💰 Embroidery Project Cost Calculator

Enter your materials cost (fabric, stabilizer, thread) and your time at your hourly rate to see the total project cost.

Materials cost ($)

Labor time (hours)

Hourly rate ($)

Materials plus the hours it really takes

Two lines and a sum, with labour worked out from your own rate:

labour = hours × hourly rate
total  = materials + labour
$12 + (1.5 × $18) = $12 + $27 = $39

Labour is 69 % of that $39, which is the shape of almost every embroidery job. On a left-chest logo the blank garment and the backing are pennies against the time spent hooping, trimming jump stitches and picking backing off the reverse. Machine run time is only part of the hours: an 8,000-stitch logo stitches in about 12 minutes but occupies half an hour of you.

What to put in each box

Materials means everything consumed. The blank garment, the stabiliser sheet, top thread, bobbin thread and the needle's share of its life. Thread is genuinely cheap — a few cents per thousand stitches — so the garment usually decides the figure.
Spread the digitising fee. Paying $25 to have a logo digitised is a one-off, not a per-shirt cost. Across an order of twelve that is $2.08 each; add it to materials on the first run or to every piece, but decide which.
Count hooping and finishing. Hooping, aligning, changing colours, trimming and pressing are the hours that separate a $39 job from a $20 one.

Commercial shops price the stitching per thousand stitches, typically $0.50 to $1.00 with a minimum charge, plus the garment. The $39 above on an 8,000-stitch logo is $4.88 per thousand — the true cost of a one-off, and why a run of twenty is so much cheaper per piece.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I charge for embroidery?

Most shops quote $0.50–$1.00 per thousand stitches with a minimum of about $8–12 per item, then add the garment at cost plus a margin. For one-off custom work, price from your total here instead.

Should I charge a digitizing fee?

Yes, as a separate one-off of roughly $15–40 depending on the logo. Some shops waive it above a set order size, since the file is reused free on every later run.

What does an embroidered polo cost to make?

Around $12–16 of materials for a mid-range blank plus backing and thread, and 30–45 minutes of handling, so $22–30 all in at $18 an hour.