What 3D printing costs, by route
The same part can cost a dollar or a few hundred, depending on who prints it and what is included. Here is what each route usually costs and covers.
| Route | Typical cost | What it includes | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own filament printer | about $1.07–$2.50 per 100 g print | Material and electricity only. You prepare the file, print, remove supports and finish. | Frequent small parts in PLA or PETG, with time to tune the machine. |
| Your own resin printer | $400 to over $2,000 to get started | Printer, resin, alcohol, gloves, a respirator and a wash-and-cure station. | Small, finely detailed parts such as miniatures, if you have a ventilated space. |
| Online instant-quote service | priced automatically from your file | Usually printing in a chosen material, plus shipping. Order minimums are common; file repair and painting usually are not included. | Print-ready engineering parts where a standard finish is enough. |
| Full-service studio (PrintAWorld) | from about $30; finished pieces $250+ | File review, printing, support removal and any quoted modeling, sanding, painting or plating, then pickup in New York or US delivery. | One-off or display pieces, large builds, finished surfaces or a fixed deadline. |
Home costs assume you already own the printer. The resin start-up range comes from RelentlesStorm, a resin printer owner.
What goes into a 3D printing quote
A professional price is more than plastic and machine time. These are the lines that move a quote up or down, in the order we work through them.
- File review and preparation. We check walls, gaps and hidden geometry before anything prints. A client once sent a stadium model with loose joints, walls too thin to print and extra models buried inside the structure. Printed as-is, it would have wasted the material. Small fixes are part of preparation; building a model from a sketch is separate 3D modeling, which starts at $250.
- Material and volume. Price follows how much material the part uses, supports included. Size alone is misleading: a hollow 3-foot piece can use less material than a solid 1-foot piece.
- Process and machine time. Filament, resin (SLA), large-format and stainless-steel metal printing run on different machines at different rates. Taller parts and finer layers take longer, and print time is only part of the turnaround.
- Support removal and cleanup. Resin parts are washed, cured and cleared of supports. Intricate models with supports in hard-to-reach places take hand work.
- Finishing. Sanding, priming, painting and metal plating often cost more than the print. Plating adds a metal surface; it does not make the part solid metal.
- Quantity and minimum. Setup and file preparation are shared across every piece in an order, so the price per piece usually drops as quantity rises.
- Deadline, packing and delivery. Rush work needs review and depends on capacity. Fragile and large pieces need custom packing, and shipping is quoted to your ZIP code.
That is why it is hard to price a print without the file. Send the model, or a sketch if you do not have one, and the quote will list each of these steps.
How much does 3D printing cost at home?
Once the printer is paid for, filament is the main cost and electricity is small. Owners who metered their printers measured 103.6 W (Kaizen 3D Prints) and 90–130 W (TKC3D) while printing.
Worked example: a 100 g PLA part, 5 hours
- Filament: 100 g at $9.74–$23.99 per kg is $0.97–$2.40.
- Electricity: 110 W for 5 hours is 0.55 kWh. At the August 2026 US average of 18.16¢ per kWh, that is about 10¢.
- Total: about $1.07–$2.50, before failed prints, spare parts and your time.
This calculation is ours; the wattage is owner-measured.
Want the numbers for your own part? Drop its STL into our 3D printing cost calculator.
Material prices
- PLA filament, 1 kgBambu Lab PLA Basic on sale ($14.99 MSRP) up to Prusament PLA, on each brand’s store. store · store$9.74–$23.99
- Standard resinElegoo Standard Resin, smallest bottle on its US store. storefrom $18.99
Resin printing costs more to run: owners add isopropyl alcohol, gloves, a respirator and a wash-and-cure station. Our 3D printer cost guide lists printer prices and the extras owners buy.
3D printing price examples
These examples use PrintAWorld’s published prices. Your written quote confirms the exact figure for your project.
A replacement part or prototype from your own file
from about $30
Simple parts from a print-ready STL, OBJ, STEP or 3DM file sit at the low end. The quote confirms material, quantity and any minimum.
3D printing serviceA custom 3D printed trophy, 8–12 inches tall
$250–$750 per piece
Painted resin trophies usually land here. Complex multi-color finishes, metal plating, large sizes or gold finishes run $750–$2,000+, and trophies 16 inches or taller start at $1,500. Design and modeling is a $350 fee, the first concept mockup is free, and there is no minimum order.
Custom trophy pricingA sculpture or product from a sketch
3D modeling from $250, then printing
Without a file, the model comes first. Printing, assembly and finishing are quoted once the geometry is approved.
3D modeling serviceCopying a physical object
3D scanning from $250, then printing
Scanning captures the surface as an STL or OBJ mesh. Cleanup, CAD reconstruction and printing are quoted separately.
3D scanning serviceA large prop or display piece
quoted after review
Single prints can reach 6 feet or more, and larger builds are printed in sections and assembled. Standard large-format jobs take 1–2 weeks; complex builds can take 1–2 months.
Large-scale 3D printingHow to lower the cost of a 3D print
- Hollow the model. Material is usually the largest variable cost, and a hollow shell can cut it sharply.
- Send a print-ready file. Repairs and modeling are billed time.
- Choose the finish you need. Raw or lightly sanded parts cost far less than painted or plated ones.
- Order the quantity you will use in one batch, so setup is shared.
- Leave time in the schedule. Rush work competes for machine capacity.
More ideas are in our guide to reducing 3D printing costs.
Is it cheaper to buy a 3D printer or use a service?
Buying wins when you print small parts often and enjoy tuning the machine: a capable filament printer costs about $179–$300, and each print after that costs a dollar or two. A service wins for one-off pieces, parts larger than a desktop bed, engineering or specialty materials, painted or plated finishes, and fixed deadlines, where a failed print or a new machine would cost more than the order. For schedules, see how long 3D printing takes.
How we priced this guide
The service prices are PrintAWorld’s own published prices. Home material prices come from each brand’s official US store, checked on October 27, 2026. The electricity rate comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and the printer wattage comes from owners who measured their own machines on YouTube. PrintAWorld did not bench-test consumer printers for this guide.
Common questions about 3D printing cost
How much does it cost to 3D print something?
At home, once you own a printer, a 100-gram PLA print costs about $1.07–$2.50 in filament and electricity. Through PrintAWorld, 3D printing projects start around $30, painted custom trophies usually cost $250–$750 per piece, and complex finished work can reach several thousand dollars. Material, size, machine time and finishing set the price.
How much does 3D printing cost per hour?
At home, owner measurements put filament printers at roughly 100–200 W while printing, about 1.8–3.6¢ of electricity per print-hour at the August 2026 US average of 18.16¢ per kWh. Filament costs more than the power. A professional quote combines machine time with material, labor and finishing rather than charging by the hour alone.
How much does 3D printing cost per gram?
For home printing, PLA filament costs $9.74–$23.99 per kilogram on brand stores, about 1–2.4¢ per gram. Professional prices per gram are higher because they include file preparation, cleanup, finishing and the risk of a failed print.
Why do 3D printing services quote such different prices?
Services differ in process, material, whether supports are removed and the part is finished, whether a person reviews the file, and their order minimums and shipping. Compare what each quote includes, not only the total.
What should I send to get an accurate 3D printing quote?
Send the 3D file (STL, OBJ, STP, STEP or 3DM) or reference images, plus dimensions, quantity, intended use, material and finish needs, delivery ZIP code and deadline. The written quote confirms scope, price, minimum and schedule.
Can I get something 3D printed the same day?
Same-day printing is the exception, not the standard. Print time is only part of the job: preparation, cleanup, curing and finishing take longer, and the quote confirms the schedule.