Custom caps are a staple for embroidery businesses: teams, companies, events and merch all want them. They're also a little different from flat items like shirts and towels. Caps are hooped differently, often run on a cap frame, and many shops run them at a slower stitching speed than flat goods, since the extra layers of material on a cap front call for more stitch depth and higher thread tension. All of that belongs in the price. This guide builds a complete quote for a custom cap order, step by step.
How do you price custom embroidered hats?
Price embroidered hats by adding a stitching charge (stitch count × your rate per 1,000 stitches) to the blank cap with a markup, then adding any digitizing or setup fee for the order. In this example, at $1.25 per 1,000 stitches, a 6,000-stitch front logo costs $7.50 to stitch; on an example $6 blank cap with a 50% markup, each cap sells for $16.50.
What does a full cap quote look like?
An order of 24 caps with a 6,000-stitch front logo:
| Part of the quote | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Stitching per cap | 6,000 ÷ 1,000 × $1.25 | $7.50 |
| Blank per cap | $6 cap + 50% markup | $9.00 |
| Price per cap | $16.50 | |
| 24 caps | $396.00 | |
| Digitizing (charged to customer) | One-time | $40.00 |
| Order total | $436.00 |
Many shops charge a slightly higher per-1,000 rate for caps than for flat items, reflecting the extra handling. The $1.25 here is an example, not a standard.
What does the order cost you?
| Cost | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Blank caps | 24 × $6 | $144.00 |
| Backing, thread | 24 × $0.60 | $14.40 |
| Hooping and finishing | 24 × 4 min at $20/hour | $32.00 |
| Digitizing | Paid to a digitizer | $40.00 |
| Total cost | $230.40 |
Profit: $436 − $230.40 = $205.60.
How long will the order take on your machine?
Use your real average speed for caps. In this example, the machine averages 600 stitches per minute on caps:
- 6,000 stitches ÷ 600 = 10 minutes per cap
- 24 caps = 4 machine hours
- $205.60 ÷ 4 hours ≈ $51.40 profit per machine hour
Compare that with your flat-item jobs. If caps consistently earn less per machine hour, your cap stitch rate may need to be higher. Profit per machine hour explains why this is the number to watch.
What extras should you price separately?
- 3D puff embroidery — uses foam and different digitizing; typically priced as a premium.
- Side or back logos — each extra location is extra hooping and stitching.
- Specialty threads — metallic or other specialty threads cost more and can run slower.
- Customer-supplied caps — set the blank cost to zero, but consider a handling fee and a policy for caps damaged during stitching.
How should cap pricing change with quantity?
Larger orders spread the digitizing fee and setup across more caps, and repeat hooping gets faster. Many shops use quantity breaks — see embroidery bulk pricing and quantity breaks for how discounts affect profit. How much to charge for embroidery covers the general per-1,000-stitch method.
It's also worth reading about whether to charge a digitizing fee.
