{
  "slug": "embroidery-stitch-count-price",
  "title": "Embroidery Stitch Count Pricing Calculator",
  "heading": "Embroidery Stitch Count Pricing Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/embroidery-stitch-count-price",
  "summary": "Price embroidery jobs by stitch count, thread, and digitizing cost.",
  "description": "Embroidery pricing should be driven by stitch count because that's what actually determines machine run time, thread consumption, and needle wear — not a flat 'per logo' guess. A typical left-chest logo runs 5,000–9,000 stitches; a large jacket back can run 15,000–25,000+. This calculator converts stitch count into machine run time using stitches-per-minute speed, adds thread and bobbin cost, spreads one-time digitizing cost across the run, and adds a per-piece labor charge for hooping and trimming. The result is a defensible per-piece price you can quote with confidence instead of a round number. Commercial multi-needle machines run 700–1,000 stitches per minute in practice once you account for color changes, trims, and thread breaks, even though the rated top speed is often 1,200+. Digitizing a new logo typically costs $25–$75 depending on complexity and is a one-time cost that should be billed either separately or amortized across the first order.",
  "formula": "Run minutes = stitches ÷ effective SPM; machine cost = run minutes × cost per minute; unit price = machine cost + thread cost + labor + digitizing ÷ quantity.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=embroidery-stitch-count-price",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "stitches",
      "label": "Stitch count",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 8000,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 500,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "spm",
      "label": "Effective stitches per minute",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 800,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 200,
      "max": 1200
    },
    {
      "id": "machineCostMin",
      "label": "Machine + overhead cost per minute",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0.35,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "threadCost",
      "label": "Thread + bobbin cost per piece",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0.6,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "laborPerPiece",
      "label": "Hooping/trimming labor per piece",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2.5,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "digitizing",
      "label": "One-time digitizing fee",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 45,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "quantity",
      "label": "Quantity",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 24,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "unitCost",
      "label": "Cost per piece",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "runMin",
      "label": "Machine run time per piece",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "machineCost",
      "label": "Machine cost per piece",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "digitizingPer",
      "label": "Digitizing cost per piece",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "totalCost",
      "label": "Total job cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Stitch count: 8000",
      "Effective stitches per minute: 800",
      "Machine + overhead cost per minute: 0.35 $",
      "Thread + bobbin cost per piece: 0.6 $",
      "Hooping/trimming labor per piece: 2.5 $",
      "One-time digitizing fee: 45 $",
      "Quantity: 24"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Cost per piece: $8.48",
      "Machine run time per piece: 10",
      "Machine cost per piece: $3.50",
      "Digitizing cost per piece: $1.88",
      "Total job cost: $203.40"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter stitch count.",
      "Enter effective stitches per minute.",
      "Enter machine + overhead cost per minute ($).",
      "Enter thread + bobbin cost per piece ($).",
      "Enter hooping/trimming labor per piece ($).",
      "Enter one-time digitizing fee ($).",
      "Enter quantity.",
      "Read your cost per piece on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "stitches": 4800,
        "spm": 475,
        "machineCostMin": 0.21,
        "threadCost": 0.36,
        "laborPerPiece": 1.5,
        "digitizing": 25,
        "quantity": 14
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "stitches": 8000,
        "spm": 800,
        "machineCostMin": 0.35,
        "threadCost": 0.6,
        "laborPerPiece": 2.5,
        "digitizing": 45,
        "quantity": 24
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "stitches": 12800,
        "spm": 1200,
        "machineCostMin": 0.5599999999999999,
        "threadCost": 0.96,
        "laborPerPiece": 4,
        "digitizing": 70,
        "quantity": 38
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why price by stitch count instead of a flat logo fee?",
      "a": "A flat fee undercharges for dense, large designs and overcharges for simple ones. A 15,000-stitch jacket back takes nearly twice the machine time of a 8,000-stitch left chest, and that time is your real cost driver — thread and labor scale with it too."
    },
    {
      "q": "How many heads should I run at once?",
      "a": "Multi-head machines (6, 12, 15 heads) let one operator run many pieces per cycle, which is how shops hit low per-piece labor on bigger orders. For small orders, single or 4-head setups keep overhead proportional to the job."
    },
    {
      "q": "Should digitizing be a separate line item?",
      "a": "Yes, ideally. Charging digitizing once and clearly (or waiving it for larger orders) avoids confusion, and it lets you reuse the digitized file for reorders at no added cost — a strong incentive for repeat business."
    },
    {
      "q": "What causes thread breaks and slower effective speed?",
      "a": "Cheap or old thread, incorrect tension, dense fills, and metallic/specialty threads all cause breaks that stop the machine. Budgeting 700-850 effective SPM instead of the machine's rated 1,000-1,200 accounts for this real-world friction."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/embroidery-digitizing-cost",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/screen-print-cost-per-shirt",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/heat-press-throughput"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Embroidery Stitch Count Pricing Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/embroidery-stitch-count-price)"
}