Three sizes cover almost every order. The right one depends on reading distance and how many lines you actually need.
Size gets picked last on most orders, after the logo and the colors are already locked in. It should get picked first. Everything else on the badge, the point size, the number of lines, whether a title fits at all, follows from the size decision, not the other way around.
1 inch by 3 inches: the workhorse
This is the size most retail, restaurant and general office orders land on, and for good reason. At a name set around 24 to 26 point, it reads clearly from four to six feet, which covers a checkout counter, a host stand or a service desk. It fits a first name plus one short line underneath, title or department, and a small logo in a corner.
It's also where volume pricing is most aggressive on standard plastic: $8.99 for a single badge, dropping in steps to $7.24 at 251 to 1,000 pieces, and $6.49 each at 1,000 or more. If your team turns over fast and cost per badge matters, 1 x 3 is usually the right default, not a compromise.
1.5 inches by 3 inches: room to breathe
Bump the height and you gain real space without changing the footprint on the shirt. A 1.5 x 3 badge reads comfortably from six to eight feet and comfortably holds a longer name, a title, and a logo without any of the three getting cramped. This is the size to move to the moment a title is a requirement rather than a nice-to-have, since a title squeezed onto a 1-inch badge usually forces the name smaller than it should be.
Premium metal-faced badges at this size run from $12.49 down to $9.99 each at 1,000-plus. It's the size we'd default to for medical offices, real estate agents and hotel front desks, anywhere a customer is reading the badge for slightly longer than a passing glance.
2 inches by 3 inches: for badges carrying real information
At 2 x 3, you can fit a full name, a credential line, a department, and a location code, and still keep the name the largest thing on the plate. This is the practical minimum size if you want a photo next to the text, and it's common in healthcare, education, conference badging and multi-site retail where a location code needs to travel with the name.
It costs more per badge simply because it's more material and, on premium and executive lines, more printed or engraved surface. It's worth it exactly when the extra information is doing real work. It's not worth it just because there was space left over on the layout.
Quick comparison
- 1 x 3: readable from 4-6 feet, one name plus one short line, lowest cost per badge.
- 1.5 x 3: readable from 6-8 feet, name plus title plus logo comfortably, the healthcare and hospitality default.
- 2 x 3: name, credential, department and location, or room for a photo, at the highest per-badge cost.
- Oval and custom shapes exist at most of these sizes if a rectangle doesn't match your brand.
The mistake that undoes all of this
Picking the size to fit the logo comfortably, then shrinking the name to make room, is backwards no matter which of the three sizes you land on. Size the badge for the name and the required lines first. If the logo doesn't fit comfortably after that, go up a size rather than shrinking the text nobody can afford to lose.
How to settle it without guessing
Print a proof at each candidate size on plain paper, actual dimensions, and pin it to a shirt. Stand the distance a real customer stands and see which one you can read without leaning in. It takes five minutes and it's a far better test than staring at a mockup on a screen, where everything looks readable because you already know what it says.