Cost Per Wear Spreadsheet: Build One in 10 Minutes
A cost per wear spreadsheet is a simple sheet with one row per clothing item, a column for price, a column for wears, and a formula that divides one by the other. You can build one free in Google Sheets or Excel in about 10 minutes with the exact columns and formulas below. Then you add a wear each time you put something on, and the sheet shows which clothes are paying off.
If you like the idea but know you'll forget to update a spreadsheet every day, WORN is being built to count wears from one photo a day instead: Start my outfit diary
What the cost per wear sheet tracks
Keep it small. A wardrobe spreadsheet with 20 columns looks impressive on day one and gets abandoned by day five. You only need to track:
- What the item is (a short, consistent name)
- What kind of item (top, bottom, shoes, outerwear)
- What you paid
- How many times you've worn it
- When you last wore it
- Cost per wear (calculated for you)
That's enough for a real cost per wear analysis. You can add more later if you actually use it.
Do I need to list every item I own?
No. A full clothing inventory spreadsheet is a big job. Start with the 20 to 30 things you wear most, plus anything you paid a lot for. Add items the first time you wear them.
Columns and formulas
Open a new sheet and type these headers in row 1:
| Column | Header | What goes in it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Item | Short name, same every time | Black straight jeans |
| B | Category | Top, bottom, shoes, outer, dress | Bottom |
| C | Price | What you paid, incl. tax/shipping | 70 |
| D | Wears | Running count | 24 |
| E | Last worn | Date | 2026-09-25 |
| F | Cost per wear | Formula | 2.92 |
| G | Days since worn | Formula | 2 |
The cost per wear formula for Excel and Google Sheets
In F2, paste:
=IF(D2>0, C2/D2, C2)
This divides price by wears. If you haven't worn it yet, it just shows the full price instead of an error. Format column F as currency.
In G2, paste:
=IF(E2="", "", TODAY()-E2)
This shows how many days since you last wore it. Great for spotting forgotten pieces.
Drag both formulas down to the bottom of your list. The same formulas work in cost per wear Excel sheets and Google Sheets.
Optional extras
- Total spent: in a spare cell,
=SUM(C2:C100) - Total wears:
=SUM(D2:D100) - Average cost per wear across your wardrobe:
=SUM(C2:C100)/SUM(D2:D100) - Notes column (H): "needs hemming," "too scratchy," "gift."
Logging a wear quickly
This is where cost per wear trackers live or die. If logging takes more than a few seconds, you'll stop.
Fast logging options:
- Just add 1. Click the Wears cell and type the new number. Update the date in "Last worn."
- Batch it weekly. Keep a quick note on your phone during the week ("Mon: jeans, grey hoodie, white sneakers"), then update the sheet on Sunday.
- Use photos. Snap your outfit each day and fill in the sheet from your camera roll once a week. Our guide on how to take outfit photos by yourself has a 10-second setup.
A tip that saves headaches
Use exactly the same item name every time. "Black jeans" and "black straight jeans" will become two rows, and your counts will split. If you have two similar items, give them clear names: "black jeans (straight)" and "black jeans (wide)."
Sorting by cost per wear
Once you have two or three weeks of data, sorting turns your outfit tracker spreadsheet into answers.
In Google Sheets: select your data, then Data → Sort range → by column F, A to Z (lowest cost per wear first). In Excel: select your data, then Data → Sort → column F, smallest to largest.
Try sorting a few different ways:
- By cost per wear (low to high): your best-value pieces rise to the top.
- By cost per wear (high to low): your expensive regrets, or items that just need more time.
- By wears (high to low): your real favorites.
- By days since worn (high to low): the stuff you've forgotten you own.
You can also add a filter by category to compare, say, all your shoes against each other.
What the numbers tell you
Here's how to read a cost per wear analysis without overthinking it.
Low CPW + high wears: your workhorses. Look after them and replace them with something similar when they wear out.
High CPW + low wears + recent purchase: give it time, but check in a month.
High CPW + low wears + owned for ages: ask why. Fit? Style? Nothing to wear it with? Decide whether to fix it, wear it on purpose, or pass it on.
High "days since worn": a quick reminder list. Try wearing one of these this week.
Want to know if your numbers are "good"? See our guide on what is a good cost per wear for target ranges by category.
A spreadsheet is only as honest as the wears you remember to type in. Most sheets go stale in the second week. WORN is planned to do the counting part for you: one photo a day of what you actually wore, one tap, no tagging and no cataloguing your wardrobe first. After a month it reads back what you wear most and what you never touch. Start my outfit diary
Your free cost per wear spreadsheet copy
Here's the whole thing in one block. Copy the header row into row 1, then the formulas into row 2, and drag down.
Row 1 (headers):
Item | Category | Price | Wears | Last worn | Cost per wear | Days since worn | Notes
Row 2 (formulas in F and G):
- F2:
=IF(D2>0, C2/D2, C2) - G2:
=IF(E2="", "", TODAY()-E2)
Starter rows to try it out:
| Item | Category | Price | Wears | Cost per wear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grey hoodie | Top | 45 | 30 | $1.50 |
| White sneakers | Shoes | 80 | 50 | $1.60 |
| Party dress | Dress | 55 | 1 | $55.00 |
| Black straight jeans | Bottom | 70 | 24 | $2.92 |
That's a working, free cost per wear template. If you'd rather just do quick math without a sheet, the cost per wear calculator has a lookup chart.
Cost per wear spreadsheet for students
If you're on a tight budget, add one more column: "Would I buy it again? (Y/N)." After a couple of months, the "N" rows are your best shopping lesson, and they cost nothing to learn from.
Skip the typing, keep the numbers
A cost per wear spreadsheet works beautifully until the day you forget to update it. WORN is being built as a private outfit diary: one photo a day, and after a month it shows your most-worn pieces, the ones you never touch, and tomorrow's outfit from clothes you already own. Join the waitlist with your email.
FAQ
How do I make a cost per wear spreadsheet?
Create columns for item, category, price, wears and last worn, then add a cost per wear column with the formula =IF(D2>0, C2/D2, C2). Add one row per item and update the wears each time you wear something.
Is there a free cost per wear spreadsheet template?
Yes, you can build the one above for free in Google Sheets or Excel. Copy the headers, paste the two formulas, and drag them down your list.
What formula do I use for cost per wear in Excel?
Use price divided by wears, like =C2/D2. Wrapping it as =IF(D2>0, C2/D2, C2) avoids a divide-by-zero error for items you haven't worn yet.
How do I keep a wardrobe spreadsheet up to date?
Make logging tiny: add a wear in seconds, or jot outfits in a phone note and update the sheet once a week. Daily outfit photos also help you catch up without relying on memory.
Should my clothing inventory spreadsheet include everything I own?
It doesn't have to. Start with the pieces you wear most and anything expensive, then add items the first time you wear them. A shorter sheet you keep updating beats a complete one you abandon.