For small budgets
The best promotional items for a small business, ranked.
Tote bags, T-shirts and pens, for most small businesses. People use them, they cost a few dollars each, and bags and pens get seen for a tenth of a cent per view, the lowest of any item in ASI’s 2026 survey.
And there’s the ad space you already own: your laptop lid. Generate a skin for it with AI.
Art-ificial
art-ificial.tech
Art-ificial, ad 1 of 8
The ranking
The top 10. Plus two to skip. Tap one.
We weighed cost per view, how much people want the item, and whether it gets seen outside the house. The numbers are ASI’s; the order is our call. Buying for your own team? See company swag ideas.
01 · Tote bags
0.1¢
per view, the cheapest in the survey
The top 10 · best first
0.1¢ per view, the cheapest in the survey
92% of people use a promotional bag at least monthly. It goes to the farmers market with your name on it.- Give them to regulars and staff rather than strangers, and pay for a soft one.
- Keep a cup of them by the register.
- Worn weekly by 60% of the people who get one. Strong for trades and anyone whose customers work outdoors.
- Too pricey for a giveaway bowl; right for your best customers and your own crew.
- It sits on a desk at work all day.
- Hand them out the week the rain starts.
- For clients, nothing in the survey beats it. Cookies at the holidays still work.
- A good thank-you for clients who travel or work on site.
- A skin with your name and a QR code goes wherever you work. You can generate the design with AI.
Usually skip
People don’t want them much either: 27% would be excited to get one.- But 51% keep one for the phone number, so if you’re a plumber or a locksmith, ignore us.
Try it
What your budget buys. At ASI’s average prices.
Each price is ASI’s cost per view times its lifetime views, so it’s an average, not a quote. Real prices move with quantity and supplier.
$500 buys about 263 pens or 13 fleece jackets. The pens reach more people; each jacket gets seen far more.
- 01Bags $4.90102 · 500k
- 02Pens and pencils $1.90263 · 500k
- 03Buttons, lanyards and stickers $1.50333 · 200k
- 04Kitchen and household tools $4.00125 · 150k
- 05Caps and hats $1337 · 148k
- 06T-shirts $1242 · 147k
- 07Fleece and jackets $3613 · 117k
- 08Umbrellas $1631 · 71k
- 09Power banks $1339 · 70k
- 10Polos $2024 · 70k
- 11Calendars $5.5090 · 50k
- 12Drinkware $1338 · 49k
- 13Desk accessories $1241 · 49k
Items with only a “less than” cost or two different view counts in the report are left out. Source: ASI Global Advertising Impressions Study, 2026/2027 edition, U.S. findings. Why we think a laptop lid belongs on this list: laptop advertising.
FAQ
Promotional item questions.
What are the best promotional items?
For most small businesses: tote bags, T-shirts and pens. In ASI’s 2026 survey, bags and pens cost a tenth of a cent per view, the lowest of any item, and T-shirts are what people most want to get.
What promotional products are most effective?
It depends on the job. For being seen: fleece jackets (9,000 lifetime views), bags (4,900) and caps (4,000). For winning business: food gifts, which make 92% of people more likely to buy from the giver, ahead of blankets at 87%.
How much should a small business spend on promo items?
There’s no standard figure. Spend for one event or one month of customers first: 200 pens cost about $380 at ASI’s average prices, and 100 tote bags about $490. Put a QR code or promo code on them, and see what comes back before you order more.
What should your laptop advertise?
Free to start. You pay when you order a skin or want more than 15 AI designs.
More for business owners: laptop ads for business.