How Much Does 3D Printing Cost in Electricity?

Electricity is the hidden cost of 3D printing. Filament is easy to track — you weigh it. But printer power consumption runs for hours and shows up in your monthly bill as a smear of cents. Here's how to measure it precisely.

Typical 3D Printer Wattage

Power draw varies significantly by printer type and what it's doing:

• FDM printers (unheated bed): 30–80 W during printing
• FDM printers (heated bed, PLA): 80–150 W average
• FDM printers (heated bed, ABS/ASA): 100–200 W average
• Resin printers (MSLA): 15–40 W — the LCD UV matrix is efficient
• Resin printers (DLP): 25–60 W

These are averages during active printing. The bed heating spike at startup can briefly hit 300–400 W on heated-bed machines, but the average across a full print is what matters for cost.

The Formula

Electricity cost for a print is straightforward:

Cost = (Wattage × Hours) ÷ 1000 × Rate ($/kWh)

Example: a 150 W printer running a 6-hour print at $0.13/kWh:

(150 × 6) ÷ 1000 × 0.13 = 0.9 kWh × $0.13 = $0.117

About 12 cents. Not nothing — across 50 prints a month that's $6, and across a year it's $72. Worth tracking, especially as print times grow.

What Affects Your Electricity Rate?

The US national average residential electricity rate is around $0.13–0.17/kWh, but rates vary widely by state and utility. California averages over $0.27/kWh; Louisiana averages under $0.09/kWh. Check your most recent electricity bill for the exact rate — look for "cents per kWh" or divide your total charge by total kWh used.

Time-of-use (TOU) rate plans charge more during peak hours (typically 4–9 PM weekdays). If you're on TOU pricing, scheduling long overnight prints can cut electricity costs by 30–50%.

Resin vs FDM Electricity Cost

Resin printers use significantly less power than FDM machines with heated beds. A 6-hour resin print at 25 W and $0.13/kWh costs about 2 centsin electricity. The same print time on a 150 W FDM printer costs about12 cents. Electricity is rarely the dominant cost factor for resin — resin material costs dwarf it. For FDM with long prints, electricity is a meaningful line item.

Calculate Your Print's Electricity Cost

Enter your printer's wattage, print time, and electricity rate into our3D printer electricity cost calculator for an instant, accurate estimate. For a full cost breakdown including filament and machine overhead, use the cost-per-print calculator.

Electricity rates and wattage figures are approximate. Measure your actual printer wattage with a smart plug or kill-a-watt meter for the most accurate results.