3D Print Job Cost & Margin Calculator / no guesswork hidden

Quote the whole job. Keep the margin.

Model material, machine time, labor, energy, failures, finishing, and delivery. Reconcile the quote with actual job usage instead of guessing at filament markup.

No sign-inLocal calculationsEditable assumptionsSource-linked methodology

Your workspace

Illustrative starting inputs. Replace them with your own measurements and evidence.

01 / Set your assumptions

Make it your own.

Every input stays visible and editable.

Have a slicer estimate?

Prusa-style mass and estimated-time comments, or Cura time plus an explicit gram-mass comment. Unsupported or conflicting metadata is rejected. G-code is never executed.

Your working plan

Know what every successful job costs.

Computed locally
Estimated and actual economics reconciled

Failure allowance applies to repeatable material, energy, and machine costs. Setup, successful-job finishing, packaging, and shipping are charged once in this model.

Expected cost per successful job$32.861.111 expected attempts at 10% failure probability
Quote for target margin$54.7740% gross margin, not markup
Actual job cost$35.23Actual totals include all failed and successful attempts
Actual margin at quoted price45.8%$29.77 contribution at a $65.00 quote

Expected cost breakdown

USD
Material, including failure allowance$3.20
$3.20
Energy, including failure allowance$0.16
$0.16
Machine time, including failure allowance$2.00
$2.00
Labor$17.50
$17.50
Packaging, delivery, overhead$10.00
$10.00

Before you act

  • Expected reprints assume independent identical failure probability and full repeatable attempt costs. Partial failures, repeated setup labor, refunds, and correlated failures need separate adjustment.
  • Target gross margin is not net profit. Taxes, financing, payment fees, customer acquisition, and unentered overhead can reduce profitability.
  • Slicer import reads supported comment metadata only. It never executes G-code or uploads the model. Unsupported or ambiguous metadata is rejected.

Quote versus actual cost

Material$3.20$3.12-$0.08
Energy$0.16$0.16-$0.00
Machine allocation$2.00$1.95-$0.05
Labor$17.50$20.00$2.50
Packaging / shipping / overhead$10.00$10.00$0.00
Calculation notes & limitations

Expected attempts until one success = 1 ÷ (1 − failure probability). Repeatable material, machine, and energy costs are multiplied by this factor.

Hourly machine allocation = (purchase price − salvage) ÷ service hours + maintenance reserve. This is an allocation assumption, not a guaranteed machine lifetime.

Required quote = expected successful-job cost ÷ (1 − target margin). Actual gross margin = (quoted price − actual cost) ÷ quoted price; a zero quote has undefined margin.

Saving is optional. Files and records never leave your browser through this app.
02 / Look under the hood

The method is part of the tool.

Enter per-attempt material and machine time, measured average energy draw, explicit labor, and per-job fulfillment costs.

Apply an independent-failure allowance to repeatable costs, then divide total successful-job cost by one minus target margin.

Reconcile quoted price with actual total material, machine time, and labor across all attempts. Preserve the cost-driver variance.

Read the full methodology
03 / Know the boundaries

Evidence before certainty.

A cost estimate is only as complete as its inputs. Slicer comments do not establish labor, failure risk, electricity draw, or a profitable selling price.

These are reference sources, not evidence that example records have been verified. Imported records retain the source links you provide.

Prusa print-price methodology PrusaSlicer documentation
Field notes / Print Margin

How Print Margin calculates your result

Model material, machine time, labor, energy, failures, finishing, and delivery. Reconcile the quote with actual job usage instead of guessing at filament markup.

Print Margin: a verification checklist

A useful result is one you can explain, reproduce, and challenge.