A good price starts with the real cost. First add up everything it took to produce the part, then choose a margin that fits your product and market.
Quick answer: Add up filament, electricity, labour, maintenance, extra materials and waste. Only then apply your margin strategy and include any fees or shipping your business chooses to absorb.
Divide the price per kilo by 1,000 and multiply by the grams used.
Include power consumption, packaging, paint, glue, screws and finishing.
Add the time spent preparing, removing supports, sanding, painting, packing and talking to customers.
Reserve a share for wear, spare parts and looking after the printer.
Apply your margin strategy only once you know the total cost.
If a kilo costs €20.00, each gram costs €0.02. A part that weighs 80 grams uses €1.60 of filament.
The formula is: filament cost = (price per kilo ÷ 1,000) × grams used. For parts with more than one colour or material, calculate each filament separately and add the results together.
The printer uses electricity for several hours. There are also failed prints, tests, supports, packaging and finishing materials.
These amounts may look small on their own, but they add up quickly across many orders.
Preparing the file, watching the first layers, removing supports, assembling, cleaning and talking to the customer are all part of the order.
Set a labour rate that matches the time you actually spend.
The cost shows how much you need to recover. The price also has to cover profit, the risk of failure, taxes, discounts and sales channel fees.
A simple way to start is: suggested price = total cost × multiplier. For example, if the total cost is €25.00 and you choose a multiplier of 2, the suggested price is €50.00 before adding any fees and shipping your business decides to absorb.
When pricing 3D printing, use a multiplier as a starting point, but compare the result with the value customers perceive and with what the market actually pays.
Price a part with Gestor 3DA pricing spreadsheet can handle your first products, as long as the formulas and material prices are kept up to date.
When orders, inventory and costs end up scattered across several tabs, Gestor 3D cuts down manual updates by keeping pricing connected to the rest of your business.
See when to use a spreadsheet or softwareThere is no single margin that suits everyone. It depends on the type of part, difficulty, competition, risk of failure, sales channel and how your business is positioned.
Machine time is mainly reflected in electricity, wear and occupied capacity. Labour should reflect the time you actually spend working on the order.
Use real data from your own workshop to set aside a safety margin. The harder and riskier the part, the larger that reserve can be.
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