Soft Starter Price List: ABB, Schneider, Siemens Compared
What drives soft starter price across ABB, Schneider Electric, and Siemens? Control method, built-in bypass, HMI/fieldbus options, and current rating set the price tier long before brand loyalty enters the discussion — a voltage-ramp-only unit at 30 A costs a fraction of a torque-control flagship at 400 A. IEC 60947-4-2 classifies these products by AC-53a/AC-53b duty, and duty rating drives frame size as much as motor kW does. This article breaks down what moves the number on a quote: entry, mid, and flagship tiers for each brand, the costs that sit outside the starter nameplate, and where oversizing for a high-inertia load quietly pushes a project into the next price bracket.
What Drives Soft Starter Price
Four variables set the price before anyone discusses discount: control method, built-in bypass, current rating, and the communications/HMI package.
Voltage-ramp-only units (open loop) cost the least. No current feedback, no torque calculation, just a timed ramp. Current-limit control adds phase-current sensing and a control loop, mid-tier price. Closed-loop torque control needs a faster processor and more sensing hardware, so it sits at the top of every brand's range.
A built-in bypass contactor removes the need for a separate external bypass and its wiring. That convenience is not free — it is priced into mid and flagship units already, while economy units skip it entirely and push the cost, and the panel space, to a field-added contactor.
Current rating scales with frame size and SCR thermal capacity, not linearly with price. Jumping from a 100 A frame to the next frame size up often costs more than the amp increase alone would suggest, because the enclosure, heatsink, and fan all scale with it.
Fieldbus (Modbus, PROFINET, PROFIBUS, EtherCAT) and a graphic HMI display are line items, not defaults. Add them and the flagship-tier price gap over the mid tier widens further.
What we see in the field: buyers often spec a flagship torque-control unit for a fan or a small pump that a mid-tier current-limit starter would handle at a lower price point. Torque control earns its cost on high-inertia loads and pumps with check-valve slam risk. Not everywhere.
ABB Price Tiers: PSR, PSE, PSTX
PSR sits at the entry point: voltage ramp only, no built-in bypass, analog trimmer setup, sized roughly to 30 A / 15 kW at 400 V. It is priced for pump and fan duty where a linear speed ramp is unnecessary.
PSE moves up a tier: voltage ramp plus current limit, a built-in bypass contactor, and a rating that extends to a few hundred amps. No LCD keypad — settings are simpler than PSTX, and the price reflects that.
PSTX is the flagship: closed-loop torque control, built-in bypass, a detachable keypad HMI, full motor protection, and fieldbus options (Modbus RTU standard, an Anybus module for PROFIBUS/PROFINET/EtherCAT). Ratings extend to roughly 1250 A, with PSTB covering higher currents. PSTX supersedes the older PST/PSTB generation, and its price sits well above PSE. The gap buys torque-control accuracy and comms, not just amps.
Schneider Altistart Price Tiers: ATS01, ATS22, ATS480
ATS01 is the economy line: basic voltage ramp for small motors, minimal setup, the lowest price point in the Schneider range.
ATS22 is the standard tier: voltage and asymmetric torque control options, built-in bypass on many references, ratings to roughly 590 A. Mid-tier price, and the most common spec on pump and conveyor jobs that do not need closed-loop control.
ATS480 is the current flagship, replacing the legacy ATS48. TCS (Torque Control System) closed-loop control, built-in bypass, a graphic display, embedded Modbus, and dedicated pump/conveyor profiles define the tier. Ratings run to roughly 1200 A class. Migrating an ATS48 job to ATS480 is a drop-in path, but the newer unit's comms and torque-control depth carry a higher price than the outgoing line.
Siemens SIRIUS Price Tiers: 3RW50, 3RW52, 3RW55
3RW50 covers economy and standard duty: voltage ramp plus current limit, built-in bypass, no torque control. Entry-to-mid price point.
3RW52 ("Failsafe") adds safety-related features on top of the 3RW50 control set, with the bypass still built in. The price step here is tied to the safety function set, not to torque control.
3RW55 ("High Feature") is the flagship: closed-loop torque control, built-in bypass, HMI display, PROFINET/PROFIBUS, full motor protection, and adjustable pump ramp profiles. Ratings reach roughly 1200 A class. Older 3RW30/3RW40/3RW44 units are still in the field — 3RW30 was the compact economy line, 3RW44 the high-end predecessor 3RW55 replaced — and their price positioning tracked the same economy-to-flagship pattern.
