Hi all,

In this log I want to go through the cost estimates for a couple PCB fabs. The routing for the PCB is far enough along now that I can put in all the settings we need to get cost estimates. This helps to give me an idea of what costs to expect for the final product.

I am targeting 100 boards as it is an ideal target for hitting cost savings when buying components in bulk and seems like a reasonable amount of boards to make that they wouldn't sell out instantly.

PCB Requirements

StampPD is initially designed around JLCPCB as the PCB manufacturer. This is due to 2 reasons: I have experience with them in the past and I wanted to try JLCPCBA service. If any specs seem a bit arbitrary, it is likely that this is JLCPCB's default capabilities. For some specs like the Copper Weight, please see the last log. For all PCB Fab quotes, I will select the following specifications:

Size - 30mm x 30mm
Layers - 4
Quantity - 100
Board Type - Single PCB
- Possible that panelizing the PCB's will reduce costs but that is for future me to find out
Base Material - FR-4
Outer Copper Weight - 2 oz/ft^2
Inner Copper Weight - 0.5 oz/ft^2
- 1 oz/ft^2 would give more safety margin for the power layer
Castellated Holes - Yes, all 4 edges
Minimum Via/Plated Through Hole (PTH) Copper thickness - 18um
Minimum Drill Hole Size - 0.3mm (12mil)
Minimum Trace Spacing - 0.2mm (8mil)
Minimum Trace Width - 0.16mm (6.5mil)
Product Number - Location Specified

Any specifications not listed above are not very important to the StampPD design at this time. That means specs such as these will be selected to be as cheap as possible: Surface Finish, Layer Stackup, Via Process/Covering, PCB Thickness, PCB Color, Silk Screen Color, and Board Outline Tolerance.

PCB Fabrication Companies

A website which lists PCB fabs for small batch production can be found at BuildList.org. I filtered this list to Fabs that allowed me to select the above settings. This removed some Fabs, such as OSHPark, as they did not have settings for 2 oz/ft^2 Copper Weight for 4 layer boards or Castellated Holes. I also removed any discounts given as these may not be repeatable on subsequent orders. Note that prices may fluctuate depending on the time and place of your order. This leaves us with the resulting quotes as of 11/25/2025:

JLCPCB - $108.60,
All PCB - $133.00
Elecrow - $136.90
PCBWay - $290.60
SEEEDStudio - $219.47
Eurocircuits - $1,984.74 ( €1712.15 )

As you can see JLC, AllPCB, and Elecrow are the cheapest. PCBWay and SEEEDStudio are more expensive but still somewhat reasonable while Eurociruits is completely unreasonable. For now, I plan to stick with JLC unless prices change drastically.

Below are screenshots of the prices given above: