Cost to Run a 3D Printer: Filament, Power and Wear per Print

The cost to run a 3D printer is usually a few dollars per print, mostly filament, with electricity adding only a few cents. This guide gives the formula, a worked example in dollars at the 2026 US average electricity price, and the costs people forget. To skip the arithmetic, use the print cost calculator.

How do you work out the cost of a print?

You add three things together: filament, electricity and an optional wear allowance. Each is simple to calculate once you know the part weight and print time from your slicer.

1. Filament: part weight in grams, plus a waste allowance, divided by 1,000, times your price per kilo.
2. Electricity: average watts divided by 1,000, times print hours, times your price per kWh in dollars.
3. Wear: an optional allowance per hour for nozzles, belts and build plates.

A worked example

Say a part weighs 100 g on the slicer estimate and takes 5 hours. Your filament costs about $16 per kilo, your printer averages 120 W over a whole print, and your electricity costs 18 cents per kWh (a round number close to the US residential average below). Add 10% for waste. These inputs are illustrative: swap in your own.

So in this example, about 94% of the cost is plastic. That ratio holds for typical home printing, which is why filament price per kilo matters more than a few watts here or there.

Where do the numbers come from?

They come from your slicer estimate, your filament receipt and your electricity bill, with one measurement of your own printer.

• Filament price. On October 11, 2026, standard PLA was $13.99 per 1 kg spool at Elegoo's US store and $15.99 for a Bambu Lab PLA Basic refill. Specialist materials cost more, and larger spools usually lower the price per kilo. See how much filament costs. For how far a spool goes, see how long a spool of filament lasts.
• Power draw. Makers publish different kinds of figures, covered below. The only reliable answer for your machine is to measure one print with a plug-in energy monitor.
• Electricity price. Use the cents-per-kWh figure on your bill. Fixed monthly or daily charges are paid whether you print or not, so they do not belong in a per-print cost. If you are on a time-of-use plan, long prints can run in the cheap window. The US residential average was 18.31 cents per kWh in July 2026 (EIA, preliminary), ranging from 12.72 cents in Louisiana to 48.00 cents in Hawaii.

What costs do people forget?

Failed prints, consumables, the printer itself and your time are the four that most often get left out of a per-print figure.

• Failed prints. A reasonable waste allowance covers some of this, but a bad week can cost more.
• Consumables. Nozzles wear out, especially with abrasive filaments, and build plates and belts age.
• The printer itself. Spread the purchase price over the prints you expect to make. Prices are in how much a 3D printer costs.
• Your time. Not a cash cost, but the reason many people still buy simple things.

How much electricity does a 3D printer really use?

Less than most people expect. Prusa Research lists its Original Prusa MK4S at 80 W in PLA settings and 120 W in ABS settings, with a 240 W power supply, so the supply rating is a ceiling and not what a print averages. Bambu Lab's P2S spec sheet lists 200 W steady-state while printing PLA and a 1,000 W maximum at 110 V, which is reached while the bed heats. At the 2026 US average of 18.31 cents per kWh, the three published running figures cost between about 1.5 and 3.7 cents an hour.

All three rows are manufacturer-listed figures, not measurements of our own. Enclosed printers with heated chambers can draw more, so measure your own. The electricity cost of a 3D print goes through the formula and how to measure.

Does a 3D printer use power when idle?

Yes, a little, and more if the bed or chamber stays heated. Most printers draw a small standby load from the screen and mainboard, and a heated bed left on draws far more. Switching the printer off at the wall between jobs avoids it, and a plug-in energy monitor will show you the exact figure for your machine over a day.

Is it cheaper to 3D print something than to buy it?

For small, simple parts it usually is, counting materials alone. A 20 g bracket uses about 32 cents of plastic at $16 per kilo, which is well below most shop prices. Once you count the printer purchase, failed prints and your time, the answer depends on volume. Printing is most clearly worth it for custom, replacement or hard-to-find parts, and less so for cheap mass-produced items you can buy for pennies. Is 3D printing worth it weighs the whole picture.

Ways to cut the bill

• Print with fewer supports and a lower infill where strength does not need it.
• Buy filament in bulk and store it dry, so you do not waste a wet spool. See how to dry filament.
• Choose the cheaper material when strength allows. Our PETG vs PLA comparison shows where each is worth its price.
• Fix first-layer problems early; our first layer checklist saves more plastic than any tariff switch.

What is the cost to run a 3D printer in the UK?

The formula is the same, with pence and pounds in place of cents and dollars. The Ofgem price cap for a Great Britain direct debit customer from 1 October to 31 December 2026 is 26.32p per kWh, which is the unit rate only. At that rate the same published draws cost:

The cap changes every quarter and this one expires on 31 December 2026, so use the rate on your own bill. For UK prices of printers, see how much a 3D printer costs and the UK first printer checklist.