An office administrator in Pasig canvasses polos for 150 employees. Same message to three suppliers: "150 polos with our company logo, please quote." Three replies arrive by Friday. The lowest number and the highest number are more than double apart.
She builds a comparison sheet — supplier, price, turnaround — and picks the middle quote as the safe choice. The delivery arrives on time. The polos are thin, the collars soft, the logo a small print where she had pictured stitching. They are exactly what the middle quote specified. She just never read it as a specification.
None of the suppliers cheated her. The quotes were never three prices for one polo. They were one price each for three different polos.
That is the single most important thing to understand about custom uniform pricing in the Philippines: you cannot compare quotes until you know what actually sets the price. This guide gives you the full price list — and the logic that makes it readable.
Why three quotes for "the same polo" can be three different numbers
Custom apparel pricing follows a hierarchy, and it is not the one most buyers assume. The garment — polo, shirt, jacket — comes last. What comes first is how the design gets onto the fabric.
A uniform quote is not a price for a shirt. It is a price for a method, on a fabric, in a garment — in that order.
Figure
1. The decoration method sets the band. Sublimation, embroidery, and DTF are different production processes, not different finishes on the same process. Sublimation prints unlimited color into polyester in one pass. Embroidery is stitched, position by position, over digitized artwork. DTF prints full-color transfers onto cotton. Each carries its own machine time, labor, and material cost — which is why a sublimated polo is priced below an embroidered one even on the same fabric.
2. The fabric moves the price within the band. Fabric is a specification, not a vibe: honeycomb at 280–300gsm costs more than CVC at 180–220gsm, and both behave differently under each method. A quote that names the fabric and its GSM is comparable. A quote that says "good quality fabric" is not.
3. The garment type applies construction cost last. A round neck is the simplest build; a collared polo adds construction; a jacket is a different assembly entirely; a custom-sewn style needs a new pattern drafted before the first piece is cut. Same logo, same fabric class — the garment's build sets the final step of the number.
Run the administrator's three quotes through this hierarchy and the mystery disappears: a plain CVC polo, a DTF-printed polo, and an embroidered honeycomb polo are three different products. The comparison sheet had one column for "price" and no column for "what."
What custom uniforms cost in the Philippines
Pricing verified: July 2026. Standard manufacturer pricing, per piece, VAT-inclusive, delivery quoted separately. The decoration method drives every band below; quantity adjusts case by case.
Polos:
- Corporate polo, embroidered — honeycomb/Lacoste fabric (280–300gsm) with chest embroidery: ₱550 start, up to ₱750 depending on logo size, positions, and volume
- Full-sublimation polo — Polydex (180–220gsm), unlimited colors: ₱450
- Budget corporate polo — CVC (180–220gsm) with embroidery: case-by-case
Round necks and event shirts:
- Plain round neck — cotton: ₱200
- Round neck with DTF print — cotton, one print location: ₱250, plus ₱50 per additional location
- Round neck, full sublimation — polyester (Drifit/Aircool): ₱350
Jerseys:
- Jersey top or shorts — Drifit/Airmax, full sublimation: ₱350 each
- Full jersey set: ₱700
Jackets:
- Any style — collared, bomber, mandarin, hoodie — with embroidered logo (gabardine shell for collared): ₱1,000
Scrubs:
- Scrub top or 6-pocket pants — peach/cotton twill (200–240gsm): ₱600 each
- Full scrub set: ₱1,200
Caps and custom builds:
- Embroidered cap — cotton twill 6-panel: ₱250
- Custom-sewn garment — new pattern, with one embroidered logo: from ₱600
Decoration à la carte:
- DTF prints: A4 ₱50 · A3 ₱100
- Embroidery: names or single-color text ₱60 · small logo (3×3) ₱100 · big logo from ₱200
- Logo digitizing — one-time setup per design, not per piece: ₱500–₱1,000
Add-ons:
- Extra DTF print position: +₱50
- Extra embroidery position (sleeve, back): +₱40
- Individual name embroidery: +₱50
- Extended sizes: small per-piece step, finalized at quote
Terms that come with these numbers: 50% downpayment to start production, balance before release. Free digital mockup within one business day of inquiry. Embroidery sew-out sample on confirmed orders. Production runs about 3 days for 100 pieces and 7 days for 1,000 once artwork is approved.
On volume: there is no formal tier table, and be wary of suppliers who print one — real volume pricing depends on fabric, design complexity, and where your order lands in the production calendar. Volume is negotiated case by case, and a confirmed early order does more for the number than hard bargaining ever does.
What moves the number inside the band
Two quotes for the same method, fabric, and garment can still differ. These are the levers — worth knowing before you ask for a revision, because some cost per piece and some cost only once.
Figure
Per piece: every additional decoration position, bigger logos, heavier fabric, extended sizes, and per-name personalization. These scale with quantity — 150 shirts with a sleeve print is 150 extra prints.
