Three companies in the entire country.

And out of those three, we've been doing it the longest, we give you the most cards, and we're the only ones who let you remove the logo.

How to Choose the Right Free Business Cards Provider

If youre looking for free business cards, not all offers are the same. Heres what to look for before you order:

Check how many cards you actually get — Some places give you 100, we give you 200. Double the cards for networking, double the value.

Make sure they have an online designer — If you dont have your own design ready, you need a way to create one. We have a full designer built in. Tank Prints and InoPrints dont — you gotta figure out Canva yourself.

Look at the shipping cost — "Free business cards" isnt really free if shipping is $15. We offer free shipping with our loyalty program, or $5.99 if you just want to pay and skip the tasks. InoPrints charges $15. Tank Prints around $7-8.

Can you remove their logo? — Most free card providers stick their logo on the back permanently. We're the only ones who let you remove it ($3 Clean Back Upgrade). If having a clean card matters to you, this is a big deal.

Check the reviews — We have almost 5,000 reviews. We've been doing this since 2011. Look for providers with a track record, not random sites that just popped up.

Watch out for bait and switch — If a company ranks for "free business cards" but only offers templates or paper samples, thats not free business cards. Thats SEO spam. We actually print and ship cards to you.

Quick Tips for Designing Your Card (So It Doesnt End Up in the Trash)

Random stat for you: 88% of business cards get thrown away within a week.

Thats... a lot. So once you get your free cards, heres how to make sure people actually keep them:

Keep it simple — Name, what you do, how to reach you. Maybe your logo. Thats it. Nobody needs your company mission statement crammed onto a tiny card.

Make one thing pop — Bold color. Weird texture. A line that sticks in their head. Give them a reason to hold onto it.

Use the back — Lot of people leave the back blank. Dont. Put a QR code there, or a short list of what you do, or just a cool design. (And if you got the $3 Clean Back Upgrade from us, you have full control of that space.)

Go thicker if you can — 86% of people think thicker cards look more professional. Small thing but it matters.

Common Questions We Get

Here's the Bottom Line

We started giving away free business cards in 2011 when nobody else was doing it.

13 years later, we've given away over 8.8 million cards. We've helped ~45,000 businesses. We've built a designer that 75% of our customers use. We have almost 5,000 reviews.

And now, because you asked for it, we've made it even easier. You can still earn coins and get everything completely free. Or you can just pay $5.99 for shipping and skip all that.

200 cards. Real quality. Your design. Small logo on back (or pay us $3 and its gone).