Free tool
Sign pricing &profit calculator
- 1Sign type
- 2Your costs
- 3Pricing analysis
What type of sign are you pricing?
Select the type of sign that you want to price.
Benchmarks with sources
How to pricecustom signs
Use these figures to compare your prices with the market. Each figure shows its source and date.
For the full method, read our guide on how to price signs.
LED neon selling price
US$281
Median price of an LED neon sign
The middle half of prices were US$197 to US$446. A 48-inch sign sold for 1.86 times the price of a 24-inch sign from the same store.
Source: Sign Customiser, 201 US-dollar stores, Sep 2025 to Sep 2026
Material markup
About 100%
Usual material markup before waste
Bill Dundas, in Signs of the Times, gives 50% to 100% for most materials. A 100% markup gives a 50% gross margin.
Source: SignShop, January 2024
Shop rate
US$75+ an hour
Lowest shop rate in the range
SignCraft says that shop rates are from US$75 an hour to more than twice that. Shops in metro and tourist areas were all in its highest price level.
Source: SignCraft, February 2026
Design time
US$75 to US$124
Hourly design rate at 50% of shops
25% of the shops that answered charge US$75 to US$99 an hour. Another 25% charge US$100 to US$124. The survey does not give the number of shops.
Source: Signs of the Times survey, March 2026
Net profit
10% to 20%
Most frequent net profit band in 2025
34% of the shops that answered were in this band. 22% had 5% to 10%, and 8% had less than 5%.
Source: Signs of the Times survey, March 2026
Outdoor LED neon
+20%
Median extra charge for an outdoor sign
57% of 406 stores that sell LED neon charge more for an outdoor or waterproof sign.
Source: Sign Customiser, 137 stores, Sep 2025 to Sep 2026
What affectssign pricing?
Material costs
The type and quality of materials — acrylic, aluminium, LED modules, vinyl — directly impact your base cost.
Labour
Design, fabrication and installation time. In US sign manufacturing, payroll was 28.4% of the value of shipments in 2022 (US Census Bureau).
Overhead
Rent, utilities, insurance, equipment and admin costs. Include them in your shop rate, or add them as a percentage of production cost.
Installation complexity
Height, access requirements, electrical work, and structural considerations can significantly affect final pricing.
Quantity
Multi-sign orders or franchise rollouts often warrant volume discounts on per-unit pricing and improved margins.
Stop quotingsigns manually
Each manual quote takes time away from production, from your customers and from the growth of your business.
Sign Customiser automates your entire sign pricing and ordering process. Your customers configure signs directly on your website, see real-time pricing, and place orders — all without a single manual quote from your team.
Frequently askedquestions
How do sign shops calculate pricing?
Add the material cost and a waste allowance, then apply your material markup. Add the labour hours at a shop rate that includes your overhead and profit. Add the cost of parts or work that you buy from other companies. Then compare the total with the prices of other shops. Our guide on how to price signs gives the full method.
What is the average markup on custom signs?
We did not find a reliable average. Trade sources give ranges. SignShop (January 2024) says that material markup is usually about 100% of cost before waste. Bill Dundas, in Signs of the Times, gives 50% to 100% for most materials. A 100% markup gives a 50% gross margin.
How much do sign shops charge per hour?
SignCraft (February 2026) says that sign shop rates are from US$75 an hour to more than twice that. In the 2026 Signs of the Times survey, 50% of the shops that answered charge US$75 to US$124 an hour for design time. The survey does not give the number of shops that answered.
How much do LED neon signs sell for online?
On 201 Sign Customiser stores that price in US dollars, the median LED neon sign sold for US$281 from 29 September 2025 to 28 September 2026. The middle half of prices were US$197 to US$446. The median sign was approximately 32 inches wide.
What software do sign shops use for estimating?
Sign shops use spreadsheets, manual calculators and sign estimating software. Sign Customiser calculates the price on your website while the customer designs the sign. For a comparison of estimating tools, read our list of sign estimating software.
Sign Customiser is sign estimating software that calculates the price while the customer designs the sign.
