How Much Does It Cost to Tailor a Suit? Prices From 19 Price Lists

Tailoring an off-the-rack suit with the three usual jobs (shorten the sleeves, take in the jacket waist, hem the trousers) costs about $130 at the median of 19 published US price lists we compared. The same three jobs cost $67 at the cheapest listed prices and $245 at the most expensive, and take about one to two weeks unless you pay a rush fee of 30 to 50%.

Prices depend heavily on the city and the shop. Below is what each job costs, what typical suits add up to, and when the total says you should buy a different size instead.

How much each suit alteration costs

We collected the published alteration price lists of 19 independent tailors and dry cleaners in 14 US cities and took the lowest, middle (median) and highest price for each job. Where a shop gave a range, we used the midpoint; where it gave a starting price ("$50 and up"), we used that. Not every shop lists every job, so the second column says how many lists each row is based on.

The lists, all seen on November 13, 2026: in New York, 123Alterations, Shopboy, Alterations.com and Deneha Tailor; Sew & Glow and Grace Zion Tailors in Chicago; Tailors Touch and Denver Tailor in Denver; Dexter Dry Cleaners in Seattle and Classic Fine Dry Cleaners in Renton, Washington; The Cleaning Club in Los Angeles; Gage Court Clothiers in Baltimore; The Tailor Shop Dallas; Neighborhood Alterations in Portland; Brickell Alterations in Miami; Grand & 38th Alterations in Minneapolis; All Bodies Tailoring in Albuquerque; Hangers Cleaners in Warner Robins, Georgia; and Stanton 1 Hour Cleaners in Philadelphia. The chain column is from Men's Wearhouse's published list.

How to read it:

• The shop and city change the price a lot. The same sleeve job runs from $25 to $105. The Miami shop was the most expensive on six of the nine jobs it lists, and three of the four New York shops sit in the upper half. The Georgia dry cleaner was the cheapest on every job it lists. Four of the 19 lists are in New York, so the medians lean slightly toward big-city prices.
• Chain stores are cheaper on their own suits. Men's Wearhouse charges $10 less per job on suits bought there. Suitsupply lists $29 for sleeves or sides, $15 for the trouser waist and $7.50 for a trouser hem on its own suits.
• Thin rows are thin. Working buttonholes (3 lists), collars (5) and seat (4, since most shops price the seat together with the waist) rest on few prices.

Lengthening sleeves or trousers costs about the same as shortening at most of these shops, but only works if there is enough fabric folded inside. What a tailor can and cannot fix explains seam allowance and covers other garments.

What tailoring a whole suit costs: three worked examples

All three use the medians above. Take your own shop's list and swap in its numbers.

An off-the-rack suit that fits the shoulders

The usual case: the jacket fits at the shoulders and chest, but the sleeves cover your shirt cuff, the waist hangs straight, and the trousers fold over your shoes.

Add $35 if the trouser waist also needs taking in, for $165. The same three jobs cost $120 at Men's Wearhouse on a suit bought elsewhere, and $65.50 at Suitsupply on one of its own suits.

A suit one size too big

Sizing up to fit your chest or seat leaves everything else loose. Assuming the shoulders still sit at your shoulder bone:

If the shoulder seams hang past your shoulders, add a shoulder reduction at a median $125, for $334. That is the point to stop and try the smaller size: the shoulder job alone costs more than the sleeves, waist and hem together, and it is the job most likely to still look altered afterwards.

A thrifted suit

Older suits often need everything at once, and the trousers are usually wider than current cuts.

A thrifted suit is only a bargain when the shoulders, chest and jacket length already fit, because those are the parts nobody can add back. Before you buy, look inside the trouser waistband for spare fabric in the center back seam, and fold the sleeve hem back to see how much is turned under. In the Downtown Tailoring sleeve shortening video, the tailor gives about 1.5 inches (4 cm) as the standard turned-up sleeve hem; less than that limits how far a sleeve can be lengthened.

