3D printing cost calculator
Add up filament, electricity, printer wear, failed prints and your time to get the real cost of a print, then the price to charge. Grams and print time come straight from your slicer.
- Filament
- $2.00
- Electricity
- $0.10
- Printer wear
- $0.50
- Failed prints10% spread over good ones
- $0.29
- Your time
- $5.00
- Cost per print
- $7.89
- Price at 100% markup
- $15.78
Selling on Etsy or eBay? Their fees come out of that price. Run it through the Etsy profit calculator before you list.
What goes into the cost
Filament cost = grams ÷ 1,000 × spool price. Electricity = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × price per kWh. Printer wear = printer price ÷ lifetime hours × print hours. Failed prints are spread over the successful ones, and your time is hours × your rate.
Selling your prints
If you sell on Etsy, about 10% of the order goes to fees before you see anything. Put this price into the Etsy profit calculator with the cost per print to see your real profit, or use the markup calculator to aim for a margin.
Questions
How much does it cost to 3D print something?
For a typical FDM print, filament is most of it: 100 g from a $20 spool is $2.00. A 5-hour print at 120 W and $0.17/kWh adds about $0.10 of electricity. Printer wear and failed prints add a little more, and your time often costs more than all of them.
How much electricity does a 3D printer use?
Most hobby FDM printers average 100 to 150 W while printing, more while the bed heats. That's roughly 0.1 to 0.15 kWh per hour.
How should I price 3D prints to sell?
Start from the full cost per print, including your time, then add a markup. Many sellers use 100% to 300% depending on design work and demand. Then check that the price still works after marketplace fees.
Why include failed prints?
If one print in ten fails, the good nine have to pay for it. The calculator spreads that cost over the prints you can sell.
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