How Chinese Acrylic Sheet Is Priced: Per Kilogram, Per Sheet or Per Part
Three suppliers, three units, three numbers you cannot compare. The arithmetic that makes them comparable, and the costs each unit quietly leaves out.
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Chinese acrylic sheet is quoted per kilogram, per full sheet or per finished part. Cast PMMA has a density of about 1.19 g/cm³, so a full sheet’s weight — and therefore its price from a per-kilogram quote — follows directly from length × width × thickness. The unit matters because a per-kilogram price excludes cutting yield, a per-sheet price hides thickness tolerance, and a per-part price absorbs both plus scrap.
The three units, and what each one is really quoting
| Unit | Typical seller | What is included | What it hides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per kilogram | Sheet mills and material traders | The polymer, as produced, at a stated grade and thickness | Cutting yield, thickness tolerance on the heavy side, packing, and the fact that you pay for material you will machine away |
| Per full sheet | Sheet mills, stockists, converters | A defined size at a defined thickness, ready to cut | How the mill’s thickness tolerance affects weight, whether the size is nominal or trimmed, and edge or corner damage allowance |
| Per cut-to-size panel | Converters and fabricators | Material plus cutting, plus the offcut you cannot use | Nesting efficiency — a bad nest can add far more than the cutting charge |
| Per finished part | Fabricators | Material, nesting, machining, forming, finishing, inspection, packing | Everything is inside one number, so material savings are invisible unless you ask for a material line |
Converting a per-kilogram price into something you can compare
Cast PMMA density is about 1.19 g/cm³. For a sheet of length L and width W in metres and thickness t in millimetres:
sheet weight (kg) ≈ L × W × t × 1.19
A 1220 × 2440 mm sheet at 5 mm is therefore roughly 1.22 × 2.44 × 5 × 1.19 ≈ 17.7 kg. Multiply by the per-kilogram price and you have a per-sheet figure you can put next to a per-sheet quote. Do the same in reverse to turn a per-sheet quote into a per-kilogram figure.
Two warnings. First, extruded PMMA and polycarbonate have different densities, so do not reuse the cast figure across materials. Second, thickness tolerance is a price term. A mill running consistently on the thick side of a tolerance band delivers more kilograms per sheet than one running to nominal — which is good value on a per-sheet price and bad value on a per-kilogram price. Ask which tolerance band the quotation assumes.
The cost that is usually larger than the price difference: yield
Buyers spend a long time on the material price and no time on nesting. On cut parts, nesting efficiency routinely moves the delivered cost more than the gap between two suppliers’ material rates. A part that nests at high efficiency on a 1220 × 2440 mm sheet and badly on a 2000 × 1000 mm sheet will change price by far more than a few percent on the polymer.
Practical moves: send the sheet sizes your supplier actually stocks to your designer before the geometry is frozen; ask the supplier to state the assumed yield; and, if quantities allow, ask whether a different standard size changes the number. See how to get an accurate quote for the inputs that make this possible.
What to put in the RFQ so the quotes are comparable
- The unit you want the price in — and ask every supplier for the same one.
- Grade and form: cast or extruded, clear or coloured, UV or fire-performance grade if needed.
- Thickness and the acceptable thickness tolerance band.
- Sheet size, or part sizes with quantities so the supplier can nest them.
- Whether the price should include cutting, edge finishing and packing.
- Incoterm and destination — see landed cost from China.
- Whether a branded material is required — see house-cast vs branded PMMA.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Why do Chinese suppliers quote acrylic per kilogram?
Because the sheet mill’s own cost is driven by polymer input, which is bought and consumed by weight. The further down the chain you go — stockist, converter, fabricator — the more likely you are to be quoted per sheet or per part, because processing rather than polymer dominates their cost.
How do I convert a per-kilogram acrylic price to a per-sheet price?
Multiply length in metres by width in metres by thickness in millimetres by about 1.19 for cast PMMA to get kilograms per sheet, then multiply by the per-kilogram price. Confirm the density and the thickness tolerance the supplier assumes, and repeat the check for extruded acrylic or polycarbonate, which differ.
Is a per-part price worse value than buying sheet and cutting it yourself?
Only if you have the machines, the nesting capability and the scrap tolerance. A per-part price includes nesting, machining, finishing, inspection and packing. Compare it against your fully loaded internal cost, not against the raw material price.
Does the acrylic sheet price move with oil prices?
PMMA is made from methyl methacrylate monomer, whose price moves with feedstock and regional supply and demand rather than tracking crude oil directly. For long programmes ask whether the quotation is fixed for a period or subject to material adjustment.
What quantity do I need before pricing improves?
For our bulk sheet programme, orders start at 10 sheets and programme pricing applies from 200 sheets. For fabricated parts, production runs start at 20 pieces per design or specification.
Send sizes and quantities, get one comparable number
Tell us the grade, thickness, sizes and quantity plus the destination, and we will quote in whichever unit you are comparing on, within 12 hours.