Cost-per-Hour Calculator
Build one standing machine-hour rate from your printer's numbers, then check it against what the market actually charges. This is a rate card, not a per-print quote.
Pricing one specific print with material included? Use the 3D Printing Price Calculator instead. Need your own labor rate for design and finishing time? See how to price custom commissions. This page covers machine time only.
Calculator
Estimates only. Real market rates vary by region, printer, and demand.
How it works
- Enter your printer's price and expected lifespan to get a depreciation rate.
- Add power draw and your electricity rate, and a monthly wear-parts allowance if you want one.
- Set a markup to turn your bare cost into a rate you'd actually charge.
- Compare against the benchmark shown below the result, typical sellers charge $1–2/hour for hobby-tier printers, $2–4/hour mid-range, and $5–10+/hour for industrial or resin machines.
Worked examples
A $250 hobby printer over a 3,000-hour lifespan, drawing 120W, with a $5/month wear allowance over 40 monthly hours, comes to $0.230/hour in bare cost. At a 50% markup, that's a $0.345/hour suggested rate, below the typical $1–2/hour hobby benchmark. That's not a bug in the math, it's a real signal that bare depreciation math often underprices machine time relative to what sellers actually charge and the market supports.
A $700 mid-range printer over 5,000 hours, drawing 160W, with a $12/month wear allowance over 60 monthly hours, comes to $0.369/hour in cost, $0.553/hour at a 50% markup. A quick quote for 3.25 hours of machine time at that rate is about $1.80, before material.
This tool answers a different question than the price calculator. That one prices one specific print, material included. This one builds a standing rate you can quote per hour of machine time, then reuse across every job without redoing the math each time.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between this and the price calculator?
This builds a reusable rate card for your machine time. The price calculator prices one specific print, material included, from scratch.
Is this my labor rate too?
No. This is your printer's machine-time rate only, typically a few dollars an hour at most. Your own time, design work, setup, finishing, is a separate and usually much higher rate. See how to price custom commissions for that side of it.
Why is my rate below the typical range?
Small, inexpensive printers naturally compute a low bare-cost rate. The benchmark reflects what the market will actually pay for machine time, not just your hardware's cost. It's common, and reasonable, to charge more than your bare cost supports.
What counts as "wear parts"?
Nozzles, PTFE tubes, belts, anything you replace on a routine schedule rather than a one-time repair. A simple monthly budget is usually close enough; you don't need to track every part individually.
Why does this calculator have a failure rate too?
A 5% fail rate hides roughly 1 wasted hour in every 20 good ones, machine time and power spent on a print that didn't finish. Baking that into your standing rate means you don't have to remember to add a buffer on every single job. It's a different use of failure rate than the price calculator, which applies it to one specific print rather than a reusable rate.
About the author
Cedrick Reese founded Ready Utilities to build free, user-friendly online tools that simplify everyday tasks. His path started in the early 2000s with affiliate marketing and niche site development, which grew into a passion for practical digital utilities and calculators. After retiring from the military, he earned a Computer Systems Technician certificate from UEI College, completed Electro-Mechanical Technologies at Tulsa Welding School, and finished the Carpentry program at Florida State College at Jacksonville. Today he combines that technical background with traditional woodworking, gardening, and building tools like this one. Read more about Ready Utilities.
This calculator provides cost estimates for informational purposes and isn't a substitute for your own bookkeeping. Some links on this site may be affiliate links; see our affiliate disclosure.