pcbshopper.com - a PCB price comparison site

[zapta]

This is a new site

http://pcbshopper.com/

Nicely done IMO. It allows to compare PCB prices.  I entered my numbers an OSHPark was the least expensive.

What do you think?

(I am not affiliated in any way).

Merged with thread from website creator.

[tszaboo]

Well, this is probably sufficient for hobbyist. I've checked some numbers and I'm usually ordering pcms which are 9.8 times more expensive than the Chinese ones. But they prepare gerbers overnight, 2 days+shipping is not a problem, and we have a big red phone, which rings there if there is any problem. Also, capabilities are not mentioned anywhere.
Although I have some personal projects in the pipeline, so it might be useful.

[ion]

Probably best to double check the results though.
I entered some numbers and was surprised to see ExpressPCB was an order of magnitude more than the rest.  The formulas on their site gave a price more in line with the other American and European services though.

[macboy]

Hmm. It's interesting that OSHPark was cheapest for you; it was 15 times more expensive than the lowest price given to me for my example, which was Elecrow ($300 vs. $20).

[zapta]

Hmm. It's interesting that OSHPark was cheapest for you; it was 15 times more expensive than the lowest price given to me for my example, which was Elecrow ($300 vs. $20).

Try this 1" x 1.5", color does not matter, 2 layers, three boards.

What was your configuration?

[rea5245]

Hi,

I've just finished building a website, PCBShopper.com, that lets you compare prices for manufacturing prototype PCBs from different companies. Just enter the board size, layers, preferred color, and quantity, and you'll get a list of manufacturers with prices (in US dollars, including shipping to the US).

The site also has a page with a list of free CAD software. For both PCB manufacturers and CAD programs, there's a place for users to write their own reviews, Amazon-style.

Finally, it has a phpBB board with forums for discussing manufacturers and CAD programs.

I am not affiliated with any manufacturers or CAD developers. I hope this site will be helpful to electronics hobbyists.

- Bob

[pa2ees]

It looks quite nice, thanks for the tip.

 - Erik

[AndreaEl]

Very good, i really like it.

Maybe can be added a current release version for each CAD software and note which version is the written comment. (example: a software with an important update is much better, the review become old and not updated).

[rea5245]

That's a good idea Andrea. Thank you.

[M4trix]

Hey, not so fast guys!

Currently, only prices and shipping for the U.S. is supported.

[rea5245]

I'm the creator of the PCBShopper.com site.

NANDBlog: I'm a hobbyist and I was motivated to help myself and people like me to shop for the cheapest manufacturer. So yes, it's geared towards hobbyists.

ion: I want to make sure my prices are accurate. Can you tell me what specs you entered that showed incorrect prices for ExpressPCB?

- Bob

[zapta]

Probably he used high quantities or very large boards. OSHPark does well with small quantities of small boards (e.g. 1"x1" x 3 boards) but since its pricing is not progressive it does not compete well for large orders.

BTW, when I entered a very large quantity I got a non relevant error "Currently, only prices and shipping for the U.S. is supported."

Nicely done site.

[rea5245]

Hi Zapta,

Is the "Currently, only prices and shipping for the U.S. is supported" right above the "Get prices" button? If so, it's always there - it's not an error message. If you asked for something for which there were no results, you'd get "There were no results. There are many companies that offer services that PCB Shopper does not currently include in its comparison. Perhaps you have asked for an especially large board, or a board with many layers, or a very large quantity. Unfortunately, you will have to contact PCB manufacturers directly for pricing."

So I'm not sure what you're seeing. Can you tell me what dimensions, layers, and quantity you entered? If there's a bug, I'd like to try to reproduce it.

Thanks,
   Bob

[tonyarkles]

rea5245: one thing that'd be cool to add would be the ability to see per-board cost for different order sizes. E.g. If I've got a 2"x3" pcb, it'd be cool to see per-board cost for 10, 20, 50, 100 boards.

Edit: and expected turn-around time. Makes it easier to make comparisons like "for $100 I can get them next month, or for $150 I can get them next week"

[zapta]

@rea5245

1. I saw hat message near a field that became red so I assumed it was related. Apparently it is no.

2. You may want to check http://smart-prototyping.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_60&product_id=142  low quantity prices seem to be competitive (I have no experience with them).

3. FYI, I tried to add a review but it asked me for email address so I gave up.  You may want to relax the requirements to get it going.

[rea5245]

Zapta, I've added smart-prototyping to my list of things to do.

And I've made e-mail addresses optional on reviews.

Thanks,
   Bob

[ion]

ion: I want to make sure my prices are accurate. Can you tell me what specs you entered that showed incorrect prices for ExpressPCB?

- Bob

5x5cm, 2 layers, least expensive solder mask colour.
Quantity: 100

ExpressPCB comes to around $2500, about $2000 more than their formula for a production board (I think that's the most expensive option).
Yes, it defaults to a larger board area, but it's still way off.

Hope this helps.

[rea5245]

5x5cm, 2 layers, least expensive solder mask colour.
Quantity: 100

ExpressPCB comes to around $2500, about $2000 more than their formula for a production board (I think that's the most expensive option).
Yes, it defaults to a larger board area, but it's still way off.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, ion. I've fixed it.

PCB Shopper was initially programmed for prototype boards, but some people are trying to use it for larger quantities, as you did. I'll gradually be adding better support for that.

- Bob

[dillon]

I hope our free web based EDA with PCB order can be included to VS.
http://easyeda.com/
Dillon

[rea5245]

Hi Dillon,

I've added EasyEDA to my list of CAD programs. I'd be happy to add your PCB manufacturing service too, if there were a way for me to calculate prices. If you're interested, contact me via PCBShopper.com's contact form.

- Bob

[scientist]

Thanks for making this, Bob.

[Wilksey]

Very useful tool, thanks Bob for creating this!

[codeboy2k]

Very useful tool, thanks Bob for creating this!

Wow! Great site! good work @ Bob !
People are definitely going to want to use this for larger quantities. If you can support that, it will be way more useful to a larger number of people beyond the hobbyist, and you can monetize the web site better for your own reward.

I just tried to put in a 1000 board order and it has a 100 board limit.

Support for international shipping is a good thing too (it can be really hard to get the shipping right, I understand this)
Also other options like HASL, ENIG , immersion silver/tin, etc.

(ok, I want the world )

Good tool.. it will only get better! Thanks!

[rea5245]

Thanks, codeboy. PCBShopper currently calculates prices for prototype quantities, so that's why I limited it to 100 pieces. (Even 100 pieces may be too much for my current calculator.) But I know a lot of people want more, so I'll start working on Small Batch quantities soon.

- Bob

[miguelvp]

Not that they are very cheap, but eurocircuits.com (bindi pool, standard pool, PCB proto) do pretty good quality boards but they are all absent from pcbshopper.

For what I've heard in this forum, people that used them are happy with the quality.