How do you calculate the cost of a 3D print?

Add the material, the energy and, if you count it, machine time. Material is the model's grams plus the waste percentage, times the spool price divided by the spool mass: 150 g plus 10% is 165 g, and 165 g x 22.00 / 1000 g is 3.63. Energy is average watts times hours divided by 1,000, times your rate: 120 W for 6.25 h is 0.75 kWh, and 0.75 kWh x 0.16 is 0.12. The total, 3.75, adds the parts before rounding, and the page writes out each of these lines for your own numbers.

How much electricity does a 3D printer use?

It depends on the printer, the bed and nozzle temperatures and the room, so the page holds no figure for your printer: you enter the average watts, and the 120 W filled in at first belongs to the example job. At 100 W for 5 hours a print uses 0.5 kWh, which at 0.20 per kWh costs 0.10. A plug-in energy meter that reads kWh over a whole print gives you the average: divide its kWh by the hours and multiply by 1,000 for watts.

What counts as waste in a 3D print cost?

Waste is a percentage added to the model's grams for filament the slicer's figure leaves out, such as purge lines, a failed first layer or the short end of a spool. 10% on 150 g makes 165 g, and the material cost uses the 165. A blank waste field counts as 0.

Can I compare the cost of several prints?

Yes. Save job adds the current job to a list beside the working, kept in this browser, with its grams, kWh and total, and up to 100 jobs are kept. Choose a saved job's name to load it back into the fields, and CSV downloads every saved job with its inputs and each cost for a spreadsheet. Nothing is uploaded.

Does it tell me what to charge for a 3D print?

No. It adds up what the job cost from the numbers you enter and stops there: no markup, sale price, profit margin or labor rate. The machine rate field takes an hourly figure you already use for wear or upkeep, and a blank machine rate counts as 0.

Which currency does the calculator use?

Any. The currency field is only a label printed beside the figures, up to 8 characters such as $, EUR or kr, and nothing is converted. Type decimals with a point; a lone comma such as 0,16 is read as a decimal comma, and a figure such as 1,000 is refused because it could mean 1000 or 1.000.

3D Print Cost Calculator

Type the grams your slicer reports, a waste percentage, the spool's mass and price, the print time, your printer's average watts and your energy rate, and the page itemizes the job: filament used, material cost, kWh, energy cost, an optional machine rate per hour, and the total. It writes out the working line by line, so every figure can be checked by hand, and it keeps the arithmetic exact, rounding to the cent only for display after the parts are added. Save each job to compare them side by side and download the list as CSV. The currency is a label you type, so it works in any money and converts none.

jobexample job, type your own

job nameoptional, names a saved job

model filamentgfrom your slicer

waste%purge, failed starts

spool massgfilament on a full spool

spool pricewhat the spool cost

print timefrom your sliceradded to the hours

average powerWthe printer over the print

energy rateper kWh

machine rateper houroptional wear or upkeep

currencya label only, nothing converted

Blank waste, minutes and machine rate count as 0.

breakdownnone saved

filament  150 g + 10% = 165 g
material  165 g x 22.00 / 1000 g = 3.63
time      6 h 15 min = 6.25 h
energy    120 W x 6.25 h / 1000 = 0.75 kWh
          0.75 kWh x 0.16 = 0.12
total     3.63 + 0.12 = 3.75
currency  $, a label only

No saved jobs yet. Save job keeps this one here to compare with the next.

Filament

165 g

Material

$3.63

Energy

$0.12

Job total

$3.75

The currency label is only printed beside the figures: nothing is converted. Money is rounded to the cent, half up, only for display, and the total adds the unrounded parts.

100 g from a 1 kg spool costing 20no waste
material cost 2.00
100 W for 5 h at 0.20 per kWh0.5 kWh
energy cost 0.10
Spool mass 0, or any negative inputfor example print time -2 h
Spool mass cannot be 0 g: the cost per gram divides by it. Enter the filament on a full spool, such as 1000. No total until it is fixed.

Accuracy. Exact arithmetic on the numbers you enter: material is grams plus waste, times spool price over spool mass; energy is watts times hours over 1,000, times your rate per kWh; machine time is hours times your hourly rate. Money is rounded to the cent only for display, after the total is added. It cannot know your printer's real power draw, which changes through a print, and it suggests no sale price, profit margin or purchase.

Common questions

How do you calculate the cost of a 3D print?: Add the material, the energy and, if you count it, machine time. Material is the model's grams plus the waste percentage, times the spool price divided by the spool mass: 150 g plus 10% is 165 g, and 165 g x 22.00 / 1000 g is 3.63. Energy is average watts times hours divided by 1,000, times your rate: 120 W for 6.25 h is 0.75 kWh, and 0.75 kWh x 0.16 is 0.12. The total, 3.75, adds the parts before rounding, and the page writes out each of these lines for your own numbers.
How much electricity does a 3D printer use?: It depends on the printer, the bed and nozzle temperatures and the room, so the page holds no figure for your printer: you enter the average watts, and the 120 W filled in at first belongs to the example job. At 100 W for 5 hours a print uses 0.5 kWh, which at 0.20 per kWh costs 0.10. A plug-in energy meter that reads kWh over a whole print gives you the average: divide its kWh by the hours and multiply by 1,000 for watts.
What counts as waste in a 3D print cost?: Waste is a percentage added to the model's grams for filament the slicer's figure leaves out, such as purge lines, a failed first layer or the short end of a spool. 10% on 150 g makes 165 g, and the material cost uses the 165. A blank waste field counts as 0.
Can I compare the cost of several prints?: Yes. Save job adds the current job to a list beside the working, kept in this browser, with its grams, kWh and total, and up to 100 jobs are kept. Choose a saved job's name to load it back into the fields, and CSV downloads every saved job with its inputs and each cost for a spreadsheet. Nothing is uploaded.
Does it tell me what to charge for a 3D print?: No. It adds up what the job cost from the numbers you enter and stops there: no markup, sale price, profit margin or labor rate. The machine rate field takes an hourly figure you already use for wear or upkeep, and a blank machine rate counts as 0.
Which currency does the calculator use?: Any. The currency field is only a label printed beside the figures, up to 8 characters such as $, EUR or kr, and nothing is converted. Type decimals with a point; a lone comma such as 0,16 is read as a decimal comma, and a figure such as 1,000 is refused because it could mean 1000 or 1.000.

Exact arithmetic on the numbers you enter: material is grams plus waste, times spool price over spool mass; energy is watts times hours over 1,000, times your rate per kWh; machine time is hours times your hourly rate. Money is rounded to the cent only for display, after the total is added. It cannot know your printer's real power draw, which changes through a print, and it suggests no sale price, profit margin or purchase.