PCB Design Cost Calculator
PCB fabrication cost from board size, layers, and quantity.
About this calculator
This calculator estimates what a batch of custom PCBs will cost to fabricate, modeled loosely on typical hobbyist PCB fab pricing. It starts from area-based pricing — board width times height converted to square centimeters, multiplied by a base rate of $0.05/cm², with a $2 minimum per board — then applies a layer-count multiplier that snaps your input to the nearest standard layer count (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, or 16) and scales cost from 0.8x for single-layer up to 10x for 16-layer boards, reflecting how dramatically more complex multi-layer fabrication is. Surface finish adds a flat fee on top — plain HASL is free, lead-free HASL adds $0.50, ENIG (gold) adds $3.00, and OSP adds $0.20 — and choosing anything other than the standard 1.6mm board thickness adds a further $1.50 per board for non-standard tooling. Quantity discounts kick in on a step schedule (5% off at 10+ boards, up to 30% off at 100+), applied to the per-board price before multiplying out to the full order total.
A one-time setup/tooling fee is added on top of the board total — free for 1–2 layer boards, $25 for up to 4 layers, $50 beyond that — reflecting that more layers require more complex tooling setup regardless of quantity. The calculator also estimates how many boards of your given dimensions would fit on a standard 100×100mm fabrication panel, useful for panelized orders. This is a simplified pricing model meant for ballpark estimation and comparison between design choices — real fab quotes vary by vendor, turnaround time, and promotional pricing, so always get an actual quote before ordering.
Inputs
Results
Cost Per Board ($)
$2.50
Board Total ($)
$12.50
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your PCB dimensions (width and height in mm) and number of copper layers.
- Set the order quantity — higher quantities significantly reduce cost per board.
- Select board thickness (mm) and surface finish (HASL, ENIG, OSP, or hard gold).
- Review cost per board, setup/tooling fee, and grand total for your order quantity.
How the result changes with Surface Finish (0-3)
| Surface Finish (0-3) | Cost Per Board ($) | Board Total ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | $2.00 | $10.00 |
| 0.75 | $2.00 | $10.00 |
| 1.5 | $2.50 | $12.50 |
| 2.5 | $5.00 | $25.00 |
What each input means
- Board Width (mm)
- PCB width in millimeters.
- Board Height (mm)
- PCB height in millimeters.
- Number of Layers
- Copper layer count (1, 2, 4, 6... most hobby projects use 2).
- Quantity
- Number of boards to order.
- Board Thickness (mm)
- FR4 thickness (standard 1.6mm is cheapest).
- Surface Finish (0-3)
- 0=HASL, 1=Lead-Free HASL, 2=ENIG (gold), 3=OSP.
What each result means
- Cost Per Board ($)
- Estimated fabrication cost per board after quantity discounts.
- Board Total ($)
- Total cost for all boards (before setup fee).
- Setup/Tooling Fee ($)
- One-time tooling fee (free for 1-2 layer boards at most fabs).
- Grand Total ($)
- Total including setup fee.
- Board Area (cm²)
- Board surface area in square centimeters.
- Cost Per sq in ($)
- Cost per square inch of board area.
- Boards per 100x100 Panel
- How many boards fit in a standard 100x100mm fabrication panel.
- Quantity Discount (%)
- Volume discount applied based on order quantity.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersBoard Width (mm) = 50, Board Height (mm) = 50, Number of Layers = 2, Quantity = 5 = 6 input(s) provided
- Calculate Cost Per BoardCost Per Board = baseCostPerBoard * (1 - qtyDiscount)2.5 = $2.5
- Calculate Board TotalBoard Total = discountedPerBoard * quantity12.5 = $12.5
- Calculate Setup/Tooling Fee0 = $0
- Calculate Grand TotalGrand Total = totalCost + setupFee12.5 = $12.5
Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my Cost Per Board barely change when I only bumped the quantity from 8 to 12?
Quantity discounts apply on a step schedule rather than continuously — nothing kicks in below 10 boards, a 5% discount applies at 10 or more, 10% at 20 or more, 20% at 50 or more, and 30% at 100 or more. Going from 8 to 12 boards crosses the 10-board threshold and unlocks the 5% discount, but going from, say, 12 to 18 boards changes nothing since both quantities sit in the same discount tier.
Why does choosing 3 layers apply the same layer multiplier as 2 or 4 layers?
The calculator only prices boards at standard industry layer counts — 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, or 16 — because that's what real fab houses actually offer; it snaps any entered layer count to whichever of those standard values is numerically closest. Entering 3 rounds to the nearest standard value of either 2 or 4 (whichever is closer), so if you need an odd layer count for some reason, expect the calculator to price it as the nearest standard option rather than interpolating.
Is the Setup/Tooling Fee charged per board or once for the whole order?
It's a one-time fee added to the total order, not multiplied by quantity — it's free for 1–2 layer boards, $25 for boards with 3 or 4 layers, and $50 for anything above 4 layers, reflecting the fixed engineering and stencil setup work a fab has to do once per job regardless of how many boards you order. This is why Grand Total isn't simply Cost Per Board times Quantity — it also adds this flat fee on top.
How is Boards per Panel calculated, and does it affect my price?
Boards per Panel is a purely informational estimate — it divides a standard 100×100mm fabrication panel's width and height by your board's width and height (rounding down on each axis) and multiplies the two results together, showing how many of your boards could theoretically be laid out on one panel with no wasted rotation or spacing accounted for. It doesn't feed into any of the cost outputs; it's there to help you judge whether panelizing your design would be efficient before ordering.
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