What's actually in a production quote, and what "per unit" leaves out

A production quote, the manufacturing quote you get from a factory, a contract manufacturer or an ODM, has three layers. The first is one-time costs: molds, fixtures, setup and engineering. The second is a price per unit at a stated quantity. The third is the terms around both: where that price applies, how long it holds, how you pay and what's excluded. "Per unit" usually means the factory's price for one unit at that quantity and that delivery point, and it often leaves out the molds and setup, freight, duty, certification, retail packaging, inspection, leftover parts and the units lost in assembly. To compare quotes, convert each one to the same number: the landed cost per good unit, meaning the cost of one working unit delivered to your US warehouse, with the one-time costs shown separately and spread over the units you plan to sell.

Quotes for the same product can look very different. An ODM (original design manufacturer, a factory that adapts a design it already owns and builds it under your brand) may build its molds and design work into a single unit price. A contract manufacturer (CM, a factory that builds your design from your files) may list every mold and setup charge on its own line. A supplier quoting a delivered price includes freight and duty but may leave out things the others include. The lowest number on the page is often not the lowest cost.

What does "per unit" leave out?

The molds, fixtures and setup, unless the supplier built them into the price.
Freight, insurance, duty and customs fees, unless the quote is delivered duty paid.
Certification testing, which production quotes often exclude.
Retail packaging, inserts, manuals and labels, unless they're specified.
Leftover parts from minimum buys and non-cancelable orders, billed after the run.
Units lost in assembly and test, if the quote counts units started rather than good units delivered.
Inspection, pilot-run units, and extra rounds of mold samples beyond those included.
Changes in component prices, the exchange rate, freight rates or duty between the quote and the shipment.

What goes into a production quote?

One-time costs

Molds. One line per molded part, ideally with the number of cavities (how many parts the mold makes per shot), the mold material (aluminum, or a steel grade such as P20 or H13), hot or cold runner, the cycle time, the tool life in shots, how many rounds of samples are included (T1 and T2, the first and second rounds of parts from a new mold), who pays for repairs and storage, and who owns the mold.
Board assembly setup. Often called NRE (non-recurring engineering): the solder stencil, machine programming and the first-article inspection (a full check of the first boards built). Ask what each NRE line covers, and which charges come back on every order: many assemblers charge line setup and a first-article inspection again each time.
Fixtures. The test fixture and the programming fixture that loads firmware, often a separate line.
Engineering. Design for manufacturing (DFM) work and any changes the factory makes so the product runs on its line.
Pilot and sample units. The pilot run (a small trial build on the real line), golden samples and units for certification testing are often quoted separately, and at a higher price per unit.
Packaging setup. Printing plates, dielines (the cutting and folding layout) and proofs for the box and inserts, if packaging is in the quote at all.
Certification testing, if the supplier arranges it; more often it's excluded.

Per-unit costs

Parts. Electronic components, often with a markup on the parts the supplier buys (a material markup); molded and other custom parts; cables, batteries and displays; the box and what goes in it.
Assembly, test and packing labor.
A scrap or attrition allowance, a few percent for parts and units lost in assembly and test.
Together these make the factory price per unit, at the quantity quoted.

What is landed cost?

Landed cost is the factory price plus everything it takes to get the unit to your warehouse:

Freight, insurance and delivery from the port to your warehouse.
Duty, which depends on the product's tariff classification (its HTS code) and where it is made. Ask which rate the quote assumes and on what date it was checked, because US rates have changed often since 2025. What you pay for molds, fixtures and other production tooling, and for engineering done outside the US, is usually added to the customs value, so you pay duty on it too, even when it's invoiced separately. So is the value of any parts you send the factory yourself. Ask your customs broker how these payments will be declared.
Customs costs. A customs broker's fee, the merchandise processing fee (MPF) on every entry, the harbor maintenance fee for ocean freight, and a customs bond. A shipment worth more than $2,500 needs a formal customs entry. Since August 2025, even samples and spare parts need a customs entry and pay any duty owed, because the small-parcel exemption (de minimis) is suspended.

Which quote terms change the real price?

