How custom embroidery is priced (and why it's not per-shirt).
- Embroidery is priced by stitch count, not per-shirt or per-design.
- A typical chest logo (6,000-10,000 stitches) costs $10-17 per garment in embroidery, currently $8-13.60 with the EOFY discount.
- Bulk tiers drop that by 30-40%. A one-off $30 digitising setup per new logo may apply, billed separately after you order only if your logo needs it (never charged twice).
Every garment we stitch, all quantity breaks, on two pages. Ready to forward to your team.
Most embroidery suppliers in Australia ask you to fill in a form for a quote. We don't — every price below is exactly what the live quote engine charges. The numbers are the numbers.
Why per-shirt pricing is misleading.
The same logo on a t-shirt and on a hoodie costs the same to embroider — not because they're the same garment, but because the embroidery has the same number of stitches in both cases. The needle doesn't care what's underneath it. What changes is the garment price, not the embroidery price.
Suppliers who quote "$15 per shirt embroidered" are bundling two prices into one and hoping you don't notice when your design happens to be denser than the example they had in mind. Better to keep them separate.
The stitch-count math.
Every embroidery charge is one formula:
The rate depends on your qty tier. Heavier discount = lower rate. Above 22,000 stitches the extra is charged at a flat $0.45 per 1,000 regardless of tier (this lets you order big back prints without nuking your budget).
Embroidery cost per garment, by stitch count and tier
Prices below include the EOFY 20% discount, valid until June 30.
Prices below are ex GST, per garment.
| Tier | Rate / 1,000 sts | 2,000 | 5,000 | 8,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 15,000 | 18,000 | 22,000 | 30,000 | 44,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | | $2.66 $3.32 | $6.64 $8.30 | $10.62 $13.28 | $13.28 $16.60 | $15.94 $19.92 | $19.92 $24.90 | $23.90 $29.88 | $29.22 $36.52 | $32.10 $40.12 | $37.14 $46.42 |
| Standard | | $2.48 $3.10 | $6.19 $7.74 | $9.91 $12.38 | $12.38 $15.48 | $14.86 $18.58 | $18.58 $23.22 | $22.29 $27.86 | $27.24 $34.06 | $30.12 $37.66 | $35.16 $43.96 |
| Wholesale | | $2.21 $2.76 | $5.52 $6.90 | $8.83 $11.04 | $11.04 $13.80 | $13.25 $16.56 | $16.56 $20.70 | $19.87 $24.84 | $24.29 $30.36 | $27.17 $33.96 | $32.21 $40.26 |
| Wholesale+ | | $2.10 $2.62 | $5.24 $6.55 | $8.38 $10.48 | $10.48 $13.10 | $12.58 $15.72 | $15.72 $19.65 | $18.86 $23.58 | $23.06 $28.82 | $25.94 $32.42 | $30.98 $38.72 |
| Bulk | | $1.98 $2.48 | $4.96 $6.20 | $7.94 $9.92 | $9.92 $12.40 | $11.90 $14.88 | $14.88 $18.60 | $17.86 $22.32 | $21.82 $27.28 | $24.70 $30.88 | $29.74 $37.18 |
All prices ex GST. Per-garment. EOFY discount included. A one-off $30 digitising setup per new logo is billed separately after you order, only if needed.
What a "typical logo" actually looks like.
Stitch counts vary wildly by design. As a rough guide:
- 2,000-3,000 stitches — small monogram, single-line text, a small icon. Sleeve / cap stitches usually land here.
- 5,000-8,000 stitches — small chest logo, simple two-colour mark.
- 8,000-12,000 stitches — standard chest logo with some detail, most brand marks.
- 15,000-22,000 stitches — larger back design, dense logo with lots of fill.
- 22,000+ stitches — full back print, large badge, dense multi-colour artwork. Charged at the flat overflow rate above the threshold.
What bulk tiers do to the price.
Two discounts compound: the garment gets cheaper, and the embroidery rate drops too. Here's the same chest logo on the same Classic Tee at three quantity points.
| Order size | Tier | Garment unit | Embroidery unit | Per-garment all-in* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 tees | Starter (10% off) | $18.00 | $13.28 (8K sts @ $1.66) | $31.28 |
| 50 tees | Wholesale (30% off) | $14.00 | $11.04 (8K sts @ $1.38) | $25.04 |
| 250 tees | Bulk (40% off) | $12.00 | $9.92 (8K sts @ $1.24) | $21.92 |
*Per-garment all-in = garment + embroidery. Excludes GST and the one-off $30 digitising setup, which is billed separately after you order only if your logo needs it.
What other suppliers don't mention.
Honest disclosure of the things that move prices around:
- Digitising setup - one-off, $30 per new logo. Not charged in the online quote: if your logo needs digitising we add it once, separately, after you order. Never charged twice for the same logo, and reorders skip it.
- Stock library designs — $0 setup. Pre-digitised designs in our library don't carry a setup fee because we've already paid to digitise them.
- Large designs (>200mm) — small surcharge. $2.50 per unit for designs that exceed the standard hoop. Honest about it; most competitors hide it.
- Extra thread colours. Six included. Beyond that, $0.20 per colour per garment until you cross 500 units, then waived.
- GST. All prices on this page are ex GST. Add 10% at checkout.
How to legitimately pay less.
- Use a stock library design. Skips the $30 setup outright.
- Pick a smaller design. A 5K stitch design costs ~40% less to embroider than a 10K design.
- Order at the next tier up. Going from 49 to 50 units flips you from Standard (18% off) to Wholesale (30% off). If you're close, often worth bumping.
- Reorder. Same design + same email = no setup fee. We hold digitised files for 12 months.
- Above 500 units, extra-colour fees vanish. Useful if your design has more than 6 thread colours.
Already got a quote from someone else?
Send it over. Email your written quote from another Melbourne embroiderer to support@rkthreads.com and we'll beat it, or tell you straight why ours costs more (usually stitch quality, real Isacord threads, or a sample-photo approval they don't include). No obligation.
Get an exact number in 90 seconds.
Drop your logo on a garment in the live builder and the quote engine returns the real stitch count from Wilcom plus the total at your tier. No form, no email wait, no markup surprises.
Related reading.
- AS Colour custom embroidery — the blanks we stock and worked-example pricing.
- Custom embroidery Melbourne — local landing with use cases and pricing.
- FAQ — minimums, lead time, file formats, GST, reorders.