Peptide Coupling Reagent Prices: HATU, TBTU, PyBOP, COMU and K-Oxyma, US vs China (October 2026)

This report compares what five reagents used to form amide bonds in peptide synthesis cost in the United States and in China: the uronium/aminium salts HATU, TBTU and COMU, the phosphonium salt PyBOP, and K-Oxyma, the potassium salt of ethyl cyano(hydroxyimino)acetate.

Coupling reagents are dosed in molar equivalents, not grams, and their molecular weights range from 180 to 520. So besides the usual price per pack, this report also gives the price per mole, which compares them on the basis they are used.

All figures come from the GrapeCat Chem regional price index. They are list prices observed between 14 and 16 October 2026, converted to US dollars at the European Central Bank reference rate. Every comparison uses the same stated purity and the same pack size in both regions. The values are research benchmarks, not quotations or offers.

Key findings

• At the 100 g pack, the US list price was 2.3 to 10.2 times the China index: COMU 2.30×, K-Oxyma 2.94×, PyBOP 5.41×, TBTU 8.26× and HATU 10.15×.
• TBTU was the cheapest per mole in both regions: $37 in China and $307 in the US at the 100 g pack.
• The order of the others differs by region. In China, COMU cost $356 per mole, three times HATU ($117 at 97%) and PyBOP ($115). In the US list prices, HATU cost $1,182 per mole, more than COMU ($819) and PyBOP ($622).
• Larger packs are much cheaper per gram in China: TBTU fell 88% from $0.81 per gram at 5 g to $0.10 per gram at 500 g; PyBOP fell 79%, HATU (99%) 61% and COMU 54% over the same range.
• HATU at 99% purity was priced by 11 or 12 China sources at each of the 5 g, 25 g, 100 g and 500 g packs: $5.23 for 5 g, $44.83 for 100 g and $203.25 for 500 g.

Price comparison at the 100 g pack

• HATU (CAS 148893-10-1), 97%: US $310.86; China $30.64 (3 sources). US is 10.15× China. Per mole: US $1,182, China $117.
• TBTU (CAS 125700-67-6), 98%: US $95.63; China $11.58 (14 sources). US is 8.26× China. Per mole: US $307, China $37.
• PyBOP (CAS 128625-52-5), 98%: US $119.54; China $22.11 (9 sources). US is 5.41× China. Per mole: US $622, China $115.
• COMU (CAS 1075198-30-9), 98%: US $191.22; China $83.06 (7 sources). US is 2.30× China. Per mole: US $819, China $356.
• K-Oxyma (CAS 158014-03-0), 98%: US $717.36; China $244.20 (1 source). US is 2.94× China. Per mole: US $1,293, China $440.

HATU

HATU is O-(7-azabenzotriazol-1-yl)-N,N,N',N'-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (C10H15F6N6OP, molecular weight 380.23). At 97% purity, the grade priced in both regions, the China index was $9.19 for 25 g (2 sources), $30.64 for 100 g (3 sources) and $136.37 for 500 g (2 sources). The US list prices were $83.69, $310.86 and $1,231.47, 9.0 to 10.2 times the China index.

Most China listings for HATU are at 99% purity. That index was $5.23 for 5 g (11 sources), $13.37 for 25 g (12 sources), $44.83 for 100 g (12 sources) and $203.25 for 500 g (12 sources), or $1.05 per gram at 5 g and $0.41 per gram at 500 g. At 100 g the 99% index was 46% above the 97% index, which rests on 3 sources.

TBTU

TBTU is O-(benzotriazol-1-yl)-N,N,N',N'-tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate (C11H16BF4N5O, molecular weight 321.08). It had the most China sources at a single pack of the five: 14 at 100 g. At 98% purity the China index was $4.03 for 5 g (5 sources), $4.62 for 25 g (13 sources), $11.58 for 100 g (14 sources), $50.06 for 500 g (11 sources) and $83.00 for 1 kg (6 sources). The US list prices were $23.91, $35.86, $95.63, $358.61 and $597.68, 5.9 to 8.3 times the China index.

The China price per gram fell from $0.81 at 5 g to $0.12 at 100 g and $0.08 at 1 kg.

