OEM vs ODM Cost Calculator
Everyone can tell you what the two letters stand for. The question that decides the order is narrower: at the volume you are actually buying, does your own tooling beat the factory's existing design? Move the sliders.
Your order
What the factory adds to its catalogue price over what the same part would cost you on your own tool. It covers their amortised tooling and their margin on the design.
At 5,000 units
OEM · your tool
$5.10
per unit, all in
$25,500 total
ODM · their design
$2.52
per unit
$12,600 total
Crossover
At a $15,000 tool and a +20% ODM premium, OEM only starts winning at 168,356 units. Below that, you are paying for a tool the volume cannot absorb.
Piece prices interpolated from the Jaycon 2026 Injection Molding Pricing Report (ABS, four-cavity hardened steel). Cost only, before freight and duty, and it does not price the lead time or the IP position, both of which usually matter more than the difference shown here.
What tooling costs per unit
The number buyers leave out of the comparison. A tooling quote is not a one-off line on an invoice, it is an amount added to every single unit in the order, and it shrinks only as the order grows.
| Order | $5,000 tool | $15,000 tool | $40,000 tool | $90,000 tool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $10.00 | $30.00 | $80.00 | $180.00 |
| 1,000 | $5.00 | $15.00 | $40.00 | $90.00 |
| 2,500 | $2.00 | $6.00 | $16.00 | $36.00 |
| 5,000 | $1.00 | $3.00 | $8.00 | $18.00 |
| 10,000 | $0.50 | $1.50 | $4.00 | $9.00 |
| 25,000 | $0.20 | $0.60 | $1.60 | $3.60 |
| 50,000 | $0.10 | $0.30 | $0.80 | $1.80 |
| 100,000 | $0.05 | $0.15 | $0.40 | $0.90 |
Read the 1,000-unit row against a part whose piece price is a few dollars. At small volumes the tool is not a rounding error on the unit cost, it is the unit cost.
What a tool costs, by class
Injection moulding tooling, by SPI class. The class is set by how many parts the tool has to survive, so quoting a hardened steel tool for a 2,000-unit order is a common and expensive mismatch.
SPI 105
$1,500 – $8,000Aluminium, single cavity, straight pull
Tooling lead time 2–3 weeks
SPI 104
$8,000 – $25,000Pre-hardened P20 steel, 1–2 cavities
Tooling lead time 4–6 weeks
SPI 103
$25,000 – $60,000P20/H13, 2–8 cavities
Tooling lead time 6–8 weeks
SPI 101
$60,000 – $150,000+Hardened H13/S136, 4–32+ cavities
Tooling lead time 10–14 weeks
Bands and lead times from the Jaycon 2026 Injection Molding Pricing Report (9 July 2026). Tooling cut in China typically runs materially below equivalent US pricing for the same steel grade and cavity count, which is a large part of why the OEM path is reachable at lower volumes offshore.
The rest of the decision
Cost is the part people model. These are the parts that more often decide it.
| OEM · your design | ODM · their design | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical MOQ | 500 – 10,000+ units per variant | 50 – 500 units on an existing pattern |
| Who owns the tooling | You pay for it, and the contract decides who owns it | The factory owns it, and amortises it across buyers |
| Who owns the design | You, if the contract says so in writing | The factory. Your competitor can buy the same product |
| Development time | 3 – 6 months simple, 6 – 12 months with tooling and certification | A few weeks to 3 months |
| Production lead time | 12 – 24 weeks | 2 – 8 weeks |
| Up-front cost | Tooling, plus samples at roughly $150 – $400 per style | Little or none, samples roughly $50 – $150 per style |
| Where it wins | Volume, differentiation, and a product you intend to own | Speed to market, testing demand, and small first orders |
MOQ, lead time and sampling ranges are what factories in China quote most often across consumer categories. Yours will move with category, material and how busy the plant is, which is exactly what we check before you commit.
Want the real tooling quote, not a band?
Send us the product. We will come back with tooling quoted by name from real factories, the piece price at your volume, the MOQ each one will actually accept, and the duty your product attracts.