How much does a PCB design cost?

For a medium-complexity board, schematic plus layout typically costs €3,000 to €6,600 at our rate. Simple two-layer boards cost less; power and RF boards cost more.

How much do ten prototype boards cost to manufacture?

For a four-layer board with around 25 euros of components, fabrication, parts and assembly for ten units usually lands between 700 and 1,300 euros, depending on the manufacturer and lead time.

How much does electronic product development cost in Europe?

Most hardware cost questions get the answer "it depends". Here is what it depends on, with numbers. The figures come from the effort model we use for our own quotes, at our rate of €75 per hour excluding VAT. Typical engineering rates in Europe are €95 to €130 per hour, so scale accordingly if you compare.

Cost per development stage

For a medium-complexity board: 50 to 150 components, a microcontroller with peripherals, four layers.

Stage	Effort	Engineering cost
Feasibility & architecture	8–16 h	€600–€1,200
Proof of concept	16–40 h	€1,200–€3,000
Schematic design	20–40 h	€1,500–€3,000
PCB layout	20–48 h	€1,500–€3,600
Fabrication & assembly	4–8 h	€300–€600
Bring-up & debugging	10–24 h	€940–€2,250
Board firmware	20–60 h	€1,500–€4,500
Test & validation	24–48 h	€2,160–€4,320
Design for manufacturing	20–40 h	€1,500–€3,000
Pre-compliance & CE preparation	28–56 h	€2,520–€5,040
Small-batch production	24–48 h	€1,980–€3,960

What makes it cost more

Three factors dominate. Board size and density scale everything from schematic to validation:

Board size	Description	Factor
Small	under 50 components, single function	×0.7
Medium	50 to 150 components, MCU plus peripherals	×1.0
Large	150 to 400 components, several subsystems	×1.6
Very large	over 400 components	×2.4

Technologies add difficulty on top, because each one has its own failure modes and test needs:

Technology	Added effort
Wireless: BLE, Wi-Fi, LoRa, cellular, GNSS	+12%
Precision analog or sensor front-ends	+15%
Power electronics: converters, high current	+25%
Motor control and drives	+20%
Small batteries: 1 to 4 Li-ion cells, charging, protection	+12%
Mains-powered or high voltage	+22%

The third factor is the number of different boards. Two boards that talk to each other cost about 1.7 times one board, not twice, because architecture and part of the firmware are shared.

Three worked examples

Project	Time	Total incl. hardware
BLE sensor node from an ESP32 prototype	7–11 wk	€11,500–€14,700
48 V motor controller from an idea	13–19 wk	€21,400–€27,300
Rescue of boards that do not work	3–5 wk	€6,500–€8,400

The full breakdown for each example is on our pricing page.

Costs people forget

Board respins. Each extra prototype revision costs fabrication, parts, assembly and two to three weeks. A careful review before ordering is the cheapest insurance in hardware.
Certification. Accredited EMC, radio and safety testing is charged by the lab, usually by the day. Pre-compliance work on the bench reduces the number of days and the chance of failing.
Small-quantity component prices. Parts for ten prototypes cost far more per unit than at a thousand. Budget 30 to 40 percent above the production BOM for prototypes.
Test fixtures. For production beyond a few hundred units, a test jig pays for itself. It needs test points designed in from the start.

How to spend less

Start with a short feasibility step when anything is uncertain: battery life, range, accuracy, thermal limits.
Use certified radio modules instead of chip-down designs until volumes justify the difference.
Keep your first custom board as close to your working prototype as possible, then optimise.
Ask for a fixed price per phase, so scope changes are visible when they happen.