PCB layout cost estimator with the real quote engine
Price a PCB layout in the browser with the same engine we quote from. Enter components, pins, nets, layers, board shape and timeline; the itemized fixed fee appears without an email, a phone number or a sales call.
The short answer
The price is a published tier floor plus unit-rate overages for components, pins and nets, plus a per-step charge above the included layer count. A non-rectangular outline adds a percentage of that subtotal, a short timeline applies a published multiplier, and optional deliverables are added flat. The estimator posts your raw inputs to the same server endpoint the home-page quote uses, so the number you see here is the number a formal quote starts from.
Calculator
Live PCB layout cost estimator
No email gate. Every field is validated as you type, the request is debounced, and the itemized breakdown comes back from the server — the browser never computes a price of its own.
Placed parts with their own reference designator.
The stackup, not the finished thickness, selects the tier.
Blank uses the standard engineering window. 1–52 weeks.
A binding price needs all three counts
Live price
The server returns the breakdown; the browser never computes a price.
Enter the board counts
That step creates a lead. This estimator does not.
How this number is produced
POST /api/quote. The server applies the published rate card and returns the tier, the adjustments and the total. Nothing on this screen is a client-side price, and no request can submit one.Free, no account. The engineer reviews the inputs before a fixed quote is issued.
Want the derivation? Jump to the math behind the calculator.
The math
The formulas, with the working shown
Each equation is rendered as MathML, explained in plain language, and shown as LaTeX source you can copy. The variable list says what every symbol means; the model-limit note says where the formula stops being trustworthy.
The quote subtotal
Four additive terms: the tier floor, the component/pin/net overages, and the layer steps. Every term is non-negative and depends only on its own count, which is what makes the total monotonic.
- F_tier
- published fixed-fee floor for the selected tier
- n_c, n_p, n_n
- component, pin and net counts
- I_c, I_p, I_n
- the tier's included component, pin and net counts
- L, L_inc, s
- layer count, included layers and the published step size
- P_step
- published price per extra layer step
F_tier is the published floor for the tier the layer count selects. It already includes a defined band of components, pins, nets and layers; the overage terms only charge the excess above that band.
The max(0, …) is what keeps a smaller board from being charged for capacity it did not use. It also makes the equation monotonic: adding a component can only increase the excess, never reduce it.
The layer term is a ceiling because layers are charged in fixed steps. A stackup between two published steps pays for the step it needs, not a fraction of one.
Model limit: Every rate and inclusion is read from the published price list; none of them is typed into this page.
LaTeX source
Q = F_{\text{tier}} + r_c\max\left(0,n_c-I_c\right) + r_p\max\left(0,n_p-I_p\right) + r_n\max\left(0,n_n-I_n\right) + \left\lceil\frac{\max\left(0,L-L_{\text{inc}}\right)}{s}\right\rceil P_{\text{step}}Non-rectangular outline
A non-rectangular outline is charged as a percentage of the subtotal, because the extra work — routing around cut-outs, mechanical fit, assembly keep-outs — scales with the board it affects.
- Q
- subtotal before the shape surcharge
- σ
- published non-rectangular rate (0 for a rectangular outline)
- Q'
- subtotal after the shape surcharge
σ is zero for a rectangular board, so the equation reduces to Q' = Q. For a non-rectangular board it is the published percentage, applied once to the subtotal rather than to each line.
The surcharge is not multiplied by the timeline directly; the timeline multiplier applies to the shape-adjusted subtotal, which is the next block.
A cut-out is not a separate line item. It is part of the outline decision, and the estimator asks one question: is the outline rectangular?
LaTeX source
Q' = Q\left(1+\sigma\right)Timeline premium
A short timeline is a multiplier, not a flat rush fee. The premium is the difference between the multiplied price and the normal price.
- μ
- published multiplier for the selected timeline band
- B
- timeline premium
- T_pre
- subtotal including the timeline premium
μ is the published band multiplier: 1.0 for the standard engineering window, and higher for the priority and rush bands. The band is chosen by the timeline in weeks, not by a checkbox.
Writing the premium as Q'(μ − 1) makes the receipt auditable: the line item equals the difference between the two totals, and it cannot be confused with the base price.
The multiplier applies to the shape-adjusted subtotal, so a non-rectangular rush board pays the shape surcharge once and the timeline premium on top of it.
LaTeX source
B = Q'\left(\mu-1\right) \quad\quad T_{\text{pre}} = Q'\muThe total and the receipt identity
Deliverables are added flat after the multiplier. The adjustments on the receipt always sum to the difference between the total and the tier floor, which is what makes the receipt checkable.
- T
- total fixed fee
- D_j
- a selected flat-fee deliverable
- a_i
- one itemized adjustment
- F_tier
- the tier floor
A deliverable is a fixed scope fee, so it is added after the multiplier rather than multiplied by it. That is also why the SI/PI dossier is marked included in the top tier instead of being added twice.
The identity on the right is the integrity check: every dollar above the floor appears in exactly one adjustment line, with an excess, a rate, a percentage or a multiplier attached.