PyBOP

PyBOP is (benzotriazol-1-yloxy)tripyrrolidinophosphonium hexafluorophosphate (C18H28F6N6OP2, molecular weight 520.4), the heaviest of the five, which makes it look cheaper per gram than it is per mole. At 98% purity the China index was $4.47 for 5 g (9 sources), $7.32 for 25 g (11 sources), $22.11 for 100 g (9 sources), $95.63 for 500 g (7 sources) and $112.07 for 1 kg (2 sources). The US list prices were $23.91, $47.81, $119.54, $382.52 and $669.40, 4.0 to 6.5 times the China index.

Per gram at the 100 g pack in China, PyBOP ($0.22) cost about half as much as HATU at 99% ($0.45). Per mole the two were closer: $115 for PyBOP against $170 for HATU at 99% and $117 at 97%.

COMU

COMU (C12H19F6N4O4P, molecular weight 428.27) is a uronium salt built on the Oxyma group. It had the smallest US-to-China gap of the four coupling salts. At 98% purity the China index was $3.59 for 1 g (7 sources), $5.98 for 5 g (10 sources), $23.16 for 25 g (9 sources), $83.06 for 100 g (7 sources) and $276.37 for 500 g (3 sources). The US list prices were $23.90 for 5 g, $59.76 for 25 g, $191.22 for 100 g and $693.17 for 500 g, 2.3 to 4.0 times the China index.

In China, COMU was the most expensive of the four coupling salts per gram at every pack from 25 g up: $0.83 per gram at 100 g, against $0.45 for HATU at 99%, $0.22 for PyBOP and $0.12 for TBTU.

K-Oxyma

K-Oxyma is the potassium salt of ethyl cyano(hydroxyimino)acetate (C5H5KN2O3, molecular weight 180.2). At 98% purity, both regions were priced at every pack from 1 g to 500 g, but the China index at this purity rests on one source. China $14.20, $32.28, $107.31, $244.20 and $869.05 for 1 g, 5 g, 25 g, 100 g and 500 g; US $23.91, $71.74, $239.12, $717.36 and $2,871.83. The US-to-China ratio rose with pack size, from 1.68× at 1 g to 3.30× at 500 g.

With more sources, the China index at 99% purity was $13.75 for 1 g (4 sources) and $31.76 for 5 g (4 sources).

Frequently asked questions

How much does HATU cost?

In October 2026 the China price index for HATU at 99% purity was $5.23 for 5 g, $44.83 for 100 g and $203.25 for 500 g, each the median of 11 or 12 sources. At 97% purity, a US catalogue listed 100 g at $310.86.

Which coupling reagent is cheapest per mole?

Of the five in this report, TBTU: $37 per mole in the China index and $307 per mole in the US list price, at the 100 g pack and 98% purity. The number of equivalents a protocol uses also changes the cost per coupling.

Are these prices quotes I can buy at?

No. They are index values built from observed list prices. Actual prices depend on the supplier, the date, shipping, duties and order size.

Methodology

• Each product is identified by its CAS number and checked against its PubChem record.
• Listings are grouped by stated purity and pack size. Only the same purity and the same pack size are compared across regions; listings without a stated purity are left out.
• A listing counts for the US when its stock is located in the United States and for China when its stock is located in China.
• Each source is reduced to the median of its own listings; the regional index is the median across sources.
• Prices in Chinese yuan are converted at the latest European Central Bank reference rate before observation: 1 CNY = 0.14939 USD (13 October 2026) for COMU, 0.14942 USD (14 October 2026) for TBTU and PyBOP, and 0.14945 USD (15 October 2026) for HATU and K-Oxyma.
• Price per mole is the pack price divided by the pack mass in grams, multiplied by the molecular weight shown on the product page. It does not adjust for purity.
• The ratio in this report is the US value divided by the China value. Product pages show the same comparison as a percentage gap, (US − China) ÷ US.

All peptide synthesis reagents in the directory ↗

Related report: Palladium catalyst and ligand prices, US vs China ↗

Full index methodology ↗

This report will be updated monthly. The product pages linked above always show the latest index.