Embroidery Pricing Calculator
Use this when you need the cost of one embroidered item and a selling price. Build from stitches, the blank, thread, stabilizer, labor and a share of digitizing. If you only want stitch-rate math, use the stitch calculator.
Display only — amounts are not converted between currencies.
Stitches and garment
Recommended selling price
$71.77
- Cost per item
- $34.81
- Recommended selling price
- $71.77
- Profit
- $32.29
- Profit margin
- 45.0%
- Price per 1,000 stitches (quote rate)
- $1.25
- Effective price per 1,000 stitches
- $5.98
- Effective price per stitch
- $0.01
Cost breakdown
| Stitch run cost | $15.00 |
|---|---|
| Materials and digitizing share | $12.35 |
| Labor cost | $5.40 |
| Waste | $1.31 |
| Packaging | $0.75 |
| Platform fees | $4.67 |
Printed · Craft Pricing Tools · CraftPricingTools.com
Recommended selling price
$71.77
When to use this calculator
Use this when you need production cost per item and a selling price. Stitch cost uses stitch count and your price per 1,000 stitches. Digitizing is divided by items in the job.
Garment, thread, stabilizer, machine, labor, waste, packaging and fees complete the quote. Cost per item is the floor before you advertise a sale price. If you only want stitch-rate math, use the stitch calculator.
How this calculator works
How we calculate this
- Stitch cost = (stitches / 1,000) × price per 1,000
- Digitizing each = digitizing fee / items in the job
- Total cost = stitches + garment + thread + stabilizer + machine + digitizing each + labor + waste + packaging
- Recommended price uses target margin after fees.
- Effective per 1,000 = selling price / (stitches / 1,000). Effective per stitch = price / stitches.
Example
Example: a 12,000-stitch left-chest logo
12,000 stitches at $1.25/1k, $8.50 blank, $0.35 thread, $0.40 stabilizer, 18 minutes at $18/hr, $25 digitizing across 10 shirts, $0.60 machine, $0.75 packaging, 4% waste, 45% margin, 6.5% fees.
- Stitch line is $15.00 — not the whole cost.
- Digitizing is $2.50 per shirt on a 10-piece job — $25 if it were a single shirt.
- Effective price per 1,000 stitches after the full quote will differ from $1.25.
- Cost per 1,000 stitches helps compare jobs of different sizes.
How much should I charge?
Quote the recommended price per item. Do not sell at cost unless it is a sample you chose to fund. For one-offs, set items in the job to 1 so digitizing is not hidden.
Pricing tips
- Raise the stitch rate on 3D puff, metallic thread or caps if they slow you down.
- Count hoop changes as labor.
- Check effective per 1,000 after the quote — that is what you really earned.
- Copy the cost lines when bidding a wholesale embroidery run.
- If cost exceeds what a customer will pay, change the stitch count or the blank.
Common mistakes
- Using a stitch rate copied from a Facebook group without blanks or labor.
- Calling stitch cost the whole cost.
- Giving away digitizing on a one-piece order.
- Ignoring stabilizer on performance fabric.
- Forgetting the blank on customer-supplied garments — you still have labor and backing.
FAQ
How do I price embroidery by stitch count?
Charge (stitches / 1,000) × your stitch rate, then add the garment, backing, thread, labor and a share of digitizing. This calculator does that and then applies margin after fees.
How do I calculate embroidery cost?
Add stitch production, garment, thread, stabilizer, machine, digitizing share, labor, waste and packaging. That total is cost, not price — this page shows both.
What is a typical price per 1,000 stitches?
Shops vary widely by region, garment and complexity. Treat any “typical” number as a starting input, then confirm with your full cost and effective rate.
Related calculators
- Embroidery Cost Per Stitch Calculator — Convert stitch count into stitch cost, cost per 1,000 stitches and effective price per stitch.
- T-Shirt Pricing Calculator — Calculate what to charge for a custom t-shirt including the blank, graphic and labor.