- You normally pay once per design, then reuse the file for every order.
- Digitisers charge a flat fee per design or a rate per 1,000 stitches with a minimum.
- A local embroiderer’s setup fee usually covers digitising your logo for their machine.
- Compare what’s included (formats, revisions, preview, file ownership), not just the headline price.
How do embroidery digitisers charge?
UK digitising services generally publish one of two pricing models: a flat fee per design, or a price per 1,000 stitches with a minimum charge. Some combine them, for example a flat fee up to a stitch limit. (You’ll also see the service called embroidery digitizing, with a z, on US sites.)
| Pricing model | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat fee per design | A set price by design type or complexity (e.g. simple, medium, complex, cap, jacket back) | Knowing the price before the work starts; budgeting repeat orders | How each tier is defined, and what counts as “complex” |
| Per 1,000 stitches | A rate multiplied by the final stitch count, usually with a minimum charge | Very small, simple designs that sit at the minimum | The final price isn’t known until the file is made; dense and large designs climb quickly |
| Setup fee at a local embroiderer | A one-off charge added to your first order for that logo | Buying embroidery and the file from one supplier | Whether you receive the stitch file, and whether a new size or garment is charged again |
How per-stitch pricing scales: a worked example
The numbers below are hypothetical, chosen only to show the arithmetic. They are not any company’s price. Say a digitiser charges £1 per 1,000 stitches with a £10 minimum:
| Design (hypothetical) | Stitch count | Calculation | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small text logo | 5,000 | 5 × £1 = £5, below the minimum | £10 |
| Detailed left chest logo | 14,000 | 14 × £1 | £14 |
| Full jacket back | 60,000 | 60 × £1 | £60 |
Per-stitch pricing is cheap at the bottom and expensive at the top. A flat fee does the opposite: you may pay a little more for a tiny design, but a large, dense one doesn’t surprise you. For a rough stitch count, try the free stitch count estimator; treat the result as an estimate.
Why does my local embroiderer charge a setup fee?
Because before they can embroider your logo, someone has to digitise it into a stitch file for their machine. The setup (or digitising) fee pays for that work, and it’s usually charged once per design and size rather than on every order.
Two questions are worth asking before you pay it. First, will you receive a copy of the stitch file, or does it stay with the embroiderer? Second, if you later want the logo on a cap or a bigger jacket back, is that a new fee? Our guide to digitising fees and file ownership has a question list and an email template you can copy.
If you’d rather own the file and take it to any embroiderer, you can buy the digitising separately and send the file to whoever does the stitching.
What does PlixaLabs charge?
PlixaLabs charges a flat price per design in GBP, never per 1,000 stitches. Every price includes all machine formats, unlimited revisions with no time limit and a stitch simulation preview.
| Design type | Standard (4–8 hours) | Rush (2–4 hours) or super rush (1–2 hours) |
|---|---|---|
| Simple design | £10 | £15 |
| Medium design | £15 | £22.50 |
| Complex design | £22 | £33 |
| Left chest logo | £10 | £15 |
| Cap | £12 | £18 |
| 3D puff | £15 | £22.50 |
| Jacket back | £18 | £27 |
| Patch | £12 | £18 |
| Appliqué | £12 | £18 |
| Coloreel | £20 | £30 |
| Vector conversion | £8 | £12 |
Your first design is free: one per new registered business, Simple or Medium complexity, at standard turnaround. Embroiderers and uniform suppliers with regular volume can ask about trade accounts, with white-label delivery and volume pricing quoted per account.
What changes the price of digitising?
Four things move the price, whichever pricing model a digitiser uses.
1. Size, detail and colour count
Every colour change has to be sequenced, and fine detail takes time to plan so it still reads in thread. A two-colour wordmark is quick. A school crest with a motto banner takes much longer.
2. Stitch techniques
Clean satin lettering is straightforward. Gradients, layered fills, 3D puff, appliqué and small text need more planning and testing.
3. Garment and placement
The same logo digitised for a flat polo, a structured cap and a fleece can be three different files, each with its own density, underlay and sewing order. That’s why cap digitising is priced separately.
4. Turnaround
Faster delivery usually costs more because the job jumps the queue. At PlixaLabs, rush and super rush add +50%.
See every price in one place
Flat prices from £10 per design, all formats and unlimited revisions included.
View our price list →Are Fiverr or Etsy digitisers cheaper?
Marketplace sellers often advertise lower prices, and some are skilled. The trade-offs are consistency and accountability: the person who did your last file may not be available for the next one, turnaround and revision terms vary by seller, and some cheap listings rely on automatic conversion. If you buy on a marketplace, test the file on the real garment before a production run. Our Fiverr and Etsy vs a digitising studio comparison goes through the differences.
What is the hidden cost of a bad file?
A file that sews badly costs far more than the price difference between two digitisers, because the losses land on your production floor. Instead of a made-up average, work out your own number:
(garments ruined × blank garment cost) + machine and operator time for the re-run + cost of getting the file fixed or re-digitised + any express courier to hit the deadline
The usual culprits are thread breaks, puckering, gaps between fills and outlines, lettering that closes up, and long jump stitches left untrimmed. If a file you already have is causing trouble, send it with a quote request: we fix or rebuild broken, auto-digitised or third-party files, quoted after a free file check.
What should be included in the price?
Compare quotes on what they include, not just the number. A fair price should cover:
- Revisions without a short cap. Problems often show up at the first sew-out, not on screen.
- Every format you need, such as DST, PES, EXP and JEF, without a charge per format.
- A stitch simulation preview before you use machine time.
- A written turnaround and a clear rush price.
- Clear file ownership, so you can use the file with any embroiderer.
- An invoice from a registered business you can put through your accounts.
For a fuller buyer checklist, read how to choose an embroidery digitising service.
How can I estimate my own cost?
Start with the finished size in millimetres, the garment and the number of colours. Then use the stitch count estimator for a rough stitch count, check which tier your design falls into on our pricing page, or send the artwork for an exact quote.