How Much Does Nickel Wire Cost?
Straight answer: nickel wire does not
cost obscene money per gram. For standard Ni200 or Ni201 in normal diameters, real prices sit in the tens of £/€/$
per kilo. Even ultra-fine diameters don’t justify four-figure per-kilo quotes unless you’re buying tiny lab packs with crazy retail markups. Benchmarked against exchange nickel, anyone selling “premium nickel wire” at jewelry numbers is trying it on.
Rule of thumb:
start with LME nickel per tonne, convert to per kg, then add a fabrication premium that scales with diameter, temper, purity, and pack size. If the quote is 10–100× above that math for ordinary specs, pass.
Anchor: raw nickel price today
Recent nickel benchmarks have been around $15,000 per tonne, which is about $15/kg. That’s the starting point before any wire-drawing premium.
What real suppliers charge for nickel wire
| Supplier & Spec |
Pack / Listing |
Price |
Implied per kg / g / tonne |
| Ni200 or Ni201 pure nickel wire – 1.0 mm typical MOQ 1–10 kg |
Bulk listing |
US$23–39.60 per kg |
$23–39.60/kg · $0.023–0.0396/g · $23,000–39,600/t |
| Ni200 pure nickel wire – 0.5–0.8 mm, commercial purity ~99.6% |
Bulk listing |
~US$40 per kg |
$40/kg · $0.040/g · $40,000/t |
| Ultra-fine pure nickel wire – 0.025 mm (25 µm) |
1–50 kg MOQs |
US$240–275 per kg |
$240–275/kg · $0.24–0.275/g · $240,000–275,000/t |
| Pure Nickel 200 wire – 30 AWG small retail spool |
8 oz (≈226.8 g) |
US$33.62 per spool |
≈$148/kg · $0.148/g · $148,000/t |
| Nickel 200 wire – 0.28 mm hobby spool |
25 m (≈0.21 €/m) |
€5.20 per spool |
≈€383/kg · €0.383/g · €383,000/t (packaging premium) |
| Nickel 200 wire – 0.25 mm engineering coil |
1000 m |
£240 per coil |
≈£549/kg · £0.549/g · £549,000/t (long-length retail) |
Small spools carry steep per-kilo uplifts. Once you move to industrial reels and higher MOQs, pricing compresses toward the $25–$60/kg band for standard diameters.
Why the price moves around
- Diameter:
Draw cost and yield losses rise fast as wire gets thinner. Ultra-fine wire costs more per kg than 1.0–1.5 mm.
- Purity and grade:
Ni200 vs Ni201 are both commercially pure; higher purities or special tempers price up.
- Pack size and MOQ:
Lab packs and hobby spools are expensive per kg. Industrial reels are cheaper per kg.
- Market metal price:
wire premia sit on top of LME nickel.
The scam pattern: fake “inspection companies” and fantasy valuations
Real trades don’t use some friend’s “inspector” to invent valuations. Legit counterparties accept global firms with ISO-accredited labs and recognized samplers and assayers like SGS, Bureau Veritas, or Intertek. If a seller refuses those and pushes a no-name outfit while quoting per-gram nonsense, that’s a tell.
- Red flags:
certificates without chain of custody, no warehouse release path, and wire that mysteriously prices like platinum per gram.
- Sanity check:
compare their number to LME nickel plus a realistic wire-drawing premium. If it’s orders of magnitude off, walk.
How to buy without getting burned
- State the spec in writing: Ni200 or Ni201, diameter, temper, tolerance, and coil format. Add Incoterms.
- Ask for a mill cert or COA tied to a real lab or inspector (SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek).
- Benchmark the quote vs LME nickel and the supplier bands above. If it’s 10×–100× higher for ordinary wire, reject it.
- Use escrow or warehouse release procedures. Avoid sellers who dodge third-party inspection from recognized firms.
Need a price check on a quote?
Send the spec and the offer. We’ll benchmark it against exchange nickel and published supplier pricing.
Request a Sanity Check
Quick reference
- Exchange nickel ≈ $15/kg
today. Wire adds a fabrication premium.
- Bulk Ni200/Ni201 at 0.5–1.5 mm typically lands around $25–$60/kg
for sensible MOQs.
- Ultra-fine 0.025–0.05 mm often prices $200–$350/kg
due to draw cost and handling.
- Retail spools can imply $150–€400/kg
equivalents. Tiny lab packs can imply thousands per kg and are not market benchmarks.
Prices are indicative public listings and exclude taxes and freight. Nickel wire is a processed form of LME-grade nickel. Verify specs and use recognized inspectors (SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek) for trade documentation.