How much does it cost · PCB assembly
Short answer: board assembly is paid in two parts: fixed fees per order (line setup, stencil) and a price per solder joint. At JLCPCB, setup for standard single-sided assembly costs $25.56, the stencil $8.21 and each SMT joint $0.0016. On small batches, the fixed fees set the price.
By the RFQdecoder team · updated 27 September 2026
You count solder joints, not components: an SMT resistor is 2 joints, a 64-pin chip is 64. The joint count therefore comes from the bill of materials and the pinouts.
| Item | Published rate |
|---|---|
| Setup, standard single-sided assembly | $25.56 |
| Setup, standard double-sided assembly | $51.12 |
| Stencil, single-sided | $8.21 |
| SMT joint, 1 to 50,000 joints | $0.0016 |
| SMT joint, 50,001 to 100,000 joints | $0.0013 |
| Hand-soldered through-hole joint, 1 to 10,000 joints | $0.0164 |
| X-ray inspection, 1 to 10 boards | $1.64 per board |
Source: JLCPCB. Price list of an online assembler; a European subcontractor applies its own rates, but the price structure stays the same.
Example values: standard single-sided assembly, 400 SMT joints and 10 through-hole joints per board. Fixed fees: $33.77; placement: $0.804 per board.
| Boards | Placement per board | Fixed fees per board | Assembly per board |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $0.804 | $3.38 | $4.18 |
| 50 | $0.804 | $0.68 | $1.48 |
| 100 | $0.804 | $0.34 | $1.14 |
Calculated with the example values above, excluding components and bare board. At 10 boards the fixed fees weigh more than four times the placement.
Add fixed fees per order and a price per solder joint. At JLCPCB, standard single-sided assembly costs $25.56 for setup, $8.21 for the stencil and $0.0016 per SMT joint.
The JLCPCB price list updated on 9 September 2026 gives $8.21 for a standard single-sided assembly stencil and $1.53 for economic assembly.
JLCPCB publishes $0.0016 per joint from 1 to 50,000 joints in standard assembly, then $0.0013 from 50,001 to 100,000 joints.
Because line setup and stencil are paid once per order. Over 10 boards, they make up most of the assembly cost.
Count the pins of each component: 2 for an SMT resistor or capacitor, as many as it has pins for an integrated circuit, then add them up over the whole bill of materials.
Upload your drawing or bill of materials: assembly, components and cost of each step, with every assumption shown.