Quick answer: At a 100–300 piece run, expect ~US$6–12 per legging and ~US$4–8 per bra ex-works. A realistic first run lands at US$3,000–10,000 all-in (samples + bulk + branding + freight).
Per-unit garment cost (ex-works)
This is the factory price per piece, before shipping and duties. It drops with volume and rises with fabric weight, features (pockets, zips, bonding) and finish.
| Item | 100–300 pcs | 1,000+ pcs |
|---|---|---|
| Seamless leggings | US$7–12 | US$5–8 |
| Sports bra | US$4–8 | US$3–5 |
| Matching set (bra + leggings) | US$11–18 | US$8–12 |
| Shorts / biker shorts | US$5–9 | US$4–6 |
Add roughly US$0.30–1.50 per piece for logos (heat-transfer, silicone, embroidery), woven labels, hangtags and polybags.
Sample & development costs
- Development sample: ~US$30–80 per style (often credited against bulk).
- Custom fabric / Pantone match: sometimes a small fee or higher MOQ per color.
- Rounds: budget for 1–2 sample iterations to nail fit.
A realistic first-run budget
Example: 2 styles, ~100 pcs each, with branding and air freight.
| Line item | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Samples (3–4 rounds across 2 styles) | US$200–400 |
| Bulk: ~200 pcs total | US$1,800–3,600 |
| Logos, labels, hangtags, polybags | US$150–400 |
| Freight (air) + duties | US$400–1,200 |
| Typical first run | US$3,000–6,000 |
Add a website (US$0–500 on Shopify) and launch marketing (US$1,000–3,000) and you have your true day-one number.
Where brands waste money
- Ordering too many SKUs at once instead of testing 2–4 hero styles.
- Trading-company markups (you pay a middleman, not the maker).
- Skipping samples and paying for it in returns.
- Over-ordering before a style is proven.
The cost anatomy of one garment
Take apart a seamless legging's factory price and the layers are consistent across the industry: fabric (yarn) is the dominant share at roughly 60–70% of garment cost — which is why fiber choice and GSM move price more than anything else. Labor and machine time take the next slice; seamless shifts cost from sewing labor to knitting-machine amortisation, which is why seamless factories obsess over machine utilisation. Trims (elastic, thread, labels), dyeing and finishing, QC and packing each take single-digit percentages, and factory overhead plus margin closes the stack. When a quote drops dramatically, one of these layers got thinner — usually the fabric.
What moves a quote up or down
Four levers explain most price differences between two leggings that look identical online. Fiber: nylon/spandex hand-feel costs more than polyester; recycled certified yarns carry a premium over virgin. Weight: 260 GSM squat-proof fabric simply contains more yarn than a 190 GSM summer knit. Construction: compression zoning, scrunch seats, pockets and bonded hems all add programming or process steps. Order structure: one style in one color at 500 pieces prices better than five colors at 100 each, because every color is a separate dye lot. Understanding the levers lets you engineer to a target price without gutting quality.
The costs founders forget to budget
The garment is only part of the check. Sampling rounds (fees plus courier), lab dips for custom Pantones, compliance testing if you sell into the EU (REACH) or want retail accounts, freight — which can double in peak season — import duty, 3PL receiving fees, and the quiet killer: returns handling at 15–25% for online activewear. A useful rule: whatever your bulk invoice is, hold another 25–35% for everything wrapped around it. The DDP guide shows how door-to-door quoting simplifies the freight-and-duty slice.
Real 2026 benchmarks instead of guesses
Most cost articles quote "$8–30 per piece" and move on. We published the actual distribution from our full 2026 factory catalog — 2,935 seamless styles: median FOB wholesale sits at $14.80 for a two-piece yoga set, $8.50 for leggings, $7.90 for bras and tops, $7.10 for swimwear, with the middle 50% of each category inside a narrow band. The full tables, fabric-composition norms and methodology are in the wholesale price benchmark — free to cite with a link.
How unit cost falls with volume (the real curve)
The cost curve in seamless is front-loaded: the big step down happens between sample-scale and the first proper dye lots, when setup and dyeing minimums stop dominating. Moving from 50-piece stock orders to ~300-piece custom runs typically improves unit economics meaningfully; from 300 to 1,000 the gains continue but flatten; past a few thousand pieces per style you are negotiating yarn pricing, not garment pricing. Practical implication: don't chase 1,000-piece pricing with 300-piece demand — the discount is real but smaller than the markdown risk of unsold stock.
Negotiating cost without gutting quality
Everything on a quote is a lever, but they are not equal. Safe to negotiate: consolidation (more styles on one fabric), color count (fewer dye lots), packaging simplification, payment terms after a trade history, and timing (off-peak production slots). Dangerous to negotiate: GSM, fiber content and QC scope — those are the product. A factory pushed below its floor doesn't lose margin, it quietly relocates the loss into thinner fabric or skipped inspection. Name your target price and ask "what would have to change to hit this?" — the answer tells you exactly what you'd be trading away.
FAQ
How much to manufacture a pair of leggings?
About US$7–12 per unit at 100–300 pcs; US$5–8 at 1,000+.
Realistic first-run budget?
US$3,000–10,000 all-in depending on styles, customization and freight.