Garment Manufacturing/Costing Calculator
Add up fabric, trims, CM labor, overhead, and margin to price a garment for manufacturing.
Reviewed by the ToolNestr Editorial Team — July 2026
How garment costing works
Standard apparel-costing methodology builds a garment's price in layers, each one applied to the running subtotal rather than the original base cost. Fabric and trims are summed first to get total materials cost per unit; CM (cut-make) labor cost is added to that for a materials+labor subtotal; overhead — a percentage covering rent, utilities, equipment, and factory administration — is applied to that subtotal; and finally profit margin is applied on top of the fully loaded cost to reach the factory-gate, or FOB (Free On Board), price.
CM cost itself is usually derived separately from SMV (Standard Allowed Minutes — how many minutes it takes a trained operator to sew the garment) multiplied by the factory's cost-per-minute labor rate, though this calculator accepts CM as a direct dollar input if that figure is already known from a factory quote.
This FOB price is what the manufacturer charges the brand — it is not the wholesale price a retailer pays the brand, nor the retail price a consumer pays. Both of those add further markup layers on top of this figure, which is why a garment that costs a few dollars to manufacture can retail for many times that amount by the time it reaches a store shelf.
Layered fabric + trims + CM + overhead + margin cost-sheet structure follows standard apparel-industry costing methodology.
Worked example
A basic t-shirt: $6.50 fabric, $1.20 trims, $3.00 CM, 20% overhead, 15% margin.
Real-world context
This layered structure is exactly why a t-shirt that costs a factory around $14 to produce can end up costing a consumer $40-60 in a retail store: the brand buys at FOB, adds its own wholesale markup to cover design, marketing, and distribution, and the retailer adds a further keystone-or-higher markup on top of that wholesale price.
Small, independent apparel brands sourcing from a single small-batch factory often see much higher overhead percentages than large brands running huge production volumes through efficient factories, since overhead costs get spread across far fewer units — this is a major reason small-batch, ethically-produced clothing tends to carry a higher price tag for a comparable garment.
Common misconceptions
"The FOB price is what I should sell the garment for." No — it's the manufacturing cost only. The brand still needs to add its own wholesale markup, and any retailer buying from the brand adds another markup layer before it reaches a shelf price.
"Overhead and profit margin are the same thing." Different purposes. Overhead covers the real, ongoing cost of running the factory (rent, utilities, admin); profit margin is what's left over as actual profit after all real costs, including overhead, are covered.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
What goes into a garment cost sheet?
The standard build-up is: fabric cost + trims/accessories cost + CM (cut-make, i.e. labor) cost + overhead (a percentage covering factory operations) + profit margin. Each layer is added on top of the running subtotal to reach the final factory-gate price.
What is CM (cut-make) cost?
CM is the labor cost to physically cut and sew the garment, usually calculated as SMV (standard minutes to make the garment) × cost-per-minute for the factory's labor rate. It excludes materials — those are costed separately as fabric and trims.
How much overhead should I add?
Overhead percentages vary widely by factory size and country, but 15-30% of the fabric+trims+CM subtotal is a common working range for covering rent, utilities, admin, and equipment depreciation — get an exact figure from your specific factory or costing team where possible.
Is this the same as the wholesale or retail price?
No — this calculates the factory-gate (FOB) cost, what the manufacturer charges. Brands typically apply their own markup on top of this figure to reach a wholesale price, and retailers apply a further markup (often keystone, 2x) to reach the shelf price.