CNC router service cost: how makers price a job
Send the same sign file to four CNC shops and you can get four prices that look unrelated. They aren't. Almost every maker with a router builds a quote from the same handful of lines. They just weight them differently, depending on their machine, their tooling and how full their week is. Once you know the lines, you can read a quote, spot the one that's padded, and write a brief that gets a lower number.
The formula
Price = setup + (machine time × machine-hour rate) + material + finishing, × a rush factor.
Design time sits outside that if the maker has to draw your file for you. Shipping sits outside it too.
Machine-hour rate
Router work is billed by time. Each maker sets their own hourly rate for machine time, and it covers more than electricity: the machine itself, bits (which wear out), dust collection, the spoilboard that gets resurfaced, and the person loading sheets and watching the cut. A bigger, faster machine can charge more per hour and still come in cheaper per part, because it finishes sooner.
You won't find a universal rate. A garage shop with a 4×4 hobby machine and a sign company with a 5×10 vacuum-table router are different businesses. That's why comparing several bids on the same file tells you more than any rate card.
Machine time
Time comes from three things:
- Toolpath length. The total distance the bit travels while cutting. An outline of a 24 × 36 in panel is about 10 ft of path. A V-carved sign of the same size can be many times that, because the bit traces every letter.
- Passes. A router can't cut 3/4 in plywood in one go with a 1/4 in bit; it steps down in passes. Three passes means the outline is traced three times.
- Feed rate. How fast the bit moves, which depends on the material, the bit and the machine's rigidity. MDF and plywood cut quickly; hardwood is slower; acrylic and aluminum slower again.
You can run your own numbers with the CNC cut time calculator: toolpath length ÷ feed × passes, plus plunges and an allowance for corners and rapid moves.
Setup
Setup is paid once per job, not per part. It covers opening and checking your file, building toolpaths in CAM software, loading the sheet, zeroing the machine, changing bits, and a test cut. On a single small sign, setup can be a big share of the total. On a run of 40 cabinet sides, it nearly disappears per part.
Material
Billed on top unless you supply the stock. Rough order from cheapest to most expensive per sheet: MDF, construction plywood, Baltic birch, HDPE, acrylic, HDU sign foam, hardwood. Hardwood is sold by the board foot and comes in random widths, so a wide panel may need glued-up boards, which is labor.
Makers charge for what your job consumes, plus waste. Parts that nest tightly on a 4×8 sheet waste less.
Finishing
Everything after the machine stops is labor. Cutting tabs and sanding them flush. Sanding faces and edges. Paint-filling V-carved letters and sanding the face back. Stain, sealer, clear coat, each with drying time. Edge banding on plywood. Hardware. Say what you need and, just as important, what you don't. "Raw, tabs left on" is the cheapest finish there is.
Rush
A short deadline means moving another customer's job off the machine. Expect a surcharge, and expect some makers to pass entirely. "ASAP" usually gets priced as a rush, so give a real date.
What makes a CNC job expensive
| Driver | Cheap version | Expensive version |
|---|---|---|
| Detail | Simple outline, a few holes | Small V-carved lettering, 3D relief carving |
| Material | MDF, plywood | Hardwood glue-up, HDU, acrylic, aluminum |
| Depth | Cut-through on thin stock | Deep pockets, thick stock, lots of material removed |
| Quantity | One sheet run of identical parts | One-offs, each with its own setup |
| File | Clean DXF at 1:1 | Photo, sketch or PNG logo that needs drawing |
| Finish | Raw | Painted, stained, sealed |
| Deadline | Two weeks | Two days |
Carving detail is the one buyers underestimate most. Removing material in a pocket or a relief carve is slow: the bit has to clear every square inch, not just trace an edge. A carved sign can take far longer on the machine than cutting out a full sheet of parts.
How to get a lower quote
- Send a clean file. DXF or SVG at 1:1, units stated, closed paths, text converted to outlines. Every minute the maker spends fixing your file is billed.
- Batch parts into one job. Setup is paid once. Ten parts in one job cost far less than ten one-part jobs.
- Pick the right material for the use. MDF is great for painted indoor parts and cheap to cut; it's a poor choice for anything outdoors or wet.
- Simplify the carving. A bolder font with fewer, larger letters often carves faster and reads better from a distance.
- Do the finishing yourself if you can. Ask for raw parts with tabs, and sand and paint at home.
- Pick up locally. Large panels are expensive to ship. A maker near you can save more on freight than you'd ever save on the cut.
- Get several bids. Rates and queues vary, so the spread between makers on the same file is real.
Ballpark before you post
If you want a rough number before you ask anyone, the estimator on the home page takes material, size, complexity, quantity, finishing and deadline and gives a range. Treat it as a planning range, not a price. The price guide explains each factor in more detail.
For a real number, post the job once and let makers bid. Posting is free and there's no buyer fee: the maker's quote is the price you pay. You see the spread in price and lead time, you check each maker's machine and past work, and your payment is held until the work arrives and you confirm delivery.