How Much Does Embroidered Workwear Cost? A Plain-English Guide

Last reviewed: 17 August 2026 · Written and reviewed by the Xcel Print & Promotions team

Embroidered workwear in the UK usually runs between £10 and £50+ per finished garment, depending on what you’re ordering, how fiddly your logo is, and how many pieces you need. There’s no single price. But once you understand what drives the cost, you can budget properly and dodge the nasty surprises. This guide walks through every part of the bill, with a real example to make it concrete.

The Two Parts of Every Embroidery Order

Before we get to numbers, it helps to know your invoice has two separate bits:

• The garment itself. The polo shirt, fleece, hi-vis jacket, or hoodie you’re decorating.
• The embroidery. Digitising your logo and stitching it onto the garment.

Both cost money, and both vary. Mixing the two up is the most common reason people feel confused or short-changed when a quote lands.

What Does the Garment Cost?

Garment prices cover a wide range depending on brand, fabric weight and style. As a rough guide for UK buyers ordering from reputable workwear brands:

• Basic polo shirts and T-shirts: roughly £6-£15 per garment
• Sweatshirts and hoodies: roughly £12-£30 per garment
• Softshell and fleece jackets: roughly £18-£45 per garment
• Hi-vis vests and jackets: roughly £8-£35 per garment
• Heavyweight work trousers and coveralls: roughly £15-£50+ per garment

At Xcel, we supply trusted brands including Portwest, Beeswift, Uneek and Regatta. Names with a proven track record for durability in trade environments. Cheaper unbranded garments do exist. Trouble is, they often fade, shrink or lose their shape after a handful of washes, so you’re back ordering more sooner than you’d like.

For a fuller look at what’s on offer, browse our personalised workwear range or have a look at workers’ clothing options across trades and industries.

What Does the Embroidery Cost?

Embroidery pricing has two components: a one-off digitising/setup fee and a per-garment stitch cost.

Digitising / Setup Fee

Before your logo can be embroidered, it needs converting into a stitch file. That’s called digitising. It’s skilled work done by a real person, not a quick file conversion. You usually pay this fee once per logo, and then it’s stored for next time. Depending on how complex your artwork is, it can range from around £15 to £50 or more for a detailed, multi-colour design. Simple text-based logos with one or two colours sit at the lower end. Intricate crests or photographic-style artwork sit higher.

Here’s the key bit: this fee spreads across your whole run. On an order of 50 polos, a £25 setup fee adds just 50p per garment. On an order of 5, it adds £5 per garment. That’s a big difference.

Per-Garment Embroidery Cost

Once digitised, the cost per garment comes down mainly to stitch count, the total number of stitches in your design. A small left-chest logo (a common placement for workwear) might run to 5,000-8,000 stitches. A large back design could be 15,000-30,000+ stitches. Higher stitch counts take longer on the machine, so they cost more.

For typical left-chest embroidery, expect to add roughly £2-£6 per garment on top of the garment price. Larger placements or complex designs cost proportionally more.

A Worked Example: 20 Embroidered Polo Shirts for a Plumbing Firm

Let’s put it together with a realistic scenario. A small plumbing business wants 20 polo shirts with their logo embroidered on the left chest.

• Garment: A mid-weight polo from a reputable workwear brand, let’s say roughly £10 each = £200 total
• Digitising fee (one-off): Approximately £25 for a clean, simple logo
• Embroidery per garment: Approximately £3.50 each = £70 total
• Approximate total: £295 for 20 embroidered polo shirts, roughly £14.75 each

That’s a perfectly reasonable budget for a small trade business. And when the same firm reorders six months later, the digitising fee is already paid, so the cost per garment drops.

Key Factors That Change Your Price

No Minimum Order, But Small Runs Do Cost More Per Item

At Xcel, we have no minimum order quantity. Need a single embroidered garment? You can order one. That’s genuinely useful for sole traders, start-ups, or anyone after one replacement item. But we’ll be straight with you: the setup cost is the same whether you order 1 or 100, so your cost-per-garment is higher on tiny runs. If you can batch your order, even loosely across the team, you’ll get better value.

Embroidery vs. Printing: Which Should You Choose?

Embroidery isn’t always the right answer. It’s the gold standard for embroidered workwear, polos, fleeces, jackets, because it looks professional, survives industrial washing and feels premium. But for large back designs, photographic artwork, or very large colour fills, printing can be cheaper and more accurate. Our team will always tell you which method suits your design and garment. You can see printed options across our custom T-shirts range too.

Who This Isn’t For

If you need a one-off novelty item, embroidered workwear probably isn’t the cheapest route. The setup fee will dominate your cost. Same goes if your branding changes often, or if you need a very large, full-colour photographic print across the back of a garment. Embroidery may not be the best fit technically. In those cases we’d steer you towards a printed solution rather than push you into something that won’t serve you well.

Practical Tips Before You Request a Quote

• Have your logo as a vector file if you can (AI, EPS, or high-resolution PDF). It gives the digitiser the clearest starting point and can reduce your setup fee.
• Decide on placements upfront. Adding a second position after the fact means extra cost and possible delays.
• Think about future orders. Once your logo is digitised, reorders are faster and cheaper, so buying a few extra now often makes sense.
• Check size guides carefully. Returns due to sizing add time and cost to any order.

If you need hi-vis clothing with embroidery, our custom hi-vis range covers vests, jackets and trousers in compliant styles. For branded casual layers, have a look at our personalised hoodies or the broader work uniform collection.

Ready to Get a Proper Quote?

The best way to get an accurate price is to send us your logo and tell us what you need. No lengthy forms, no obligation. Our in-house team handles both embroidery and printing under one roof, which means faster turnaround and one point of contact for the whole order. Get in touch with us here and we’ll come back to you quickly with a clear, itemised quote.

FAQs

Is there a minimum order for embroidered workwear at Xcel?

No. We have no minimum order quantity, so you can order as few as one embroidered garment. Bear in mind the one-off digitising fee is the same regardless of quantity, so the cost per item is higher on very small runs.

How long does it take to get embroidered workwear made?

Turnaround varies depending on the size of your order and whether your logo already has a digitised stitch file. For most standard orders we aim for a fast UK turnaround. Contact us with your specifics and we'll give you a realistic timescale.

What file format do I need to supply for my logo?

A vector file (AI, EPS, or high-resolution PDF) is ideal as it gives our digitisers the clearest detail. We can work with high-resolution raster files too, though very low-resolution images may affect the quality of the result.

Does the digitising fee apply every time I reorder?

No. The digitising fee is a one-off charge per logo. Once your stitch file is created and stored, repeat orders use the same file without an additional setup cost.

Can I get both embroidery and printing on the same garment?

Yes, in some cases. For example, a jacket might have an embroidered logo on the chest and a printed design on the back. Our team can advise on what works best for your specific garment and artwork combination.

Does embroidery last longer than printing on workwear?

Generally, embroidery is extremely durable and holds up well to frequent industrial washing. Good quality printing is also long-lasting, but the right choice depends on the garment type, placement and design. We'll always recommend the most durable option for your use case.

Written by Andy · Founder, Xcel Print & Promotions

Xcel Print & Promotions is a family-run UK workwear, branded-clothing and print company with over 20 years' experience. We embroider and print in-house from our base in Haverhill, Suffolk, with no minimum order, so this advice comes from kitting out real teams every working day, from single tradespeople to large sites and schools.

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