How do I calculate the filament cost of a 3D print?
Divide the spool price by the spool weight in grams to get the cost per gram, then multiply by the part weight from your slicer. Add a few percent for waste. Filament Cost does this for you and multiplies by the quantity.
How much does the filament for a 50 g part cost?
With a 1 kg spool at $25 CAD, filament costs 2.5 cents per gram, so a 50 g part costs $1.25 CAD, or about $1.31 CAD with a 5% waste allowance.
Does Filament Cost save my calculations?
Yes. On the free plan up to 20 calculations are saved in your browser. On paid plans they are saved to your account and available on any device.
Where do I find the part weight?
Your slicer shows it after slicing, usually in the print summary as grams of filament. Use that figure rather than the model's solid weight, because it already includes walls, infill and supports.
What should I enter for waste?
5% is a reasonable start for single-colour prints. Multi-colour prints that purge between colours can waste much more, so check the purge amount your slicer reports and raise the percentage to match.
Does it include electricity, machine time or labour?
No. It covers filament only. Add machine time, power, packaging and labour separately when you price a job.
Still have a question?
The Filament Cost guide walks through every setting.