If the identity ever fails, the receipt is wrong and the server should not have returned it. The estimator renders the server's breakdown, so a mismatch would be visible rather than silently rounded away.
Model limit: The quote is valid for the published period, subject to engineering availability, and requires a signed Master Services Agreement before work begins.
LaTeX source
T = Q'\mu + \sum_{j} D_j \quad\quad \sum_{i} a_i = T - F_{\text{tier}}Pricing model
How the number is built
The price is a published tier floor plus unit rates for counts above the tier inclusion, a fixed step for each layer pair above the included count, a percentage for a non-rectangular outline, a published multiplier for a compressed timeline, and flat fees for optional deliverables. Nothing is estimated from hours and nothing is negotiated after the fact.
Each term is additive and shown separately, so the receipt explains the total instead of asserting it. If two boards differ in only one input, the difference between their quotes is exactly that term.
- Component, pin and net rates apply only to counts above the tier inclusion.
- Layers are priced in two-layer steps above the included count.
- A non-rectangular outline adds a percentage of the engineering subtotal.
- A short timeline applies a multiplier, shown as its own line.
- The SI/PI dossier is a flat add-on, and is already included in the top tier.
The rate card is published on the published layout pricing page and comes from the same server the estimator calls.
Budgeting
A number you can put in a budget
Hardware budgets are approved before the prototype schedule is fixed, which is the worst moment to be working from an hourly estimate with a range attached. The estimator returns a firm figure for the inputs given, itemized, without an email gate or a call.
When the estimate becomes a project, the counts are checked against the netlist and the scope is written into a Statement of Work. A quote is held for 30 days and is governed by our Master Services Agreement.
If the interface review shows the board needs a different stackup or an HDI build, that is a scope change agreed with you and re-quoted before any billable work. It never appears as a surprise on an invoice.
Cost drivers
What actually moves the number
The estimator has six inputs and each one maps to a different kind of work. Components drive placement and fanout effort; pins drive the number of connections that have to be made and checked; nets drive the routing channels, net classes and length rules; layers drive the stackup, reference-plane and fabrication work; the outline drives the mechanical and routing complexity; the timeline drives how many engineers can work on it at once.
That mapping is why a board with many pins but few nets is not the same as a board with many nets but few pins, even at the same total connection count. The rates are published and additive, so the receipt can show exactly which term moved and by how much.
The SI/PI dossier is a flat scope fee rather than a multiplier. It is included in the top tier, and the estimator marks it as included there instead of adding it a second time.
| Input | What it represents | How it prices |
|---|---|---|
| Components | Placement, keep-outs, local fanout, assembly documentation | Per-component rate above the tier inclusion |
| Pins | Every connection to route, verify and document | Per-pin rate above the tier inclusion |
| Nets | Channels, net classes, clearance and length rules | Per-net rate above the tier inclusion |
| Layers | Stackup, reference planes, layer transitions and fab complexity | Tier floor plus a published step above the included count |
| Board shape | Non-rectangular outlines, cut-outs and mechanical fit | Percentage of the subtotal |
| Timeline | Schedule compression and parallel staffing | Published multiplier on the subtotal plus shape fee |
The counts are only as accurate as your input. A rough count produces a rough price, not a smaller one — the quote is re-based on the netlist before the statement of work is issued.
Reading the output
The layer schedule is the stackup conversation
The estimator returns a price for every published stackup, not just the one you selected. That is useful when the layer count is still open: the schedule shows where the tier changes and where the extra-layer steps begin, so you can see the cost of a 6-layer versus an 8-layer build before committing to a routing plan.
The schedule is computed by the same engine as the single price, so it cannot disagree with the receipt. Each point is a complete quote for that stackup with the same counts, shape and timeline; the tier name is included because the tier boundary is the biggest single step in the curve.
If the suggested stackup from your counts is smaller than the one you selected, the difference is usually routing demand or reference-plane requirements, not a pricing trick. The Stackup planner is the place to check whether the smaller stackup can actually carry the interfaces.
For a board where the layer count is genuinely undecided, the home-page quote tool also suggests a starting stackup from the counts and explains the arithmetic. The estimator deliberately does not guess; it prices what you choose.
Scope
What the price does not include
The quote covers layout engineering. PCB fabrication, assembly, component sourcing, shipping and applicable taxes are outside the scope and are never included in the instant quote. They are named as exclusions in the quote terms so a low number cannot be mistaken for a turnkey build.
The layout scope itself is defined by the deliverables and the review gates in the statement of work. If the design needs more layers than you selected, the engineer will say so before work begins and issue a new quote at that stackup; nothing is billed until you approve.
The quote is valid for 30 days and is subject to engineering availability. A signed Master Services Agreement is required before any work commences. Those are the same terms the home-page tool shows, because it is the same engine and the same business.
If you want the layout, the DFM handoff and the fabrication data reviewed as one package, our DFM/DFA layout service and high-speed PCB layout service describe what that includes. The SI/PI verification service covers the optional sign-off dossier.
FAQ
Common questions
Want this worked through on your board?
Send the stackup and interface list and we will check the layout price against a real layout — before the quote is fixed, not after.