3D Print Cost Calculator
A 3D print costs its filament (grams × spool price ÷ spool grams), plus electricity (watts ÷ 1000 × hours × rate), plus optional machine wear and a failure buffer. With the example inputs below — a 50 g part from a $20 spool, 3 hours at 120 W — the print costs $1.11. Enter your own numbers to recompute.
Your print
| Filament | $1.00 |
|---|---|
| Electricity | $0.06 |
| Machine wear | $0.00 |
| Failure buffer | $0.05 |
| Total per print | $1.11 |
How the cost is calculated
Filament is usually the biggest line on a single-colour print; electricity is cents for most prints; machine wear only matters if you print for income. Purge waste is charged at the full filament rate, which is why multi-colour prints cost more than their part weight suggests.
- Filament
- (part g + purge g) × spool price ÷ spool g
- Electricity
- average W ÷ 1000 × hours × $/kWh
- Machine wear
- printer cost ÷ lifetime hours × hours
- Failure buffer
- (filament + electricity + wear) × failure %
Printing in multiple colours?
On Bambu Lab printers, colour changes go through an AMS unit. Every swap purges filament, so put the slicer's purge figure in the purge / waste field above. These are the AMS units we cover:
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate the cost of a 3D print?
Add three parts: filament (grams used × spool price ÷ spool grams), electricity (average watts ÷ 1000 × print hours × your rate per kWh) and, optionally, machine wear (printer cost ÷ lifetime hours × print hours). Then add a few percent for failed prints. For most small single-colour prints, filament is by far the largest share.
How do I find out how much filament a print uses?
Slice the model. Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer and Cura all report the filament estimate in grams after slicing, usually next to the print-time estimate. Multi-colour prints list purge or prime-tower filament separately in some slicers — enter that as purge / waste so it is charged at the same per-gram rate.
How much electricity does a 3D printer use?
It depends on the printer, bed temperature, ambient temperature and whether it is enclosed. Draw peaks while the bed heats, then drops to a lower average while printing. The reliable way to get your number is a plug-in power meter over a full print: divide the kWh it reports by the hours to get average watts.
Does multi-colour printing cost more?
Yes. Every filament change on a single-nozzle printer purges material to clear the old colour, so a multi-colour print can throw away a large share of its filament as purge or prime tower. The calculator charges purge at the same rate as the part, so the extra shows up in the filament line.
Should I include a failure rate in the cost?
If you print to sell or quote, yes. Failed prints still consume filament and power, and that cost lands on the prints that succeed. A small buffer of a few percent covers the occasional spaghetti or warped corner; raise it for new materials, tall parts or long prints that are more likely to fail.
How should I price 3D prints I sell?
Treat the calculator total as your floor, not your price. On top of material, power and wear you still have design or slicing time, removing supports, sanding, packing and platform fees. Most sellers price from the hours of their own time involved, with the print cost as a minimum they never go under.