Metal letters run $15 to $120 per letter factory-direct. Installed retail? You can hit $400–$700 a letter once mounting and labor pile on. That raw number's almost useless until you ask three questions: material, thickness, finish. That's the honest starting point nobody wants to give you over the phone.
Here's the number you actually need.
Look, I've watched sign shops quote $800 for a front-lit letter from a domestic fabricator. Same 304 stainless, same Samsung LEDs. We ship that letter for $120. No magic. Just overhead, middlemen, and retail markup.
Material drives everything downstream. 304 stainless steel letters carry 18% chromium and 8% nickel, so they'll sit outside for 10+ years. 316 stainless adds molybdenum and costs 20–30% more because it doesn't blink at salt spray. Aluminum weighs a third of steel, lasts 8–12 years outdoors, and won't rust. These aren't the same sign, and they shouldn't cost the same.
Size and complexity are where quotes go sideways. A three-inch letter with a half-inch return? Laser-cut and bent in minutes. A 36-inch letter with a 2-inch return? Welded, ground, and polished on a bench. Labor is the real cost. Not the metal.
Here's the part nobody mentions: aluminum letters cut cheap but finish expensive. Factory-direct, we quote aluminum at $10–$25 per letter, 304 stainless at $15–$40, and brass or bronze at $40–$120 depending on alloy and finish. The spread isn't metal cost. It's polishing hours.
Ordering cast aluminum or bronze letters means paying for a mold or pattern, plus hand-finishing. That's why cast bronze costs more than cut brass. Process drives price. Not the metal.
Brass and copper are their own animal. Gorgeous, sure, but they'll patina without a clear coat. We sell brass and copper letters mostly to hotels and law offices. Budget for the clear coat, or accept green drip running down your stone facade.
Stud mounting adds $3–$8 a letter for hardware, drilling template, and standoff spacers. Flush mounting with silicone looks cheaper on paper. But a wall that isn't dead flat means wobbly letters and a redo you'll pay for.
Pinned mounting gives the cleanest look and the biggest fabrication headache. Weld those pin bosses dead square, or the letter won't sit flat. That's another $5–$10 per letter in labor.
I've seen this go wrong: someone orders halo-lit letters without specifying standoff depth. Factory-direct? $35–$120 each. Installed retail? $400–$1,000 a letter. Not because the sign is pricey—because mounting and wiring eat labor.
Non-lit metal letters don't care about heat or drivers. Illuminated letters do. A front-lit channel letter with a 3mm acrylic face cuts 92% of light output; a 2mm face cuts 90%. Your customer won't see that 2% difference, but you'll see it in the quote. Factory-direct, front-lit channel letters run $20–$80 a letter.
Ugly truth: most cheap LED modules die in 12–18 months. Quality modules with Samsung or Osram chips carry an L70 of 50,000 hours and a real 5+ year lifespan. Quote an illuminated sign for a 24/7 drive-thru with cheap modules, and you'll get a callback before the warranty runs out. Quickest spot check? Look at the solder joints. Dull gray means 18 months. Shiny silver means proper lead-free solder. Cheap modules? Wrong choice.
Halo-lit metal letters are a different beast. Light bounces off the wall, so the letter becomes a silhouette. You pay $35–$120 per letter factory-direct, plus LED and power supply. LED warranty's 2 years; power supply, 1 year. Don't forget that when you write the maintenance contract.
Stainless letters typically run 1.0–3.0mm thick. Aluminum skin runs 0.040–0.063 inch. Thicker isn't automatically better. You just get more weight, more cutting time, and more trouble bending tight corners.
A 2-inch-tall letter in 1.0mm stainless looks fine. A 4-foot-tall letter in the same 1.0mm will oil-can and dent the first time someone pressure-washes it. You need 3.0mm or internal bracing, and the quote has to show that.
Size also triggers freight and handling. Small letters ship express in 7–15 days for $30–$100. Large fabricated letters go sea freight LCL at $80–$200 per cubic meter and take 50–70 days to reach a US port. That crate changes hands 6–8 times between our dock and yours. Every handoff risks damage.
Brushed #4 is the default. Mirror #8 happens when a polisher spends an hour with a buffing wheel and a bad attitude. PVD coating costs more than powder coat, but it'll last 10+ years outdoors without fading. Powder coat gives you any RAL color you want—until it chips.
Look, if you want mirror-polished 304 stainless, don't expect brushed pricing. Raw metal's the same. Labor isn't. Mirror polish shows every scratch, every weld seam, every thumbprint. That's not a finish; it's a promise.
Custom fabrication add-ons include pierced faces, internal returns, and stud bosses. Each one adds a step to the 10-step process: laser cutting, bending, welding, grinding, polishing, acrylic face CNC, LED assembly, silicone sealing, 8–12 hour aging test, and 100% QC inspection. You're not buying a commodity; you're buying a sequence someone has to execute without skipping steps.
Factory-direct savings on product run 50–65% versus US retail installed pricing. A stainless front-lit letter that retails for $200–$700 installed costs you $20–$80 from us before shipping, tariffs, and local installation. That's the math. Just compare the right numbers.
Here's the part nobody plans for: freight and tariffs eat your savings. Express shipping runs $30–$100 for small orders. Air freight costs $4–$12 per kilogram and takes 10–20 days. Sea freight runs $80–$200 per cubic meter LCL, or $1,200–$3,000 for a full container, and takes 50–70 days. Then add the US Section 301 tariff at roughly 30% on these signs. Budget for all of it, or it'll budget you.
Ugly truth: a quote that doesn't list material thickness, finish, LED brand, and IP rating hides something. CE marking costs 20,000–50,000 RMB, and most factories claim they have it. Ask for a certificate with today's date. Watch them sweat. Claiming IP65 means water jets from any direction, not hurricane-proof. Your sign won't survive a Florida hurricane with storm surge just because it has IP65. UL 48 listing costs $4,000–$15,000 and takes 4–9 months with quarterly audits. ETL runs 10–30% cheaper. A factory claiming UL without paying for audits? Worthless label.
I've seen this go wrong: a buyer comes back with a local quote for $10 stainless letters. That's not 304. That's 201 or some mystery alloy that rusts in 18 months. 304 stainless at $15–$40 is the floor for quality factory-direct work. If someone quotes under that, you're not comparing apples to apples; you're comparing apples to rust.
"Can I get metal letters for under $10 a piece?" Sure, if you want soda-can lookalikes that rust before the sign company's check clears. Real 304 starts at $15, and that's for simple, non-lit letters.
"Why is sea freight so cheap but takes 50 days?" Because your crate sits in a port, then moves through 6–8 handlers. Cheap isn't fast. Fast isn't cheap.
"Do I need IP65 for an outdoor sign?" IP65 is the minimum—dust-tight and water jets. That doesn't mean hurricane-proof. Within 5 miles of salt water, step up to 316 stainless and seal every joint.
"What's the warranty?" 2 years on LEDs, 1 year on power supplies. That's factory-direct. Want a 5-year LED warranty? Buy premium modules and pay accordingly.
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