3D printing cost calculator
Material, electricity, wear and chosen markup in a printing-cost estimate.
Fill in the fields and the result will appear here automatically.
Adds filament, electricity and the entered printer wear, then applies your markup to the complete base cost. The main result includes markup; at 0% it equals the base cost. You supply consumed material and average power: actual expenses depend on the print, not just the finished part’s weight.
How it works
Formula and logic
Filament = grams × spool price / spool grams. Energy in kWh = watts × hours /1000; energy cost = energy × tariff. Wear = hours × hourly rate. Base = filament + electricity + wear; total = base ×(1 + markup/100). Markup is not profit margin as a percentage of the final price. Decimal monetary ratios are rounded to two places only for display; calculations retain the unrounded ratios.
Example
85 g from a spool priced 1800 for 1000 g, 6.5 h at 120 W and tariff 5.5: filament 153, energy 0.78 kWh costing 4.29, total 157.29 at zero wear and markup. A 25% markup on that base gives 196.61.
Fields and units
- Part weight — g
- Spool price — $
- Spool weight — g
- Print time — h
- Printer power — W
- Price per kWh — $/kWh
- Wear per hour — $/h
- Markup — %
How to use
- — Use total slicer material including supports and waste; enter part and spool amounts in grams.
- — Enter spool price and print hours; material weight and time must be positive, while zero price is allowed.
- — Enter average power in watts and tariff per kWh. A rated peak is not necessarily the average draw.
- — Hourly wear and markup are optional; blank means 0. Use one currency for all money inputs.
Method and limitations
- Calculation method
- Formula and logic
- Data or methodology source
- Prusa: measured average power under stated conditions
- Limitation
- Estimate of entered expenses in one currency. Labour, taxes, idle time and unentered failed prints are not added automatically; a specification does not guarantee average power.
FAQ
Why is the price per gram not entered directly?
Price per gram is spool price / material weight. Use filament weight, not packaging weight; convert a different pricing basis to the same inputs.
Which printer power should I enter?
The average over the full print. Measured energy divided by time can estimate it; material, heating and ambient conditions affect consumption. There is no universal 100–150 W range.
What counts as wear?
Your estimated wear and maintenance per operating hour. This is not statutory accounting depreciation; blank or 0 removes the component.
Is markup applied to filament only?
Markup applies to filament, electricity and entered wear together. It sets a price, without proving that labour, taxes or all other expenses are covered.
Are failed prints included?
Only when their consumed material and time are included in the inputs. Supports, purging and failed attempts require corresponding usage data.