3D Print Cost Calculator

This 3D print cost calculator estimates an FDM job, where a printer melts a strand of plastic. It separates cash spent on a job from the share of your printer and time you choose to charge. Slice the actual file with your exact printer and nozzle profile. Choose the material you will use.

For a useful estimate, take the sliced grams and hours, then enter what you paid for the spool. The starting filament price comes from three dated US maker stores. Power needs a measured average; the power supply label is not a job measurement. Blank optional costs stay out of the total and remain marked as missing.

Use the 3D print cost calculator inputs

Read the mass from your slicer's finished preview. Include the part plus the brim, raft and purge, along with any breakaway print aids. If the slice already includes them, don't add them a second time as extra material. Re-slice after you alter the size or orientation. Do the same after editing walls or fill.

Net spool mass means the plastic sold on the spool. It excludes the reel itself. A full reel weighed on a scale includes both. A 750 g spool and a 1 kg spool at the same price have different costs per gram.

Hours may exceed a day. Minutes must be a whole number from zero to 59. For a two-and-a-half-hour job, use two hours and 30 minutes. Don't enter 2.30 hours: that decimal equals two hours and 18 minutes.

The tariff field uses dollars per kilowatt-hour. Divide cents by 100 before entering them. If your average job power is unknown, leave watts blank. The cash subtotal then includes material and other known expenses, with electricity clearly out of the sum.

Check the 3D print cost calculator equations

The material method follows Prusa's cost explanation. We checked the unit conversion against EIA's electricity explanation. Our equations keep each unit visible:

• Time: hours + minutes / 60.
• Used mass: sliced grams × (1 + extra material percentage / 100).
• Cost per gram: spool price / net filament grams.
• Material cost: used grams × cost per gram.
• Energy: average watts / 1000 × time in hours.
• Power cost: energy in kWh × tariff in USD/kWh.
• Hands-on cost: (preparation + finishing minutes) / 60 × your hourly rate.
• Machine allocation: printer purchase cost / chosen productive hours × job hours.

Cash subtotal adds material, known power and other entered job expenses. The total then adds optional hands-on time and machine allocation. This split helps you compare a hobby expense with a price you might charge. Neither sum supplies profit, tax advice or a business quote.

Work through the example

The Load worked example button enters a hypothetical job, not a current product offer. It uses 50 g of sliced material, a 1,000 g spool costing USD 20, and ten percent extra material. The print takes two hours and 30 minutes at a hypothetical average of 100 W and a tariff of USD 0.15/kWh.

That gives 55 g used and USD 0.02 per gram, so material costs USD 1.10. Energy is 0.25 kWh and costs USD 0.0375. The cash subtotal is USD 1.1375, displayed as USD 1.14. The calculator rounds the final displayed amounts rather than rounding each term before adding it.

Ten minutes of preparation plus 20 minutes of finishing at USD 12/hour adds USD 6. A hypothetical USD 300 printer spread across 1,500 productive hours adds USD 0.50 to this job. Total with those allocations is USD 7.6375, displayed as USD 7.64. Those hours are your accounting choice, not a claim about printer lifespan.

Keep unknown expenses visible

This worksheet does not estimate a room upgrade, exhaust installation, replacement parts, waste disposal or local taxes. List them before a purchase and obtain real costs for your situation. Leaving a field blank does not establish that the cost is zero.

Extra material is a simple addition to grams. It is not the chance of a failed print and doesn't add time or power for a failed job. If a whole job fails, estimate that attempt separately. Add its actual cash cost to the successful attempt when reviewing what the finished part cost.

Use the printer purchase budget guide for startup expenses. The per-print cost guide explains how to compare two slices without hiding labor or waste.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use the result to set a selling price?

Use it as a cost worksheet first. A selling price may need design work, packing, fees, tax and a profit margin. Enter known job expenses once, then review omissions. The calculator doesn't decide what customers will pay or which business costs apply to you.

Why is electricity not included?

Power stays out until both average watts and the tariff are present. The editable tariff is a national reference, while watts must come from your job measurement. If either is blank, the result says electricity is not included. It does not treat unknown power as free.

Can this estimate a resin print?

Use a separate resin worksheet. A resin slice may report volume while a bottle price refers to mass. A reliable estimate needs the exact resin density. It must also account for washing and curing, with waste handling listed too. This tool uses filament grams and does not convert resin milliliters into grams.

Does saving send the job anywhere?

Save assumptions downloads a copy to your device. It includes your entered job name and inputs, along with the result and calculation version. The tool has no upload request. Check the file before sharing it, especially if you use a customer name or confidential project name for the job.

Verdict on FDM print estimates

Use this 3D print cost calculator to compare known expenses and chosen allocations. Keep the slice and receipt with the saved worksheet. Update the figures when the design or material differs, and check unknown costs before treating the subtotal as a complete budget.