3D Print Cost Calculator
Work out what a print really costs: filament, electricity and a failure allowance, per print and per kilogram. Pick a filament, type in the weight your slicer reports, and the numbers update as you go. Prices are in CAD before tax; the defaults are our own rolls and a typical Ontario electricity rate.
How to read the numbers
Print weight comes from your slicer (Bambu Studio, Orca, Cura and PrusaSlicer all show grams and time before you print). Printer power is the average draw while printing, not the number on the label: a bed-slinger PLA job runs about 80 to 120 W, an enclosed printer printing ABS 150 to 250 W, and a large bed at 100°C more again. Ontario residential rates sit around 10 to 16 cents per kWh depending on the plan, so the default of $0.13 is a fair middle. The failure allowance spreads the cost of the prints that do not make it across the ones that do; 5% is about right for a dialed-in printer and 10 to 15% for a classroom.
What the calculator leaves out on purpose: the printer itself, nozzles and build plates, your design time, and packaging. If you sell prints, put an hourly figure in the last box and the "with your time" card adds it per printer hour; many small shops charge $1 to $3 per hour of machine time on top of material.
Cutting the cost per print
Filament is usually the biggest line, so the roll price matters more than the electricity: at 50 g a print, moving from a $25 roll to EconoFil PLA at $12.49 saves about $0.63 per print, or $12.50 per roll. Buying 20 rolls or more takes another $0.50 off each roll automatically. Beyond price: print with 2 or 3 walls and 10 to 15% infill unless the part needs strength, use tree supports, batch small parts on one plate so the bed only heats once, and keep rolls dry so fewer prints fail. For schools, the education page has a per-class budgeting table built on the same numbers.
Need the filament?
PLA, PETG, Select (AMS-ready) and TPU, all 1.75 mm, stocked in Ontario and shipped within 24 hours. Free shipping across Canada on orders over $100.