— Tools
Cost Per Wear Calculator
The real price of a piece isn’t the tag — it’s the tag divided by how many times you actually wear it. Run your own numbers below.
What you paid, in dollars
How often you actually wear it
Before it's worn out or replaced
Cost per wear
$0.52
Total wears
144
61% cheaper per wear than a $20 fast-fashion tee worn 15 times ($1.33/wear).
— The formula
Cost per wear = price ÷ total wears
Cost per wear strips out the sticker price and asks a better question: how much did each time you wore it actually cost? Multiply wears per month by 12, multiply that by years of expected life, and divide the price by the result. A piece that costs more but survives longer can end up cheaper in the end — but only if it actually gets worn that often.
— Worked examples
A $20 tee vs. a $75 tee
The $75 tee costs nearly four times as much upfront. But if it’s built to survive 150+ wears instead of 15, it ends up costing less than half as much per wear. That only holds if the heavier tee actually gets worn 150 times — if it’s the kind of piece that’ll sit in a drawer after a handful of outings, the $20 tee is the smarter buy. Cost per wear only rewards pieces that get worn.
— What makes it last
What makes clothing survive more wears
Two things do most of the work. Everything else — logos, trends, brand name — has no bearing on how long a piece actually lasts.
- Fabric weight. Heavier fabric (a higher GSM, or grams per square metre) resists pilling, thinning, and stretching out of shape. A 220 GSM cotton tee holds its shape through hundreds of washes in a way a 140 GSM tee usually can’t.
- Construction. Reinforced seams, tighter stitch counts, and details like flat-felled or French seams stop a garment from unraveling at the exact points that take the most stress — armpits, crotch seams, cuffs. Cheap construction fails there first, regardless of the fabric.
— FAQ
Frequently asked
What is cost per wear?
Cost per wear is the price of an item divided by how many times you actually wear it before it's replaced. A $75 tee worn 150 times costs $0.50 per wear. A $20 tee worn 15 times costs $1.33 per wear. It's a better measure of value than the price tag alone, because it accounts for how long a piece survives in rotation.
How do you calculate cost per wear?
Divide the price by total expected wears: price ÷ (wears per month × 12 × years of expected life). A $120 jacket worn 4 times a month for 3 years works out to 144 wears, or $0.83 per wear. The fewer times you expect to wear something, the more the price tag alone matters.
Is expensive clothing cheaper per wear?
Only if it actually gets worn enough to earn that price back. A well-made piece built from heavier fabric and stronger seams can easily outlast five cheaper versions, which brings its cost per wear down over time. But if you'd only wear something a handful of times — a one-off event, a trend you're not sure about — a cheap piece worn a few times is honestly the better deal. Cost per wear only rewards pieces you'll actually keep wearing.