OEM & ODM stainless steel drinkware from our own factory in Zhejiang — MOQ 500 pcs, samples in 3–7 days.
Get QuoteHead To Head
Which grade, and whether the upgrade is worth paying for.
Side By Side
| What changes | 304 (18/8) | 316 (18/10/2) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | 18% chromium, 8% nickel. The drinkware standard. | Adds 2–3% molybdenum. The molybdenum is what resists chloride attack. |
| Where it is used | Body, lid thread, most internal components. | Available on request; not a default on any catalogue item. |
| What it changes | Nothing a buyer would notice in normal use. | Corrosion resistance in salt-heavy environments and against cleaning regimes. |
| Food contact | Accepted under FDA and LFGB food-contact regulation when the finished article passes testing. | Same framework, the same testing route, the same documents. |
| Cost | The baseline every quotation is built on. | Higher, because molybdenum is the expensive part and the mill supply is narrower. |
| Lead time | From stock mill supply. | Longer when the mill has to schedule it, so it is worth confirming early. |
| The honest summary | Correct for the overwhelming majority of programmes. | Correct when the destination, the cleaning regime or the customer names it. |
Deciding
Asked Before You Order
The short answer is at the top of this page and the two lists below spell it out: choose 304 (18/8) when the first three conditions on its list are true, and 316 (18/10/2) when they are true of the other. If neither list reads like your programme, that is a useful answer too — send the requirement and we will say which of the two it actually is rather than sell you the dearer one.
It can. The published windows are samples in 3–7 days and production in 10–25 days after sample approval, and a route that needs a component the plant does not hold, or a material with a narrower mill supply, sits at the longer end of that rather than outside it. It is worth confirming the specific combination rather than assuming the generic window.
Usually, yes, and it is a sensible way to test the market: a small run of each, judged on the same shelf. What it changes is the minimum, because the minimum applies per colour and per setup rather than per order — so two routes can mean two minimums.
It moves it in a direction this page can name without quoting a number: 316 (18/10/2) is the cheaper route unless the programme needs a feature only 304 (18/8) provides. Unit cost is quoted against the body, the decoration, the quantity and the destination, so the honest comparison is between two quotations on the same brief.
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