Naadam vs Quince: Which Cashmere Is Worth It in 2026?

The price tag leaves out three costs: shipping, the fee for a wrong-size return, and replacing a sweater that wears out early. Each one can matter more than the few dollars between the two listings.

What a Naadam crewneck really costs at checkout

Naadam's Original Cashmere Sweater started life as the Essential at $75. Business Insider reported it was renamed and repriced to $98 in October 2023, so check the live price before you do any math. Here's how $98 plays out under Naadam's published shipping and returns rules:

• One sweater, no code: $98 plus $9.95 ground shipping = $107.95.
• One sweater, 15% off: $83.30 plus $9.95 = $93.25.
• Two sweaters, 10% off the order: $196 drops to $176.40, just above the $175 free-shipping line.
• One sent back for a refund: $12.75 comes off what you get back, unless you paid for Return + Shipping Protection.

Most people miss that last line. If you exchange the sweater or take store credit instead, the $12.75 fee goes away.

One caveat on the two-sweater math. We can't confirm whether the $175 threshold is checked before or after a discount, so watch the shipping line in your cart before you pay.

Now run Quince the same way

Work through Quince's checkout the same way: shipping threshold, return shipping, final-sale rules. We're not quoting Quince's figures because we only print numbers we can source, and policies change. Quince is often a little cheaper per piece. It takes about thirty seconds to see whether that's still true once shipping and a possible return are added.

Before you settle on a number, check the verified Naadam promo codes on Naarayan. The page currently lists 15% off select full-price styles, 10% off an entire order, and free shipping. Pay attention to the word select: make sure your sweater qualifies before you count on the discount.

Both brands sell real cashmere well below traditional luxury prices, and both sell direct to the customer. The differences are in sourcing, fiber and range.

Naadam sells 100% Grade A Mongolian cashmere that it buys directly from herders in the Gobi Desert. Cutting out brokers is how it keeps prices down. Business Insider reported that Naadam's fibers are about 30% longer than regular Grade A cashmere. Longer fibers leave fewer loose ends to work free, and loose ends are what pills are made of.

To be fair about it, Naadam's luxury is in the material, not the finishing. Seams and details aren't at the level of heritage labels that charge $500 and up. For a crewneck you'll wear twice a week, that's a trade worth making.

Range is where Naadam clearly pulls ahead. The catalog covers sweaters, turtlenecks, hoodies, joggers, cardigans, robes, accessories and even dog sweaters, in sizes XXS to 3XL, with prices up to about $350 for oversized and premium styles. Quince carries less of that. If you want a matching cashmere set, you'll likely end up at Naadam anyway. Our list of the Naadam cashmere pieces worth buying now separates the good ones from the filler.

Every cashmere sweater pills a little. Friction under the arms, at the cuffs and under a bag strap raises fuzz on any natural fiber. What matters is how much and how soon.

The main difference between $50 cashmere and $100 cashmere is fiber length and grade. Short fibers cost less, feel soft on day one, and shed sooner. That's why the softness test out of the box tells you so little. Some very soft budget knits feel that way because they've been brushed, and brushing pulls up the same short ends that later turn into pills.

We haven't run a year-long, side-by-side pilling test of our own, and we'd rather say so than invent one. What we can show you is the math that makes pilling matter.

Cost per wear, worked out

This is an illustration, not test data. Say you wear a crewneck 40 times a winter.

• At $93.25 delivered, three winters is 120 wears, or about 78 cents a wear.
• If a sweater only lasts one good winter, you're buying another one in year two, and the cheaper sweater now costs more per wear.

Good care helps with either brand. Most Naadam pieces can go in the machine on a gentle cold cycle, but blends can have different rules, so read the label on the piece you bought. Comb off the first few pills early, before they spread.

Fit changes between a relaxed crew and an oversized style, so we won't give one rule for every Naadam piece. We can tell you how to avoid paying for a wrong guess.

• Compare the size chart on the Naadam site with a sweater you already own, measured flat.
• Try it on within 14 days of delivery. Returns and exchanges must be unworn, unwashed, undamaged and still tagged.
• Don't wash it to test it. Once it's washed, you can't return it.
• If the size is wrong, choose an exchange or store credit. A refund costs $12.75; an exchange costs nothing.
• Don't buy Final Sale or permanently discounted pieces in a size you haven't worn. They can't be returned or exchanged.

Here's the trap: the biggest markdowns often land on the very items you can't send back. A 30% discount on a Final Sale sweater in the wrong size means you lose the whole price. The same goes for monogramming, which adds $20 to the Original Cashmere Sweater. Get the size right on a plain one first.

Partly, and it's more specific about it than most brands at this price. The name comes from Naadam, Mongolia's traditional summer festival, which UNESCO recognizes as intangible cultural heritage. Matthew Scanlan and Diederik Rijsemus founded the brand in 2013, and it still sources directly from Gobi herders.

Here's what it has to show:

• The Gobi Revival Fund, which pays for veterinary care for goats and supports local communities.
• A closed-loop water filtration system in its dyeing facilities that cleans and reuses wastewater.
• Shipping emissions offset through the Carbon Fund, and carbon-free freight shipping since 2020.

The caveat: an offset isn't the same as cutting emissions, and critics have questioned how far the brand's claims go. We'd call Naadam more transparent than average. That isn't the same as fully sustainable.

Naadam: Best for: people who wear cashmere hard, buy two or more pieces (which gets you to free shipping), want hoodies, joggers or robes along with the basics, and will wait for a code.

Skip if: you're buying one sweater at full price, with no code, in a size you're not sure about. The $9.95 shipping plus a possible $12.75 return fee adds up quickly.

Quince: Best for: one plain crewneck at the lowest price tag, when you don't need anything else in the range.

Skip if: you want a matching set across categories, or you plan to wear one sweater for several winters and want the longer-fiber argument working for you.

If you want something slouchier and less basic than either brand, Free People knits are a different style altogether; here are this month's Free People discount codes. If you need inexpensive layers to wear under the cashmere, our Old Navy everyday basics guide covers that. You can also browse every store we track codes for.

Is Naadam legit?

Yes. It's a direct-to-consumer cashmere brand founded in 2013 by Matthew Scanlan and Diederik Rijsemus. It sells 100% Grade A Mongolian cashmere and publishes clear shipping and return rules. The questions worth asking are about fit and fees, not whether the brand is real.

Is Naadam good quality for the price?

For basics, yes. The material is genuine Grade A cashmere, and Business Insider reported its fibers are about 30% longer than regular Grade A, which helps with pilling. The finishing isn't heritage-luxury level, and at this price it doesn't need to be.

Why is Naadam cheaper than luxury cashmere?

It buys directly from herders in Mongolia instead of going through brokers, and it sells online instead of through department stores. Fewer middlemen means fewer markups.

Is Naadam cashmere machine washable?

Most pieces are, on a gentle cold cycle. Blended styles can have different care rules, so check the label on the piece. Don't wash anything you might still return.

When does Naadam go on sale?

Seasonal sales regularly take 25% or more off select pieces, and signing up for the newsletter is the most reliable route to a first-order discount. The savings in dollars are biggest on pieces at $200 and up. Just check whether a sale item is marked Final Sale.

Where does Naadam get its cashmere?

From herders in Mongolia's Gobi Desert, whom it works with directly. The Gobi Revival Fund supports goat veterinary care and the local communities there.