Why Your Order Might Need a Price Adjustment

To continuously deliver high-quality products and outstanding service, NextPCB constantly optimizes production processes and actively introduces and refines advanced technologies. Simultaneously, we remain dedicated to fully meeting our customers' increasingly diverse design and manufacturing requirements.

No more waiting days for your PCB or PCBA quote. The traditional bottleneck is now history, thanks to NextPCB's Instant Online Quoting System! Simply upload your Gerber files to receive immediate pricing and lead times. For complex projects requiring specialized manual review, we complete the final quote within hours, not days, ensuring you can accelerate your design and manufacturing timeline without unnecessary delays.

However, the design and manufacturing of PCBs is a highly complex engineering process. Behind every seemingly straightforward online quotation lies an extensive amount of rigorous engineering assessment work. This inherent complexity can lead to necessary price adjustments between the initial online quote and the final engineering review.

Online Quote vs. Engineering Review: Where is the Difference?

Some users encountered the following situation after placing an order through pcb online quotation system: clearly having completed payment according to the system quote, and full of anticipation for shipment, they instead received our email reminder—"Your order needs a supplementary price difference".

We completely understand your feelings at this moment. You might feel confused: "Why wasn't it calculated clearly at the start?" or concerned: "Are there hidden costs?"

As a PCB manufacturer dedicated to quality and transparency, NextPCB believes it is crucial to explain the logic behind these necessary price adjustments. This process is not about hidden fees; it's about our commitment to ensuring your boards are "built right the first time".

Pricing Explanation: Special Processes and File Review Fees

NextPCB's online quoting system provides a rapid cost estimate based on the Gerber files you upload and dozens of key parameters (such as dimensions, layers, and quantity). However, the infinite variations in PCB design mean that a standard algorithm cannot account for every unique circumstance.

Therefore, before formal production begins, our professional CAM Engineers conduct a precise Engineering Query (EQ) / DFM review to ensure manufacturability.

• Base Price Calculation: All initial prices are typically calculated instantly using the online price calculator on the NextPCB website, based on the parameters and options you select for your uploaded Gerber files.
• Exceptions and Additional Fees: To guarantee optimal service quality and maintain sustainable, advanced production capabilities, we must account for the actual complexity and resource consumption of unique designs. If the "standard process estimated by the system" deviates from the "special process requirements actually present in your design file," or if the customer fails to accurately select all matching options during the order placement, an additional fee may be incurred during the manual file review (DFM) stage.

Five Common Causes for Price Disfference

1. Design Precision Exceeds "Standard" Options

When using the online quotation system, many users default to selecting "Standard Process" for convenience. However, when our engineers open your Gerber files, they often discover more advanced design details:

• Excessively Fine Trace Width/Spacing: If your design includes localized traces of 3.5mil (the common standard is ≥0.6mil) or thinner, this exceeds the precision limits of standard etching. We must then employ higher-precision photoplotters and dry film processes, which naturally increases the cost.
• Drilling Challenges: Designs containing extremely small holes (less than 0.2mm, where the common standard is ≥0.3mm), or an exceptionally high number of holes per panel (common in HDI boards), will multiply drilling time and drill bit consumption.
• Castellation/Edge Plating: These special edge treatments cannot be captured by simple length and width parameters, but they require additional second-drilling and milling steps.

 Case Study: The "Trap" of Parameter Modification

A customer attempting to order a small-sized PCB (38.7 x 5.1mm) encountered a system prompt stating that this size could not be directly ordered online. To proceed, they modified the input parameters to 38.7 x 10mm to successfully place the order.

However, the uploaded Gerber file reflected the actual, smaller size (38.7 x 5.1mm). Since the production of smaller PCBs often involves higher manufacturing difficulty and costs, the system automatically detected the discrepancy between the ordered parameters and the actual file dimensions, subsequently requesting an additional fee (increasing the price from $6 to $50).

This incident led to customer confusion regarding the accuracy of the initial quote. It illustrates that the online quotation system is primarily based on the input parameters, but the final price remains subject to the actual production complexity and process requirements determined by your design files (Gerber).

2. Panelization Method and Material Utilization

This is the most easily overlooked hidden cost. NextPCB is committed to helping customers save money, but physical constraints are sometimes unavoidable:

• "Scrap" from Non-Rectangular Boards: If your board is circular, triangular, or irregularly shaped (non-rectangular), the online quote typically calculates the cost based on the rectangular perimeter. However, significant corner/edge scrap is generated during the actual material cutting process to extract these shapes. This material cost is an objective reality.
• Complex Panelization: If you upload your own pre-panelized array (Panel) with complex connection methods (such as specialized stamp hole locations or extremely narrow break-away tabs/webs), this may increase the yield risk on our production line, thus impacting the final cost.

