Free tool
3D print cost calculator
Enter the grams and hours from your slicer and what you pay for filament and power. You get the true cost per print, including a share for prints that fail, and a selling price if you add markup.
Cost of this print
- Filament$2.00
- Electricity$0.10
- Failed prints$0.21
$0.46 per printing hour. $0.02 per gram.
A worked example
A 250 g part that takes 12 hours, on a $20 spool of 1 kg, with a printer averaging 120 W and power at $0.17 per kWh: filament is $5.00, electricity is $0.24, and a 10% allowance for failed prints adds $0.52, for $5.77 in all. Filament is nearly always the biggest share; power only matters on very long prints or with a heated chamber.
What to enter for power
Use the average draw while printing, not the power supply rating. A heated bed pulls hard while warming up and then cycles, so an open printer printing PLA often averages about 100 to 150 W, while a large bed or a heated chamber printing ABS can average much more. A plug-in energy meter gives the real figure for your printer.
Cutting the cost per print
Fewer failed prints save more than cheaper filament: a better build plate or a fresh nozzle often pays for itself. The build planner shows the ones listed for your printer.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a 3D print cost?
Mostly the filament: at $20 per kilogram, each gram costs 2 cents. In the example above, a 250 g, 12-hour print costs about $5.77 including power and a failure allowance.
How much electricity does a 3D printer use?
Typically about 0.1 to 0.15 kWh per hour for an open printer printing PLA, more with a large heated bed or a heated chamber. Multiply by your electricity price to get the cost per hour.
How should I price 3D prints I sell?
Start from the full cost here, then add your time for setup, removal and finishing, machine wear, and packaging. Markup on top of material cost alone usually undercharges.