3Q24 Pricing Analysis: Protolabs vs Xometry
We believe Protolabs and Xometry are the two behemoths in the digital manufacturing space, and offer the two best on-demand manufacturing marketplaces.
Since March 1st, 2024, we have been uploading 3 different CNC part files and 3 different 3D printable files weekly to both Protolabs Network and Xometry to track pricing trends across the two marketplaces. By tracking prices on the same parts over time we believe we can gauge demand trends as prices should theoretically rise on these marketplaces as demand increases (assuming supply remains constant). In addition, we believe analyzing how each marketplace prices the same part can provide additional competitive insights. We focus on CNC and 3D printing prices as these services account for ~50% and ~75% of total sales for Protolabs and Xometry, respectively.
Key Pricing Takeaways: July 1st 2024 - September 30th, 2024
Xometry US and International manufactured CNC prices consistently increased throughout 3Q24, with prices up 30%+ on September 30th globally compared to the beginning of the quarter.
Protolabs US and International manufactured CNC prices remained consistent through mid-August, but saw a modest uptick in the back-half of the quarter with prices up 5% in the US on the last day of the quarter compared to the first.
Protolabs saw prices for 3D printed parts remain unchanged since we began tracking prices in 1Q24, while Xometry saw prices increase in August and maintained that level throughout the end of the quarter.
Driven by Xometry’s price increase, Protolabs on average was offering cheaper prices on the majority of CNC parts manufactured in US and internationally compared to Xometry. Protolabs also offered lowered prices on all 3 3D printed parts compared to Xometry.
Xometry and Protolabs international prices were 71 - 79% less expansive than producing the same CNC parts in the US.
ISM Manufacturing index was in contracting territory every month in 3Q24. Despite what seems to be a continued challenging manufacturing landscape, we were impressed to see both Protolabs and Xomtery ability to increase price, which likely bodes well for their 3Q24 results.
Below we highlight these pricing trends and XMTR / PRLB earnings previews in more detail.