Delivery terms (Incoterms). Ex-works (EXW) is the price at the factory door, and technically makes you responsible for export clearance in the factory's country, which a US startup usually can't do; ask for FCA or FOB instead. FOB is the price with the goods loaded on a ship at the export port; it's a sea-freight term, and for air freight the equivalent is FCA. Delivered duty paid (DDP) is the price at your door, with US duty and customs handled by the supplier. With a DDP quote, ask who will be the importer of record (the party legally responsible for the import and its duty), who pays if the duty rate changes before the goods arrive, and for a copy of the entry summary (CBP Form 7501), so you can see the tariff code and value declared.
Validity, currency and exchange rate. How long the prices hold, which currency they're in, and the exchange rate they assume. Assemblers often hold component prices for only a few weeks and re-quote them when you place the order.
Payment terms. A common overseas pattern is a deposit when the mold or the order is placed and the balance before shipping. Where you can, tie the balance to an inspection you've approved.
Minimums. The minimum order quantity (MOQ), and minimum buys on parts such as full reels of components.
Leftover parts. Many contract manufacturers bill you for parts they had to buy in minimums, or ordered as non-cancelable non-returnable (NCNR), that the run didn't use. Contracts call this excess and obsolete (E&O) material. Ask the supplier to spell out in the quote how it's billed before you sign.
Changes. How a design change after the quote is priced.
Inspection and quality. The approved sample (golden sample) units are checked against, the cosmetic standard, the sampling plan (an AQL level for critical, major and minor defects), who pays for third-party inspection and re-inspection, what happens to a failed lot (rework or sorting at the supplier's cost), the warranty on workmanship, and how units dead on arrival are handled.
ODM pricing. If an ODM builds its molds and design work into the unit price, ask over how many units it spreads them, whether the price drops after that, and whether you can buy the molds and design files.
Exclusions. A written list of what isn't included. Treat anything not stated as excluded until the supplier confirms it in writing.

Example: is the lowest unit price the cheapest quote?

This is an illustration, not a customer project. Suppliers A, B and C and all the numbers below are made up; they are not typical costs.

Say you need 1,000 units of a small device with a two-part molded case and one board, and you get three quotes:

A, an ODM adapting its own base design to your spec, quotes $38 per unit, ex-works. The unit price includes its molds and design work, and the ODM keeps the molds.
B, a contract manufacturer buying all the parts (turnkey), quotes $29 per unit, FOB, plus $14,000 of one-time costs listed separately: $10,000 for the two molds you will own and $4,000 for setup and fixtures. B's unit price includes printing the retail box, but not the $1,000 to set up the printing.
C, a supplier quoting delivered duty paid, quotes $44 per unit at your warehouse, plus $9,000 for the molds, but excludes certification and retail packaging.

What the quote covers	A: ODM, ex-works	B: contract manufacturer, FOB	C: delivered duty paid
Molds: cavities, material, tool life, owner	Built into the unit price; the ODM keeps them	Listed per part; yours once paid	Listed; ask about owner and tool life
Sample rounds included	Not stated	T1 and one round of fixes	Ask
Setup, programming, test fixture	Built into the unit price	Listed	Ask
Parts, assembly and test	In the unit price	In the unit price, with a scrap allowance	In the unit price
Leftover parts from minimum buys	Not billed separately	Billed after the run, per the contract	Ask
Minimum order	The ODM's minimum	Only part minimums	Ask
Retail box and inserts	A plain box	Box in the price; print setup extra	Excluded
Certification testing	Excluded; reports for its base design may not cover your version	Excluded	Excluded
Freight, insurance and duty	Excluded, from the factory door	Excluded, from the ship	Included; ask who is importer of record
Payment	A deposit and the balance before shipping	A mold deposit, then a deposit and balance per order	Often a larger deposit

To compare them, convert each to one landed cost per good unit, for the same product and the same 1,000 units. Here, assume these made-up figures: certification costs $3,000 whoever arranges it; a custom retail box costs $1,000 to set up and $2 a unit; freight, insurance, brokerage and delivery cost $3 a unit from the export port, or $3.50 from the factory door; duty is 10% of the factory price plus each unit's share of the molds and setup you paid for (a made-up rate; the real one depends on the product and where it's made); and B bills $1,500 of leftover parts after the run.

A, the ODM: $38 + $3.50 freight + $3.80 duty + $3 packaging ($1 setup and a $2 box) + $3 certification = $51.30.
B, the contract manufacturer: $29 + $14 one-time costs + $3 freight + $4.30 duty (10% of $29 + $14) + $1 packaging setup + $3 certification + $1.50 leftover parts = $55.80.
C, the delivered quote: $44 + $9 molds + $3 packaging + $3 certification = $59.00.

