PCBWay vs OSH Park: Where to Order Your First Custom PCB
Last verified: February 2025. Vendor pricing and lead times shift often, so confirm the numbers on each site before you click pay.
You’ve spent three weekends learning KiCad, you finally have clean Gerber files, and now you’re frozen on a checkout page wondering if the $2 promo board is real or if you’re about to pay $40 in shipping for a coaster.
That hesitation is normal. It’s also the only thing standing between you and a finished board in your hands next week.
This guide walks through PCBWay vs OSH Park head-to-head, with JLCPCB as a price benchmark. By the end, you’ll know which service fits your first order and roughly what it’ll cost you all-in (boards, shipping, customs).
Quick Verdict for Skimmers
Pick the row that sounds like you.
+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| Use Case | Best Choice | Why |
+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| Cheapest small run | OSH Park | $/sq in, no shipping |
| (US-based) | | or customs surprise |
| Cheapest period | JLCPCB | $2 promo tier |
| Custom colors, | PCBWay | Widest options |
| advanced stackup | | |
| Fastest in US | OSH Park Super Swift | Domestic mfg |
| Assembly (PCBA) | PCBWay or JLCPCB | OSH Park = bare |
| | | boards only |
| Outside North | PCBWay | Better intl shipping |
| America | | rates |
+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+The short version: OSH Park if you’re in the US and want simple, fast, and no-customs. PCBWay if you want options (color, finishes, layer counts) or you need parts soldered on too.
How PCB Fab Pricing Actually Works
Before comparing vendors, you need to know the two pricing models, because they confuse almost every first-time buyer.
OSH Park charges per square inch. Their classic 2-layer service is roughly $5 per square inch, and you get 3 boards. So a 2 in × 2 in board (4 sq in) costs about $20 for 3 copies. No shipping fees inside the US. No customs.
PCBWay and JLCPCB charge per design, with promotional flat rates for small orders. PCBWay’s entry tier starts around $5 for 5 boards up to 100 mm × 100 mm, and JLCPCB famously offers $2 for 5 boards in similar dimensions. Then they ship from China.
A “$2 PCB” can land at $20 to $30 once you add DHL or standard shipping plus any customs fees in your country. Sometimes it’s still the cheapest. Sometimes OSH Park beats it for tiny boards because there’s no shipping math at all.
Run the total cart price, not the headline number.
Head-to-Head: PCBWay vs OSH Park
Here’s the side-by-side. Numbers are rough ranges, and they move, so verify before ordering.
+----------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Factor | PCBWay | OSH Park |
+----------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Origin | China | USA (Oregon) |
| Min. quantity | 5 boards | 3 boards |
| Pricing model | Per design | Per sq inch |
| Typical fab time | 2-3 days | 9-12 days (std) |
| Shipping to US | 3-7 days, $15-40 | 2-4 days, included |
| Color options | 10+ colors | Purple only |
| Advanced options | HDI, flex, rigid- | 2 & 4 layer std |
| | flex, up to 32 lyr | (6 layer in beta) |
| Default surface | HASL (ENIG paid | ENIG included |
| | upgrade) | |
| Assembly (PCBA) | Yes | No |
| DFM check | Engineer review | Automated |
+----------------------+--------------------+--------------------+A few terms worth defining as we go:
- Gerber: the file format your design tool exports. It’s basically a stack of images, one per copper layer, plus drill data.
- HASL (Hot Air Solder Leveling): the cheapest surface finish. Silver, slightly uneven pads. Fine for hand soldering bigger parts.
- ENIG (Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold): flatter, gold-colored pads. Better for fine-pitch parts and looks nicer.
- DFM (Design for Manufacturability): the fab’s check that your design can actually be built.
Price on a 5 cm × 5 cm board
A typical hobbyist board, 2 layers, 5 boards (or 3 for OSH Park):
- OSH Park: about $19 for 3 boards, US shipping included. Total: ~$19.
