T-Shirt Cost Calculator: The Short Answer
A brand costs a printed T-shirt from the bottom up. Fabric of 0.22 kilograms at an illustrative £5.50 a kilogram is £1.21, and neck rib, labels, cut and make, print and packing add £1.83. A 10 per cent factory margin takes the FOB price to £3.34. Freight, duty at an illustrative 10 per cent and UK costs bring the landed cost to £3.89. This T-shirt cost calculator shows the same build-up for any inputs, and because a tee is a small garment, even a few pence on one line shows up as a visible share of the whole.
Every figure in this T-shirt cost calculator is a placeholder to show the method. A real quote will differ in each line, and the point is that you can enter it and see where the cost sits.
Because a T-shirt costs so little to make, the lines that look insignificant can matter. A neck tape costing a few pence is a few per cent of the whole, and a packing change that saves two pence is worth looking at across a few thousand pieces. A T-shirt cost calculator that keeps each line visible stops these small amounts from disappearing into a single total.
Use the T-Shirt Cost Calculator
Enter the fabric used per T-shirt in kilograms, including wastage, and the fabric price per kilogram. Add the neck rib and tape, labels and trims, cut and make, any print or embroidery, and packing. Then add the factory margin, freight, duty and UK costs. The T-shirt cost calculator returns the FOB and landed cost per tee, the share fabric takes and the order total.
T-shirt cost calculator
FOB and landed cost per T-shirt
All figures are placeholders for illustration, not market prices or duty rates. Replace them with your own quote, and check the duty rate on the UK Trade Tariff.
If you do not know the fabric used, estimate it with the fabric consumption calculator, then enter the result here. Our guide to the cost of making a T-shirt explains what moves each line.
The Example T-Shirt Cost Sheet
The table lays out the example tee line by line. Fabric and cut and make are the two largest lines, and print is a bigger share than many first-time buyers expect.
Example cost sheet for one printed T-shirt
| Line | Per T-shirt |
|---|---|
| Fabric | £1.21 |
| Neck rib and tape | £0.06 |
| Labels and trims | £0.12 |
| Cut and make | £0.95 |
| Print, embroidery or wash | £0.60 |
| Packing | £0.10 |
| Factory margin (10%) | £0.30 |
| FOB per T-shirt | £3.34 |
| Freight, duty and UK costs | £0.55 |
| Landed cost per T-shirt | £3.89 |
Arithmetic from the placeholder inputs in the calculator: 0.22 kg at £5.50 per kg, 10% factory margin, 10% duty on FOB plus freight. Not market prices or duty rates.
Compare the FOB line with a quote you have received. If a quote comes in far below the sum of reasonable lines, ask what has been left out, or what quality has been reduced.
Where the Money Goes in a T-Shirt
The pie shows the example as shares of the landed cost. On a plain tee, fabric dominates, and on a printed one, print comes close behind cut and make.
Share of the example landed cost by line
- Fabric (£1.21)31.1%
- Neck rib and trims (£0.18)4.6%
- Cut and make (£0.95)24.4%
- Print and packing (£0.70)18%
- Factory margin (£0.30)7.8%
- Freight, duty and UK costs (£0.55)14%
Arithmetic from the example cost sheet: landed cost £3.89 per T-shirt. Placeholder inputs, not market figures.
The freight, duty and UK slice is about 14 per cent here, which is easy to miss if you work only from the FOB price. Our landed cost calculator adds the UK side in more detail.
What Fabric Weight Does to the Cost
Fabric weight is the main design lever on a T-shirt. The table scales the example fabric in proportion to gsm, holding the pattern and the price per kilogram constant. Real prices per kilogram differ by fabric and weight, so treat it as a first approximation.
Fabric and landed cost at four fabric weights
| Fabric weight (gsm) | Fabric used (kg) | Fabric cost | Landed cost per T-shirt |
|---|---|---|---|
| 140 | 0.171 | £0.94 | £3.57 |
| 180 | 0.220 | £1.21 | £3.89 |
| 220 | 0.269 | £1.48 | £4.22 |
| 280 | 0.342 | £1.88 | £4.70 |
Fabric scaled from 0.22 kg at 180 gsm in proportion to gsm; price per kg held at £5.50 for illustration. Other lines unchanged.
A heavyweight tee at 280 gsm costs about 80 pence more than the 180 gsm version in this model, which is a large step on a garment that landed at £3.89. Our guide to heavyweight T-shirt manufacturing looks at what the extra weight buys.
