Gildan 64000 vs Bella Canvas 3001: Soft Tee Showdown

If you’re weighing Gildan 64000 vs Bella Canvas 3001, you’re really asking one question: is the cheaper “soft” tee close enough to the fashion default to swap it in? Both are lightweight ring-spun blanks, but the Gildan 64000 (Softstyle) runs about $2 less per shirt while the Bella 3001 wins on fit consistency and color depth. Here’s where the gap actually matters — and where it doesn’t.

Quick verdict

If you…	Pick
Want the lowest cost on a soft, ring-spun tee	Gildan 64000
Sell fashion/streetwear where fit consistency matters	Bella Canvas 3001
Need a huge heather and fashion-color range	Bella Canvas 3001
Print mostly white/light tees on a budget line	Gildan 64000
Want sizes up to 5XL	Bella Canvas 3001

Short version: the Gildan 64000 is the budget-soft tee that’s “good enough” for most value-driven designs. The Bella Canvas 3001 is the consistency-and-fit standard you pay a small premium for.

Gildan 64000 vs Bella Canvas 3001 specs

Spec	Gildan 64000 (Softstyle)	Bella Canvas 3001
Weight	4.5 oz / 153 g/m²	4.2 oz / 142 g/m²
Material	100% ring-spun cotton, 30 singles	100% combed & ring-spun cotton
Heather blend	Most heathers 65/35 poly/cotton; Sport Grey 90/10	Heathers 52/48 cotton/poly
Fit	Semi-fitted, slightly fuller body	Retail / slim
Construction	Tubular body, taped neck & shoulders	Side-seamed, shoulder taping
Sizes	XS–3XL	XS–5XL
Colors	~40	80+
Price band (avg)	~$6.50 ($5.49–$7.50)	~$9.09 ($6.49–$11.69)
Best for	Budget soft tees, value niches	Fashion brands, fit-sensitive niches

The three specs that decide it: the 64000 is the heavier of the two (4.5 vs 4.2 oz), the 3001 is slimmer and side-seamed, and Bella carries roughly double the color options.

When Gildan 64000 is the better pick

The Gildan 64000 exists to close the softness gap with Bella at a lower price. It mostly succeeds.

• Cost. It sits in the budget-soft tier, averaging around $6.50 across suppliers vs Bella’s ~$9. That’s roughly $2 saved per blank — real money once you’re moving volume.
• Ring-spun softness. Unlike Gildan’s heavier open-end tees (the 5000 and 2000), the 64000 uses 30-singles ring-spun cotton. The handfeel is genuinely soft, not “promo tee” rough.
• Slightly more body. At 4.5 oz it’s a hair heavier than the 3001’s 4.2 oz, so it feels a touch less see-through on whites.
• Good enough for value niches. If you’re selling novelty, hobby, family, or giveaway-adjacent designs at $18–$22 retail, buyers won’t clock the difference from a Bella. The fit is semi-fitted rather than truly slim, which actually suits broader/older audiences.

The trade-off: only ~40 colors, no side seams (tubular tees can twist after washing), and it tops out at 3XL.

When Bella Canvas 3001 is the better pick

The Bella Canvas 3001 is the default for a reason — it’s the fit and color benchmark the whole POD market measures against.

• Slimmer, more consistent fit. The retail cut is narrower and longer. Fashion and streetwear buyers expect this silhouette, and the unit-to-unit consistency is tighter than Gildan’s.
• Color depth. 80+ shades including the deep heather and fashion-color palette that’s driven POD aesthetics for years. If your designs lean on heather grey, heather forest, or vintage tones, the 64000’s ~40 colors won’t cover you.
• Side-seamed construction. Side seams shape the shirt to the body and resist the post-wash twist that tubular tees can develop.
• Sizes to 5XL. Broader size range if extended sizing matters to your niche.

The trade-off is the ~$2 base premium and slightly thinner whites.

