Cost Per Wear Calculator
A $200 jacket worn 80 times costs $2.50 per wear; a $30 top worn 4 times costs $7.50. The price tag and the cost are two different things. This calculator finds the true cost per wear including care costs and resale value, compares two items side by side, and tells you how many wears it takes to reach your target.
Worked example, checked against this exact tool
Item A: a $200 jacket worn 80 times. Item B: a $30 fast-fashion top worn 4 times.
Item A: true cost $200.00, cost per wear = 200 ÷ 80 = $2.50, rated Excellent value, already under $5 per wear. Item B: 30 ÷ 4 = $7.50 per wear, rated Reasonable. Item A is the better value, saving $5.00 per wear: the $200 jacket is the cheap one and the $30 top is the expensive one.
With care costs: a $150 sweater worn 50 times with $20 of dry cleaning and $30 expected resale: (150 + 20 − 30) ÷ 50 = $2.80 per wear.
The value curve
Cost per wear falls with every wear, which is why durability beats discounts. A $150 pair of boots worn 100 times costs $1.50 per wear; a $40 pair that falls apart after 8 wears costs $5.00. The boots were cheaper from the fourth month on. This is also why the honest formula includes care: a $300 suit that needs $15 of dry cleaning per wear is a different proposition than a $300 suit you never clean.
What counts as a good cost per wear
As a rough guide: under $1 is exceptional (everyday basics), under $5 is excellent, $5–$15 is reasonable, and over $15 means the item is not earning its place. Two caveats: occasionwear (wedding outfits, ski gear) will always score high and that is fine, and resale value genuinely lowers the number for quality pieces that hold value secondhand.
Fast fashion vs slow fashion, in numbers
Fast fashion's business model is a high cost per wear disguised as a low price: the garment is engineered for a short life, so the denominator stays small. A quality garment costs more upfront but its denominator keeps growing for years. The comparison mode exists for exactly this decision: put the two candidates in side by side before you buy, not after the cheap one falls apart.
What competing calculators miss
The top-ranking cost-per-wear tool takes a price and a wear count and returns one number: no care costs, no resale value, no comparison, no benchmarks. The richest content competitor describes the full formula and the value curve but never lets you compute a comparison. This page computes the true-cost formula (price + care − resale), compares two items with a verdict, rates each against published benchmarks, and tells you the wear count needed to hit $5 and $1 per wear.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate cost per wear?
Divide the total cost by the number of wears: (price + care costs − resale value) ÷ wears. A $200 jacket worn 80 times = $2.50 per wear.
What is a good cost per wear?
Under $1 is exceptional, under $5 excellent, $5–$15 reasonable, over $15 high. Occasionwear is the legitimate exception.
Should care costs count?
Yes, if they are material. Dry cleaning, resoling, and tailoring are part of what the item costs you; ignoring them flatters high-maintenance clothes.
Does resale value really lower cost per wear?
Yes for pieces that hold value: subtract what you can realistically resell it for. Be honest about the number; most fast fashion resells for nearly nothing.
Is a $500 coat worth it?
If you wear it 150 times over five winters, it costs $3.33 per wear: excellent value. If you wear it 10 times, it costs $50 per wear. The calculator answers it from your actual habits.
How many times must I wear something to reach $5 per wear?
Divide the true cost by 5: a $200 item needs 40 wears. The tool computes this for $5 and $1 targets automatically.
Does cost per wear work for kids' clothes?
Yes, and it usually argues for secondhand: children outgrow clothes long before wearing them out, so the denominator is capped and resale or hand-me-down value matters most.
Why do cheap clothes often cost more per wear?
Because the wear count collapses: poor fit, pilling, and fading mean the item leaves your rotation after a handful of wears, while the price was never that low to begin with.