EngineerBenchEstimating the cost of a 3D print
Filament is only one part of print cost. Machine time, electricity, preparation, finishing, and failed attempts can all matter. Use the slicer's material weight and print time for the proposed settings, then enter the costs that apply to your own printer and workflow.
Separate per-part costs from batch costs
Check whether a field refers to one part or the whole batch. Preparation can be shared across several pieces, while finishing and packaging may repeat for each item. Use the spool's net filament mass when converting its price into cost per gram; the empty spool is not printable material.
Cost, markup, and margin are different
Cost estimates what you spend. Markup is added as a percentage of cost; margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price. Neither setting guarantees a profitable job if setup, reprints, or labor are missing. A failed-attempt allowance is a planning assumption, not a forecast of printer reliability.
Checking the material and time contributions
An 80 g part printed from a 1,000 g spool costing $25 uses $2 of filament. If a five-hour print draws an assumed average of 100 W, it consumes 0.5 kWh; at $0.20 per kWh that adds $0.10. Neither example includes machine ownership, setup, finishing, packaging, or a failed print. Those items should be entered separately rather than hidden inside the filament price.
For a batch, decide which preparation work happens once and which work repeats for every accepted part. Slicer time can change when multiple parts are arranged together, so check whether the per-part estimate still represents the planned build. A markup of 25 percent on $10 cost gives a $12.50 selling price, while a 25 percent margin requires about $13.33 before tax. Cost and price are therefore different outputs. Save the assumptions used for a quote so that a later change in spool price, finishing time, or rejection allowance can be compared with the original estimate.
Formula
Cost adds material, electricity, machine, labor, and packaging. Markup multiplies cost by (1 + rate); margin divides cost by (1 − rate).