Observed factory prices for solid carbide drills — 3×D to 20×D — and why depth ratio, not diameter, decides what you pay.
Solid carbide drills are the least price-transparent tool on this site, because the price depends on the depth ratio far more than on the diameter. Here is what Chinese plants actually list, in September 2026.
| Specification | Observed price / piece | Observed MOQ | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ø5 mm, 5×D, internal coolant, HRC45–55, AlTiN | $1.55 – 1.74 | 10 / 500 pcs | $1.55 at 500+; $1.74 at 10–499 |
| Ø5 mm, 5×D, internal coolant, HRC45–55, AlTiN | $1.47 – 3.98 | 10 pcs | Same class, wider plant, wider band |
| Ø3.3–16 mm, 5×D, internal coolant, HRC45–55 | $3.02 – 3.40 | 5 pcs | Coolant hole through the shank |
| Ø5 mm, 5×D, internal coolant, premium supplier | $21.00 – 23.00 | 5 pcs | Outlier — a European-market specification at a Western price point |
| 3×D / 5×D / 8×D / 12×D, HRC55, internal coolant | $5.21 – 5.68 | 1 pc | Single-piece MOQ |
| External-cooled, hard-material grade | $3.77 – 25.98 | 10 pcs | No coolant holes; the band reflects diameter |
| Step twist drill for CNC, coated | $3.50 – 49.00 | 5 pcs | Step geometry is ground in stages — the widest band on this page |
| Long / deep-hole drill, internal coolant | $5.00 – 40.00 | 1 pc | 20×D and beyond |
| HRC52, AlTiCrN coating | $7.90 – 79.90 | 5 pcs | Hard-material coating plus diameter range |
| Reference export band, 3–12 mm coolant-through 5×D | $5.00 – 50.00 | — | Published exporter reference, Q1 2026 |
Where these numbers come from. Ranges are compiled from publicly listed supplier prices on Made-in-China.com, EC21, Alibaba and manufacturer product pages, observed September 2026, plus reference FOB bands published by Chinese tooling exporters for the Q1 2026 market. They are market observations, not a quotation — a real price depends on your drawing, grade, tolerance class and lot size. Freight, duty and VAT are excluded. Send us a drawing and we will replace every range here with one firm number within 48 hours.
Note the gap between the two reference points. A published exporter reference band for 3–12 mm coolant-through 5×D drills is $5.00–$50.00, while direct factory listings for the same class sit at $1.47–$5.70. Both are honest. The reference band reflects export pricing through a trading layer with documentation and inland freight built in; the listings reflect the plant's own MOQ price, ex-works. If your current quote is in the $20–$50 range for a standard 5×D steel drill, you are paying a channel, not a specification.
A drill's price is driven by how deep it has to reach in multiples of its own diameter. Everything that makes a drill expensive gets worse as that number rises.
| Depth ratio | Where it is used | Price vs 5×D | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3×D | Shallow holes, rigid set-ups | roughly 0.8 – 0.95× | Shorter flute, lower carbide volume. Often no internal coolant needed. |
| 5×D | The workhorse — the tool most plants quote | 1.0× (baseline) | Internal coolant holes, 140° point, AlTiN. Highest production volume, most competition, tightest prices. |
| 8×D | Deeper plates, coolant is mandatory | roughly 1.4 – 1.7× | Longer flute grind, slimmer core, higher breakage during grinding. Through-coolant is not optional. |
| 12×D | Deep pockets and mould work | roughly 1.8 – 2.2× | Specialised grind, lower volume, noticeably higher scrap rate at the plant. |
| 20×D and above | Gun-drill territory, or step drills | roughly 2.5 – 4.0× | Frequently a different tool and process altogether. Step drills sit at the top of this band. |
These multipliers are an engineering rule of thumb derived from how the tool is ground and what the plant scraps, not a table of listed prices. Use them to sanity-check a quote, then confirm with a real one. We will quote any depth ratio within 48 hours →
Both are real, publicly listed prices for a 5 mm 5×D internally-cooled carbide drill with an AlTiN-type coating, and a higher one at $21–$23 also exists. The differences are structural, not mysterious:
| Put this in the enquiry | Why it changes the price or the result |
|---|---|
| Depth ratio in ×D, and the hole depth in mm | The single largest price lever on the page. Give both — never just one of them. |
| Whether the drill cuts through the shank (coolant-fed) or only externally | Coolant holes are drilled through a slim core and are a real cost. They also decide whether the tool survives in a deep hole at all. |
| Included point angle: 118°, 130° or 140° | 140° is standard for steel, 118° for softer materials. Changing it changes the grind. |
| Shank tolerance: h6 or h7, and whether it is a DIN or ANSI shank | A loose shank in a hydraulic or shrink holder ruins concentricity. State the class. |
| Internal coolant pressure the machine can deliver, in bar | A coolant-fed drill in a machine that cannot deliver the pressure runs dry and breaks. This is the most common application failure we see. |
| Coating type, with a minimum thickness in µm | AlTiN for steel, AlCrN for hardened and stainless, TiAlN where heat resistance matters more than toughness. |
| Workpiece material and hardness | Decides substrate grade and coating. Two plants will otherwise guess differently. |
| Hole tolerance, and whether you ream after drilling | Decides whether you need a precision drill or a cheaper drill plus a reamer. |
Two of these come up again and again as the cause of a failed project rather than a bad quote: coolant pressure and whether the machine can deliver it. A coolant-fed carbide drill pushed at 5×D or beyond without enough bar will break, and no amount of grade selection fixes that. Tell us the machine and the pump, and we will tell you whether to specify a coolant-fed tool at all — including when the honest answer is no.
Give us the depth, the diameter, the workpiece material and the coolant pressure your machine can deliver. We will quote the depth ratio that works rather than the one that looks cheapest on paper.