ABB vs Schneider vs Siemens Price Tier Comparison
Lined up side by side, the three brands' tiers map onto each other closely enough to shop apples to apples.
| Criteria | ABB | Schneider Electric | Siemens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry tier | PSR | ATS01 | 3RW50 |
| Mid tier | PSE | ATS22 | 3RW52 |
| Flagship tier | PSTX | ATS480 | 3RW55 |
| Built-in bypass | PSE and PSTX | Many ATS22 references, all ATS480 | All of 3RW50/52/55 |
| Torque control | PSTX only | ATS22 (asymmetric), ATS480 (TCS) | 3RW55 only |
| Fieldbus options | PSTX (Modbus, Anybus) | ATS480 (embedded Modbus) | 3RW55 (PROFINET/PROFIBUS) |
For a line-by-line feature comparison behind these tiers, see the ABB PSTX vs Schneider ATS480 vs Siemens 3RW55 comparison.
Why Oversizing for a High-Inertia Load Raises the Price
Starting torque falls with the square of applied voltage: at 50% voltage the motor delivers about 25% of its DOL locked-rotor torque. A high-inertia load, such as a large fan, a centrifuge, or a crusher, needs the current limit set high enough that motor torque clears the load curve through the whole ramp. That forces the starter into a higher current-limit setting and often a larger frame.
Formula: Starting Current from Current-Limit Setting — Source: IEC 60947-4-2
Istart = current-limit setting (%) × FLC
| Symbol | Description | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Istart | Actual current drawn during the ramp | A |
| current-limit setting | Ceiling set on the starter, typically 300-400% of FLC | % |
| FLC | Motor full-load current | A |
Set the current limit at 400% instead of 300% to clear a stiff load, and the starter, plus any external bypass and cabling, must be rated for that higher current through the whole start. Not a paper spec, a thermal and price consequence. For the underlying sizing logic, see the soft starter sizing guide and AC-53a and AC-53b duty sizing.
This depends on the load's inertia and how many starts per hour the process needs. A crusher that starts twice a day sizes differently from a conveyor that starts twenty times a shift, even at the same motor kW.
Total Cost Beyond the Starter Nameplate
An economy unit without a built-in bypass needs a field-added bypass contactor, its own control wiring, and panel space. Add that up and the cheaper starter can land close to the mid-tier unit once installed.
SCRs dissipate roughly 1-1.5 W per amp per phase while conducting. An enclosure without forced ventilation may need current derating or a larger cabinet to hold ambient temperature down, another line item outside the starter's own price.
Spares availability and lead time matter most at the flagship tier. PSTX, ATS480, and 3RW55 carry the deepest spares network among the three brands, and that availability is worth weighing against a lower sticker price from a Chint or LS Electric equivalent, which typically stops at voltage-ramp control on the low end.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does ABB PSTX cost more than ABB PSE?
PSTX adds closed-loop torque control, a detachable keypad HMI, and fieldbus options (Modbus RTU standard, an Anybus module for PROFIBUS/PROFINET/EtherCAT) that PSE does not have. PSE covers voltage ramp and current limit with a built-in bypass, which is enough for most pump and fan duty at a lower price point.
Is a built-in bypass worth the extra price over an economy unit?
Usually, once installation is counted. An economy unit without one needs a field-added bypass contactor, extra wiring, and panel space, which narrows or erases the price gap versus a mid-tier unit with the bypass built in.
Does a higher current rating always mean a proportionally higher price?
No. Price tends to step up at frame-size boundaries because the enclosure, heatsink, and fan all scale with the frame, not just the SCR current rating. Two units a few amps apart can land in different frames and different prices.
Are Chint or LS Electric soft starters a lower-price alternative to ABB, Schneider, or Siemens?
At the entry level, yes, and both typically price below the equivalent PSR, ATS01, or 3RW50 unit. They generally do not match the torque-control depth, protection functions, or spares network of PSTX, ATS480, or 3RW55 at the flagship tier.
Does inside-delta wiring reduce the price of a soft starter?
It can, indirectly. Because each SCR leg carries only line current / √3 in an inside-delta connection, a smaller-frame, lower-price starter can run a motor that would need the next frame size up in-line, provided all six motor leads are available.
Should price or duty rating drive the final choice between brands?
Duty rating first. An AC-53a rating that matches the actual starts-per-hour and start time protects the motor and the starter; picking the lowest-price unit that does not meet that duty rating leads to nuisance tripping or early SCR failure, which costs more than the price difference saved.
Conclusion
Soft starter price tracks control method, built-in bypass, current rating, and comms/HMI options more than brand name. PSR, ATS01, and 3RW50 sit at the economy end; PSE, ATS22, and 3RW52 in the middle; PSTX, ATS480, and 3RW55 at the flagship end, with torque control and fieldbus as the price-defining features. Size the current-limit setting to the actual load, not padded for margin, and weigh built-in bypass, spares network, and enclosure cooling against the nameplate price before comparing quotes across brands. For sizing before pricing, see the soft starter selection guide, and browse the current range in the soft starters collection.
