3D Printing Price Calculator

Sell Price = (Filament Cost + Electricity Cost + Labor Cost) × (1 + Margin Percentage). Filament Cost = (Model Weight in grams / 1000) × Price per Kilogram of filament. Electricity Cost = Print Time in hours × Printer Power Consumption in kilowatts × Electricity Rate per kilowatt-hour. Labor Cost = (Preparation Time in hours + Post-Processing Time in hours) × Hourly Labor Rate. Machine Time Cost is embedded in the margin: the margin percentage should cover machine depreciation, maintenance, and profit per hour of print time. The formula ensures all direct costs are recovered, and the margin provides a buffer for overhead and profit. It is calculated this way because it separates variable costs (filament, electricity, labor) from fixed costs (machine time), allowing the user to set a margin that reflects their specific machine's utilization rate and desired hourly profit. The margin is applied after summing variable costs to avoid double-counting and to keep pricing transparent.

A good sell price covers all variable costs and provides a margin that compensates for machine time, depreciation, and profit. For hobbyists, a margin of 30-50% is common to cover filament waste and electricity. For businesses, margins often range from 50-150% to account for printer maintenance, software licenses, and rent. The key principle is that machine time is a scarce resource—every hour a printer runs on a low-margin job is an hour it cannot run on a higher-margin job. Therefore, the margin should be set to yield a target hourly profit (e.g., $5-20 per hour for consumer printers, $20-100 for industrial). Interpret the result by comparing it to market rates: if your price is significantly higher, consider reducing labor time or optimizing print settings. There are no universal industry averages because costs vary by location, printer type, and scale.

A common mistake is forgetting to include labor time for preparation and post-processing, which can double the true cost. Another is using filament price per spool without accounting for waste from supports or failed prints—add 10-20% to filament cost. Some users neglect electricity cost, assuming it's negligible, but for long prints (over 24 hours) on high-power printers, it can be significant. Edge cases include using expensive specialty filaments (e.g., carbon fiber) where filament cost dominates, or printing multiple copies on one bed—the labor and electricity scale sublinearly, so calculate per copy carefully. Also, avoid setting a margin that is too low to cover machine depreciation; a $500 printer lasting 2000 hours costs $0.25 per hour in depreciation alone.

Filament Cost

The cost of the plastic material used for a print, calculated from the model's weight and the price per kilogram of filament.

Machine Time

The total hours a 3D printer is occupied with a print, including setup, printing, and cooldown, used to allocate depreciation and profit.

Margin Percentage

The percentage added to total variable costs to cover overhead, machine depreciation, and profit, expressed as a decimal in the formula.

Labor Cost

The value of time spent on preparing the model, setting up the printer, and post-processing, typically charged at an hourly rate.

Electricity Cost

The cost of power consumed during the print, calculated from print time, printer power draw, and local electricity rate.