How Much Does A Plastic Prototype Cost?

One of the difficult parts of sourcing prototypes is knowing how much you should be spending during this stage of the project. While your budget may be focused on the end goal (production), the prototyping stage is meant to set you up for successful production.

A good prototype will help you catch & fix any design flaws, figure out the best material to produce your parts with and ultimately save your project money in the long term. It will also allow you to test your product with confidence, knowing that any issues are a design flaw that needs to be tweaked rather than a fault of a poorly made prototype. 

So how much does a proper plastic injection molded prototype cost? At the Engineering Resource Center, a simple plastic injection molded prototype starts at around $3,000 but the exact number will depend on part size, complexity, material, quantity, and number of cavities in the mold.

Our quotes include:

• Tool price
• Sample fee
• Part price

There are a few things to know about our tooling before comparing our prices to other similar companies. Some of these might make the initial cost a bit higher, but in the long term it really does even out. 

• Our prototype molds are made from P-20 steel, not aluminum. 
• Tooling includes features that are found on production tooling so your parts can be made exactly the way they will be in production. 
• Thanks to the high quality of our tooling, your prototype mold can be used to manufacture low annual production quantities. 

We know it's hard to navigate pricing for injection molded parts when you're unfamiliar with the process. The smartest thing to do is choose a prototyping company that wants to help you save money AND develop good parts, not just one of those things. Cost-effectiveness is at the forefront of everything we do here at The ERC. After all, the core of our business is to make prototyping affordable projects that otherwise wouldn't be. Contact us for a quote to see how we can help you.