How much does it cost to make universal remotes?

Answer 1

Universal remote controls that are mass produced often cost no more than a dollar or so to make. The automated production lines and very low cost of electronic components keep the cost very low indeed. However, to reach the point of having a product that can be made in a factory is very expensive. Electronic design of the hardware, designing and writing software to drive them and doing the research to gather libraries of all the original manufacturers' remote control signals are huge tasks. Even after the prototypes have been built and tested, production engineers need to further develop the product to turn it into something that can be made in large quantities. The final steps are to get the product tested for regulatory and safety compliance and packaging design. The final development costs will be many, many thousands of dollars before even one hand control can be produced on a production line. Figures of $50,000 or far more are quite typical of many small products. Add the development costs to the production cost and the total cost of a product is far higher than just the production cost itself.