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PrintCost.site

3D Print Cost Calculator

Price an FDM print from your slicer's numbers, or drop in an STL or OBJ. Everything runs in your browser — no file is ever uploaded.

YOUR PRINT

NO SIGN-UP
hrs
g
Material
Colors

Picking a printer sets its wear-per-hour and power draw for you.

Drop an STL or OBJ — auto-fills time & weight

Counter rates

$20/kg · $0.17/kWh · $0.25/h wear · $2 labor · 50% profit · 10% failure

ESTIMATED QUOTE

LIVE — updates as you type

Enter a print time and filament weight on the job ticket — or drop an STL/OBJ into it — and the quote appears here, updating as you type.

EVERY QUOTE PRICES

  • Material
  • Electricity
  • Machine wear
  • Labor
  • Profit
  • Failure buffer
TOTAL
FILES STAY HOMENO ADSFREE FOREVERQUOTED IN UNDER A SECOND

How 3D Printing Costs Are Calculated

A 3D print cost calculator estimates what a 3D print actually costs to produce by combining the model's geometry with the real running costs of a printer. PrintCost.site does this entirely in your browser: it reads volume and surface area straight out of your STL or OBJ file, then prices six separate cost drivers — filament, electricity, machine wear, handling time, a failure buffer, and a multi-color surcharge when a print needs more than one filament.

Filament alone is typically only 20–30% of a fair price. Quoting from material weight and nothing else is the single most common reason makers, print farms, and maker spaces end up charging less than a print costs them. Below is each cost driver in detail — click any section to expand it.

Print time is the single biggest cost driver. A small 30-minute keychain costs far less to run than a 12-hour helmet. The calculator estimates print time from the model volume and an assumed print speed — typically 6 to 10 cm³ per hour depending on layer height. Thinner layers (0.12 mm) slow things down for detail, while 0.28 mm layers finish faster. If you already sliced your model, you can enter the exact time from your slicer for a more precise quote.

Filament is calculated from the weight of material your model needs. The calculator multiplies the model's volume by the density of the chosen material (PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, or TPU) to get an estimated weight in grams. That weight is then priced against your configured filament price ($20 per kilogram by default — editable under Counter rates on the job ticket), adjusted by a material multiplier — PETG adds 10%, TPU adds 20%. Color changes also add a surcharge: 5% for two colors, up to 15% for four or more.

3D printers wear down over time. Belts stretch, nozzles get clogged, bearings develop play, and beds need replacing. A per-hour wear rate ($0.25 by default — set your own under Counter rates) accounts for these consumable parts and maintenance. The longer the print, the more wear on the machine. This line item is what separates a realistic quote from a simple material-cost-only estimate.

Use the 3D print cost calculator above to get an instant estimate for your model, or check the FAQ for more details on how PrintCost.site works.

Your Privacy Is Built In

Everything runs locally. Your files never leave your device.

Client-Side Parsing

STL and OBJ files are analyzed entirely in your browser. No data is ever sent to our servers.

Files Never Uploaded

Your 3D models stay on your device. The file picker reads locally using the File API.

No Cloud Processing

Volume, surface area, and cost estimates are computed on your machine. No API calls, no queues.

Fast Local Analysis

Most files are parsed and quoted in under a second. Results appear instantly.

Frequently Asked Questions