The true cost of a 3D print (and how to price it)

Most new sellers price a print by its filament: 12 grams at 22 per kilo is 0.26, so a keychain for 3.00 looks like a great deal. It usually is not. Filament is often the smallest cost on the list.

Step 1: List every cost, not just filament

Example: a personalised name keychain, 12 g, 45 minutes of print time. All values are example values; use your own.

Filament: 12 g x 22.00 per kg = 0.26
Electricity: 0.12 kW average x 0.75 h x 0.30 per kWh = 0.03
Printer wear (nozzles, belts, build plate, part of the printer price), 0.245 per hour x 0.75 h = 0.18
Failed-print allowance, 10 % of the three lines above = 0.05
Your time: 5 minutes for file setup, removal, cleanup and packing at 15.00 per hour = 1.25
Packaging (bag, card, label share) = 0.40

Full cost: 2.17. Your time is more than half of it.

Step 2: Add the sales channel fee

Every platform takes something. In this example we assume 6.5 % plus 0.30 per order; check your platform's current fees and enter those instead.

At a price of 8.00 the fee is 0.82, so the profit is 8.00 - 2.17 - 0.82 = 5.01, a margin of about 63 %.

Step 3: Find your minimum price with a target margin

If you want at least 35 % margin after costs and fees:

Target price = (full cost + fixed fee) / (1 - fee % - target margin)

(2.17 + 0.30) / (1 - 0.065 - 0.35) = 4.23

That is the floor, not the price. Personalised items, gift seasons and good photos often justify much more. But anything below the floor loses money once you count your time.

Step 4: Check profit per print hour

Your printer's time is limited. In the example, 5.01 profit over 0.75 h is 6.68 per print hour. Compare products by this number: a slow, heavy print with a nice price can earn less per hour than a quick small one.

Common mistakes

Pricing from filament only and forgetting your own minutes.
Ignoring failed prints. Ten percent is a reasonable start; track your real rate.
Charging the same price on every channel even though fees differ.
Selling models without a licence that allows commercial use. Check the licence of every file you sell prints of.

Do it in a spreadsheet

The 3D Print Shop Profit Kit (24 EUR) does these steps for every product: full cost, profit, margin, target price and profit per print hour, plus filament stock alerts, an order log, a print queue and a monthly dashboard. Selling other handmade items too? See the Handmade Seller Business Kit, or start with the free Handmade Pricing Calculator LITE.

Written with AI assistance and checked by hand. General information only, not tax, legal or financial advice.