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3D Printing Cost Calculator

Estimate the direct cost of one print from the material used, print time, electricity and optional time charges.

Example values: Prefilled with 125 g, 5 print hours, and separate labor and machine rates. Edit them or use Clear to start empty.

Enter one print job

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Use the slicer estimate or weighed material.

Use the price in your chosen currency.

Elapsed printer run time, not hands-on time.

Use an average, not the peak rating.

Use the same currency as the other rates.

Applied to printer run time; do not repeat electricity here.

Setup, removal and finishing time only.

Applied only to hands-on work time.

Cost breakdown

Enter the values, then select Calculate.

How to estimate a 3D printing job cost

This calculator gives a transparent direct-cost estimate for one job. It keeps material, electricity, hands-on labor and machine time in separate lines so you can see what each input contributes instead of hiding everything in one hourly charge.

Step by step

  1. Enter the material mass in grams from your slicer or a measured finished print.
  2. Enter the material price per kilogram in the currency you use for every cost field.
  3. Enter printer running hours, average electrical power in watts and the electricity price per kilowatt-hour.
  4. Optionally enter hands-on work time and your labor rate. Use setup, removal and finishing time, not unattended print time.
  5. Optionally enter a machine rate per printing hour for wear or ownership cost. Keep electricity out of that rate if you also enter it separately.
  6. Select Calculate, review the breakdown and copy it if you need to place the figures in a note or quote draft.

What the calculator adds

Material cost equals grams divided by 1,000, multiplied by the price per kilogram. Electricity cost equals print hours multiplied by average watts divided by 1,000, then multiplied by the electricity price per kWh. Hands-on labor equals labor hours multiplied by the labor rate. Machine time equals print hours multiplied by the machine rate. The total is the sum of those four separate amounts.

The calculation keeps full precision internally and normally displays no more than two decimal places. A meaningful cost smaller than 0.01 is shown with significant digits instead of being presented as zero.

Example: a small functional part

A part uses 125 g from a spool priced at 24 per kg, runs for 5 hours at an average 120 W, and electricity costs 0.20 per kWh. Material is 3.00 and electricity is 0.12. If finishing takes 0.5 hour at 18 per hour and the machine rate is 1.50 per print hour, labor is 9.00 and machine time is 7.50. The direct-cost total is 19.62 in the same currency.

That total is an input to a pricing decision, not a recommended customer price. Packaging, tax, payment fees, design work, failed prints, shipping and profit may still matter outside this calculator.

Avoid counting time twice

Printer running time and hands-on work time are different. Five unattended print hours should not automatically become five labor hours. Enter only the time a person actually spends on setup, supervision you choose to charge, support removal or finishing in the labor field.

The machine rate is also separate from electricity. If your internal machine rate already includes energy, leave electricity at zero or remove energy from the rate before using both fields. The calculator cannot inspect your accounting policy, so the labelled breakdown is there to make duplication visible.

Inputs, units and zero values

  • Material, time, power and prices must be zero or positive decimal numbers.
  • Blank optional labor and machine-rate fields are treated as zero; required fields must be filled.
  • Grams are converted to kilograms, watts to kilowatts and hours remain hours.
  • All money inputs are assumed to use one currency. There is no exchange-rate conversion.
  • Zero is valid when a real cost category does not apply, but a blank required input is not reported as a calculated zero.

What this estimate does not do

No model file is uploaded. The calculator does not slice geometry, predict supports, verify printer settings or estimate whether a print will succeed. Bring material use and run time from your own slicer or production record.

It also does not add tax, markup, minimum order fees or a selling-price recommendation. Use the result as a direct-cost ledger line and add business-specific amounts separately so the assumptions remain clear.

Frequently asked questions

Which currency should I choose? There is no currency selector: enter every money value in the same currency and read every result in that currency. Can I enter minutes? Convert them to decimal hours, such as 30 minutes = 0.5 hour. Should filament waste be included? Include expected purge, supports or waste in the material grams when that belongs to this job. Why is electricity small? A printer using hundreds of watts for a few hours may cost much less in energy than material or labor; check watts, hours and price per kWh. Is the machine rate profit? Not necessarily. It can represent depreciation or maintenance, but this calculator does not define or recommend the rate.