“How much for a logo on a cap?” is the question every shop gets. The honest answer depends on the stitch count, and the stitch count depends mostly on where the design goes and how big it is.
Stitch counts by placement
Published guides give these typical ranges. They don’t all agree: one guide puts a left-chest logo at 2,000–5,000 stitches, another at 5,000–10,000, and Thread Logic says its average logo is about 8,000. Use them to estimate before you have the file, never as a replacement for it.
| Placement | Stitches | Stitching time |
|---|---|---|
| Name or small text | 2,000–5,000 | 4–9 min |
| Cap front | 3,000–7,000 | 5–12 min |
| Left-chest logo | 5,000–10,000 | 9–18 min |
| Detailed full back | 20,000–60,000+ | 36–107 min |
The time column counts stitching only. Color changes, trims, hooping and unhooping come on top, and on a single-needle machine every color change is done by hand.
From stitches to a price per piece
Once you know the stitch count, the method is the same for every placement:
- Machine time from the stitches, color changes and trims.
- Cost per piece: machine time × your cost per minute, plus thread, stabilizer and the garment if you supply it.
- Price: cost × (1 + your margin).
Our guide on how to price embroidery by stitch count walks through each step with an example, and the price per 1,000 stitches chart shows what published rates mean per piece.
What changes by placement
- Names and small text: few stitches, so the machine time is short, but hooping and setup take about as long as for a logo. That is why many shops set a minimum price per piece.
- Caps: often fewer stitches than a chest logo, but a cap frame takes longer to hoop and the curved surface leaves less room for error. Count that extra time in your cost.
- Left chest: the most common placement and the best one to build your standard prices around.
- Full back: tens of thousands of stitches, so machine time dominates the cost. A per-1,000-stitch rate that works for a chest logo can leave a back design underpriced or overpriced; check it against your cost.
The garment
If you supply the garment, add what it costs you before applying your margin. Printful’s examples list the blank garment, the embroidery and the digitizing as separate parts of the price. If the customer brings the garment, decide in advance what happens if one gets damaged, and write it on your order form.