Short answer
It depends on fabric weight, fabric type, decoration and size range — and at 100 pieces you are close to the point where per-garment setup cost dominates. Nobody can quote 100 t-shirts responsibly without knowing the GSM, the fabric, how many colours, whether it is printed or embroidered, and how many sizes you are splitting across. Any price given without those is a guess dressed as a quote.
Key points
- Fabric is usually the largest single variable in the garment cost, and GSM is the first question a factory asks.
- At 100 pieces, setup and decoration cost are spread over very few units — per-garment cost is materially higher than at 1,000.
- Printing and embroidery are charged per garment, but the setup screens and digitising fees are one-off.
- Landed cost is not the same as factory cost — freight, duty and insurance change the number your business actually pays.
- A real quote needs a spec. A generic range is not a price, and we will not present one as if it were.
Buyers arrive with this question expecting a number. The honest answer is that the number is the last step, not the first, and anyone who gives you a price before asking what you are making is either guessing or quoting something you will pay for twice.
The short answer
At 100 pieces you should expect the per-garment cost to be noticeably higher than at 1,000 pieces of the identical garment. That is not the factory padding. Setup, pattern grading, cutting screens, digitising, and the time to get every size right are all largely fixed costs, and 100 garments is a small number to spread them across.
What you are really asking is: what does a first run of 100 t-shirts cost, and what do I need to know to get a real answer?
What actually moves the number
**Fabric, and specifically its weight.** GSM — grams per square metre — is the first question any factory asks you, because it is the strongest single proxy for fabric cost. A 130 gsm ringspun tee and a 240 gsm heavyweight tee are not the same product at different thicknesses; they behave differently on the machine, drape differently and cost very differently per metre.
**Fabric type.** Combed and ring-spun cotton cost more than carded. Polyester and blends sit at different points again. A fabric name alone is not enough — you need the construction and the weight.
**Decoration.** Printing and embroidery are priced per garment plus a one-off setup. A screen setup is charged once per screen; embroidery digitising is charged once per design. At 100 pieces, that setup is a meaningful part of your unit cost and it disappears at 1,000.
**Number of colours.** Every additional colour in a print is another screen. In embroidery, it changes the digitising and often the stitch count.
**Size range.** Four sizes across 100 pieces means roughly 25 per size, which constrains what you can make from a single cutting lay. Wide size ranges at low volume are where first runs most often go wrong.
**Labels and trims.** Your woven label, care label, hangtag and packaging all carry cost, and private label work adds to it.
A worked illustration
The example below is deliberately labelled as an illustration. The inputs are invented for the purpose of showing the arithmetic; the outputs are not a quote and are not a price we are offering.
| Input | Assumption for this example |
|---|---|
| Quantity | 100 garments, one style |
| Fabric | 180 gsm cotton jersey |
| Colours | 2 |
| Sizes | 4 (25 pieces each) |
| Decoration | One-colour chest print, one screen per colour |
| Trims | Printed neck label, printed care label |
What you can say without inventing figures:
- The fabric cost scales with the metres bought and the price per metre, and 180 gsm sits in the middle of the common range.
- The decoration cost splits into a per-garment charge and a per-screen setup that is paid once.
- The label and trim cost is close to fixed, so it is highest per garment at 100 pieces and falls as the run grows.
- Freight, duty and insurance sit outside all of the above and depend on your route and incoterm.
That is enough to see how the pieces move. It is not enough to produce a price, and the missing inputs are exactly the ones a factory needs before it can quote.
Factory cost is not landed cost
A factory quote tells you what the garment costs to make. What your business actually pays includes:
- Freight, by sea, air or courier
- Duty, which depends on your HS classification and origin documentation
- Insurance on the shipment
- Financing or payment terms, if you are paying a deposit months ahead of delivery
- Packaging and any palletising you need
Buyers who plan on the factory price alone discover the gap when the invoice lands. Our landed cost article works through this in detail.
Why we will not post a price list
A price list would have to either be out of date, or assume a specification nobody ordered, or quietly exclude the costs that matter. All three cost a buyer more than they save. A quote against your actual spec, in writing, with the specification attached, is worth more than any published range.
What to send for a real number
- 01Fabric type and GSM, or a reference to a fabric you already use
- 02Quantity per style and per colour
- 03Size range
- 04Decoration, with artwork if you have it
- 05Labels, trims and packaging
- 06Destination country and preferred incoterm
With those, we can return a real quote rather than a range. Without them, any number is a guess.
Where to go next
T-Shirt Manufacturer
How we cut, sew and finish tees from 130 gsm to heavyweight.
Private Label Clothing
What private label adds beyond the garment itself.
How to calculate landed cost
Turning a factory price into a cost you can plan on.
MOQ and lead times
Why quantity changes the price, and what our minimum is.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a standard price per t-shirt?
No. Apparel costing is driven by specification, and two t-shirts that look similar on screen can differ substantially in cost because of fabric weight, yarn quality and construction. A price is only meaningful against a stated spec.
Is 100 t-shirts too small an order?
No. Our minimum starts at 30 pieces per style per colour, so 100 pieces is a normal first production run. It is small enough that per-garment cost is higher than at scale, but it is a legitimate way to test a design before committing.
Why do quotes change when I change the GSM?
Heavier fabric costs more per metre to buy and takes longer to cut and sew because it is stiffer at the machine. The fabric cost rises directly, and labour rises slightly. Lightweight fabric does the reverse on both counts.
Do you charge for samples?
Sampling is quoted per style and depends on how many rounds you need and whether we source the fabric. It is stated separately and clearly before any sampling begins.