← Glossary
NRE (non-recurring engineering)
Definition
The one-time engineering cost to modify or create a product — design, firmware, tooling and validation — separate from per-unit price.
In 2026 egocentric hardware quotes, firmware-only changes clustered in the low tens of thousands of US dollars and board revisions around USD 50,000 with minimum orders of about ten units. Always ask vendors to separate NRE from unit price.