Freelancer, US design firm or Shenzhen team: who should build my first prototype?
US firms quote $5,000 to $50,000+ for a first electronic prototype, Upwork lists embedded engineers at $25 to $50 an hour, and Anvol, the Shenzhen option and the author of this page, delivered 10 lidar cars for $6,500 in total. Read it with that in mind: every number below is linked to the page that published it.
Updated
Short answer
- You can manage engineers and write a spec
- A freelancer is the cheapest per hour. You usually hire electronics, firmware and enclosure people separately and coordinate them yourself.
- You want one accountable team in the US
- A US product design firm. Expect $5,000 and up for a first working electronic prototype and four to twelve weeks per round.
- You have an idea, no CAD and a budget in the low thousands
- A team that designs and builds the whole device. That is what we do: a simple small device costs about $500 to $3,000 to develop (our engineers' reference range), with no minimum order.
Side by side
| Freelancers (Upwork, Fiverr) | US product design firm | Shenzhen design-and-build team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Embedded engineers $25 to $50 an hour on Upwork1; electronics engineers $40 to $85 an hour on Fiverr2 | $5,000 to $15,000+ for a works-like prototype3; $10,000 to $50,000 with a custom circuit board4; $100 to $250 an hour3 | Quoted per project; we found no published all-in benchmark. Ours: about $500 to $3,000 development for a simple small device (reference); 10 lidar cars delivered for $6,500 |
| What you get | Usually one discipline per person; you are the one coordinating them5 | The whole device: design, electronics, firmware and first units4 | The best-known online services build boards from files you supply6; some also design from an idea7. Ours: board, firmware, enclosure, assembly and test in one team |
| Do you need CAD? | You need a clear spec for each person | No; a one-page brief is a normal start3 | For file-based services, yes: Gerber, BOM and placement files6. For us, no: a sketch or photos is enough |
| Who owns the design | On Upwork, the client, once paid in full, unless both sides agree otherwise8 | Set by the firm's contract; get the assignment in writing9 | In an ODM arrangement the manufacturer keeps it unless you buy the IP10. With us, the project files, drawings and tooling are yours, and we sign an NDA before we open anything |
| Time to a first prototype | A simple board design alone: 3 to 5 days2 | 4 to 12 weeks per round4; one firm's sample plan reaches an alpha in 16 to 22 weeks4 | Board assembly from finished files: as little as 4 to 5 days6. Our lidar car: about one month of development |
| Time zone | Anywhere | Yours | China is 12 to 16 hours ahead of the US. We reply within 12 hours, and you contract and pay in USD with Anvol, Inc. |
Every price here comes from a seller, us included. Freelance and firm figures are their own published ranges, not quotes for your project.
When not to use us
- You already have Gerber, BOM and placement files
- An online board service will build the boards faster and cheaper than any engineering team.
- Regulatory approval is the main job
- For a medical device, or a product whose hardest step is certification, pick a firm that specialises in it. None of our priced builds went through FCC or CE; we quote certification separately.
- You need someone in the room
- If the project needs frequent in-person sessions in the US, a local firm is the better fit.
Ask whoever you pick
- Who owns the design files, drawings and tooling, in writing?
- Does "prototype" mean a bare board, or a working device with firmware and an enclosure?
- Is the price for one round? What does a second round cost?
- Who is my single contact, and how fast do they reply?
Sources
- Upwork, embedded systems engineer cost, accessed 2026-10-19
- Fiverr, electronics design engineer cost guide, 2026-08-03
- RMA Engineering, prototype cost, 2026-08-19
- LA New Product Development Team, how much does a prototype cost to make, updated 2026-09-02
- Predictable Designs, idea to prototype: product development costs, updated 2023-09-25
- JLCPCB, PCB prototype assembly, accessed 2026-10-19
- PCBWay, PCB design service FAQ, accessed 2026-10-19
- Upwork, Optional Service Contract Terms, accessed 2026-10-19
- US Copyright Office, Circular 30: works made for hire, revised 2024-08
- ESCATEC, avoiding the manufacturing outsourcing trap, 2025-09-24
Our numbers in full: what a hardware prototype costs → · from an idea, no CAD → · who you contract with →