Dry Cleaning Cost per Garment Calculator

Per-piece cost from solvent, labor, and overhead.

Inputs

Solvent cost ($/gal)

Gallons per load

Garments per load

Labor (min/garment)

Labor rate ($/hr)

Overhead %

%

Tab to move between fields

Results

Cost per garment ($)

$12.11

≈ 2 cups of coffee

Solvent cost ($)$6.25

Labor cost ($)$2.40

Suggested retail ($)$33.30

Profit margin (%)63.63

How to Use This Calculator

Enter the solvent cost per gallon, gallons used per load, and garments per load.
Enter labor minutes per garment and the hourly labor rate.
Set overhead as a percentage of direct (solvent + labor) cost.
Review cost per garment, along with the solvent and labor cost breakdown.
Use the suggested retail price and profit margin to set your cleaning rates.

How the result changes with Garments per load

Garments per load	Cost per garment ($)
5.9	$21.16
18	$9.19
33	$6.54
45	$5.69

What each input means

Solvent cost ($/gal): Cost of perc or alternative solvent per gallon.
Gallons per load: Solvent used per machine load.
Garments per load: Average garments per dry cleaning load.
Labor (min/garment): Minutes of labor per garment (inspect, spot, press).
Labor rate ($/hr): Hourly labor cost.
Overhead %: Rent, utilities, insurance as % of direct cost.

What each result means

Cost per garment ($): Full cost per garment including overhead.
Solvent cost ($): Solvent cost per garment.
Labor cost ($): Labor cost per garment.
Suggested retail ($): Suggested retail price (2.75x cost).
Profit margin (%): Gross profit margin at suggested retail.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Solvent cost ($/gal) = 25, Gallons per load = 3, Garments per load = 12, Labor (min/garment) = 8 = 6 input(s) provided
Calculate Cost per garment
Cost per garment = directCost * (1 + overheadPct / 100)
12.11 = $12.11
Calculate Solvent cost
Solvent cost = (solventCostPerGal * galPerLoad) / garmentsPerLoad
6.25 = $6.25
Calculate Labor cost
Labor cost = (laborMinPerGarment / 60) * laborRatePerHr
2.4 = $2.4

Engine last updated August 6, 2026. Checked against 3 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators.

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