Profit doesn’t come from picking a number and hoping it works—it comes from knowing your true unit cost, then pricing above it. If you include the “invisible” costs (your time, machine wear, and failed prints), you can set prices that stay profitable as demand and complexity grow.
This guide walks you through a straightforward pricing formula and shows example calculations so you can reuse the method for any 3D printed product.
Price with a repeatable checklist
- Estimate the total printing time and any extra hands-on time (setup, cleanup, test prints, finishing).
- Estimate how much filament a good part uses (weigh it or compute from weight/volume).
- Calculate material cost from your filament price per kilogram and the grams used per part.
- Calculate electricity cost from your printer’s power and the print duration.
- Calculate labor cost using a realistic hourly rate for your time.
- Add machine wear and overhead (maintenance, worn parts, and indirect shop costs).
- Add expected failure cost, plus packaging and shipping costs.
Calculate material cost (the easiest part to get wrong)
Start with one practical method:
- Weigh-based approach: Print a test part (or weigh a completed product). Subtract the weight of any non-filament components you added separately (like metal inserts). This gives a realistic “grams of filament per part.”
- Estimate-based approach: Use your slicer’s “filament used” value (in grams). Treat it as a starting point, then refine with weighing over time.
Then convert grams to cost using your actual filament price per kilogram.
Example (illustrative):
- Your part uses 85 g of filament per finished unit.
- Your filament cost is $28/kg (example assumption).
- Convert: $28/kg = $0.028/g
- Material cost = 85 g × $0.028/g = $2.38 per part
If you’re using a PETG like Filament PM PETG 1kg 1.75mm Coffee Bronze (Metallic), the same math applies—just plug in your own grams-per-part and your own cost per kilogram.
Add electricity, labor, and machine wear
Two printers can make parts that look identical, but the costs behind them can differ dramatically based on print duration, power draw, and how often the machine needs attention.
Electricity
Electricity depends on power and how long the printer runs.
A simple way to estimate:
- Power draw (kW) × hours × cost per kWh
Example (illustrative):
- Printer uses 120 W (example assumption) = 0.12 kW
- Print time = 3.0 hours
- Electricity price = $0.18/kWh (example assumption)
- Electricity cost = 0.12 × 3.0 × 0.18 = $0.065 per part
Electricity is often small compared to labor, but it becomes noticeable for long builds, frequent reprints, or leaving the printer running unattended for long durations.
Labor
If you only charge for printing time, you’ll end up pricing your work like a hobby, not a business.
Labor should include (at minimum):
- Order intake and quoting
- Setup, slicing, and start-up checks
- Removing parts, cleaning, and curing (if applicable)
- Basic post-processing or finishing time
- Packaging prep and communicating with the customer
Example (illustrative):
- Labor time per part = 20 minutes = 0.333 hours
- Your hourly rate (example) = $15/hour
- Labor cost = 0.333 × $15 = $5.00 per part
You can choose a rate that fits your situation (hobby-to-side-income vs. full business). What matters is being consistent and not forgetting your time.
Machine wear (the “silent” cost)
Machine wear isn’t just the printer sitting there—it’s the cost of maintaining accuracy and reliability over time. A practical approach is to spread machine costs across the hours you run.
Typical inputs to consider:
- Preventive maintenance time and consumables (nozzles, springs, belts, build surface replacements)
- Repairs and calibration events
- Depreciation (if you treat the printer as an asset with a service life)
Example approach (illustrative):
- You budget $30 per month for machine wear/maintenance (example).
- You print 60 hours per month on average (example).
- Wear per hour = 30/60 = $0.50 per printing hour
- If a job prints for 3 hours: wear cost = 3 × 0.50 = $1.50 per part
If you don’t track hours yet, start by logging print durations for a week. Then convert to a wear-per-hour estimate.
Price for failed prints, packaging, and shipping
Real production includes misses—prints that warp, detach, fail mid-way, or need rework. If you ignore failure rate, your prices will only be profitable when everything goes perfectly.
Expected failure cost
Use an expected failure rate rather than pretending reprints never happen.
A simple method:
- Let r be your failure rate (example: 0.10 for 10%)
- Multiply your “base cost” by (1 + r)
Base cost usually includes material + electricity + labor + machine wear.
Example (illustrative):
- Base cost (before failure) = $8.95
- Failure rate r = 10% = 0.10
- Expected cost = 8.95 × (1 + 0.10) = $9.85
If your product is mechanically demanding or customer-facing with tight tolerances, use a higher failure allowance than for simple decorative items.
Packaging
Packaging costs add up: bags, boxes, labels, foam, desiccant, tape, and the time to assemble it.
Keep packaging in your unit cost even if customers rarely complain. Consistent packaging protects your reputation and reduces replacement requests.
Example (illustrative):
- Packaging materials + assembly = $1.20 per unit
Shipping
Shipping can be charged to the customer, but you still need to decide whether your quoted price includes shipping or not.
Two common quoting styles:
- Shipping charged separately: include it as a separate line item (you still compute it).
- Shipping included in the quote: add the average shipping cost to your unit cost.
Example (illustrative):
- Shipping average = $6.00 per unit
Use a simple unit-cost formula (with example calculations)
Here’s a pricing formula that covers every cost you listed.
Let:
- M = material cost
- E = electricity cost
- L = labor cost
- W = machine wear cost
- r = expected failure rate (as a decimal)
- P = packaging cost
- S = shipping cost
Expected unit cost
(M + E + L + W) × (1 + r) + P + S
Then choose a profit method.
Option A: Set profit margin (common for consistency)
If you want a target profit margin m on the selling price:
Selling price = Unit cost ÷ (1 − m)
Full worked example (illustrative)
Assume for one product:
- Material (M) = $2.38
- Electricity (E) = $0.07
- Labor (L) = $5.00
- Wear (W) = $1.50
- Failure rate (r) = 10% = 0.10
- Packaging (P) = $1.20
- Shipping (S) = $6.00
-
Base cost (before failures):
M + E + L + W = 2.38 + 0.07 + 5.00 + 1.50 = $8.95 -
Expected cost with failures:
8.95 × (1 + 0.10) = 8.95 × 1.10 = $9.85 -
Add packaging + shipping:
Unit cost = 9.85 + 1.20 + 6.00 = $17.05
Now set profit margin. Example target margin m = 30%:
Selling price = 17.05 ÷ (1 − 0.30) = 17.05 ÷ 0.70 = $24.36
That’s the kind of number you can defend because every ingredient in it has a reason.
Option B: Markup (simple, but less precise)
Markup uses “profit as a percent of cost.” It can be easier to remember, but margins can shift if you later change failure rates or shipping. Margin-based pricing stays clearer when you adjust your process.
Keep prices profitable as jobs change
Once you have the formula working, treat it like a living model:
- Update failure rate after you log a few weeks of results. If your process improves (better adhesion, better cooling, better supports), your r should drop.
- Re-check labor time when you add finishing steps (sanding, painting, insert installation). Hidden labor is the most common profit killer.
- Adjust wear when you replace nozzles frequently, resurface beds, or shift from small runs to higher throughput.
- Separate shipping decisions: if shipping is volatile, include it only where you can predict it, or charge it separately.
If you only do one thing next, price the next order using the full expected-cost formula first. Then compare what happens when you increase labor minutes or failure rate—those two variables will tell you whether your current pricing method can survive real-world production.
PriceIt3D may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Affiliate notice.
