3D printing cost per gram

Cost per gram at common spool prices

Spool price	Material / g	Per 100 g	All-in / g, A1 class	All-in / g, CoreXY	All-in / kg, A1 class
$15.00 / kg	1.5¢	$1.50	2.21¢	2.26¢	$22.11
$20.00 / kg	2.0¢	$2.00	2.76¢	2.81¢	$27.61
$25.00 / kg	2.5¢	$2.50	3.31¢	3.36¢	$33.11
$30.00 / kg	3.0¢	$3.00	3.86¢	3.91¢	$38.61
$35.00 / kg	3.5¢	$3.50	4.41¢	4.46¢	$44.11
$45.00 / kg	4.5¢	$4.50	5.51¢	5.56¢	$55.11
$60.00 / kg	6.0¢	$6.00	7.16¢	7.21¢	$71.61

"All-in" is a 100 g PLA print with the calculator's defaults: 100 W and $0.20/h of wear for a fast bed slinger (Bambu Lab A1 / Prusa MK4 class), 140 W and $0.30/h for an enclosed CoreXY, electricity at $0.18/kWh and a 10% failure buffer. Labor is not included. The overhead adds roughly the same amount per gram whatever the spool cost, so it matters most with cheap filament.

The formula

cost per gram = (material + electricity + machine wear) × (1 + failure rate) ÷ grams

• Material = grams × spool price ÷ 1,000
• Electricity = print hours × average watts ÷ 1,000 × price per kWh
• Machine wear = print hours × an hourly rate for depreciation and spare parts (nozzles, belts, build plates)
• Failure rate = the share of prints you have to redo, added on top

The worked examples below use exactly the function behind the 3D print cost calculator, with print times from its speed model. If your slicer gives a different time, the electricity and wear lines change in proportion.

Worked examples

50 g PLA wall bracket

PLA at $20.00/kg with the calculator's “Fast bed slinger” printer profile (100 W, $0.20/h wear), electricity at $0.18/kWh, 10% failure buffer. Estimated print time 1 h 13 min.

Line	How	Amount
Material	50 g × $20.00/kg	$1.00
Electricity	1 h 13 min × 100 W = 0.12 kWh × $0.18	$0.02
Machine wear	1.22 h × $0.20/h	$0.24
Failure buffer	10% of the lines above	$0.13
Total	2.79¢ per gram	$1.39

That is $27.85 per kilogram printed, against $20.00 for the filament alone — material is 72% of the cost.

200 g PETG electronics enclosure

PETG at $22.00/kg with the calculator's “Enclosed CoreXY” printer profile (140 W, $0.30/h wear), electricity at $0.18/kWh, 10% failure buffer. Estimated print time 3 h 13 min.

Line	How	Amount
Material	200 g × $22.00/kg	$4.40
Electricity	3 h 13 min × 140 W = 0.45 kWh × $0.18	$0.08
Machine wear	3.22 h × $0.30/h	$0.97
Failure buffer	10% of the lines above	$0.54
Total	3.00¢ per gram	$5.99

That is $29.97 per kilogram printed, against $22.00 for the filament alone — material is 73% of the cost.

120 g TPU set of bumpers

TPU at $32.00/kg with the calculator's “Entry-level bed slinger” printer profile (120 W, $0.15/h wear), electricity at $0.18/kWh, 20% failure buffer. Estimated print time 13 h 52 min.

Line	How	Amount
Material	120 g × $32.00/kg	$3.84
Electricity	13 h 52 min × 120 W = 1.66 kWh × $0.18	$0.30
Machine wear	13.87 h × $0.15/h	$2.08
Failure buffer	20% of the lines above	$1.24
Total	6.22¢ per gram	$7.46

That is $62.21 per kilogram printed, against $32.00 for the filament alone — material is 51% of the cost.

850 g ASA outdoor housing

ASA at $27.00/kg with the calculator's “Large-format FDM” printer profile (250 W, $0.40/h wear), electricity at $0.30/kWh, 15% failure buffer. Estimated print time 13 h 53 min.

Line	How	Amount
Material	850 g × $27.00/kg	$22.95
Electricity	13 h 53 min × 250 W = 3.47 kWh × $0.30	$1.04
Machine wear	13.89 h × $0.40/h	$5.56
Failure buffer	15% of the lines above	$4.43
Total	4.00¢ per gram	$33.98

That is $39.98 per kilogram printed, against $27.00 for the filament alone — material is 68% of the cost.

The four examples side by side

Print	Weight	Time	Cost	Per gram	Material share
50 g PLA wall bracket	50 g	1 h 13 min	$1.39	2.79¢	72%
200 g PETG electronics enclosure	200 g	3 h 13 min	$5.99	3.00¢	73%
120 g TPU set of bumpers	120 g	13 h 52 min	$7.46	6.22¢	51%
850 g ASA outdoor housing	850 g	13 h 53 min	$33.98	4.00¢	68%

TPU is the outlier: it prints at a fraction of PLA's speed, so machine time and a higher failure buffer for a tricky material add 3.0¢ per gram on top of 3.2¢ of filament — material is only 51% of the cost. The ASA housing is big, but it still costs more per gram than the PLA and PETG parts: a large printer's higher wattage, pricier electricity ($0.30/kWh) and a 15% failure buffer on a 13 h 53 min print add $11.03 on top of the material.

Small prints cost more per gram

PLA print	Time	Per gram	With 5 min labor
10 g	19 min	2.98¢	21.3¢
50 g	1 h 13 min	2.79¢	6.5¢
200 g	4 h 35 min	2.75¢	3.7¢
1,000 g	22 h 30 min	2.74¢	2.9¢

PLA at $20/kg on a fast bed slinger. A fixed warm-up and first-layer allowance makes tiny prints dearer per gram; add even five minutes of your time at $20/h and a 10 g print costs several times more per gram than a large one. That is why pricing prints to sell should start from a minimum order, not from grams alone.

To check a real part, drop its STL into the cost calculator; to convert grams to meters for your spool, use the filament length calculator or the per-material pages for PLA, PETG and TPU. The full method is explained in how to calculate 3D printing cost.

FAQ

How much does 3D printing cost per gram?

Material alone costs the spool price ÷ 1,000: 2.0¢ per gram at $20/kg. Including electricity, machine wear and a 10% failure buffer, a 100 g PLA print on a fast bed slinger costs about 2.76¢ per gram.

How much does 1 kg of 3D printing cost?

About $27.61 per kilogram of printed PLA at $20/kg, $0.18/kWh and a 10% failure buffer, before labor — compared with $20 for the filament itself.

Why are small prints more expensive per gram?

Every print has fixed overheads: heating up, the first layer and your time to start it and remove the part. Spread over 10 g they matter far more than over 1 kg: with five minutes of labor at $20/h, a 10 g PLA print costs 21.3¢ per gram and a 1 kg print 2.9¢.