Hello all,

When I started this hobby, there were no affordable PCB fabrication services. We had to make PCBs ourselves with toner transfer and Ferric Chloride. Later, some people started using CNC routers to mill their own boards. All of these processes work, but they’re slow, messy, and far from ideal.

The real game-changer for makers was the rise of low-cost PCB manufacturers. For just a few dollars, you can now get professionally made boards with solder mask and silkscreen.

Of course, not all fabs are created equal.
This post is sponsored by PCBWay, but as you’ll see, I’m not holding back on my opinions.

Comparison: PCBWay, JLCPCB, AISLER

Here’s how I personally rank the “big three” PCB manufacturers:

Category	PCBWay	JLCPCB	AISLER
Quality	Good	Satisfactory	Excellent
Speed	Excellent	Excellent	Good
Capabilities	Excellent	Good	Good
Price	Good	Excellent	Good
Packing & Postage	Excellent	Excellent	Good
Customer Support	Excellent	Excellent	Satisfactory
Ease of Use	Good	Good	Excellent

AISLER Quality

AISLER produces what I consider the highest quality boards. Their default finish for 4-layer PCBs is ENIG (gold). The solder mask and silkscreen are extremely durable.

For my first revision, this was essential—I made plenty of mistakes, and the board went through dozens of heat cycles on a hot plate, soldering iron, and hot-air station. Nothing lifted, discolored, or chipped. Perfect for SMD parts with small footprints or BGAs. ENIG makes life a lot easier.

One downside: AISLER’s penalization and CNC routing leave noticeable mouse bites. You need to manually clean them up, which is annoying for front panels or if you’re making a small production run.

PCBWay Quality

PCBWay’s default finish is leaded HASL. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s not suitable for BGAs.
Their solder mask is good, the silkscreen probably the best among the three, but both can chip if you apply heavy rework heat. Their routing, however, is excellent: smooth, clean edges with no post-processing needed.

JLCPCB Quality

JLCPCB also defaults to leaded HASL. Their solder mask is functional but thinner and less consistent. In some spots, I can scratch it with a fingernail. I tend to use JLCPCB for simple or low-component-count projects.

To be clear: all three fabs can produce higher-grade boards, but I’m comparing their lowest-tier options, which most hobbyists use.

Speed

Chinese fabs are lightning fast. PCBWay and JLCPCB often ship within the same week I place the order.

AISLER is slower. I’m not sure why—they may have different internal processes—but I’ve had boards sit a full week after fabrication before shipping.

Capabilities

AISLER has a limited set of options—fewer board thicknesses and fewer advanced features—but what they do offer is very high quality. They have multiple solder mask colors, but charging 470 EUR for color options is a joke.

PCBWay is by far the most versatile.
14 different thicknesses, 13 copper weights, every solder mask color you can imagine, and even color printing on the PCB—all without major price hikes.

JLCPCB comes in a close second: lots of options at very reasonable prices.

Price

If you’re a maker prototyping designs or learning hardware, JLCPCB is the most budget-friendly. They constantly run coupons and promotions.

PCBWay is a close second.

AISLER is the most expensive. At first glance, their pricing looks comparable, but you receive three boards instead of five (the standard quantity from the Chinese fabs), so the cost per board is higher.

Packing and Postage

JLCPCB is unbeatable here. I don’t know how they do it, but even using China Post, they somehow pre-pay taxes and import fees. The boards just show up at my doorstep. Magic.

AISLER is second. Being in Europe means no customs, and they now offer tracking. Unfortunately, they use Deutsche Post, which is slow across the EU. Faster shipping costs significantly more.

PCBWay comes last. Even though the boards themselves were free for me (this post is sponsored), the customs fees were higher than what I’d pay ordering from JLCPCB. When something arrives in the EU from China, you must pay import tax + VAT + a customs handling fee, which comes to roughly 35 EUR. PCBWay could really take a page from JLCPCB’s logistics playbook.

Update: it turns out this is not the case! The options is there and it is called DHL(IOSS) for skipping this 35 EURO representation tax. There is also Global Direct Shipping which is cheap and includes the taxes.

Customer Support

Here, China wins again. PCBWay and JLCPCB have extremely responsive support. If there are questions, issues, or clarifications needed, they contact you immediately.

AISLER feels understaffed. Emails often go unanswered. The last time I needed help, I had to leave a negative Google review before I got a response—not ideal.

Ease of Use

I love AISLER’s website. It’s clean, fast, and well-organized. You don’t need to export gerbers manually—just upload your PCB design file and you’re done.

PCBWay and JLCPCB both work fine, but their interfaces feel more cluttered and require more manual steps.

Final Thoughts

This is my honest experience after using all three services. Each has strengths and weaknesses, and the real trick is choosing the right fab for the right job. 

Cheers,
M