How Quantity Spreads Set-Up Costs
Print screens, embroidery digitising and sampling are paid once, not per piece. A small order carries them heavily, and a large one hardly notices. The table spreads an illustrative £60 set-up charge across four order sizes.
Set-up cost per T-shirt by order size
| T-shirts in the order | Set-up cost per T-shirt (£60 total) |
|---|---|
| 100 | £0.60 |
| 500 | £0.12 |
| 1,000 | £0.06 |
| 5,000 | £0.012 |
Arithmetic: £60 divided by the number of T-shirts. The £60 is a placeholder for illustration, not a typical charge.
Spread across 100 T-shirts, the set-up adds 60 pence to each, which is more than the fabric costs. Spread across 5,000, it is about a penny. That is why a tee that is expensive in a first small run can be cheap in a repeat, and why a quote should always say what quantity it assumes. See our guide on screen printing T-shirts for how print costs build.
Which Lines Move a T-Shirt's Cost Most?
Raising each line by 10 per cent in turn shows where negotiating effort pays. The chart does it for five lines in the example.
Rise in landed cost from a 10% increase in each line, in pence
Pence per T-shirt
Arithmetic from the example cost sheet; duty recalculated. Illustrative inputs.
Fabric price and fabric used move the cost most, followed by cut and make. Freight moves it least. For the fabric choices behind the numbers, see our comparison of ring spun and combed cotton T-shirt fabric.
Plain Tee or Printed Tee?
Decoration is the easiest line to change, and the T-shirt cost calculator shows what it does to the whole. Set the print line to zero and the example landed cost falls by about 73 pence, because print, its share of margin and the duty on it all drop away. A plain tee is cheaper to make and quicker to produce, but it needs another way to earn its price, such as fabric quality, fit or a label.
How decoration choices appear on the cost sheet
| Choice | Line it changes | What to ask the factory |
|---|---|---|
| Plain, no decoration | Print line is zero | Whether a label or hang tag is still needed |
| Screen print | Print, set-up per colour | Number of colours, screens and the minimum quantity |
| Embroidery | Print, digitising set-up | Stitch count and the digitising charge |
| Garment wash or dye | Print or wash line | Process, shrinkage allowance and extra lead time |
A qualitative guide to where decoration appears on a cost sheet. Charges vary by factory and specification.
Whichever route you choose, ask for decoration to be quoted as its own line. It makes comparisons fairer and shows what a change in design would cost before the artwork is final.
Common Gaps in a First T-Shirt Cost Sheet
First cost sheets tend to leave out the same few things. Wastage is the commonest: fabric used per tee should include it. Packing is next, since polybags, stickers and cartons are easy to forget. Then come testing and inspection, which are paid to third parties and rarely appear on the factory quote, and sampling charges, which are paid once but belong to the style.
Currency is another quiet gap. If fabric is bought in one currency, the factory quotes in another and you sell in a third, the T-shirt cost calculator needs a stated exchange rate and a date. Record both beside the figures, so that a change in the rate shows up as a change in landed cost rather than as an unexplained drift in margin.
Finally, remember that the sheet describes one style at one quantity. A range of ten tees needs ten sheets, and a change in fabric weight or print method means a new one. Keeping them in one folder, dated and labelled with the quantity they assume, lets you answer the question of why a repeat order cost more or less than the first.
Returns, discounts and marketing sit beyond the cost sheet, but they decide whether the price covers the cost. Keep the sheet to what it takes to put the tee in your warehouse, and test the selling price separately against everything that happens afterwards.
Checks Before You Accept a T-Shirt Price
A T-shirt quote is easy to compare when it lists the same lines. A short checklist helps.
What to confirm on a T-shirt quote
- Fabric composition, weight in gsm and finish
- Neck rib, tape and label specification
- Print method, size, placement and number of colours
- Packing method and pieces per carton
- The quantity the price assumes
- Which costs are FOB and which fall on you after loading
Check current duty rates on the UK Trade Tariff. Trade terms decide which costs fall on which side; the ICC Incoterms rules rules set out the usual divisions.
Once the cost is clear, turn it into a price with the clothing markup calculator, and use the garment costing calculator or the hoodie cost calculator for other styles.
How Ruhrose Helps You Cost a T-Shirt
Ruhrose develops hoodies, fleece, jersey, denim and woven casualwear for UK buyers, with production in Bangladesh. We explain what the lines of a quote cover, sample before bulk, and help you see which choices, such as fabric weight and decoration, move the cost per piece. Ruhrose's clothing manufacturing pages show what we make.
Before you accept a T-shirt price, ask yourself one question: how much of it is print, and how much is fabric?