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Calcimator

3D Print Cost Per Part Calculator

Calculate total cost per 3D printed part including material, machine time, and post-processing labor.

About this calculator

Total cost per printed part breaks into three independent buckets: material cost (weight in grams times cost per kilogram), machine cost (print time times an hourly machine rate covering electricity, depreciation, and maintenance), and labor cost (post-processing time times an hourly labor rate). These three buckets never cross-influence each other -- material cost responds only to weight and material price, machine cost responds only to print time and machine rate, and labor cost responds only to post-processing time and labor rate. Batch total multiplies the per-part total by part quantity, so it genuinely scales with quantity -- printing 10 parts instead of 1 costs roughly 10 times as much, exactly as the formula (cost per part times quantity) would suggest.

Total cost per part itself does NOT depend on quantity at all -- it is a per-unit figure by design, separate from the batch-level total. The percentage breakdown (material %, machine %, labor %) responds to every cost-driving input, because each percentage is that bucket's share of the combined total -- changing any single bucket's dollar amount redistributes all three percentages, even when the other two buckets' dollar values have not moved at all.

Inputs

oz

Results

Total cost per part ($)

$25.75

Batch total ($)

$25.75

Material cost ($)$1.25
Machine cost ($)$12.00
Labor cost ($)$12.50
Material %4.9%
Machine %46.6%
Labor %48.5%
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Material weight (g), Material cost ($/kg), and Print time (hours).
  2. Set Machine cost ($/hr), Post-processing (hours), and Labor rate ($/hr).
  3. Adjust Part quantity as needed.
  4. Review Total cost per part ($) ($) and Batch total ($) ($).
  5. Use Material cost ($) ($) and Machine cost ($) ($) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Post-processing (hours)

Post-processing (hours)Total cost per part ($)Batch total ($)
0.25$19.50$19.50
0.38$22.63$22.63
0.75$32.00$32.00
1.25$44.50$44.50

What each input means

Material weight (g)
Weight of material used per part in grams. Get this from your slicer software.
Material cost ($/kg)
Cost of filament or powder per kilogram. PLA ~$20-30, ABS ~$20-35, PETG ~$25-40.
Print time (hours)
Total print time per part from your slicer estimate.
Machine cost ($/hr)
Hourly machine cost including electricity, depreciation, and maintenance. Desktop FDM ~$1-3, industrial ~$10-50.
Post-processing (hours)
Time for support removal, sanding, painting, or other finishing.
Labor rate ($/hr)
Hourly labor rate for post-processing and handling.
Part quantity
Number of parts in the production run.

What each result means

Material cost ($)
Cost of raw material per part.
Machine cost ($)
Machine time cost per part.
Labor cost ($)
Post-processing labor cost per part.
Total cost per part ($)
Sum of material, machine, and labor costs.
Batch total ($)
Total cost for the entire production run.
Material %
Material cost as percentage of total.
Machine %
Machine cost as percentage of total.
Labor %
Labor cost as percentage of total.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    7 parameters
    Material weight (g) = 50, Material cost ($/kg) = 25, Print time (hours) = 4, Machine cost ($/hr) = 3, Post-processing (hours) = 0.5, Labor rate ($/hr) = 25, Part quantity = 1 = 7 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Total cost per part
    Total cost per part = materialCost + machineCost + laborCost
    25.75 = $25.75
  3. Calculate Batch total
    Batch total = totalCostPerPart * partQuantity
    25.75 = $25.75
  4. Calculate Material cost
    Material cost = (materialWeightG / 1000) * materialCostPerKg
    1.25 = $1.25
  5. Calculate Machine cost
    Machine cost = printTimeHrs * machineCostPerHr
    12 = $12

Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

What real-world costs are missing from this estimate that could make my actual price higher?

This estimate assumes a successful print with no waste, but real production runs also eat spool minimum-order costs, failed or aborted prints, support material that becomes scrap, and replacement nozzles or build plates that a simple hourly machine rate rarely captures in full.

Should the machine cost per hour include the printer's purchase price, or only electricity?

A realistic machine rate should fold in printer depreciation -- purchase price divided by its expected duty-cycle hours over its service life -- alongside electricity, bed surfaces, and belts, not electricity alone, or the hourly figure will undercharge for wear on the equipment.

Is the total cost per part shown here a price I can charge, or just my break-even production cost?

The total cost per part figure is a break-even production cost -- material, machine time, and labor combined -- with zero profit margin built in, so a shop selling finished parts still needs to add a markup on top before quoting a customer price.

Why does the material percentage change even when material cost itself is unchanged?

Material percentage is material cost divided by the combined total of all three cost buckets, not material cost alone. If machine or labor cost changes while material cost stays fixed, the total denominator shifts, which changes material's share of that total even though the material dollar figure itself never moved.

What's included in the machine cost rate versus the labor cost rate?

Machine cost per hour is meant to cover electricity, equipment depreciation, and maintenance for the printer itself during the print run, while labor cost per hour covers the human time spent on post-processing -- support removal, sanding, or painting. Desktop FDM machine rates typically run $1-3/hour versus $10-50/hour for industrial equipment, reflecting the underlying equipment cost being amortized.

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