Activewear Manufacturing Cost for a Small Brand in 2026: From Sample to Landed Cost

YogaSew publishes this guide and makes activewear, so it quotes YogaSew's own published prices. The guide names no other manufacturer and states no price for any other company.

The cost of a small activewear order is five lines before it is one number: the sample, the unit price, what the minimum order does to both, the labels and packaging, and the freight, duty and handling that bring the goods to your door. Add them in that order and you can work out a landed cost per piece before you commit to a first run.

This guide covers what makes up the cost. The guide to comparing activewear quotes covers the other half: how to line up replies from several suppliers on one basis. Read this one first, then use that one when the quotes arrive.

Key takeaways

• A factory unit price is not a landed cost. It leaves out freight, duty, clearance and any labels or packaging priced separately.
• Ask what each price excludes. YogaSew's published prices exclude shipping, so freight and duty are lines you add.
• Fixed costs weigh most in a small run. A sample fee, a freight minimum or a customs fee is spread over few pieces.
• Treat duty as a line to ask your customs broker about for your destination. This guide gives no rate.

What makes up the cost of a small activewear order?

Each line below has a different owner, which is why a single quoted price rarely answers the question.

Line	What it covers	Who quotes it
Sample	Development of a single garment before bulk, plus its shipping	The manufacturer
Unit price	Fabric, cutting, sewing and finishing, per piece or per set	The manufacturer
Minimum order effect	The quantity you must commit to, which sets your total outlay	The manufacturer
Labels, tags and packaging	Woven labels, hang tags, polybags and cartons	The manufacturer, or a separate trim supplier
Freight	Air or sea carriage from the factory to your port or door	A freight forwarder or the manufacturer
Duty, taxes and clearance	Import duty, taxes and the broker's fee at your destination	Your customs broker

The first four lines come from the factory. The last two depend on where you are and how you ship, so they are the ones a factory quote cannot fix for you.

How much does an activewear sample cost?

A sample is the first physical garment made from your design. It is paid separately from bulk, and its charge depends on the style and on how many changes you need. Ask three things: what the charge is per style, whether it is credited against a later bulk order, and who pays to ship the sample.

YogaSew publishes its sample terms:

• Sample price: Sample prices are USD 80 for a sports bra or top, USD 100 for leggings and USD 180 for a top and leggings set. Prices exclude shipping and are the same for every style in a collection. We confirm the final sample charge after reviewing your design and the changes you need.
• Credit against bulk: You pay the sample fee when the sample is made. When your bulk order for that style reaches 500 pieces, the sample fee you paid is deducted from the bulk order total.

Treat a credit as a cost you recover only if you place the bulk order. If you decide after the sample not to proceed, the sample fee is a sunk cost, so record it as such in your plan. Read how a sample is reviewed and approved on the sampling page, and use the leggings sample approval checklist to decide whether to proceed.

What goes into the unit price of activewear?

A unit price is built from the fabric, the cutting and sewing labor, the finishing, and the factory's margin. For a given style it moves with the fabric you choose, the construction, the number of pieces in the order and the decoration. Two quotes with different unit prices may describe different fabric, different branding or different packaging, so check what each one includes before you treat the lower figure as the better one.

Ask also what the unit is: a piece, or a complete set. A top and leggings set priced per set is a different unit from a leggings price per piece.

YogaSew publishes an estimated bulk price:

• Estimated bulk price: Estimated bulk prices at the minimum order of 50 pieces per style, per color are USD 12–18 per piece for a sports bra or top, USD 13–20 per piece for leggings and USD 25–38 per set for a top and leggings set. Prices exclude shipping. The final bulk price is based on the approved sample.

The estimate shows how the price is framed: at the minimum order, excluding shipping, and finalized from the approved sample. Ask every supplier for the same three things, the quantity the price assumes, what it excludes and when it becomes final.

How does the minimum order change the cost?