3. File Structure: Multiple Independent Designs within a Single Gerber File (Multi-Design)

If your single Gerber file contains two or more independent, non-panelized circuit board designs, this requires additional Engineering Data Processing and setup time from our CAM team. Consequently, an extra design handling fee will be applied.

• Multi-Design Processing: Including multiple, separate designs in one file necessitates our engineers to perform additional work for data separation, independent file verification, and final production panelization.
• Fee Calculation: This fee is automatically calculated by selecting the number of independent designs contained within your file on our online quotation interface.
• SMT Special Note: Please be aware that this fee pertains only to the PCB fabrication file processing. If your order includes SMT Assembly services, the Panelization Design Fee required for the SMT process will be calculated and charged separately.

To ensure smooth CAM review and production processing when using a Multi-Design file structure, we strongly recommend consulting our detailed operational specification:
NextPCB Multi-Design Ordering Specification: Different PCB Designs in Gerber Files

4. Special Processes Difficult for the System to Automatically Recognize

Some process options are difficult to fully cover in an automated system and require manual identification:

• Impedance Control: If your board is intended for Radio Frequency (RF) or high-speed signals, it requires strict impedance matching. NextPCB must perform dedicated stack-up design and Impedance Coupon Testing for you, which is a specialized value-added service. Try  Impedance Calculator online
• Blind/Buried Via Structures: The online quoting system struggles to identify complex sequential lamination steps and via sequencing (e.g., multi-stage stack-ups, staggered/filled vias). This requires manual engineering analysis of the design files to confirm the number of drilling cycles, aspect ratio difficulty, and determine the precise fabrication cost and potential yield risk.
• Surface Finish Conflict: For example, if the design includes Gold Fingers, but the online option selected was "HASL" To ensure the wear resistance and conductivity of the Gold Fingers, we must upgrade the process to "Hard Gold Plating" or implement a specialized masking procedure.

5.  Shipping Discrepancies Due to Actual Weight or Volume

The shipping fee calculated during the online checkout process is an initial estimate based on the parameters (dimensions, layer count, quantity) you provided.

In some cases, after the PCBs have completed production and are prepared for packaging, we may find that the actual product weight (or volumetric weight) significantly exceeds the initial estimate. This typically occurs because:

• Weight Overload: The actual finished weight of the boards, including packaging, is substantially higher than the system's prediction.
• Volume/Size Changes: The final required package size is larger than anticipated.

When the disparity between the quoted and actual shipping cost is substantial, we will need to notify you to cover the shipping cost difference to ensure timely dispatch.

NextPCB Expert Advice: How to Avoid Price Adjustments?

To ensure a smoother ordering experience, the NextPCB team offers a few practical suggestions:

• Utilize NextPCB's Free DFM Check: Unsure if your design adheres to manufacturing process capabilities? Use our free DFM tool to pre-screen your files before placing the order.
• Accurately Specify Parameters: Cross-reference the design rules in your EDA software (Altium, KiCad, EasyEDA, etc.). If you used 4mil traces, please accurately select the corresponding option on the quotation page; do not select "Standard" simply to achieve a lower initial price.
• The Remarks Field is Your Ally: If you have requirements for impedance control, Castellated Holes(Plated Half-holes), gold fingers, or a special stack-up, be sure to note them in the order's "Remarks" field so our engineers can see them immediately.
• Pay Attention to EQ Confirmation: If your order status changes to "Pending Confirmation" or you receive a price adjustment notification, review the Engineering Query (EQ) report provided by the engineer. This is more than just an invoice; it's a complimentary professional design health check.

NextPCB's Commitment to Transparency and Experience

Rest assured, with the continuous enhancement of our automation and Gerber file parsing technology, the probability of a required price adjustment is extremely low(In most cases, it's less than 3%), provided your PCB is designed according to our manufacturing guidelines and the parameters you manually confirm match your Gerber file.

Furthermore, to ensure a smoother customer journey, NextPCB has established an internal tolerance threshold: For minor price differences caused by subtle process variations, we will absorb the small cost. An adjustment will only be requested from the user if the difference exceeds this predetermined threshold. Every aspect of our quotation is transparent, and every price adjustment is implemented to guarantee quality.

Thank you for choosing NextPCB. We look forward to transforming your top-tier design into a perfect, top-tier product.

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