In this made-up example, the contract manufacturer's $29 FOB price was the lowest unit price, but the ODM's $38 ex-works quote was the cheapest first run once molds, freight, duty, packaging and certification were added: $51.30 a unit, against $55.80 for the contract manufacturer and $59.00 for the delivered quote. On a second run of 1,000 in the same example, with the one-time costs already paid, the order flips: the contract manufacturer comes to about $34.90 a unit, the delivered quote to $46 and the ODM to $47.30, because the contract manufacturer's molds are yours and its unit price doesn't carry them. If you expect to sell 2,000 units over the two runs, spreading the one-time costs over all 2,000 gives about $49.30 for the ODM, $45.35 for the contract manufacturer and $52.50 for the delivered quote. The delivered quote wasn't all-in either: it left out certification and packaging.

Cash matters as much as the per-unit totals. Assume, again with made-up figures, that each supplier asks for a 30% deposit on the order before production starts, and that the one-time costs are paid by then too. Before production starts, you would have paid about $15,400 with the ODM, $26,700 with the contract manufacturer and $26,200 with the delivered quote.

What doesn't show up in these totals still matters: who owns the molds and whether you could move them, the schedule each supplier commits to, and how returns and defects are handled. If an ODM's minimum is larger than your run, see An ODM quoted a 2,000-unit MOQ, but we need 500.

How do you get manufacturing quotes you can compare?

Send every supplier the same package: the same CAD revision, plastic grade, color and texture, tolerances, test requirements, packaging level and quantities.
Ask for prices at two or three quantities, for example 250, 1,000 and 5,000 units, with one-time costs listed separately from unit prices.
Ask every supplier to name the delivery terms, the duty rate and HTS code it assumes, the validity date and the exchange rate.
Ask for the mold details: cavities, material, tool life in shots, sample rounds included, and who owns the molds and where they are kept.
Ask what's excluded, and how leftover parts and design changes are billed.
Ask for the payment schedule, and whether the balance can follow an approved inspection.

The processes behind the one-time costs are compared in 100 to 1,000 units: bridge tooling, urethane casting or machining?, and the ways different kinds of partners charge in How to choose a partner to take your hardware into production.

Where we come in

This is one of the situations Anamor takes on. Our quotes list setup costs, such as tooling and fixtures, separately from unit prices, at the quantities you're planning. If certification testing is needed, we arrange it with an accredited lab and itemize it in the quote.

Anamor takes US hardware teams with a working prototype into their first production run: we redesign the product for production, line up partner factories and suppliers in the US and overseas, price it at your quantities, and run the build through to shipping.

Send what you have: photos of the prototype, CAD if you have it, the parts list, any quotes you've received, and how many you plan to make. Need an NDA? We'll send our mutual NDA, or review yours, before you send files. Within two business days, a real person on our team will reply with a free first look at your production run and a few times to talk.

Frequently asked questions

What does the per-unit price in a manufacturing quote leave out?

Usually it's the factory's price for one unit at the quoted quantity and delivery point. It often leaves out molds, fixtures and setup, freight, insurance, duty and customs fees, certification testing, retail packaging, leftover parts from minimum buys, units lost in assembly and test, inspection, and changes in prices, exchange rates or duty before shipment.

How do you compare manufacturing quotes from different suppliers?

Convert every quote to the same number: the landed cost of one good unit in your US warehouse. Add whatever a quote excludes, such as freight, duty, packaging, certification and leftover parts, and show one-time costs like molds separately, spread over the units you plan to sell. The lowest unit price is often not the lowest cost.

Do I pay US duty on injection molds?

Usually, yes. What you pay for molds, fixtures and other production tooling, and for engineering done outside the US, is usually added to the customs value of the goods, even when it's invoiced separately, and so is the value of parts you send the factory. Ask your customs broker how these payments will be declared.

What should I ask a supplier quoting delivered duty paid (DDP)?

Ask who will be the importer of record, the party legally responsible for the import and its duty; which tariff code and duty rate the quote assumes, and on what date; who pays if the rate changes before the goods arrive; and for a copy of the entry summary (CBP Form 7501).