3D Print Cost Calculator
Work out the real cost of a print: filament, electricity, wear and failure rate.
Optional: drop a .gcode file to auto-fill time & filament
Read in your browser, never uploaded.
Currency-agnostic: enter prices in your own currency and results come out the same way. Your inputs are remembered on this device.
Cost breakdown
- Filament
- –
- Electricity
- –
- Printer wear (depreciation)
- –
- Cost per print
- –
- + failure allowance
- –
- Suggested price
- –
Labor isn't included. Decide your own hourly rate for design, prep and post-processing and add it on top.
About this tool
Work out what a 3D print really costs, not just the filament. Enter the print's weight and duration (or drop the sliced .gcode file and both are read from the slicer's comments), plus your spool price, printer wattage and electricity rate. You get an itemized breakdown of material, electricity, printer wear and a failure allowance.
Electricity is usually small: a 120 W printer at $0.15/kWh costs under 2¢ an hour. But depreciation adds up, since a $400 printer that lasts 5,000 print-hours adds 8¢ to every printing hour. The G-code is parsed in your browser and never uploaded, and your rates are remembered on your device for next time.
Frequently asked questions
- What does it actually cost to run a 3D printer per hour?
- A typical FDM printer draws 50–150 W while printing, which at $0.15/kWh is roughly $0.01–0.02 per hour. Electricity is usually a small fraction of the cost compared to filament.
- Why include a failure rate in the price?
- Some prints fail, and the wasted filament and time still cost money. A failure allowance (10–15% is common) spreads that waste across successful prints.
- Can it read the time and filament from my sliced file?
- Yes. Drop a .gcode file from PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer, Bambu Studio or Cura and the print time and filament usage are read from the slicer comments, all in your browser.