When the total says buy a different size

Add up your jobs before you pay for any of them. Three signs you are fixing the wrong suit:

1. The list includes shoulders, sleeves from the shoulder, or jacket length. At medians of $125, $145 and $94, these structural jobs are each about as expensive as the three routine jobs combined.
2. The total passes what the suit cost. On a $150 suit, the $209 "size too big" bill costs more than the suit, while the right size would have needed only the $130 of routine jobs.
3. Men's Wearhouse's rule is to tailor only when alterations stay under 20% of what you paid for the suit (their guide). That is strict, and it suits new suits more than thrifted ones.

The can a tailor fix it tool sorts each problem into easy, costly or not worth it, and how a blazer or suit jacket should fit shows what to check in the fitting room.

What a tailor cannot fix, or should not

Shoulders. Nine shops list a shoulder reduction, at $55 to $200. It means taking off the sleeves, collar and lining and rebuilding the top of the jacket. Buy for the shoulders.

Jacket length beyond about 2.5 cm (1 inch). Alteration Specialists say shortening more than 1.5 inches (about 4 cm) means rebuilding the vents, and past 2 inches (5 cm) the front pockets sit too close to the hem. A jacket can almost never be lengthened.

Sleeves with working buttonholes, by much. The holes are cut into the cloth and cannot move. In her video on functional buttonholes, alterations tailor Shae of Sew Show with Shae shortens one by half an inch from the cuff and puts the limit at about 3/4 inch (2 cm) that way. Beyond that, the sleeve has to come off at the shoulder: the $145 job.

Sleeves from the shoulder, by much. In a second video, Shae traces a suit sleeve on paper to show why. Taking length off the top changes the shape of the sleeve cap, and her best fix still narrows the whole sleeve by about 3/4 inch, "an entire size down". Her limit is about 1.5 inches (4 cm); more than that and you need a different jacket.

Can a tailor make a suit bigger?

A little. Letting out uses the seam allowance, the fabric folded inside each seam, so the limit is what the factory left there.

• Jacket: SuitShop says to use only the three back seams, since the front seams run into the pockets. Each holds about 1/4 to 1/2 inch, which adds up to 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 4 cm) around the waist. The chest and shoulders cannot be made bigger.
• Trousers: the center back seam of most men's dress trousers holds more spare fabric than any jacket seam. Many women's trousers have little or none.
• Sleeves and hems: only as far as the fabric turned up inside allows, and an old hem line can show on worn cloth.

If you need more room than that, buy the next size and have it taken in.

Can a tailor make a suit jacket smaller?

Yes, through the waist. Taking in the sides and the center back seam is one of the most common jobs, at a median $55. UK tailors Mullen & Mullen put the maximum at 1.5 to 2 inches (4 to 5 cm) each way; beyond that, the neck and armholes no longer sit where they should. Sleeves can be narrowed too (tapered), usually for the same price as shortening them or a little less.

What a tailor cannot do is make the chest or shoulders a full size smaller. A jacket that is too big everywhere is a smaller size, not an alteration. Women's jackets with princess seams have more seams to take in at the waist, but the bust cannot be let out much; see how a women's blazer should fit.

How long does it take to tailor a suit?

About one to two weeks at an independent tailor, two to three days at Suitsupply on its own suits, and next day or same day if you pay for it. From the same price lists:

A jacket waist or sleeve job usually needs a fitting with pins first and ideally a second one to check. For a wedding or interview, book the first fitting at least two weeks before the date, and wear the shirt and shoes you will wear on the day.

FAQ

How much does it cost to hem suit trousers? A median of $25 across 19 lists, from $12 at a Georgia dry cleaner to $50 in Miami. Cuffs usually add $5 to $10.

How much does it cost to shorten suit jacket sleeves? A median of $50 at the cuff. With working buttonholes it is about $75 when the shop can do it at the cuff, and a median of $145 when it has to go through the shoulder.

Is it worth tailoring a cheap suit? Yes, if the shoulders and jacket length fit and the bill stays around the $130 of the three routine jobs. If it also needs shoulder or length work, put the money toward a better size.

Can a suit be tailored in a day? Some shops do it: one Los Angeles cleaner has garments ready the next evening and a Philadelphia cleaner offers same-day service. Expect to pay 30 to 50% more for rush work, and skip same-day for jacket waist work that needs a second fitting.