How much does a TSMC 3nm wafer cost?

A TSMC N3/N3E wafer costs approximately $19,500–21,000 as of 2024–2025. This represents a roughly 20% increase over the 5nm node ($16,000–18,000). TSMC does not publicly disclose pricing; these are analyst estimates from Morgan Stanley and TrendForce.

Why have TSMC wafer prices increased so much?

TSMC wafer prices have risen from $2,000 at 90nm (2004) to $20,000+ at 3nm (2024) due to increasing process complexity, EUV lithography requirements, and TSMC’s near-monopoly on leading-edge logic. The 2nm node is expected to cost $28,000–30,000 per wafer.

Does TSMC offer volume discounts on wafer pricing?

Yes. Large customers like Apple, NVIDIA, and AMD receive volume discounts estimated at 15–30% below list pricing. These are negotiated through long-term agreements (LTAs) with capacity commitments.

Silicon Wafer Price by Node (TSMC 300mm)

Name: Silicon Wafer Price by Node (TSMC 300mm)
Creator: Silicon Analysts

Newest print Jan 2025Reviewed annuallyCSV — newest observations; full series with a Pro key APIReference page: Semiconductor Wafer Pricing by Process Node (2026)

TSMC: $20,000/wafer (3nm (2024)) — Tom's Hardware / Morgan Stanley, Jan 2025 (estimate). Basis: list price.

Silicon Wafer Price by Node (TSMC 300mm) — latest readings

15 observations across 1 series, 2004–2026.

Latest freely available reading for each series in Silicon Wafer Price by Node (TSMC 300mm), with its basis, source and date
Series	Period	Latest ($/wafer)	Change	Basis	Source
TSMC3nm (2024)	3nm (2024)	$20,000	+5.3% versus 4nm (2023)	list price	Tom's Hardware / Morgan StanleyJan 2025

Silicon wafer prices by node: 300mm TSMC wafers across 15 nodes, 65nm to A16 — 15 years of flat costs, then a ~133% structural break driven by EUV economics and pricing power.

TSMC: $20,000/wafer (3nm (2024)), Tom's Hardware / Morgan Stanley, Jan 2025

Press / analyst print

Source: Tom's Hardware / Morgan Stanley, CSET model / Tom's Hardware · Basis: list price · Anonymous view: the newest 3 observations per series (5nm (2020)–3nm (2024)); 10 earlier prints — full ledger is Pro.

Prints ledger

Prints ledger: every observation in this dataset with its period, value, basis, type, confidence and source

3nm (2024)	TSMC	$20,000$19,500–$21,000/wafer	list price	Estimate	High	Tom's Hardware / Morgan StanleyJan 2025
Source: Tom's Hardware / Morgan Stanley, Jan 2025 · Basis: list price · Estimate First node to exceed $20k. N2 will be first node where cost-per-transistor increases vs prior node.
4nm (2023)	TSMC	$19,000$18,000–$20,000/wafer	list price	Estimate	Medium	Tom's Hardware / Morgan StanleyJan 2025
Source: Tom's Hardware / Morgan Stanley, Jan 2025 · Basis: list price · Estimate +10% hike applied 2024
5nm (2020)	TSMC	$16,500$16,000–$17,000/wafer	list price	Estimate	High	CSET model / Tom's Hardware (DigiTimes)Nov 2022
Source: CSET model / Tom's Hardware (DigiTimes), Nov 2022 · Basis: list price · Estimate Full note with Pro
TSMC: 10 earlier prints, 2004–2019 and 2 projections (2025–26 to 2026) — full ledger is Pro
Showing the newest 3 observations per series (2020–2024); 10 earlier observations (2004–2019) and 2 projections are in Pro.

Provenance

Sources: Tom's Hardware (Bajarin/Creative Strategies), Morgan Stanley, SemiAnalysis, HWCooling.net, EE Times Asia. TSMC does not disclose pricing; all figures are analyst estimates. Volume discounts of 15–30% apply for Apple, NVIDIA, AMD at scale.

Basis: list price

Quoted per-wafer price before negotiated discounts. Analyst estimates — TSMC does not disclose pricing. Volume discounts of 15-30% apply at Apple/NVIDIA/AMD scale, so a large buyer pays less than these figures.

Sources

Tom's Hardware / HWCooling.net (Jun 2025)
VLSI Research historical estimates / academic literature (Mar 2026)
IBS historical node data / TechInsights estimates (Mar 2026)
Tom's Hardware (Bajarin) (Jan 2025)
IBS / SemiWiki estimates 2014 (Mar 2026)
HWCooling.net / IBS (Jun 2025)
HWCooling.net (Jun 2025)
CSET model / HWCooling.net (Jun 2025)
Industry consensus 2018 (Mar 2026)
Industry consensus / Silicon Analysts (Mar 2026)
CSET model / Tom's Hardware (DigiTimes) (Nov 2022)
Tom's Hardware / Morgan Stanley (Jan 2025)
EE Times Asia / HWCooling.net (Nov 2025)
Tom's Hardware / China Times (Jun 2025)

Suggested citation

Silicon Analysts, "Silicon Wafer Price by Node (TSMC 300mm)", as of Jan 2025, https://siliconanalysts.com/market-data/wafer-price-tsmc, retrieved October 12, 2026.

API: /api/v1/market-data/wafer-price-tsmcCSV Licence

Showing the newest 3 observations per series (2020–2024); 10 earlier observations (2004–2019) and 2 projections are in Pro.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a TSMC 3nm wafer cost?: A TSMC N3/N3E wafer costs approximately $19,500–21,000 as of 2024–2025. This represents a roughly 20% increase over the 5nm node ($16,000–18,000). TSMC does not publicly disclose pricing; these are analyst estimates from Morgan Stanley and TrendForce.
Why have TSMC wafer prices increased so much?: TSMC wafer prices have risen from $2,000 at 90nm (2004) to $20,000+ at 3nm (2024) due to increasing process complexity, EUV lithography requirements, and TSMC’s near-monopoly on leading-edge logic. The 2nm node is expected to cost $28,000–30,000 per wafer.
Does TSMC offer volume discounts on wafer pricing?: Yes. Large customers like Apple, NVIDIA, and AMD receive volume discounts estimated at 15–30% below list pricing. These are negotiated through long-term agreements (LTAs) with capacity commitments.