3D Printing Cost Formula
Learn how to calculate the estimated material, electricity, machine, labor, and total cost of a 3D printed part.
A 3D printing cost estimate combines the cost of filament after waste, electricity consumed during the print, a machine running allowance, and labor or finishing costs. Separating these components helps identify which part of a print has the greatest effect on its all-in production cost.
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Total 3D Printing Cost
Where:
Add the adjusted filament cost, power cost, printer operating cost, and labor or post-processing cost to estimate the cost of producing one part.
Variables Explained
| Variable | What It Means | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| materialCost - Material cost | The cost of filament used after adding the waste allowance. | currency |
| electricityCost - Electricity cost | The cost of electricity used while the printer runs. | currency |
| machineCost - Machine operating cost | The hourly printer cost allowance multiplied by print time. | currency |
| laborCost - Labor and post-processing cost | The cost assigned to setup, monitoring, removal, cleanup, or finishing. | currency |
| filamentWeight - Filament weight | Estimated filament in the completed part before waste is added. | weight |
| wasteRate - Material waste allowance | Percentage added for supports, brims, purge material, test pieces, and expected failed-print waste. | percent |
| filamentPrice - Filament price per kilogram | Purchase cost of filament for each kilogram. | currency |
| printerPower - Average printer power | Average electrical power used by the printer during the job. | watt |
| printHours - Print time | Total estimated printer running time. | hours |
| electricityRate - Electricity rate | Local electricity cost for each kilowatt-hour. | currency |
| machineCostPerHour - Machine cost per hour | Allowance per print hour for wear, maintenance, depreciation, and related operating costs. | currency |
Step-by-Step Calculation
Add the material waste allowance
Increase the finished-part filament weight to allow for supports, purge material, brims, and other expected waste.
filamentWeightWithWaste = filamentWeight * (1 + wasteRate / 100)
Calculate filament cost
Convert adjusted filament weight from grams to kilograms, then multiply it by the spool price per kilogram.
materialCost = filamentWeightWithWaste / 1000 * filamentPrice
Calculate electricity used
Convert average printer power from watts to kilowatts and multiply by the print duration.
energyKwh = printerPower / 1000 * printHours
Calculate electricity cost
Multiply electricity used in kilowatt-hours by the local electricity rate.
electricityCost = energyKwh * electricityRate
Calculate machine operating cost
Apply the selected hourly printer allowance to every hour of printing.
machineCost = printHours * machineCostPerHour
Add all production costs
Combine the four cost categories for the estimated all-in production cost.
totalCost = materialCost + electricityCost + machineCost + laborCost
Find the cost per print hour
Divide total cost by print time, using a minimum divisor of 0.1 hours to avoid division by zero.
costPerPrintHour = totalCost / max(printHours, 0.1)
Example: 100 g PLA part with supports
Adjusted filament weight
100 * (1 + 10 / 100)
110 g
Material cost
110 / 1000 * 25.00
$2.75
Electricity used
120 / 1000 * 8
0.96 kWh
Electricity cost
0.96 * 0.15
$0.14
Machine cost
8 * 0.50
$4.00
Total cost
2.75 + 0.144 + 4.00 + 5.00
$11.89
Cost per print hour
11.894 / 8
$1.49 per hour
Final Result
Estimated all-in cost: $11.89 per part, or about $1.49 per print hour.
Assumptions
- ✓Filament weight is entered in grams, while filament price is entered per kilogram.
- ✓The waste allowance applies to filament only and does not increase power, machine, or labor costs.
- ✓Average printer power reasonably represents the job, including heated components where practical.
- ✓Machine cost per hour is a user-selected allowance rather than a fixed industry rate.
- ✓Labor cost is entered as one total amount for the part.
Limitations
- !Actual filament use can differ from slicer estimates because of extrusion tuning, support changes, or failed prints.
- !Printer power draw varies with bed and nozzle temperatures, enclosure heating, ambient conditions, and print stages.
- !The machine allowance may not fully capture major repairs, downtime, or replacement timing.
- !The estimate excludes design time, packaging, shipping, taxes, selling fees, and profit unless they are added separately.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Entering the spool price for 1 kg as though it were a price per gram.
Entering the finished model weight without allowing for supports, purge material, or likely failures.
Using the printer's maximum rated wattage instead of a realistic average measured or estimated draw.
Leaving machine cost at zero when wear, maintenance, and depreciation matter to the comparison.
Treating production cost as a selling price without separately considering overheads, fees, taxes, and margin.
Related Formulas
Frequently Asked Questions
How is 3D printing material cost calculated?
The calculator adds the waste percentage to filament weight, converts grams to kilograms, and multiplies the result by the filament price per kilogram.
How do I calculate electricity cost for a 3D print?
Multiply average printer power in kilowatts by print hours to get kilowatt-hours, then multiply by your electricity rate.
What does machine cost per hour include?
It is a user-set allowance for printer wear, maintenance, depreciation, replacement parts, and similar operating costs.
Should supports be included in filament weight?
If supports are not already included in the weight estimate, include them through the waste allowance or by entering total sliced filament use.
Why is the electricity cost often smaller than material cost?
For many desktop prints, filament and machine or labor allowances can exceed electricity cost. The balance depends on print duration, power draw, material price, and local energy rates.
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