How much does it cost to make a t-shirt for your own brand?
It costs whatever your manufacturer's quote adds up to, and the adding up is where new brands go wrong: they compare the factory's price per shirt with the shelf price and forget the setup, freight, sales tax and card fees in between. Here is the whole sum for one example, line by line.
Every price below is a placeholder from the studio's example supplier sheet, round numbers chosen to show the arithmetic. They are not a quote from anyone and not a market price. Put your own manufacturer's numbers into the studio and it does the same sum with them.
The example
100 black heavyweight cotton tees (260 gsm), a sunburst halo on the front in raised high-density ink (one colour), and "AVE MARIA" on the back in a one-colour screen print. Sold at €45 including 20% VAT, card fees of 3% plus €0.30 an order, €500 to launch it, and 10 of the 100 expected not to sell at full price.
Cost of one shirt, landed at your door
| Line | How it is worked out | € |
|---|---|---|
| Fabric | €8 a metre x 1.2 m a shirt + 8% cutting waste | 10.37 |
| Cut and sew | per shirt | 4.00 |
| Front: high-density print | €2.20 a piece + €35 setup / 100 | 2.55 |
| Back: screen print | €1.20 a piece + €25 setup / 100 | 1.45 |
| Labels and trims | per shirt | 0.80 |
| Packaging | per shirt | 0.60 |
| Freight to you | per shirt | 1.50 |
| Landed cost | 21.27 |
What is left from a €45 sale
| Price including VAT | 45.00 |
| Less 20% VAT (45 / 1.20) | 37.50 |
| Less card fees (3% of 45 + 0.30) | −1.65 |
| Less landed cost | −21.27 |
| Left per shirt sold | 14.58 |
|---|
That is a margin of 38.9% on the price before tax, not the 53% that 45 against 21.27 seems to promise. For a 60% margin the shirt would need to sell at €71.11.
How many must sell before you are paid back
The run costs 100 x €21.27 = €2,127, plus €500 to launch: €2,627 up front. Each sale brings in €35.85 after tax and fees, so you are paid back after 74 sales. If 90 sell, the run makes €599.50. That is real but thin: one bad batch, or a launch that needs twice the advertising, and it is gone.
Why the size of the run matters
| Run size | 25 | 50 | 100 | 250 | 500 | 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landed cost per shirt (€) | 23.07 | 21.87 | 21.27 | 20.91 | 20.79 | 20.73 |
The €60 of print setup is spread over the run: €2.40 a shirt at 25, €0.06 at 1,000. Past a few hundred the fabric and sewing dominate, so the levers are the fabric price and the price you charge, not volume.
What to do with this
- Ask your manufacturer for each line separately (fabric per metre, metres per garment, cut and sew, setup and per-piece print prices, freight). A single "price per shirt" hides which line to negotiate.
- Price from the margin you need, after tax and fees, not from what feels premium.
- Check the launch budget against the break-even: if break-even is close to everything you expect to sell, raise the price, simplify the print, or make fewer.
Pricing a decoration job for a customer instead (you run the press)? The apparel decoration price calculator is built for that side.
Questions
How much does it cost to make a t-shirt for my own brand?
It is the sum of fabric (price per metre times the metres in one shirt plus cutting waste), cut and sew, each print or embroidery (setup spread over the run plus a per-piece price), labels, packaging, duty and freight. Your manufacturer's quote supplies every number; the worked example on this page uses placeholder figures to show the arithmetic.
Why does a small run cost more per shirt?
Setup charges (screens, digitising) are paid once per design and spread over the run. In the worked example the setup adds 0.60 a shirt at 100 pieces and 2.40 at 25.
What price gives a 60% margin?
Take sales tax out of the price first, then card and marketplace fees. In the worked example a 21.27 shirt sold at 45 including 20% VAT keeps 38.9%, and a 60% margin needs a price of 71.11.