Calculate the true cost of any 3D print — material, electricity, machine depreciation, maintenance, labor & profit margin. FDM & Resin supported.
💡 All values are estimates. Actual print weight and time may vary slightly from slicer preview.
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Most beginners only count the filament — but the real cost of a print has six components. Miss any one and you'll be underpricing if you sell prints, or surprised by your actual spend if you're a hobbyist.
Divide the print weight by the spool weight, then multiply by spool price. Always add a waste factor of 5–15% to cover purge lines, priming, failed first layers, and support material that can't be reused.
Formula: Material = (print_weight ÷ spool_weight) × spool_price × (1 + waste%)
Convert your printer's wattage to kilowatts (divide by 1000), then multiply by hours and your electricity tariff. In India, the average residential rate is ₹7–9 per kWh. Note that the rated wattage is the peak — actual average draw is typically 50–70% of rated during a print.
Formula: Electricity = (watts ÷ 1000) × hours × ₹/kWh
Your printer cost money and will eventually wear out. Spread that cost over its expected print lifespan. A ₹15,000 Ender 3 lasting 5,000 hours costs ₹3 per hour. This covers not just the printer but also periodic part replacements (nozzles, bed springs, PTFE tube).
Formula: Depreciation = (printer_price ÷ lifespan_hours) × print_hours
Nozzles (₹50–200 each, last 200–500 hours), lubrication, bed adhesive (glue stick, hairspray), FEP/PDMS film for resin printers — these recurring consumables add ₹3–10 per print hour on average.
Even if you don't pay yourself, your time has value. Setup (slicing, bed leveling) takes 10–30 minutes per print. Post-processing (support removal, sanding, painting, UV curing) can take 15–60 minutes. If you're running a print service, calculate this at your local freelance rate.
Even experienced operators see 3–10% of prints fail (first-layer adhesion, power outages, warping). Reserve this as a cost buffer. If selling, add a profit margin on top — 20–50% for hobbyist sellers, 100–200% for professional services.
3D print cost = material cost + electricity cost + machine depreciation + maintenance + labor. Material cost = (print weight ÷ spool weight) × spool price × waste factor. Electricity = (watts ÷ 1000) × hours × rate per kWh. Machine depreciation = (printer price ÷ lifespan hours) × print hours.
At ₹1200 per 1 kg spool, PLA costs ₹1.32 per gram including 10% waste. A typical 50g print costs ₹66 in material alone. Add electricity (₹3–8), depreciation (₹5–15), and you typically get ₹80–120 total cost before markup.
Most desktop FDM printers (Ender 3, Bambu) use 50–300W. At 150W average and ₹8/kWh, a 5-hour print costs ₹6 in electricity. Heated beds and enclosures consume more power. Resin printers use 30–80W but require UV curing which adds consumption.
Machine depreciation spreads your printer's purchase cost over its expected lifespan (typically 3,000–10,000 hours). If your printer cost ₹15,000 and lasts 5,000 hours, depreciation is ₹3 per print-hour. This covers eventual replacement or repair costs.
A 20–40% markup covers business overhead and provides a reasonable margin for hobbyist sellers. Professional services often apply 2–3× cost as the selling price. The right markup depends on design complexity, post-processing work, and local market rates.