RFID tag price fog
Many companies are very concerned about the price of an RFID tag, but the price of RFID tags is affected by various factors such as material, size, frequency, chip type, manufacturing process and purchase quantity, and cannot give a unified unit price. The following author will analyze the price range and influencing factors according to the common situation in the market, hoping to help everyone.
01
Label type and operating frequency
According to the operating frequency, RFID tags usually have four categories: low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), ultra-high frequency (UHF) and microwave.
(1) Low frequency (LF, 125 - 134 kHz): The price is usually more expensive, mostly used in scenarios such as animal tracking, access control cards, etc., and the price may range from a few yuan to more than ten yuan.
(2) High frequency (HF, 13.56 MHz): The most widely used field, covering NFC, book management, payment cards, access control cards and other fields. The price range is large, with simple cards or tags as low as 0.5 yuan to 2 yuan, and those with encryption, special sizes or performance requirements may reach several yuan or even more than ten yuan.
(3) UHF (UHF, 860 - 960 MHz): Mainly used in logistics, warehousing, retail, and asset management, because of its long reading distance and batch reading, it is currently the fastest growing application and the most fierce price competition.
(4) Microwave (2.45GHz, 5.8GHz, etc.): The reading distance is extremely long (up to tens of meters to 100 meters), the cost is high, and it is mostly used for active tags, such as vehicle long-distance identification.
For example, the most basic ordinary paper/synthetic material labels (used for retail clothing tags and logistics box labels) can be as low as 0.2~0.8 yuan or even lower when the quantity is large; The price of anti-metal labels (used for attaching to metal surfaces) has increased significantly, usually at 1.5~10 yuan, or even higher, depending on size, material, and performance; High-temperature resistant labels and special material labels (such as ceramics, PCBs) are more expensive, which may range from a few yuan to tens of yuan.
02
Chip performance and capacity
One of the most important components of RFID tags is the chip, and its storage space, performance, model, etc. will affect the price.
(1) Storage space: There are different specifications such as 96-bit, 512-bit, 4K, 8K, etc.
(2) Encryption function: Whether or not encryption functions are supported (such as the security features of Gen2v2) will directly affect the price.
(3) Chip brand and model: such as Impinj, NXP, Alien, Huahong, etc., RFID tags for high-performance or high-security chips are more expensive.
03
Packaging materials and forms
Different packaging materials and methods will also vary in the final RFID tag price. Specifically, it is manifested as:
(1) Materials: including ordinary paper, synthetic paper, PET, PVC, ABS plastic, epoxy resin, ceramics, etc. The higher the requirements for weather resistance, tear resistance, high temperature resistance, chemical corrosion resistance, etc., the more expensive the price.
(2) Form: there are standard sticker labels, cards, buttons, laundry labels, implantable glass tube labels, cable tie labels, hang tags, anti-metal labels, etc. Special package forms increase costs.
(3) Size: Generally, the smaller the size or the need for a special shape, the higher the cost.
04
Scenario requirements and purchase quantity
In the face of the special requirements of some application scenarios, such as longer reading distance, high temperature resistance (used in automotive tire tracking, laundry industry), low temperature resistance, waterproof, chemical corrosion resistance, UV protection, anti-interference, etc., RFID tag cost will also be invisibly increased.
In addition, the purchase quantity is also one of the important factors affecting the price, and the RFID tag price is extremely sensitive to quantity. Generally speaking, the unit price of sample/small batch (tens to hundreds) RFID tags is very high, which may be several times or even more than ten times more expensive than large-scale purchases; The unit price of medium batch (thousands to tens of thousands) RFID tags has dropped significantly. Large-scale (more than 100,000 pieces) labels can get the lowest unit price, and UHF labels can be very low in ultra-large quantities (such as millions of pieces).
In fact, the production costs, quality control, and brand premiums of different suppliers will also affect the final label price. In addition, the cost of RFID projects includes not only the tag itself, but also the reader, antenna, middleware, software system, integration services, etc. Label costs may not account for large projects, but they are critical in retail item-level applications. Therefore, it is recommended to consider the choice based on your own needs and budget.