Machine embroidery pricing

A machine-time formula that includes the human work.

Stitch count starts the estimate. Hooping, color changes, trimming, garments, setup, rejects, and fees determine whether the job is profitable.

By StitchMargin Research | Updated July 13, 2026

What belongs in a machine embroidery price?

A useful quote has four cost groups: production materials, machine time, hands-on labor, and order-level setup. Profit comes after those costs. If a marketplace or payment processor charges a percentage, that fee must also come out before the target margin.

Production materials

Start with the blank garment or customer-supplied item. Add thread, bobbin, backing, topping, needles, packaging, and a small waste allowance. Thread is usually a small part of the total. The garment and failed-piece risk matter much more.

Machine time

Estimate run time from stitches divided by realistic stitches per minute. Use the speed your shop achieves on normal jobs, not the maximum printed on the machine. Stops, trims, color changes, registration checks, and thread breaks reduce real throughput.

Hands-on labor

Count loading, hooping, placement, thread changes, trimming, folding, packing, and customer communication. A machine can sew by itself for part of the job, but your time still appears before and after every run.

Setup and digitizing

Digitizing, test sewing, order setup, and file preparation happen once per design or order. Show them as a separate fee or spread them across the quantity. Small orders need a minimum charge because fewer pieces absorb the same setup work.

The margin-safe formula

After calculating true cost, use this formula:

Recommended price = true cost ÷ (1 - target margin - selling fee rate)

If true cost is $200, the target margin is 40%, and selling fees are 3.5%, the quote is $354. That leaves room for about $12 in selling fees and $142 in profit. A simple 40% markup would produce only $280 and miss the target.

When stitch-count pricing still helps

A per-1,000-stitches rate is useful for fast comparisons and repeat jobs. It works best when garments, setup, and order size are similar. It becomes unreliable when a new garment is hard to hoop, the design has many color changes, the item is expensive to replace, or the order is very small.

Use the cost model to establish your floor, then compare the result with local market rates. That gives you a number you can explain and a reason to say no when a customer asks for a price below cost.