Free 3D Print Cost Calculator
Enter your filament weight, print time, and spool price to get an exact cost breakdown — material, electricity, platform fees, shipping, and profit margin. Works for PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU, and resin. No account required.
How 3D printing cost is calculated
Every figure in the calculator above is derived from a transparent formula. Here is exactly how each component is calculated so you can verify the numbers yourself.
Material cost
Material cost = (print weight in grams × spool price) ÷ spool weight in gramsExample: 85 g print, £22 spool, 1,000 g spool → (85 × £22) ÷ 1,000 = £1.87
Electricity cost
Electricity cost = (printer watts ÷ 1,000) × print hours × kWh rateExample: 150 W printer, 6-hour print, £0.24/kWh → (150 ÷ 1,000) × 6 × £0.24 = £0.22
Selling price with profit margin
Selling price = total cost × (1 + margin%) ÷ (1 − platform fee%)Example: £3.50 total cost, 150% margin, Etsy 6.5% fee → £3.50 × 2.5 ÷ 0.935 = £9.36
Worked example: 100 g PLA print sold on Etsy
A 100 g functional part printed in PLA on a 150 W printer, 5 hours print time, sold via Etsy with Royal Mail Large Letter shipping. Here is the full cost breakdown:
| Component | Inputs | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| PLA filament | 100 g, £18/kg spool | £1.80 |
| Electricity | 150 W printer, 5 h, £0.24/kWh | £0.18 |
| Shipping (Royal Mail L) | Large letter, under 250 g | £1.55 |
| Packaging | Bubble wrap + box (estimate) | £0.30 |
| Failure buffer (10%) | 10% of material + elec. | £0.20 |
| Total cost | £4.03 | |
| Etsy listing price (150% margin) | After 6.5% Etsy fee | £10.77 |
Labour is not included above. If you spend 20 minutes on post-processing at £12/hr, add £4.00 — bringing the minimum profitable listing price to around £15.
Filament density and cost per gram reference table
Use these densities if you need to convert from cm³ (slicer volume) to grams, or to cross-check your slicer weight estimate. Cost-per-gram ranges are typical UK retail prices for 1 kg spools as of 2026.
| Material | Density (g/cm³) | Cost/gram (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| PLA | 1.24 | £0.012–£0.020 |
| PLA+ | 1.24 | £0.016–£0.025 |
| Silk PLA | 1.24 | £0.018–£0.030 |
| PETG | 1.27 | £0.016–£0.025 |
| ABS | 1.04 | £0.014–£0.022 |
| ASA | 1.07 | £0.020–£0.035 |
| TPU 95A | 1.21 | £0.020–£0.035 |
| Nylon (PA12) | 1.14 | £0.030–£0.060 |
| Carbon Fibre PLA | 1.30 | £0.040–£0.080 |
| Resin (standard) | 1.10–1.20 | £0.030–£0.060 |
Prices vary by brand, spool size, and market. See our PLA filament price per gram comparison and best PETG filament brands for current brand-by-brand data.
6 pricing mistakes 3D print sellers make
Most sellers who struggle to make profit are not charging too little — they are missing costs entirely. These are the six most common gaps, and how to fix each one.
Forgetting platform fees
Etsy's transaction fee (6.5%) plus payment processing (4% + £0.20) add up to over 10% of your listing price on every sale — before you've covered a single gram of filament. Many sellers only account for the listing fee (£0.16) and are shocked when their payout arrives.
Ignoring failed prints
A 5% failure rate means 1 in 20 prints costs you full materials and electricity but earns nothing. On a £2 material cost, that's an invisible £0.10 added to every successful print. At scale — 50 orders a month — that's £5+ lost per month to failures you never priced in.
Not charging for your time
Labour is the most common zero on a cost sheet. Removing supports, sanding, painting, quality-checking, packaging, and answering messages all take time. Even 20 minutes per order at minimum wage (£11.44/hr UK) adds £3.81 — often more than the filament itself.
Skipping machine depreciation
A £400 printer running 2,000 hours over its lifetime costs £0.20/hr in depreciation. A 5-hour print therefore costs £1.00 in machine wear — invisible until your printer needs replacing and you don't have the funds. The Pro version calculates this automatically per printer model.
Underpricing consumables and packaging
Nozzles wear out (especially with abrasive filaments). Beds need re-coating. Hairspray, glue stick, isopropyl alcohol, zip ties, boxes, bubble wrap, tissue paper — these costs are real and consistent. A common benchmark is 5–8% of material cost per print.
Not planning for VAT
In the UK, once your annual turnover crosses £90,000 you must register for VAT and charge 20% on top of your prices. Many sellers grow into this threshold without realising it's coming. If you're selling on multiple platforms or running a print farm, track your revenue from day one.
How does LayerMath compare to Prusa, OmniCalculator, and other 3D printing cost calculators?
Most free 3D printing cost calculators cover only one or two inputs. Here is how the main options compare on a real print:
| Calculator | Material | Electricity | Platform fees | G-code import | Profit margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LayerMath (this) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ 5 platforms | ✓ | ✓ |
| Prusa Slicer built-in | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | auto | ✗ |
| OmniCalculator | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | partial |
| 3DPCC | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Printpal | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
For a full accuracy test, see our 7 best 3D print cost calculators compared.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate filament cost per gram?
Divide the spool price by the spool weight in grams. A £20 spool of 1 kg PLA = £20 ÷ 1,000 g = £0.020/g. For a 100 g print: 100 × £0.020 = £2.00. Enter the spool price and weight above and the calculator does this automatically.
What is a fair markup for 3D prints sold on Etsy?
Most successful Etsy sellers apply a 150–300% markup on total cost (material + electricity + labour). After Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee and payment processing, a 200% markup typically yields a 30–40% net margin. The calculator's platform fee section shows your take-home per sale.
How much electricity does a 3D printer use per hour?
A typical FDM printer draws 80–250 W. A 10-hour print at 150 W = 1.5 kWh. At UK rates (£0.24/kWh) that's £0.36; at US rates ($0.16/kWh) about $0.24. Heated beds account for most of the draw. Resin printers use less (30–50 W) but have higher resin costs.
How do I account for failed prints in my pricing?
Divide your typical failure rate into your costs. If 1 in 10 prints fails, add 10% to your material and electricity cost on every successful print. Pro users get a dedicated failure-rate field that calculates this buffer automatically.
Should I include labour cost when pricing 3D prints?
Yes — especially for post-processing. Sanding, painting, or assembly takes real time. Even at £10/hr, 30 minutes of finishing adds £5 to a print that might only use £1.50 in filament. This is why many makers are underpriced: they only count material.
What filament density should I use for PLA, PETG, and ABS?
PLA = 1.24 g/cm³, PETG = 1.27 g/cm³, ABS = 1.04 g/cm³, TPU = 1.21 g/cm³. In practice, your slicer reports weight directly, so density only matters if you're converting from a volume estimate. See the full table above.
Does this calculator work for resin (SLA/MSLA) printing?
Yes. Enter the resin mass your slicer estimates (most report grams or ml), set your resin price per litre, and the calculator converts to cost per print. Note: resin printers use less electricity (~30–50 W) but post-curing adds ~10 W for 5–10 minutes.
How do I use this as a Bambu Lab or Prusa cost calculator?
Enter your printer's wattage in the Electricity section. Bambu X1C peaks at ~350 W but averages ~180 W during a print. Prusa MK4 averages ~90–120 W. The Pro version includes a Printer Library with 14 presets — including Bambu, Prusa, Creality, and Voron models — to auto-fill wattage and depreciation.
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