The minimum order sets the least you can spend on a style, and it spreads the fixed costs of that style over the pieces you order. A sample fee, a pattern, a freight minimum and a customs fee do not shrink in proportion when the quantity falls, so the cost per piece of a very small run is higher than the unit price suggests.

The count matters as much as the number. A minimum per style and color means a style in three colors needs three minimums. A minimum per style with colors mixed does not. A set may be counted as a single piece or as its component garments. The activewear MOQ guide shows how to turn a headline minimum into a quantity table.

YogaSew's terms:

• Minimum order: Cut-and-sew styles start from 50 pieces per style, per color. Seamless styles start from 50 pieces per style, per color.

Plan the first order from the minimum, then ask the supplier what changes if you drop a color or share a fabric across styles. Request the new unit price, total outlay and assumptions together. A smaller piece count is not always a smaller total cost.

What do labels, trims and packaging add?

Neck labels, care labels, hang tags, polybags and cartons are separate items with their own prices and sometimes their own minimums. Some factories include a basic label and bag in the unit price and charge extra for anything custom. Others price each item on its own line.

Ask these questions in writing:

• Which labels, tags and packaging are inside the unit price, and which are extra?
• Is any item charged per order, such as a setup or artwork fee, rather than per piece?
• Does a custom label or package carry its own minimum quantity?
• Who supplies the trim, and who pays for what is left over?

At YogaSew, logos, labels and packaging do not add a separate minimum quantity. Put the artwork and packing requirements into the brief so the quote can show them as named lines. The logo methods guide explains how decoration choices change the work.

How do air, sea, FOB and DDP change the cost?

Shipping has two parts: the mode of transport and the trade term. The trade term decides who pays for what and where the risk passes. The International Chamber of Commerce explains that the rules cover "Risk: Where and when the seller "delivers" the goods, in other words where risk transfers from seller to buyer" and "Costs: Which party is responsible for which costs, for example transport, packaging, loading or unloading costs, and checking or security-related costs."

In practice, for a small activewear order:

• FOB (free on board): the supplier delivers to the named port in the origin country. You arrange and pay for the sea or air freight onward, and you or your forwarder clear the goods into your country.
• DDP (delivered duty paid): the supplier arranges delivery to your door and handles import clearance, so the quote includes freight and duty. Ask what the quote assumes about duty and how it treats a change in your classification or in the rules.
• Air: faster, usually the choice for samples and urgent restocks. It is priced by the weight or volume the carrier charges for, so check the chargeable weight, not only the garment weight.
• Sea: slower, normally priced by volume or by a share of a container. A small order may be a partial load, and the port, handling and delivery fees at the destination can matter as much as the sea leg.

Whichever mode you choose, ask for the quote to state the term and the named place, for example a port, so two offers are not compared on different bases. YogaSew's published prices exclude shipping. Samples go by a logistics carrier, with the service and shipping cost confirmed for your destination, and for bulk orders you can arrange your own freight forwarder. Read the shipping and delivery page before you ask for a freight quote.

How should I treat import duty and taxes?

Duty and taxes are a cost you pay on import, and they depend on facts the factory does not control: the classification of the garment, its fiber content, the country of origin, the value declared and the rules at your destination. Do not take a duty rate from a blog post or a supplier's guess. Ask your customs broker or freight forwarder for an estimate for your garment and destination, and record the answer and its date.

The U.S. International Trade Administration explains "Buyers will ask for the landed cost, or total price of getting your export shipment to them. This includes foreign tariffs and taxes." From the buyer's side, that means a quote that ends at the factory gate is not a landed cost. This guide supplies no duty rate. Keep duty as its own labelled line so you can see what it adds, and update it when the broker's estimate arrives.

How do I work out a landed cost per piece?

