Sinter hardening of PM components is well known as a cost-effective and feasible alternative to secondary heat treatment. Lots of application progress has been made in recent years. Nickel and molybdenum containing materials are very commonly used for sinter hardening application while increases and fluctuations in prices of nickel and molybdenum make manufacturers facing increased cost pressure. From this point of view, chromium-containing alloys show favourable prices and good hardenability, but limitations of atmosphere type and quality have influenced its wide application. To extend sinter hardening application and enhance competitiveness of PM technology there is a strong need for cost effective alloys combined with robustness. In this paper, we present conventional and newly developed lean alloys including both Ni-Mo and Cr-Mo systems, and their achievable properties and consistency under industrial conditions for typical PM applications.