FOB and EXW are two different scopes of work, not two prices for the same product.
Key facts
FOB is usually the easier starting point for a buyer with no local presence in China.
A factory with volume often gets better inland freight rates than a small buyer does.
Ask 4 questions in writing before accepting a term, namely the named port, terminal handling, clearance and inland freight per container.
The filled layers are what the seller carries. Comparing an EXW quote with a FOB quote without moving one of them is comparing two different journeys.
FOB and EXW are not two prices for the same thing. They are two different scopes of work, and confusing them is one of the most common ways a sourcing comparison goes wrong.
The practical difference
EXW (Ex Works)
FOB (Free On Board)
Supplier delivers to
Their own factory gate
Named port, loaded on board
Export clearance
Buyer's responsibility
Supplier's responsibility
Inland freight
Buyer
Supplier
Terminal handling
Buyer
Supplier
Best suited to
Buyers with a forwarder already in China
Buyers who want one fewer moving part
Why the comparison is so often wrong
An EXW quote looks cheaper because it is smaller. Add inland trucking, export documentation and terminal charges, and the two can converge — or reverse, because a factory with volume gets better inland freight rates than a small buyer does.
Questions that resolve it in one email
Which port is named, and is terminal handling included?
Is export documentation and customs clearance included?
What is the inland freight from factory to port, per container?
What is the quoted validity period, and what triggers a re-quote?
A note on our own data
Supplier records on this site state a price basis explicitly. Where a factory cannot state one, the record shows "on request" — we do not publish a price that cannot be compared with another price.
What each basis includes
3 fields must be stated before any two quotes are comparable: unit, order quantity and basis.
Cost line
EXW
FOB
Inland freight to the port
Buyer
Seller
Export clearance and documentation
Buyer
Seller
Terminal handling at origin
Buyer
Seller
Loading on board the vessel
Buyer
Seller
What does each basis shift onto the buyer?
EXW: inland freight to the port.
EXW: export clearance and documentation.
EXW: terminal handling at origin.
EXW: loading on board the vessel.
FOB: none of the above —the seller carries them to the rail.
Topics in detail
Three topics from this standard have their own page. Each one can be read, cited and updated on its own, without the rest of this page moving.
Every figure on this page traces to one of these. The same list is declared in the page structured data (schema.org citation) and in the Markdown twin.
Need a specification matched, not a list browsed?
Send the format, quantity, material and destination market. We answer against verified records — and tell you when the data is not good enough to answer with.
