How to calculate 3D printing cost
Pricing a 3D print accurately means adding up more than just filament. You also need the electricity the printer consumed during the print hours, the wear and tear of the machine itself, your shop's fixed costs, the inevitable failures, and any accessory or packaging included with the part. PrintCalc adds all of these transparently and then calculates a healthy selling price by applying your markup, taxes and payment platform fees.
What PrintCalc calculates
- Filament cost based on weight (g) and material price per kg
- Electricity cost based on print time and printer wattage
- 3D printer amortization — depreciation of the machine per hour of use
- Monthly fixed costs (rent, internet, maintenance) allocated per unit
- Failure percentage to cover prints that don't come out right
- Accessories and packaging with name, quantity and unit cost
- Final price with markup, taxes (included or added on top) and payment fee
- Gross and net profit margins for direct-to-consumer and wholesale pricing
G-code upload for automatic calculation
Instead of typing print time and weight by hand, you can upload a .gcode file produced by your slicer (Cura, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer and similar). PrintCalc reads the file metadata and automatically fills in the estimated time and filament weight in grams. The file is processed 100% in your browser — nothing is sent to our servers.
Who PrintCalc is for
- Makers who want to understand the real cost of every part they print
- Shop owners and service providers pricing 3D printing orders
- Hobbyists who sell parts occasionally and want to charge a fair price
- Resellers of 3D-printed parts who need to estimate margins
Frequently asked questions
Is PrintCalc free?
Yes. PrintCalc is 100% free, no signup, no paid tier, no usage limits. We don't sell data — we just show modest ads to cover hosting.
Is my data saved anywhere?
Your settings are saved only in your own browser via localStorage. Nothing is sent to our servers. Clearing your browser wipes everything.
Does it work with any 3D printer?
Yes. You can pick a preset profile (Bambu Lab, Ender, Prusa, etc.) or enter your printer's wattage manually. Calculations are generic and work with any FDM printer.
How does amortization work?
Amortization is your printer's wear-and-tear per hour of use. We take the printer's purchase price and divide by its expected useful life in hours — that gives a depreciation cost per hour, multiplied by your print time.
Why include a failure percentage?
Every production run has failures: warping, detachment, jams. Adding a failure percentage (e.g. 10%) covers the material and time lost on prints that didn't come out — without it, your real margin is smaller than it looks.
What's the difference between Consumer Price and Retailer Price?
Consumer Price is what the end customer pays, including markup, taxes and payment fees. Retailer Price is the suggested wholesale price for someone reselling your prints — usually a lower markup (2x by default) to leave room for the reseller's margin.