- PCBWay: about $5 for 5 boards, plus $20-25 shipping to the US. Total: ~$25-30.
- JLCPCB: about $2 for 5 boards, plus $15-20 shipping. Total: ~$17-22.
For tiny boards, OSH Park is competitive once shipping is in the mix. For bigger boards (say 10 cm × 10 cm), PCBWay and JLCPCB pull ahead because their per-design pricing barely changes as the board grows.
Quality
Both are solid for hobbyist and small-business work. OSH Park’s purple solder mask and ENIG finish look great by default. PCBWay’s default HASL is fine, and you can pay a few dollars more for ENIG if you’re soldering QFN or BGA parts.
For 99% of first projects, you won’t see a quality difference that matters.
Lead time honesty
OSH Park’s standard service takes 9 to 12 days to fabricate, then a couple of days to ship. Their Super Swift tier cuts that to about a week total but costs significantly more.
PCBWay can fab in 2 to 3 days. The catch is shipping. DHL Express is 3 to 5 days but pricey. Standard shipping is 7 to 15 days, and customs in some countries adds a few more days plus a fee.
Total door-to-door, both often land in the 7 to 14 day range for a first-time order. PCBWay wins if you pay for express. OSH Park wins if you want predictable, no-customs delivery in the US.
Ease of use for beginners
OSH Park accepts a single zipped folder of Gerbers and figures out the rest. Their automated check catches obvious problems like missing layers or zero-width traces. Few options to misconfigure.
PCBWay has more options on the order page (layer count, thickness, color, finish, copper weight, surface), which is more powerful and more places to mess up. Their engineering team reviews your files before fab, and they’ll email you if something looks wrong. That human check is genuinely useful on a first order.
Customer support
PCBWay has 24/7 live chat, an account manager assigned to your orders, and engineers who’ll review files. OSH Park is email-only, polite, and concise. If you want hand-holding, PCBWay wins. If you want to be left alone, OSH Park is your friend.
Where JLCPCB Fits In
JLCPCB is often the cheapest option for simple 2-layer boards under 100 mm × 100 mm, and their workflow is nearly identical to PCBWay’s: upload Gerbers, pick options, ship from China.
If absolute lowest cost is the goal and you’re comfortable with a 1 to 2 week wait, JLCPCB belongs on your shortlist. They also offer PCBA (assembly) at aggressive prices through their parts library.
This article focuses on PCBWay and OSH Park because that choice maps cleanly to the question most beginners are asking: US-based simplicity or China-based flexibility? JLCPCB lives in PCBWay’s neighborhood on that question.
Recommendations by Use Case
- “I’m in the US and want my boards next week” → OSH Park Super Swift.
- “I want the cheapest possible 2-layer board and I’ll wait” → Compare JLCPCB and PCBWay totals; OSH Park if you’d rather avoid customs.
- “I want a black, red, or blue board to show off” → PCBWay.
- “I need parts soldered too (PCBA)” → PCBWay.
- “I’m prototyping something complex (4+ layers, controlled impedance, flex)” → PCBWay.
First-Order Checklist
Before you upload anything, run through this:
[ ] Gerbers exported (RS-274X format)
[ ] Drill file included (.drl or Excellon)
[ ] Board outline on the correct layer
[ ] Silkscreen text readable (>= 0.8mm height)
[ ] Min trace/space confirmed (6 mil is safe)
[ ] Quantity, color, thickness selected
[ ] Shipping + customs estimated in cart total
[ ] Screenshot of the final order savedThe screenshot matters more than you’d think. When your boards arrive and something’s off, you’ll want to know exactly what you ordered.
Placing the Order
There’s no wrong answer between these two for a first board. OSH Park will give you 3 purple boards, no shipping math, and a clean experience. PCBWay will give you 5 boards in your color of choice, faster fab, and a real human looking at your files.
The board you’re nervous about ordering today is the one that teaches you the most. Send the Gerbers.
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