Next Level 3600 vs Gildan 64000: Soft Tee Pick

If you want a soft tee for POD without paying Bella Canvas money, you’re usually choosing between the Next Level 3600 and the Gildan 64000 Softstyle. Both are lightweight ringspun shirts that feel a tier above basic. The 3600 is the boutique-soft option with a more fitted cut; the 64000 is the cheapest genuinely-soft tee you can print on. Here’s how Next Level 3600 vs Gildan 64000 actually shakes out on specs, fit, and real supplier pricing.

Quick verdict

If you…	Pick
Want the softest hand and a more fitted look	Next Level 3600
Want the lowest base cost on a soft tee	Gildan 64000
Sell to a fashion/boutique audience	Next Level 3600
Run high volume and squeeze every cent of margin	Gildan 64000
Want a slightly heavier, more durable shirt	Gildan 64000

Short version: the 3600 feels more premium and cuts closer to the body. The 64000 costs less and runs a touch heavier. Most sellers pick on price.

Side-by-side specs

Spec	Next Level 3600	Gildan 64000
Weight	4.3 oz / 146 g/m²	4.5 oz / 153 g/m²
Material	100% combed ringspun cotton (heathers blended)	100% ringspun cotton (heathers/antiques blended)
Yarn	32 singles	30 singles
Fit	Fitted / premium cut	Semi-fitted / modern classic
Sizes	XS–3XL	XS–3XL
Colors (in our data)	~43	~42
Price band (our CSV)	~$5.49 base	$5.49–$7.50 (avg ~$6.50)
Best for	Boutique/fashion sellers	Budget/volume sellers

The specs are close. The 3600’s finer 32-singles yarn gives it a smoother, softer hand; the 64000 is slightly heavier at 4.5 oz, which reads as a bit more substantial. Neither is a heavyweight — both sit in the lightweight retail-tee class.

Why pick the Next Level 3600?

It’s the softer of the two. The 32-singles combed ringspun cotton has a smoother, more “expensive” hand than the 64000. If your buyers handle the shirt before they decide it’s worth the price, the 3600 makes a better first impression.

The cut is more fitted. Next Level markets the 3600 as a premium fitted tee, and it shows — it sits closer through the chest and shoulders than the looser-modern Gildan. For fashion, streetwear-lite, and brand-driven stores where silhouette matters, that’s the right call.

Tear-away label. The 3600 ships with a tear-away neck label, so you can re-label cleanly for a private-label brand. The 64000 has a printed/woven neck label that’s more work to remove.

It punches above its price. The 3600 reads like a more expensive shirt than it costs. In our Next Level 3600 listings, the base sits around $5.49 — the same floor as the cheapest Gildan, for a softer, more fitted shirt. When suppliers price it that low, it’s the obvious pick.

Why pick the Gildan 64000?

It’s usually cheaper across suppliers. The 64000 is built to be the affordable soft tee, and the pricing reflects it. The catch: its band is wider. In our data the 64000 runs $5.49 to $7.50 (avg ~$6.50) depending on supplier — sometimes it matches the 3600’s floor, sometimes it costs a dollar more. Always check the actual supplier before assuming it’s the cheaper option.

Slightly heavier and more durable-feeling. At 4.5 oz the 64000 has a touch more body than the 4.3 oz 3600. For buyers who associate “thicker” with “better quality,” the extra weight helps, and it holds shape a little better through repeated washes.

Massive supplier availability. Gildan is the most widely stocked blank brand in POD. Nearly every print provider carries the 64000, which means you’re rarely locked to one supplier or stuck waiting on stock. Browse our supplier directory to see how many carry it.

Lower risk on big runs. For a 1,000+ unit store, Gildan’s scale and consistency make it the safer high-volume choice. The shirt prints reliably and there’s always inventory.

What both shirts share

These two overlap a lot:

• Both are lightweight (4.2–4.5 oz class), 100% ringspun cotton on solids
• Both use blends on heather and antique colors (check the specific color before promising “100% cotton”)
• Both are side-seamed and pre-shrunk
• Both cap at 3XL — neither covers the plus-size range that Bella’s 3001 does up to 5XL
• Both take DTG, DTF, and screen printing well; soft ringspun cotton is ideal for DTG

If you blind-handled both in the same color, you’d notice the 3600 is a hair softer and slimmer, and the 64000 a hair heavier. That’s the whole difference in feel.

Print quality differences

Functionally similar. Both are smooth ringspun surfaces that DTG and DTF love — ink lays down cleanly and colors stay saturated. The 3600’s finer yarn gives marginally crisper fine-line detail, while the 64000’s slightly heavier knit can hide minor print texture. In practice, print houses treat them as interchangeable for quality. The bigger print decision is color: confirm whether your chosen shade is a 100% cotton solid or a blend, since blends shift how DTG whites and lights show up.

When the price gap actually matters

On a single order, the difference between a $5.49 and a $6.50 base is a dollar. On 1,000 units a year, it’s $1,000. That’s the real decision:

• If the 64000 is at its $5.49 floor at your supplier, it’s the cheaper soft tee and a fine default for volume.
• If the 64000 is at the top of its band (~$7.50) while the 3600 sits at $5.49, the 3600 is both cheaper and softer — pick it.

Because the 64000’s price band is wider, the “cheaper option” flips depending on who’s printing. Don’t assume — check current numbers in our product catalog before you standardize.

The bottom line

The Next Level 3600 is the boutique-soft, fitted, tear-away-label tee that feels more premium than it costs. The Gildan 64000 is the heavier, widely-stocked, budget soft tee that wins on raw availability and often on price — but its price band swings.

If feel and fit drive your sales, go 3600. If you’re optimizing for the lowest reliable cost at scale, go 64000 — but verify the live price, because the 3600 frequently matches its floor. Compare both side by side in our product catalog, or filter by base price in the supplier directory.