Filament cost
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Failure tax (15%)
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Electricity cost
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Cost per gram
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Total print cost
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See the real cost of each print: filament, electricity, and failed attempts.
Most people think 3D printing is free because the printer cost is high and it feels like you are just adding filament. The real picture is different. Filament is the cost. Everything else is noise.
A 50 gram print in PLA at $20 per kg costs you $1 in filament. The electricity to print it, assuming a 100 watt printer running for 5 hours on US rates, is about 9 cents. But you will have failures. Add 15 percent to the material cost to cover prints that do not finish, warped parts, and the test versions that end up in the bin. That 50 gram print now costs $1.15 plus 9 cents, roughly $1.24 total.
The failure tax matters most. It is the difference between hobby printing (you waste some, no big deal) and professional pricing (you cannot waste a print that a customer paid for). Once you know you lose 15 percent, every print calculation includes that buffer built in.
Electricity is cheap. A 3D printer draws 100 to 150 watts during a print, most of it going to heat the nozzle and bed. For comparison, a kettle draws 2200 watts. A 10-hour print uses about 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity, which costs around 17 cents in the US. Longer prints are cheaper per gram because the electricity cost spreads across more filament.
Material density is not what you think. PLA, PETG, and ABS all cost roughly the same per kilogram when you buy them. But a 1 kg spool of PLA gives you about 335 meters of filament, while 1 kg of ABS gives you 400 meters. This means ABS goes further, but it is harder to print and less forgiving of mistakes. You should choose material by properties, not cost savings.
Typical prices for retail 1 kg spools. Bulk prices are lower, specialty filaments are higher. These are the defaults the calculator uses; your actual cost may vary by brand and seller.
| Material | Per kg | Per gram | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | $20 | $0.02 | Most forgiving, easiest to print, works at low temperatures. The default choice for beginners. |
| PETG | $23 | $0.023 | Stronger than PLA, more durable, slightly harder to print. Good for functional parts. |
| ABS | $20 | $0.02 | Tougher, tolerates heat better, requires a heated chamber to print well. Warps easily without proper setup. |
| TPU | $40 | $0.04 | Flexible rubber-like plastic. Expensive, slow to print, requires careful settings. |
| Nylon | $55 | $0.055 | Very tough, slippery, high strength. Difficult to print, needs a heated chamber and drying. |
1.75mm diameter filament. This is why a lighter material gives you more meters per kilogram even at the same price per kg.
| Material | Density | Meters per kg | Grams per meter |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | 1.24 g/cm³ | ~335m | ~3.0g |
| PETG | 1.27 g/cm³ | ~327m | ~3.1g |
| ABS | 1.04 g/cm³ | ~400m | ~2.5g |
| TPU | 1.21 g/cm³ | ~345m | ~2.9g |
| Nylon | 1.14 g/cm³ | ~365m | ~2.7g |
You need the weight of filament your model actually uses. Every slicer software (Cura, PrusaSlicer, Fusion 360, IdeaMaker) shows this when you preview or slice the model. Look for:
In Cura: Click the model, open the settings panel. Under model info or the thumbnail preview, you will see "Weight". This is your input for the calculator.
In PrusaSlicer: After you slice, the preview pane shows "Filament used" at the top. Hover over it to see the weight in grams.
In other slicers: Check the model info, print preview, or export summary before you start printing. The weight is always shown somewhere.
This weight already accounts for solid infill, hollow sections, and support structures. You do not need to estimate it.
A new printer might have a 5 to 10 percent failure rate. An older, well-tuned machine might be down to 2 to 5 percent. An aggressive print or a tricky design could fail 20 to 50 percent of the time. Over thousands of hours of printing, experienced makers and shops use 15 percent as a conservative average that covers everything: failed adhesion, nozzle clogs, warp, human mistakes, and test iterations.
If you are just starting out, your rate might be higher. As you tune your printer and gain experience, it goes down. But 15 percent is the number most professionals use when they price jobs or budget materials.
Kilowatt-hours are the unit for electricity billing. A kilowatt-hour is the energy used by a 1000-watt device running for one hour. Your 100 watt printer running for 10 hours uses 1 kilowatt-hour (100 W x 10 h / 1000 = 1 kWh). In the US, electricity costs about 17 cents per kWh on average (your bill may vary). So that 10-hour print costs roughly 17 cents in electricity.
The calculator assumes your printer draws constant power during the print. Real printers vary: the bed heats at the start (drawing more), and the nozzle cycles on and off to maintain temperature. A 100 watt average is reasonable for most desktop FDM machines. If you want to be precise, measure your printer's actual power draw with a plug-in energy monitor, which costs about $20.
What costs the most in a 3D print? Filament cost dominates by far. For a typical PLA print, the filament accounts for 95 percent of the cost. Electricity is usually less than 5 percent. Failed prints matter too - add a 15 percent buffer to your material cost to account for the scraps you will not use.
How do I get the weight of my print? Slice your model in your slicer software (like Cura or Prusaslicer). The slicer shows the total weight of filament needed, usually under model info or in the preview. It accounts for solid infill, hollow areas, and support structures. Use that number in the calculator.
What is the failure tax? 3D printing fails sometimes. Nozzle clogs, models warp, bed adhesion fails. Experienced makers budget an extra 15 percent on top of the material cost to cover wasted prints and failed attempts. This is a conservative estimate; your actual rate depends on printer quality and experience.
How much electricity does a 3D printer actually use? A typical FDM printer draws 100 to 150 watts while printing. For a 10-hour print at 100W on US electricity rates, the cost is roughly 15 cents. Heating the bed and nozzle uses most of it. Compared to filament cost, electricity is trivial - a dollar's worth of filament takes around 10 cents of electricity to print.
Why does material density matter? Material density determines how much filament you get per kilogram. A 1 kg spool of PLA (density 1.24 g/cm³) gives you about 335 meters of 1.75mm filament, but 1 kg of ABS (density 1.04 g/cm³) gives you about 400 meters because it is less dense. This means ABS spools go further, even at the same price per kilogram.
Should I add machine depreciation to my print cost? Not unless you are pricing prints for sale. For hobby printing, just track filament and electricity. If you sell prints, you can amortize your printer cost over expected print volume, but it depends on your business model. Most hobbyists ignore it.