"How much will it cost to print this?" is the first question almost everyone asks. The honest answer is: it depends on your model. The good news is that it depends on just a few things, and once you know them you can predict the price yourself and even bring it down.
Want the exact number for your part right now? Upload your STL or OBJ and our calculator prices it instantly.
The short answer
Most small custom 3D prints cost between $9 and $25. Hand-sized functional parts usually land between $15 and $50, and large or very solid parts can run $60 to several hundred dollars. Here's why.
What decides the price of a 3D print
1. How much plastic it uses
Filament is sold by weight, so the more plastic your part needs, the more it costs. Weight isn't the same as size, though. Prints are usually made with solid outer walls and a honeycomb-style "infill" inside, so a big hollow box can use less plastic than a small solid block.
2. How long it takes to print
Printers lay down plastic one thin layer at a time. A 10 cm tall part might have 500 layers, and every hour on the machine has a cost: electricity, wear, and a printer that can't run another job. Print time usually matters more than plastic for big parts.
3. The material
PLA is the most affordable. PETG costs a little more and prints a little slower. Flexible TPU has to print slowly, so it costs more per part. Engineering materials like nylon and carbon fiber blends cost more again. (Not sure which you need? See our PLA vs PETG vs TPU guide.)
4. Setup and checking
Every job needs the file checked, the print set up and the finished part inspected and packed. That's why most services, including us, have a small setup fee and a minimum order.
5. Colors and extras
Multi-color prints take longer, because the printer swaps filament and purges a little plastic at every color change. Special finishes, sanding or painting and rush turnaround also add time.
How we price custom prints
We keep it transparent. Our instant price is:
- Setup: $4 per print
- Filament: PLA $0.09/g, PETG $0.11/g, TPU $0.16/g
- Machine time: $1.75 per print hour
- Extra colors: $2 per print for each color after the first
- Minimum: $9 per print, before any extra-color charge
Upload your file and the calculator measures your model, estimates the grams of filament and hours of printing, and shows the price before you add it to your cart.
Example prices
| Part | Size | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Small bracket or clip, 1 color | about 2 to 4 cm | $9 (minimum) |
| Same part in 3 colors | about 2 to 4 cm | about $13 |
| Custom keychain | about 5 cm | from $12 |
| Photo lithophane, 4 × 6 in | 10 × 15 cm | from $29 |
| Solid 10 cm cube in PLA | 10 cm | about $59 |
Most real parts are far from a solid cube, so they cost much less than that last example.
5 ways to make your print cheaper
- Choose PLA unless your part needs heat resistance or flexibility.
- Hollow it out. Thick solid sections add plastic and hours. Wall thicknesses of 2 to 3 mm are plenty for most parts.
- Scale it to what you need. Making a part 20% smaller cuts its volume roughly in half.
- Print one color unless the colors really matter. Each extra color adds $2.
- Order in bulk. Ten or more of the same part? Ask about volume pricing, since setup is shared across the whole run.
Before you upload, run through our 7 checks for preparing an STL file.
Get your price
Have an STL or OBJ? Upload it for an instant price, see it in 3D and even paint it in up to four colors. Bigger project, a STEP file or just an idea? Request a quote and we'll get back to you, usually within one business day.