3D Print Cost Calculator
Estimate a 3D print’s material, electricity, machine-time, overhead, and marked-up selling price.
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How this calculator works
Material = grams ÷ spool weight × spool price. Electricity = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × electric rate. Machine time and other costs are added before markup.
Worked example
For 180 g from a $24, 1,000-g spool, filament costs $4.32. A nine-hour print averaging 120 W at $0.16/kWh uses 1.08 kWh and costs $0.1728 in electricity. Add $4.50 of machine time at $0.50/hour and $1.50 of other costs: the unrounded cost basis is $10.4928, displayed as $10.49. A 50% markup produces $15.74 after final rounding. Markup is not profit margin; taxes, failed prints and selling fees need their own allowance.
Separate consumables from machine time
Material cost begins with the slicer’s estimated grams and the usable price per kilogram. Add support, purge, failed-print, and setup allowances explicitly instead of hiding them in a markup. Electricity is usually smaller, but it can be estimated from average printer wattage, hours, and the local energy rate.
Machine-time pricing covers the use and wear of the printer; labor covers preparation, monitoring, post-processing, packing, and customer communication. Keeping them separate makes the quote easier to audit.
Use repeatable shop inputs
Record actual spool costs, typical failure rates, average power, and hands-on minutes by process. Review those assumptions after completed jobs. Taxes, shipping, platform fees, design ownership, licensing, and minimum charges are outside the physical print calculation and should be added where applicable.
Sources & assumptions
Material, energy, machine time, overhead, and markup are calculated from visitor-entered values. Failed-print risk, design labor, finishing, packaging, taxes, and marketplace fees may need separate allowances.
Frequently asked questions
Is machine time the same as profit?
No. Machine time can cover depreciation, maintenance, failed-print risk, and occupied capacity. Profit or markup is added separately.
Should labor be included?
Add design, setup, finishing, packing, and customer-service labor as other cost or include it in your pricing workflow.