3D Printer Running Cost Calculator: Cost per Hour & Print
Calculate the real cost of any FDM 3D print — filament, electricity, machine time, labor, waste buffer and profit margin. No signup required.
Machine cost is your estimated hourly printer wear/depreciation cost. If unsure, start with €0.50–€1.50/h.
Failure / waste buffer — use this to account for failed prints, test prints and small material losses.
Running more than one printer?
3D Print Manager helps you track filament, costs, jobs and stock across your whole setup.
How to Use This 3D Print Cost Calculator
Enter weight & time
Read filament weight and estimated print time from your slicer (PrusaSlicer, Cura, Bambu Studio).
Set your real costs
Adjust filament price per kg, electricity rate, printer wattage and your own machine and labor cost.
Add buffer & markup
Set a small waste buffer for failed prints and a profit markup to get a realistic selling price.
3D Print Cost Formula
The real cost of a 3D print is more than just filament. A complete pricing formula looks like this:
Total cost = material cost + electricity cost + machine cost + labor + waste buffer
Selling price = total cost + profit markup
- Material cost = print weight ÷ 1000 × filament price per kg
- Electricity cost = printer watts ÷ 1000 × print hours × electricity rate
- Machine cost = print hours × hourly machine cost
- Waste buffer = base cost × failure buffer %
- Profit = total cost × markup %
The hourly machine cost typically reflects printer depreciation, wear on the hotend, nozzles, belts, build plates and routine maintenance.
Example: 120g PLA Print, 6 Hours
Inputs:
- 120g PLA
- €20/kg filament
- 6 hours print time
- 150W printer
- €0.18/kWh electricity
Material cost on its own is around €2.40, which makes the print look cheap. Once you add ~€0.16 of electricity, 6 hours of machine time, your own labor for setup and post-processing, and a small buffer for the inevitable failed prints, the real cost is several times higher than just filament.
That is why pricing only by weight tends to lose money on longer jobs. Use the calculator above to plug in your own electricity rate, machine cost and markup and see the full picture.
Common 3D Printing Pricing Mistakes
- Charging only for filament weight
- Ignoring electricity
- Ignoring machine wear and depreciation
- Forgetting failed prints and reprints
- Not charging for post-processing time
- Using the same markup for every job
- Not tracking real material usage over time
How Much Does It Cost per Hour to Run a 3D Printer?
The hourly cost of running a 3D printer is not a single number — it depends on several factors:
- Electricity consumption (printer wattage and your local rate)
- Print time and duty cycle
- Printer wear and depreciation
- Maintenance — nozzles, belts, build plates, lubrication
- Failed prints that waste both filament and machine hours
- Material usage and post-processing time
Electricity alone is usually only a small part of the hourly cost. As a typical example, a 150W printer running for one hour at €0.18/kWh costs about €0.03 in electricity — but real hourly cost should also include machine wear and maintenance.
- Electricity cost per hour = printer watts ÷ 1000 × electricity price per kWh
Example:
- 150W ÷ 1000 × €0.18 = €0.027 per hour in electricity
For pricing 3D prints, many users add a machine cost — typically €0.50–€1.50/hour — to cover wear, depreciation and maintenance. If unsure where to start, the lower end is a safe default for entry-level FDM printers and the upper end is more typical for larger or higher-duty-cycle machines.
Use the calculator above to plug in your own printer wattage, electricity rate and hourly machine cost — the result reflects your real cost per hour, not a generic estimate.