How much do custom running medals cost?
What custom running medals really cost: per-piece prices by technique at 100 and 1,000 pieces, two worked race budgets, and the levers that cut the price.
- Author
- Medalior
- Published
- Jul 11, 2026Updated Aug 26, 2026
- Reading time
- 3 min
Custom running medals typically cost €1.65–€6.80 per piece at 100–1,000 units, depending on the technique and quantity. At 100 pieces, guide prices range from €1.80 to €6.80; at 1,000 pieces, from €1.65 to €2.60. The price includes a printed ribbon, a free 3D design and delivery to your address. Minimum order: 50 pieces.
Contents
What sets the price
Every race director fills in the same spreadsheet cell at some point — the one labelled 'medals' — usually late in the evening, somewhere between the toilet rental quote and the timing company invoice. Four things decide that number, in order of impact: quantity, technique, size and finish. Quantity is the strongest lever, because the one-off costs — the mould, the design work — spread across every piece. Between 500 and 1,000 pieces the per-piece price typically drops by 10–15%.
Size and thickness are the quiet cost drivers. A 70 mm die-cast medal at 4 mm thickness contains roughly twice the metal of a 50 mm medal at 3 mm, and heavier orders also cost more to deliver. Colour enamel fills and double-sided designs add a little; choosing an antique finish over polished adds nothing.
Price by technique
Die-cast 3D carries the classic finisher weight and sculpted relief — the extra cost buys the medal people photograph and keep. Die-cast 2D delivers the same cast weight with clean enamel colour, the standard for tournament sets. Printed steel skips the mould fee entirely, which makes it the budget floor for colourful artwork and first editions.
| Technique | At 100 pcs | At 1,000 pcs | Strongest for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Die-cast 3D | about €6.80 | about €2.60 | relief finisher medals |
| Die-cast 2D | about €6.00 | about €2.40 | tournament sets, enamel colour |
| Printed steel | about €1.80 | about €1.65 | full-colour artwork, first editions |
Two worked budgets
A 100-finisher trail race choosing die-cast 3D: 100 × €6.80 = about €680 delivered. A 1,000-runner city 10K on printed steel: 1,000 × €1.65 = about €1,650 delivered.
Both are guide figures with design, printed ribbon and delivery already included. When you compare quotes, check whether those items are included or listed as extras; that difference is often larger than the per-piece gap between suppliers.
When you order changes what you pay
With express delivery, plan around 10 weeks before race day. Normal delivery needs around 14 weeks and usually costs less on heavier orders. Both windows cover design, production, our quality check and delivery to you. Order late and express surcharges start eating the budget — the calendar is a real price lever, not an afterthought. Nobody remembers a medal that arrived three weeks early; everybody remembers the year it almost didn't arrive at all.
Three ways organisers pay less
Share one mould across distances: variants on ribbon colours or enamel fills let a 5K, 10K and half marathon run on a single mould instead of three.
Plan the repeat edition: a die-cast mould is stored free for two years, so the second year skips the mould cost entirely.
Choose the delivery speed early: if your date allows normal delivery, select it at the quoting stage — switching from express to normal later usually means the window has already closed.