Masterbatch is only a few percent of product cost, but comparing prices the wrong way wastes real money. This page teaches you to calculate 'coloring cost per ton of finished product', spot overstated content and low-price traps, and put your budget on the metrics that matter.
Masterbatch price = pigment cost + carrier + additives + processing cost + a reasonable margin. Pigments dominate: TiO2, premium organic pigments, pearlescent and effect pigments cost far more than CaCO3-type fillers. Two white masterbatches with 40% vs 70% TiO2 can differ in price by more than 2x.
Five factors: pigment type and content (TiO2, carbon black, organic pigments, effect pigments), carrier grade (commodity vs engineering resin carrier), concentration, dispersion quality grade, and order volume. Effect types (pearlescent, fluorescent, metallic, thermochromic) price significantly above standard black and white masterbatch.
The spread comes from TiO2: content (30%-70%), grade (coated rutile grades are far more expensive than anatase), and whether extenders such as kaolin are used. Cheap white masterbatch uses low TiO2 content plus filler: poor hiding power and higher letdown — converted to total cost per ton of finished product it can actually be more expensive.
TiO2 is the decisive cost item in white masterbatch; every 10-percentage-point rise in content raises raw material cost clearly, and price follows. Do not compare price per ton of masterbatch alone — convert to 'coloring cost per ton of product = masterbatch price × letdown ratio'; high-content grades are often more economical.
Black masterbatch price depends on carbon black grade (high-color furnace black costs several times more than regular carbon black) and concentration (20%-50%). High-gloss, high-jetness products need high-color masterbatch; ordinary structural parts can use a medium grade. As with white masterbatch, compare at unit-of-finished-product cost.
Colored masterbatch uses organic pigments (azo, phthalocyanine, quinacridone, etc.) whose synthesis costs far exceed inorganic fillers; vivid shades (bright red, bright yellow, vivid blue) demand higher heat and migration stability, pushing cost up further. Black and white run in large volume to dilute cost; colored is mostly custom small-batch, so unit cost is higher.
The pigments themselves are expensive: pearlescent uses mica coated with TiO2, and natural mica grades vary widely; fluorescent pigments need complex coating processes; metallic effects use aluminum and silver powder and must also solve dust-explosion and dispersion problems. Effect masterbatches are mostly small custom runs, so costs do not dilute.
Coloring cost = masterbatch unit price × letdown ratio. Example: masterbatch at 20,000/ton with a 2% letdown gives a coloring cost of 400 per ton of product. Ask suppliers to quote 'cost converted to the finished product' for your target color — far more truthful than comparing masterbatch price alone.
Pure pigment cost is 20%-40% lower with powder, but add premixing labor, dust loss, color-deviation rework and equipment cleaning, and for small-to-medium volumes total cost often matches or exceeds masterbatch. Large single-color volumes with in-house matching ability favor powder; multi-color plants with fast changeovers gain clear efficiency with masterbatch.
Paint-free resin builds effect pigments into the base compound, costing 20%-50% more than 'natural modified resin + effect masterbatch', and must be used for the whole batch. The masterbatch route spends money only on the 2%-4% letdown. For budget-sensitive, high-volume appearance parts, trial the masterbatch option first.
For the same color, higher concentration means lower letdown. Cheap masterbatch is often low-concentration at 4%-6% letdown; premium grades run 1%-2%. Converted cost per product can be similar, but lower letdown affects the base resin's mechanical properties less. Decide on both cost and performance.
Common problems with ultra-cheap masterbatch: overstated pigment content, recycled carrier, poor dispersion causing specks and flow marks, large batch-to-batch color variation. Coloring is a tiny share of total product cost, but losses from color rejections and line stoppage dwarf the savings — do not save pennies on masterbatch for main orders.
Typical tiers: 1-ton trial price, 5-10 ton small-batch price, framework price above 50 tons; step discounts are usually 5%-15%. Customers with stable monthly volume can sign quarterly price locks; for volatile pigments such as TiO2, agree on a price-adjustment mechanism.
Standard black and white masterbatch and in-stock colored grades ship free samples; custom color matching depends on complexity — most factories provide small samples free but charge when quantities are large or repeated trials are needed, crediting the fee once production volume is reached. We provide standard color-matching samples free of charge in 2-5 working days.
In-stock universal masterbatch ships from 25kg (one bag); custom colors usually have a 100-300kg minimum, and 500kg is more economical for special shades. During new-customer development we support small trial orders — verify first, then scale up.
Five items: base resin and grade (PP, ABS or PA), product use (appearance/structural/food contact), target color (Pantone number or sample), process and temperature (injection/film blowing/extrusion), and expected monthly volume. The more complete the information, the more accurate the quote and the lower the chance of later surcharges.
TiO2 accounts for 60%-80% of white masterbatch cost, so market swings pass straight through. In a rising market, add a price-linkage clause to long-term contracts or lock supply prices for 1-2 quarters. We flag market movements to customers within the order cycle to avoid forced price increases.
Regrind has a dark base (yellow, gray), so hiding it takes 0.5-1 percentage points more masterbatch — a slight cost increase. A compromise is to whiten the base first with white masterbatch or optical brightener, or simply choose dark shades (black, dark gray, navy) to erase the base-color problem at the lowest cost.
Per unit of product, usually yes: high-concentration masterbatch at 1% letdown vs medium grade at 3% — the high-concentration grade wins if the price gap is under 3x; and 2 percentage points less letdown means less impact on base resin properties and steadier mechanical data. The one precondition is that your equipment's dispersion capability keeps up.
Four routes: switch regular colors to in-stock standard masterbatch (saves custom matching fees); raise concentration to cut letdown (saves logistics and storage); for regrind color matching prefer dark shades (saves hiding cost); sign framework prices with pigment-market linkage. Never drop to no-name low-concentration masterbatch — rework costs far more.
Five common traps: overstated content (labeled 50% but actually 35%), recycled carrier (odor, poor strength), insufficient pigment heat stability (color shift after processing), uncontrolled batch color difference, and missing compliance reports (export shipments seized). Verify: third-party content testing, first-batch retention samples, complete RoHS/REACH reports.
Export quotes generally cover FOB cost + packaging (25kg woven bags or jumbo bags) + documentation (MSDS, COA, non-hazardous certificate); shipped by sea as ordinary chemical goods, with moisture and compression protection for pearlescent and metallic types. We normally export in 25kg bags; jumbo bags or pallets available on request.
Different cost structures: black and white masterbatch run in volume with cheap pigments; colored and effect masterbatches use costly pigments, small batches and more matching hours; functional masterbatch additives (flame retardants, UV stabilizers) are chemical new materials with high unit prices. A 3-10x internal price range is normal.
In product cost, masterbatch is usually only 1%-3% (low letdown); the modified compound is the bigger share. But color is the first perceived quality, and losses caused by color deviation far exceed its cost share — in budget allocation, choosing the right masterbatch matters more than haggling over price.
In-stock standard colors (black, white, gray, common shades) can be 10%-30% below custom pricing because matching hours and trial losses are saved. If your product color allows slight adjustment, prefer the supplier's stock series; brand colors that must be custom approach stock prices as volume grows.
Send the part, the service conditions and your monthly volume — we will propose an equivalent grade, a sample and a quote.