3D Print Pricing Calculator
Price your prints to sell — and actually make a profit. This goes beyond raw cost to include machine wear, your labor, a failed-print buffer, markup, and marketplace fees, then shows the profit and margin for the price it suggests.
Your print
From your slicer. Add ~10-20% if the print needs supports.
Beginners: 20%. Experienced: 5-10%.
Your business
Printer price ÷ expected lifetime hours, plus nozzles/belts. ~$0.10-0.25/h is typical.
Active work only — modeling, slicing, support removal, finishing. Not the unattended print time.
Handmade prints commonly sell at 2-4× total cost. Higher for custom/design work.
Suggested selling price
$14.04 profit · 66.7% margin
Cost breakdown
Profit
How this works
- Price = (material + electricity + buffer + machine wear + labor) × your markup
- Machine wear ≈ printer price ÷ lifetime hours; it’s easy to forget but real
- Labor is hands-on time only — print time is unattended and covered by machine wear
- Marketplace fees come out of your profit, so price for them up front
How to price your 3D prints
The mistake that sinks most print-selling side hustles is pricing off material cost alone. A 50g print might use $1.10 of filament — but that’s not what it costs you. The real number includes electricity, the wear you put on your printer, the time you spend on it, and the prints that fail. Price below that and you’re paying customers to take your work.
The pricing formula
price = (material + electricity + failure buffer + machine wear + labor) × markup
…and if you sell on a marketplace, make sure the price still clears your target profit after its cut.
- Machine wear is the cost people forget. Divide your printer’s price by its realistic lifetime hours (a $300 printer over ~4,000 hours is ~$0.075/h), then add a little for nozzles, belts, and build plates.
- Labor is your hands-on time only — modeling, slicing, support removal, finishing — not the hours the printer runs unattended.
- Markup (2-4× total cost is typical) is your profit and pays for skill, risk, and overhead.
- Marketplace fees (Etsy, eBay, Amazon take ~10-15%) come straight out of profit, so build them into the price.
FAQ
How do I price a 3D print to sell?
Add up every cost — material, electricity, a failed-print buffer, machine wear (your printer's price divided by its lifetime hours), and your hands-on labor — then multiply the total by a markup. A common formula is price = (material + electricity + machine wear + labor) × 2 to 4. If you sell on a marketplace, price high enough that its fees still leave you the profit you want. This calculator does all of that and shows your margin.
How much should I charge for a 3D print?
There's no fixed number — it depends on material used, print time, your labor, and your market. As a starting point, total your real costs (don't forget machine wear and labor) and apply a 2-4× markup: simple functional parts sit nearer 2×, while detailed or custom design work commands 3-4× or more. Use the calculator to test a price and immediately see the resulting profit and margin.
What markup should I use for 3D prints?
Most hobby and small-business sellers price handmade prints at roughly 2-4× their total cost. Two times cost is a thin margin suited to simple, fast items; three to four times is typical for finished products and accounts for the time, skill, and risk involved. Custom or design-heavy work can go higher. Remember markup multiplies total cost, so undercounting costs (especially labor and machine wear) quietly erodes your real margin.
Should I charge for print time or for labor?
Both, but separately. Print time is mostly unattended, so you bill it as machine wear — your printer's cost spread across its lifetime hours, plus consumables like nozzles and belts. Labor is your hands-on time: modeling, slicing, removing supports, and finishing. Charging your hourly rate only on active labor (not the hours the printer runs alone) keeps your prices competitive while still paying you for your work.
How do I account for failed prints when pricing?
Add a failed-print buffer — a percentage on top of material and electricity that spreads the cost of occasional failures across your successful sales. Beginners or those printing tricky materials might use 20%; experienced sellers with dialed-in profiles use 5-10%. It's small per print but prevents a few failures from wiping out your profit over a batch.