"How much does my 3D printer cost to run?" usually starts as a question about the electricity bill. It's a fair worry for machines that run for hours at a time, but electricity is almost always the smallest part of the picture. This guide puts real numbers on each running cost — electricity, printer wear and filament — so you can see what an hour of printing actually costs you.
How much does a 3D printer cost to run per hour?
For a typical desktop FDM printer printing PLA, electricity costs only a cent or two per hour at average US prices. Printer wear usually costs more — around 8 cents an hour for a $400 printer lasting 5,000 print hours — and filament often costs more than both combined, depending on how fast you're using it.
Your own numbers depend on your printer, material and electricity rate, but the order is usually the same: filament first, wear second, electricity a distant third.
How much electricity does a 3D printer use?
Less than most people expect. Prusa Research, for example, lists average power consumption of about 80 W for its MK-series printers when printing PLA, and about 120 W for ABS, which needs a hotter bed. Idle draw is much lower.
To turn watts into cost:
Electricity cost per hour = watts ÷ 1,000 × your price per kWh
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's Short-Term Energy Outlook puts the average US residential electricity price at roughly 18 cents per kWh in 2026. At that rate:
| Printing | Power | kWh per hour | Cost per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLA (example MK-series figure) | 80 W | 0.08 | about 1.5¢ |
| ABS (example MK-series figure) | 120 W | 0.12 | about 2.2¢ |
| A larger or enclosed printer | 200 W | 0.20 | about 3.6¢ |
Your rate may be higher or lower than the national average — check your electricity bill for your price per kWh.
How do you calculate printer wear?
Printers wear out: nozzles, belts, bearings, build plates and eventually the whole machine. Spread the purchase price (plus upgrades) over the hours you expect it to print:
Wear cost per hour = printer cost ÷ expected lifetime printing hours
A $400 printer expected to print for 5,000 hours costs 8 cents an hour. A $1,000 printer over the same lifetime costs 20 cents an hour. Adjust the lifetime to your experience — a well-maintained printer running occasional jobs may last longer than one running around the clock.
How much filament does an hour of printing use?
It varies with speed, nozzle size and the model, so use your slicer's numbers. As an example, a print that uses 85 g over 5 hours uses 17 g an hour. At $20 per kilogram (2 cents a gram), that's 34 cents an hour — more than electricity and wear put together.
What does a full printer hour cost, then?
Using the example numbers above (80 W at 18¢/kWh, a $400 printer over 5,000 hours, 17 g of PLA an hour at $20/kg):
| Cost | Per printer hour |
|---|---|
| Electricity | ~$0.015 |
| Printer wear | $0.08 |
| Filament | $0.34 |
| Machine running cost | ~$0.44 |
That's before your time, failed prints, extras and profit — which is why pricing a print needs more than a running-cost figure. Your hands-on time for support removal and cleanup can easily cost more than hours of printing.
It's also worth reading about how to quote 3D printing jobs.
