3D Printing Cost Calculator

The 3D printing cost calculator tool converts the costs of a single print into actual dollar amounts. In addition to filament weight and price input, electricity costs, printer wear and tear, labor costs, packaging costs, and failure rates can be factored in, which many individuals often overlook. If the printed products are going to be sold, then the tool allows for calculating a selling price that covers all of the costs while also making the desired profit.

What are the costs of 3D printing?

The cost of materials, particularly filament, is the easiest to calculate and often where many users end their calculations. However, the cost for a single print does not just include the value of the plastic used. To get a full picture, aspects such as these need to be considered:

The material cost is based on the actual cost of filament used, calculated from the purchase price per roll. The electricity cost depends on the amount of energy consumed during printing. Printer depreciation refers to the value lost by the machine over time due to its usage. Nozzles, belts and heaters have a limited lifespan. Labor costs include the time spent slicing, preparing the print bed, removing finished product, post-processing and cleaning. Additional material costs may include items such as fasteners, packaging and shipping. Failed prints are also an inevitable cost factor. Since a certain percentage of prints will fail, these losses must be factored into the sales price of successful products.

How to use this calculator:

First, enter the two values that are shown in the slicer: filament weight (in grams) and print time. Then, enter the purchase price of the filament per kilogram. With this information, you can clearly see the material cost and estimated total cost.

Next you can enable additional cost items if desired. If you enable electricity, enter the power consumption of your printer and local electricity rates. If you enable depreciation, enter the purchase price of your printer and expected lifetime (in hours). Labor costs, other material costs, and failure rates can be added in a similar way. Enabling each switch will display corresponding input fields, and those costs will be added to the total cost. If you sell finished products, you can use the pricing calculator to calculate a suggested selling price based on your desired profit margin and associated fees.

Formulas for calculating individual costs:

The material cost can be directly calculated from the weight of filament and the price per roll.

The cost of electricity depends on the power consumption of the printer, length of time printing and local rates for electricity. First divide the power in watts by 1,000 to convert it into kilowatts.

The depreciation of a printer is calculated by spreading the purchase price over the expected total operating life until disposal.

Labour costs are the product of hours worked and hourly wages. If failure rates are taken into account then printing costs will increase accordingly so that losses from failed prints can be made up by selling finished products.

When you add the adjusted cost of labor and other material costs, this gives you your total print cost. To determine the selling price for your finished product, divide your total cost by a value that is subtracted from the selling price: first platform fees and then profit margin. Both are calculated as a percentage of the final selling price.

Let's take a concrete example. Let's say that for one print you use 185 g of PLA, the filament costs $20 per kg and the printing time is 6 hours. The power consumption of your 3D printer is 150 W and electricity costs are $0.15 per kWh. Also depreciation on a printer with cost of $500, for an expected lifetime of 2,000 hours, plus 30 minutes work at an hourly rate of $20.. Material cost is the result of multiplying 0.185 by 20 which gives approximately $3.70. Electricity costs are obtained by multiplying 0.15 by 6 and then again by 0.15, giving about $0.14. Printer depreciation is calculated by dividing 500 by 2,000 and then multiplying by 6, which gives approximately $1.50. Labour cost is half the hourly rate, so half of $20, which is $10.00. The total cost comes to around $15.34.. If your target profit margin is 30 percent and there are no platform fees, the selling price would be about $21.91, which is obtained by dividing $15.34 by 0.70.

Filament density and prices by material:

If your slicer displays volume or length instead, you can use the filament's density to convert it into weight. Representative values are used here; prices may vary by market and brand, so check the specifications of the filament you're using.

Pricing for profitable print orders:

Many sellers set their prices based on filament cost alone which leads to a situation where there are many orders but no profit made. The solution is to first consider all costs and then set the profit margin based on actual total costs. This calculator treats the profit margin like an e-commerce platform: as a percentage of the selling price. So, a 30% profit margin means that 30% of the amount paid by the buyer is made up of profits. Platform fees work in the same way: if the fee is 6.5%, then 6.5% of the selling price goes to the platform and the rest is what you actually receive.

If a simple markup is easier to use then you can add the total cost by a fixed multiplier. For example if the multiplier was 1.5 then the markup would be 50%. Markup and profit margin are not the same thing. If the markup is 50% and the cost is $10 then the selling price will be $15, but the profit margin on that selling price will only be about 33%.

Key points for realistic estimates:

Use the filament weight shown in your slicer and set actual infill rates, wall thicknesses, and support structures instead of relying on rough estimates. You can weigh the finished product with a kitchen scale and compare the results to what was stated by the slicer. Even if you've been printing without any problems lately, issues like clogged nozzles often occur unexpectedly, so make sure that your calculations include some margin for error. Check the price every time you buy new filament, and don't forget to factor in your labor costs unless you're only printing as a hobby.

This calculator is for planning and learning purposes only. Actual costs will vary depending on printer, energy costs and distribution channels so do not use the results as exact estimates but rather educated guesses.