How embroidery is priced
Most shops charge a rate per 1,000 stitches with a minimum per piece, so small designs still cover the time it takes to hoop and trim. The rate drops at quantity breaks because setup is shared across more pieces. The garment is added on top at a markup, and new designs carry a one-time digitizing fee.
This calculator applies the quantity discount to the stitch price, then enforces the minimum, then adds the garment. The digitizing fee is charged once per order, not per piece.
Example: an 8,000-stitch left chest logo
| Quantity | Discount | Embroidery / pc | With $4 garment at 50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 10% | $7.20 | $13.20 |
| 24 | 20% | $6.40 | $12.40 |
| 72 | 30% | $5.60 | $11.60 |
Finding your rate per 1,000 stitches
Start from what an hour of machine time needs to earn. A single head sewing 750 stitches a minute runs about 45,000 stitches an hour before hooping and trims, so a rate of $1.00 per 1,000 is roughly $45 an hour of sewing per head. Multi-head machines sew several pieces at once, which is why quantity discounts still leave room for margin.
Check the rate against your real run times: open finished designs in the embroidery file viewer to see stitch counts, trims and sew time, and adjust until the price covers the time.