How to find grams and print time
Slice the model first. After slicing, most slicers—including Cura, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer—show the estimated print time and how much material the print will use. Use the material figure for the whole job, including supports, brims and any purge or prime tower, because you pay for all of it.
If your slicer only shows filament length, weigh a finished print on a kitchen scale instead. For resin printers, use the volume in milliliters that the slicer reports and choose “Resin” above.
Slicer time estimates can be off, especially for small, detailed parts. If you print the same model often, time a real print and use that.
How to measure your printer’s power use
The wattage printed on a power supply is its maximum, not what the printer uses on average. To get a real number, plug the printer into a plug-in energy meter, run a typical print, and note the kilowatt-hours (kWh) it used.
average watts = kWh used ÷ print hours × 1,000
Power draw is highest while the bed and nozzle heat up and drops once they reach temperature. Higher bed temperatures, an enclosure heater or a cold room all push the average up. Your price per kWh is on your electricity bill; if your rate depends on the time of day, use the rate for when you usually print.
What goes into the cost
- Filament or resin
- Spool or bottle price ÷ its size × the amount this print uses.
- Electricity
- Watts ÷ 1,000 × print hours × your price per kWh.
- Machine wear
- The printer’s price spread over the print hours you expect from it, plus maintenance and spare parts per hour, times this print’s hours. It’s the money you need to set aside to replace and repair the printer.
- Failed-print allowance
- Successful prints have to pay for the failed ones. Dividing the material, electricity and machine cost by (1 − failure rate) spreads that cost out: at a 10% failure rate it adds about 11%.
- Labor
- Only your hands-on time: slicing, setup, removing supports, sanding or painting, packing. The hours the printer runs on its own are already covered by machine wear and electricity.
- Extras
- Anything else that goes out with the item: packaging, inserts, magnets, screws, paint, glue, resin washing supplies.
- Postage you pay
- The shipping label you buy. If you charge the buyer for shipping, enter that separately so the calculator can count it as income.
How to price 3D prints
How much to charge for 3D prints comes down to two ways of looking at a price, and you need both.
- Cost-plus: add up your full cost and the profit you want. That’s what this calculator does, and it gives you a floor you shouldn’t go below.
- Comparable listings: look at what similar items sell for. If they sell for much less than your cost-plus price, find ways to cut cost or make yours different. If they sell for much more, you may be leaving money on the table.
Margin and markup are not the same thing. With the example values, a print that costs $9.17 and sells for $15.28 makes $6.11 profit. That’s a 40% margin (profit ÷ price) but a 66.7% markup (profit ÷ cost). If you add “40%” to your cost as markup, you get a lower price and a smaller margin than you expected.
Don’t skip labor. In the example, 15 minutes at $20 an hour is more than half the total cost. Leaving it out means working for free.
Selling on Etsy: fees explained
The Etsy (US shop) preset includes Etsy’s standard fees as of October 2026:
- $0.20 listing fee per item sold
- 6.5% transaction fee on the item price plus the shipping you charge
- 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee for US payments
Because the percentage fees grow with your price, the calculator solves for the price that leaves your target margin after fees, instead of adding fees on top. Fees change, so check etsy.com/legal/fees before you rely on these numbers.
Offsite Ads is an extra fee that can apply to sales that come from Etsy’s ads on other sites; depending on your shop’s sales, it may be optional. It isn’t included in the preset. If it applies to you, choose “Custom” and enter your combined percentage and fixed fees.
Worked example
These are the example values the calculator starts with: 100 g of filament from a $20, 1,000 g spool; a 5-hour print on a printer drawing 120 W at $0.17 per kWh; a $600 printer expected to last 5,000 print hours plus $0.03 per hour in maintenance; a 10% failure rate; 15 minutes of hands-on time at $20 an hour; and $1.00 of packaging.
| Cost | How it’s worked out | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Filament | $20 ÷ 1,000 g × 100 g | $2.00 |
| Electricity | 120 W ÷ 1,000 × 5 h × $0.17 | $0.10 |
| Machine wear | ($600 ÷ 5,000 h + $0.03) × 5 h | $0.75 |
| Failed-print allowance | (filament + electricity + wear, $2.85) × 10% ÷ 90% | $0.32 |
| Labor | 15 min ÷ 60 × $20 | $5.00 |
| Extras | Packaging | $1.00 |
| Total cost | $9.17 |
Selling directly with no fees at a 40% margin, the price is $9.17 ÷ (1 − 0.40) = $15.28, leaving $6.11 profit.
Selling on Etsy (US) with the same 40% margin, the suggested price is $19.05. Fees at that price: $0.20 listing, $1.24 transaction and $0.82 payment processing, $2.26 in total. That leaves $7.62 profit, which is still 40% of the price.
FAQ
Should I charge for failed prints?
Not one by one, but yes overall. Failures are a normal cost of printing, and if your price ignores them, every failure comes out of your profit. Enter your typical failure rate and the calculator spreads the cost of failed attempts across the prints that succeed. If a specific job is risky, raise the rate for that quote.
Margin or markup?
Margin is profit as a share of the selling price; markup is profit as a share of your cost. This calculator asks for margin because marketplace fees are a share of the price too, so margin tells you directly how much of each sale you keep. A 40% margin is the same as a markup of about 67%; a 50% margin equals a 100% markup.
Does this include sales tax?
No. Sales tax is paid by the buyer and isn’t part of your cost or profit, so it’s left out. Marketplaces may collect and pass on sales tax for you separately; check the rules for where you sell. Some fees can be charged on the tax-inclusive total, so your real fees may be a little higher than shown.
Does it work for resin printers?
Yes. Choose “Resin”, enter your bottle price and size in milliliters, and use the resin volume from your slicer. Put washing and curing supplies such as isopropyl alcohol, gloves and paper towels under Extras, and count replacement parts like vat film in maintenance per hour.
Why is my electricity cost so small?
Because a printer uses less power than most people expect. At 120 W for 5 hours, a print uses 0.6 kWh, which is about $0.10 at $0.17 per kWh. Long prints, high bed temperatures and heated enclosures cost more, but for most prints material, your time and machine wear matter much more than electricity.
About this calculator
This is a free, independent 3D printing cost calculator for hobbyists and small sellers. It isn’t affiliated with Etsy or with any printer or slicer maker. Results are estimates based on the numbers you enter; check them against your own records, and check marketplace fees before you set prices.
The suggested price solves for the price where profit equals your target margin:
price = (total cost + fixed fees + fee % × shipping charged − shipping charged) ÷ (1 − margin − fee %)