Landed cost is the total you pay to have sellable pieces in your own warehouse, divided by the number of pieces. Build it from the lines above:

1. Goods: the unit price times the quantity, from the quote.
2. Labels, tags and packaging: any item priced outside the unit price.
3. Sample cost not credited: the sample charge, minus any credit you will actually receive.
4. Freight: carriage to your port or door, on the terms the quote states.
5. Duty, taxes and clearance: the broker's estimate for your garment and destination.
6. Inland delivery and handling: to your warehouse, if the freight does not reach it.

Add the lines, then divide by the pieces you expect to be able to sell. Keep the result next to the price you plan to charge. Label each line as included, excluded, estimated or unknown, and never enter zero for an unknown. The quote comparison guide has the same status labels for comparing several suppliers.

Worked example template: landed cost for two shipping choices

Take one style and one order quantity. Fill each cell from your own quotes, your forwarder's figures and your customs broker's estimate. The cells below are named quantities, not prices.

Line	Air, door to door	Sea, FOB, you arrange
Goods	Unit price × quantity	Unit price × quantity
Labels, tags and polybags	Trim price × quantity	Trim price × quantity
Subtotal at the factory	Goods + trims	Goods + trims
Freight	Air quote	Sea quote
Port and delivery handling	Included in the air quote, if the forwarder says so	Forwarder's handling quote
Duty, taxes and clearance	Broker's estimate	Broker's estimate
Landed total	Subtotal + freight + handling + duty	Subtotal + freight + handling + duty
Landed cost per piece	Landed total ÷ quantity	Landed total ÷ quantity

Compare the two columns on the same quantity. Fixed lines such as handling, clearance and a freight minimum are spread over fewer pieces when the order is smaller, so run the table again for each quantity you are considering. Sea adds transit time that the table does not cost.

YogaSew's real published figures are in the sample and unit price sections above, and the pricing page is where you send your styles for a quote. This guide does not use them in the table so the arithmetic stays yours.

How do I use YogaSew's published prices in this method?

Put YogaSew's published figures into lines 1 to 3 of the method above: the estimated bulk price for the goods line, and the sample price and credit for the sample line. They exclude shipping, so add freight, duty and clearance from your own forwarder and broker. Send your styles, colors and quantities through the pricing page, and the quote replaces the estimate with a price based on your approved sample.

FAQ

How much does it cost to manufacture activewear for a small brand?

It depends on the garment, fabric, decoration and quantity, so a single figure is not reliable. For YogaSew, Estimated bulk prices at the minimum order of 50 pieces per style, per color are USD 12–18 per piece for a sports bra or top, USD 13–20 per piece for leggings and USD 25–38 per set for a top and leggings set. Prices exclude shipping. The final bulk price is based on the approved sample. Add the sample, labels and packaging, freight, duty and clearance to reach a landed cost.

What is landed cost?

Landed cost is the total price of getting the goods to your door: the goods, any separately priced labels and packaging, freight, duty, taxes, clearance and inland delivery. Divide it by the pieces you can sell to get a landed cost per piece.

Is the sample fee refundable?

At YogaSew the fee is credited, not refunded, and only against a bulk order. You pay the sample fee when the sample is made. When your bulk order for that style reaches 500 pieces, the sample fee you paid is deducted from the bulk order total. Other suppliers differ, so ask for the credit terms in writing.

Do the prices include shipping and duty?

YogaSew's published sample and estimated bulk prices exclude shipping. They also state no duty, because duty depends on your destination and your garment. Ask your customs broker for an estimate and keep it as its own line.

Does a lower minimum order mean a lower cost per piece?

Not by itself. A lower minimum lowers the quantity you commit to, but fixed costs such as the sample, freight minimums and clearance are then spread over fewer pieces. Compare the landed cost per piece at the quantity you plan to order.

Next step

Send your design or tech pack, with the garments, colors and quantities you plan, through the YogaSew pricing page. To see what each supplier counts as its minimum, read the activewear MOQ guide.

Written by YogaSew. Third-party references were checked on 2026-11-12.