How Much Does It Cost to Make a Hoodie? A Line-by-Line Breakdown

You've got the hoodie in your head. Maybe you've even sketched it, picked a color, and found a heavyweight blank you like the hand of. Then you start asking around about price and get answers anywhere from $12 to $70 a unit, and nobody explains why.

The spread is real, and it isn't random. A hoodie's cost is a stack of small line items, and each one moves with fabric weight, where it's made, and above all how many you make. I've built a menswear brand and I run a development studio that sends work to factories in LA and overseas, so I've seen these costings from both ends. Here's how the number comes together, line by line, so you can read any quote you get.

What goes into a hoodie, line by line

Every number below is a typical, approximate range. Real prices vary by country, factory, fabric and season, so treat these as a map, not a quote.

• Fabric. The biggest single line. A standard adult pullover hoodie (body, sleeves, hood, kangaroo pocket) usually takes about 1.5 to 2 yards of fleece, more for oversized fits and bigger sizes. That number is the yield, and your factory or pattern maker sets it from the marker. Fleece commonly runs around $6–14 a yard for decent cotton or cotton-blend, and more for organic, heavyweight (400gsm+) or specialty knits. Small orders below a mill's minimum cost more per yard.
• Rib. Cuffs and waistband use 1x1 or 2x2 rib, often a small fraction of a yard per unit. Usually $0.75–2.
• Trims. Drawcord, metal eyelets, aglets. Roughly $0.50–2, more for custom tipped cords or branded hardware. Plenty of current hoodies skip the cord altogether.
• Labels and tags. Woven neck label, care and content label, hang tag. At small quantities, roughly $0.75–2 a unit combined, and the per-piece price drops fast as quantity goes up.
• Cut and sew labor. The second-biggest line, and where location shows most. Small-batch domestic sewing (LA, for example) often lands around $12–25 a hoodie. Overseas labor is lower per unit, but minimums are higher.
• Print or embroidery. A one- or two-color screen print is often $2–6 a placement at a few hundred units, plus one-time screen setup per color. Embroidery is usually priced by stitch count and often runs $4–10 for a mid-size chest logo.
• Wash or dye. Optional. Garment dye or a vintage wash can add $3–8.
• Packaging. Poly bag $0.10–0.40; a branded mailer or tissue adds $1–3.
• Freight and duty. Domestic trucking to you is usually small per unit. Importing adds freight (air costs much more than ocean for small shipments) plus duty and any current tariffs, which depend on fiber content, origin country and destination. Check current rates with a customs broker before you commit, because they change.

A worked example

Here's a single heavyweight cotton fleece pullover with a one-color front print, made at a domestic small-batch factory, at around 300 units. All figures are approximate per-unit ranges.

| Line item | Basis | Approx. per unit | |---|---|---| | Fleece | ~1.8 yd at ~$8–12/yd | $14–22 | | Rib (cuffs, waistband) | ~0.15 yd | $1–2 | | Drawcord + eyelets | standard flat cord | $0.75–2 | | Labels + hang tag | woven neck, care, tag | $0.75–1.75 | | Cut and sew | domestic small batch | $12–22 | | Screen print | 1 color, front | $2.50–5 | | Packaging | poly bag + sticker | $0.25–1 | | Freight to you | domestic | $0.50–2 | | Approximate landed cost | | $32–58 |

The same garment made overseas at a higher quantity could land well under that, once freight and duty are in. The same garment at 50 units domestically could land well over it.

Use this table as a template, not a quote. When real quotes come in, put them side by side in the quote evaluator to see which lines each factory left out.

How quantity changes the number

This is the part first-time founders underestimate. Quantity doesn't just shave a little off; it changes which factories will talk to you and how much each fixed cost weighs on a unit.

• Around 50 units. Many factories won't cut this few, and the ones that do charge a small-run premium. Fabric often comes off a stock roll at retail-ish prices. Expect a custom hoodie to land roughly $45–80+ per unit.
• Around 300 units. The sweet spot for many small domestic shops. Setup and marker costs spread out, and you may hit a mill's minimum on fabric. Roughly $30–55 per unit, as in the table above.
• Around 1,000 units. Overseas factories start to make sense, fabric gets cheaper by the yard, and labor rates drop. Roughly $15–35 landed, depending heavily on country and fabric.

The jump from 50 to 300 usually saves more per unit than the jump from 300 to 1,000. If you want to test what different run sizes do to your cash and your margin, the run-size planner lets you plug in your own numbers.

The one-time costs nobody puts on the per-unit quote

Before a single sellable hoodie exists, you pay to develop it. These don't show up in the unit price, but they're real money.

1. Tech pack. Free if you write it yourself, often a few hundred dollars if you hire it out. Our tech pack generator gets you a free first draft.
2. Pattern. Often around $300–1,000 for a hoodie, depending on complexity and who makes it.
3. Grading. Scaling the pattern to your size range, often $150–500.
4. Samples. A first proto is commonly $150–500, and most hoodies take two or three rounds before fit and fabric are right. Then a pre-production sample before bulk.
5. Screens, digitizing, setup. Small, but they add up across colors and placements.

Budget roughly $800–3,000 to get one hoodie fully developed, then spread that over your first run. At 50 units, $2,000 of development adds $40 to every hoodie. At 300 units it adds under $7.

Blank plus print vs custom cut-and-sew

You don't have to start with cut-and-sew. A lot of good brands started on blanks.

• Blank plus print. Premium heavyweight blanks commonly run around $15–30, plus decoration. No pattern, no grading, minimal sampling. You can launch with 24–50 units and very little development cost. The trade-off: your fit and fabric are the same as everyone else's who buys that blank, and margins are thinner.
• Custom cut-and-sew. Your fit, your fabric, your details, your label sewn in from the start. Higher development cost, higher minimums, longer timeline, and a product nobody else can buy.

A common path is to start on blanks to prove people want the brand, then move your best seller into cut-and-sew once you know the demand is there. Both are legitimate. The mistake is comparing a $22 blank-plus-print cost to a $45 custom cost and assuming the factory is overcharging. They're different products.

How to use this when quotes come in

When you have real quotes, line them up against the categories above. Ask what's included: fabric, trims, labels, print, packaging, freight. A low number that excludes fabric isn't low. Our quote evaluator walks you through the comparison.

And start the conversation early. Getting from first contact to a quote, a sample and a bulk order takes weeks to months, so you can't get real numbers by waiting until you're ready. If you post a free brief with your style, rough quantity and target price, factories and consultants can respond with what it would cost for them.

The same thing, from the other side of the table

If you run a factory: first-time brands send you vague requests because nobody has explained the costing to them. A clear, itemized quote builds trust fast and wins the work. You can list your factory on Runsheet with 90 days free and get briefs from brands who've already done some homework.

If you're a consultant or product developer: helping a founder land a realistic cost target before sampling is some of the most valuable work you can do. Join the consultant directory for free, with no commission on the work you take.

The short version

1. A hoodie's cost is a stack of line items: fabric, rib, trims, labels, labor, decoration, packaging, freight and duty.
2. Fabric and cut-and-sew labor are the two lines that move the total most.
3. Quantity changes everything. The 50-to-300 jump usually saves more per unit than 300-to-1,000.
4. Development (pattern, grading, samples) is a separate, one-time cost. Spread it over your run.
5. Blank plus print and custom cut-and-sew are different products, and both are good ways to start.
6. Compare quotes line by line, and start factory conversations early.

Ready to get real numbers for your hoodie? Post a free brief and let factories come to you.