How much does 3D printing cost

How much does 3D printing cost? For a single FDM part from a 3D printing service, in a standard material (PLA or PETG) with a standard finish, the price runs from 5-12 euros for a small object to 45-90 euros and beyond for a large one. Per gram, a service charges roughly 0.10-0.30 euros/g, while raw filament costs just 0.02-0.03 euros/g. The difference is not an arbitrary markup: material accounts for 10-30% of the total — the rest is machine time and labour.

Typical prices by part size (FDM 3D printing service)

Reference values for FDM printing, standard PLA/PETG material, standard finish. The numbers rise with size, technical materials and post-processing.

These prices apply to pay-per-part: you pay for the part, with no minimum order. Many shops add non-printing costs on top: a setup fee of 3-10 euros/part and a minimum order of 25-100 euros; industrial bureaus often start at around 90 euros. On a single small object those fixed costs can double the bill: the classic case is a discontinued spare part you need to remake as a one-off.

What about resin (SLA) or SLS? For the same part they cost more: resin uses pricier materials and requires mandatory post-processing (washing and curing), while SLS and MJF are geared towards volume and often carry industrial minimum orders. The ranges in this guide apply to FDM, the most widespread technology for functional parts — and the one we use.

What drives the price of a 3D print?

The price of a 3D print breaks down into just a few items. Material is the smallest.

• Material: 10-30% of the total. A spool of PLA costs around twenty euros per kilo, so the raw filament in a 50 g part is worth roughly 1-1.50 euros.
• Machine time: printer depreciation and, to a small extent, energy. A prosumer machine costs 5,000-10,000 euros and is amortised over thousands of working hours. For a Prusa MK3S, a historical Prusa estimate (2019) worked out to about 0.20 euros/h: the order of magnitude has not changed today. Electricity is negligible: an FDM printer draws 100-150 W, a few cents per hour.
• Labour: the item that drives the price. File review and slicing take about 30 minutes; support removal and post-processing range from 15-60 minutes up to hours. An operator costs 15-30 euros/h.

FDM deposition rates are in the order of 10-15 g/h: a 250 g part keeps the machine busy for hours before any human work even starts. Add machine time and hands-on work together and you see why an object containing 50 cents' worth of plastic can cost 15 euros. You are not paying for grams: you are paying for the time, the equipment and the know-how that turn them into a finished part.

What makes up the price

10-30%

~30%

~50%

Material

raw filament

Machine time

depreciation + energy

Labour and margin

the item that drives the price

How much does 3D printing cost per gram?

The cost per gram at a serious 3D printing service sits between 0.10 and 0.30 euros/g. That figure already includes machine, labour and margin, not just the filament. Raw PLA on its own costs 0.02-0.03 euros/g: anyone quoting you "3 cents per gram" is either not counting their own time (a favour between individuals) or underestimating everything else. For an honest comparison, always look at the final price of the part, not the price per gram.

How much do materials affect the price?

The price jump from PLA to a carbon-fibre composite is huge. Here are the tiers per spool (per kg).

Tier	Materials	Price/kg
Commodity	PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA	15-50 euros
Mid-range technical	PC, PC-FR, TPU 95A, ABS-GF, PA6-GF	30-60 euros
CF composites	PLA-CF, PETG-CF, ASA-CF, PA6-CF, PAHT-CF, PET-CF	30-100+ euros
High performance	PPA-CF, PPS-CF	130-200 euros

A concrete example: PA6-CF costs around 70-80 euros/kg, which means 3-5 times the price of PLA on the finished part. There is a hidden cost too: carbon- and glass-fibre materials (CF/GF) are abrasive and wear out a brass nozzle in as little as 100-250 g, so a hardened-steel nozzle is required. All of this ends up in the price. Performance and typical uses are covered in the materials and prices guide; to decide based on how the part will be used, see the guide on which material to choose.

Why do quotes for the same part vary so much?

Two quotes for the same file can be far apart, and in most cases it comes down to the print settings, not the spool. The levers that move the price:

• Layer height: going from 0.2 to 0.1 mm multiplies print time by three to eight and doubles or triples the price. It is only worth it where surface finish matters.
• Infill: pushing towards 100% adds a lot of time and little strength: fully solid parts are almost always a waste. Walls and perimeters are more efficient than infill, as CNC Kitchen's tests show: for the same weight, it pays to strengthen the shell, not the infill.
• Supports: they add 10-30% more material and up to 40% more cost, because they then have to be removed by hand: at 3D printing services they are the leading cause of higher-than-expected quotes. We don't charge for them, but they remain time the part carries with it.
• Orientation: printing along the Z axis increases time. FDM is anisotropic: according to Protolabs Network, tensile strength in the XY plane is typically 4-5 times that along Z, so the right orientation affects both price and strength.

How to pay less: 5 design rules

Almost all the savings happen upstream, in the design of the part (Design for Additive Manufacturing). The moves that actually work:

1. Hollow out solid volumes. On a bulky part, infill is 40-60% of the material. Hollow it out with a medium infill and add a drain hole.
2. Use the right infill. Gyroid at 15-20% holds up in most cases; raise it to 50% only in the localised areas where screws need to bite.
3. Wall thicknesses in multiples of the nozzle. With a 0.4 mm nozzle, design walls of 0.8, 1.2 or 1.6 mm: no gaps, no wasted material.
4. Respect the 45-degree rule. Keep overhangs under 45 degrees and you avoid supports: less print and cleanup time, and a cleaner surface finish.
5. Combine parts. On a large-format machine you can print several components in a single session and spread out the setup time.

Before uploading, it is also worth checking the file: closed mesh, units in millimetres and minimum wall thicknesses are covered in the guide to preparing an STL file.

Should you buy a 3D printer or use a 3D printing service?

It depends on how many parts you need — and the threshold is higher than most people think. Owning a printer only pays off if you print continuously, on the order of a few dozen parts a month, and you accept dealing with calibration, failed prints and maintenance: filament is just one line item, and the time you put in is the real cost. Below that threshold — which covers anyone ordering up to a few dozen parts a year — a 3D printing service almost always wins: no upfront investment, no learning curve, and access to technical materials you could not manage on your own.

If you need carbon composites, high temperatures or repeatable quality, the service wins regardless of the numbers. And if you resell, keep in mind that anyone printing professionally applies a margin on top of raw costs: that is normal — they are paying for equipment and time, not inflating your price.

How do you find the exact price of your part?

The ranges above are there to orient you, but the real price depends on the volume, weight, material and settings of your file. The fastest way is to send me your model with a quote request: you upload an STL, OBJ, STEP or 3MF file and get the exact price, not a range. For more complex files we run a technical check within 24 hours.

We work pay-per-part: you pay for the part, with no minimum order and no inflated fixed costs. And you talk directly to a technician, not to a form.