How they differ on fit, fabric, and print

Fit. This is the clearest split. Bella runs slim and “retail.” Gildan’s 64000 is semi-fitted — close to Bella but with a slightly fuller body. If a customer is between a fitted and relaxed feel, the Gildan reads a bit roomier. For fashion niches that’s a downside; for mainstream audiences it’s a plus. One practical note for your sizing guidance: the Softstyle is a fitted tee compared with Gildan’s boxy classics, so buyers used to a 5000 should expect it closer to the body. Both shirts are pre-shrunk and lose only about 1–3% after a hot wash, so neither needs aggressive size-up advice.

Fabric. Both are ring-spun, so both feel soft out of the bag — this is the 64000’s whole pitch. The 3001 is combed and ring-spun, the extra combing step removing short fibers for a marginally smoother, more uniform face. At 4.5 oz the Gildan has a touch more substance; at 4.2 oz the Bella drapes a little more. After a dozen wash cycles the gap narrows — both soften and hold shape — but the Bella stays slightly tighter-knit, which is why high-detail prints look crisper on it longer.

Print behavior on solids. On whites and lights, DTG and DTF results are close to indistinguishable. The 64000’s 30-singles, high-stitch-density surface gives DTG a smooth bed to print on, so on solid-color tees the Gildan genuinely keeps up. The difference shows on darks: Bella’s tighter, combed weave tends to take ink with a hair more saturation on a heavy-coverage dark design viewed side by side.

Print behavior on heathers — the real catch. This is where sellers get surprised. The 64000’s heathers are poly-heavy — most heather colors are 65/35 polyester/cotton, with Sport Grey and antiques around 90/10. Water-based DTG ink bonds to cotton, not polyester, so a high-poly heather can print duller and is more prone to dye migration (the garment’s color bleeding into a white print) unless pretreatment and cure are dialed in. Bella’s heathers sit at 52/48 cotton/poly — more cotton-forward, which usually means slightly better DTG vibrancy and less migration risk. If your catalog leans on DTG heather tees, test both first; for screen printing with a poly-blocking underbase, the difference mostly disappears.

Not sure which suppliers stock both at the best price? Compare live base prices in our supplier directory before you commit a product line.

What the price gap means for margin

The ~$2 base difference between a 64000 and a 3001 looks small per unit, but it’s a fixed discount on every sale. Across our directory’s suppliers the 64000 bands roughly $5.49–$7.50 against the 3001’s $6.49–$11.69, so on a value line moving a few hundred units a month, defaulting to the 64000 where fit isn’t critical compounds into real margin — or lets you undercut a Bella-based competitor at the same retail price. The smarter play for most stores isn’t picking one forever: run the 64000 on price-sensitive designs and reserve the 3001 for fashion-positioned products where fit and color range are part of what you’re selling.

Common questions

Is the Gildan 64000 as soft as a Bella 3001?

Close, but not identical. Both are ring-spun and feel soft out of the bag. The 3001 is combed and ring-spun, giving it a marginally smoother, more uniform face. Most buyers won’t tell them apart by feel; the bigger differences are fit and color range, not softness.

Does the Gildan 64000 run small?

It runs fitted compared with Gildan’s boxy 5000 and 2000 — closer to the body, not undersized. Customers cross-shopping from a heavy classic tee should expect a slimmer cut. The women’s 64000L runs notably small, so size up there. The unisex 64000 is pre-shrunk and loses only about 1–3% after washing.

Can I mix the 64000 and 3001 in the same store?

Yes, and many sellers do. Use the 64000 as the budget/value blank and the 3001 as the premium fashion option. Just keep your sizing copy accurate per product, since the 3001’s retail cut runs slimmer and longer than the 64000’s semi-fitted body.

The bottom line

Pick the Gildan 64000 when you want a soft, ring-spun tee at the lowest cost and your audience isn’t fit-obsessed; pick the Bella Canvas 3001 when fit consistency, color range, or fashion positioning justify ~$2 more per blank. Compare current prices for both across every supplier in our product catalog, or see how the 3001 stacks up against Gildan’s heavier classic in our Bella 3001 vs Gildan 5000 breakdown.