Garment cost calculator: fabric meters, unit cost and selling price.
Enter your target number of finished garments and the fabric needed per piece. This free calculator estimates how many meters to buy after cutting waste and sampling, then builds an order cost from your factory inputs.
Rounded up to the next full meter for 500 finished garments at 150 cm usable width.
View cost breakdown
Planning estimate only. Fabric presets are illustrative and prices are not live quotes.
A useful first pass, before the cutting marker is ready.
Fabric to buy = target pieces × meters per piece × (1 + cutting waste %) + sample meters. The style presets assume approximately 150 cm usable fabric width. They are starting points; fabric width, garment size mix, print direction and marker efficiency can change consumption considerably.
Total order cost adds fabric, per-piece production items, an overhead allowance and one-time setup cost. Suggested selling price uses the target gross margin on sales: unit cost ÷ (1 − margin). Tax, duties, platform fees and returns need to be added if they are part of your actual route to market.
Enter quoted prices in a single currency. The calculator does not convert currencies or pull live market prices. Confirm the final fabric requirement with a cutting marker and the final cost with supplier quotations.
How much fabric for 500 T-shirts?
At 1.3 meters per shirt, 500 finished T-shirts need 650 meters before loss. An 8% cutting allowance adds 52 meters, and a 6-meter sampling reserve brings the purchase plan to 708 meters. These are editable assumptions, not a standard consumption for every T-shirt. A different width, size mix, placement print or cutting marker can change the result.
What does the unit-cost estimate include?
The calculator multiplies fabric meters by your quoted price per meter, adds trims, cutting and sewing, decoration, packaging, inspection and freight per piece, then applies the overhead rate and one-time setup cost. It divides the total by the planned sellable quantity. The suggested price divides unit cost by one minus your target gross margin; a 35% margin is different from adding a 35% markup to cost.
When should the fabric estimate be revised?
Revise meters per piece after the pattern maker confirms the size range, usable fabric width, shrinkage, print direction and cutting marker efficiency. Also check the supplier’s minimum order by color and roll length. The final purchase order should use approved marker consumption and mill pricing.