3D Print Energy Cost Calculator
Work out how much electricity a 3D print actually costs. Enter the print time, your printer's average power draw and your electricity tariff, and the calculator returns the energy used in kilowatt-hours and its dollar cost — with an option to fold in the filament cost for a full per-job figure.
Enter Values
Before you rely on this: First-pass guide only. Verify safety-critical or regulated work against the relevant standards, your project requirements and a qualified professional.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the print time in hours (from your slicer's estimate).
- Enter the average printer power in watts — leave it at the 120 W default for a typical small FDM machine, or use a measured figure from a plug-in power meter.
- Enter your electricity price in dollars per kWh, and optionally the material cost, to see the energy cost and total job cost.
How it works
Energy in kilowatt-hours equals print time in hours multiplied by average power in watts divided by 1000. That energy is multiplied by your electricity price ($/kWh) to give the energy cost. If a material cost is supplied it is simply added on top to give the total cost of the print. The average power is deliberately lower than the printer's peak rating because the heated bed and hotend switch on and off during the print rather than drawing full power the whole time.
Worked example
Worked example. A 5-hour print on a printer averaging 120 W uses 5 × 120 ÷ 1000 = 0.6 kWh. At $0.30/kWh that is 0.6 × 0.30 = $0.18 of electricity. Adding $3.50 of filament gives a total job cost of $3.68.
Common mistakes
- Using the printer's peak or nameplate wattage instead of the average draw — the real average is far lower because the heaters cycle, so a plug-in energy meter gives the most accurate figure.
- Forgetting that the price should be your all-in rate including supply charges and taxes, not just the headline energy rate.
- Comparing prints of different sizes on energy cost alone — a longer print uses proportionally more energy, so cost per gram or per part is often the fairer comparison.
Frequently asked questions
What average power should I use for my printer?
Most small FDM printers average around 100–150 W over a print, which is why 120 W is the default. Large-format printers, machines with big heated beds, or enclosed heated-chamber printers draw more. For an exact figure, plug the printer into a cheap energy meter and read off the average watts during a typical job.
Does this include the filament or resin cost?
Only if you enter it. The material cost field is optional — leave it blank to see just the electricity cost, or enter the filament/resin cost of the job to get a combined total. It does not include machine wear, failed prints or your time.
Related tools
- 3D Print Time Estimator
- Filament Remaining Calculator
- Infill Material Volume Calculator
- Nozzle Line Width & Layer Height Calculator
- Print Shrinkage Compensation Calculator
- Support Material Volume Estimator
Explore more in 3D Printing & Fabrication.
Tip: Enter any known values to calculate the remaining results.
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