One time: logo digitizing. The setup converts your logo into a stitch file, and it is paid once per design, not per batch. On every re-order after the first, that cost is already sunk — one of several reasons the re-order relationship compounds in the buyer's favor.
Free: the digital mockup, before any commitment. A supplier who charges for a first mockup is charging you to be quoted.
The calendar: not a line item, but it moves real cost. A rush order compresses everything and removes your leverage; an early confirmed order does the opposite. The event date is sacred — and the earlier the supplier knows it, the cheaper it is to honor.
How to read a Philippine uniform quote
A number without a specification is not a quote — it is an opening position. Before comparing anything, check that each quote actually states:
Figure
- VAT status. Inclusive or not. A VAT-exclusive number looks 12% better than it is.
- Delivery. Quoted separately, stated separately. "Free delivery" folded into a higher per-piece price is not free.
- Payment structure. Downpayment percentage and release terms, in writing.
- What is included. Mockup, revisions, sew-out sample. These differ more between suppliers than the per-piece price does.
- The production window. In writing, starting from artwork approval — not from inquiry.
- The full specification. Fabric with GSM, method, number of decoration positions, logo size. This is the line that makes quotes comparable at all.
If an item is missing, ask. A supplier who answers precisely is telling you how they run production; a supplier who stays vague is also telling you something. And when the delivery arrives, check it against the specification you were quoted — the spec is only worth what you verify.
The complete guide to sending an inquiry that gets a firm quote back — one message, all five facts — is in how to brief a uniform supplier.
The cheapest quote is a claim, not a bargain
Everything above assumes the quotes are honest. One structural fact decides whether they can be: whether the supplier quoting you actually runs the machines.
A trader who subcontracts adds a margin on top of a factory price you never see — so either the price rises for the same shirt, or the shirt quietly degrades to protect the margin. Lighter fabric than quoted, a smaller print, a subcontractor's schedule you cannot verify. The in-house versus middleman difference is not a preference; on price, it is the difference between a number backed by a production floor and a number backed by someone else's.
And the quote is never the whole cost. A uniform worn weekly for a year spreads its price across every wear; the polo that costs a third less and fades by month two does not survive that arithmetic. Neither does a delivery that misses the date it was bought for — the cheapest quote that arrives late is the most expensive shirt you can buy.
The doctrine, compressed: buy the specification, not the number. The number is only the price of what is actually written down.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a custom polo shirt cost in the Philippines? A full-sublimation polo runs ₱450 per piece; a corporate polo in honeycomb fabric (280–300gsm) with an embroidered logo runs ₱550 to ₱750 per piece. Quotes in the ₱200–₱300 range are typically plain or lightly printed shirts — a different product, not a better price for the same one. All figures VAT-inclusive, delivery quoted separately.
Why is a full-sublimation polo cheaper than an embroidered one? Because the decoration method sets the price band before fabric or garment type. Sublimation prints the design into the fabric in one pass, unlimited colors included. Embroidery adds stitching labor, logo digitizing, and heavier corporate-grade fabric underneath it. Same polo shape, different production path — different price.
Do custom uniform prices include VAT and delivery? Standard manufacturer pricing in the Philippines is VAT-inclusive with delivery quoted separately, and that is how every figure in this guide is stated. Always confirm both points on any quote you receive — a number that silently excludes VAT or bundles vague "shipping" is not comparable to one that doesn't.
How does the downpayment work for custom uniform orders? The standard structure is 50% downpayment to start production, with the balance settled before release of the finished order. The downpayment commits fabric and a production slot to your order; the balance-before-release protects the manufacturer. A free digital mockup typically comes before any money moves at all.
Do prices go down for bigger orders? Case by case, yes — but reputable Philippine manufacturers rarely publish a fixed volume-tier table, because the real cost depends on fabric, design complexity, and the production calendar. The honest lever is commitment: a confirmed order with locked artwork earns better treatment than a large but vague inquiry ever will.
What do I need to send to get an accurate uniform quote? Five things: the garment type, the quantity with a size breakdown or estimate, your logo or design files with placement, your target date, and the decoration method if you know it — or a description of the design so the method can be recommended. A complete first message gets a firm quote; a vague one gets a range that will move later.
Continue your research
Decide the garment:
- The complete corporate polo buying guide
- The complete corporate jacket buying guide
- Basketball jersey set production guide
- Event shirt production at scale
Understand what drives the price:
- Embroidery vs DTF vs sublimation: which method for your project
- Fabric options for custom uniforms and apparel in the Philippines
Choose and brief the supplier:
- How to choose a custom uniform supplier in the Philippines
- In-house production vs subcontracted suppliers in the Philippines
- How to brief a uniform supplier: what to send before asking for a quote
A price is the output of decisions, not the start of them. Choose the method, name the fabric, specify the garment — and the number stops being a mystery and becomes a receipt. Buyers who compare specifications get what they paid for. Buyers who compare numbers get what the number paid for.