How the cost is calculated
Electricity billing is simple: you pay per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which is 1,000 watts drawn for one hour. The calculation is:
Cost = (average watts ÷ 1000) × print hours × price per kWh
The key input is the average power draw, not the power supply rating. A 3D printer pulls its maximum wattage only briefly while heating the bed and nozzle; once at temperature, the heaters cycle on and off and the average falls dramatically. That is why an Ender 3 with a 350 W power supply averages only about 125 W during a typical PLA print.
Reference values used by this calculator
| Value | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Default electricity rate | $0.1834/kWh — US residential average, June 2026 (prior year: $0.1747) | EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A |
| Ender 3-class FDM preset | 125 W average (200 °C nozzle, 60 °C bed); ~277 W peak during heat-up | 3DSolved wall-meter measurement |
| Component breakdown (Ender 3) | Hotend ~30 W · heated bed at 60 °C ~80 W · motors/electronics ~15 W | 3DSolved |
| Large / high-temp FDM preset | ≈ 250 W average (bigger heated beds, enclosures, higher temps) | Estimate scaled from measured component draws |
| Resin (MSLA) preset | ≈ 60 W average (UV LED array + screen, no heated bed) | Typical measured class average |
Worked example
Say you print a 10-hour part on an Ender 3-class machine: 125 W ÷ 1000 = 0.125 kW, times 10 hours = 1.25 kWh. At the EIA average rate of $0.1834/kWh, that print costsabout 23 cents. Even a heavy hobbyist doing 100 hours of printing per month spends roughly 12.5 kWh ≈ $2.29/month — less than a single spool of budget filament. A large-format printer averaging 250 W doubles those numbers ($4.59/month at 100 h), and a resin printer at 60 W halves them (~$1.10/month at 100 h).
What actually drives your printer’s power draw
The heated bed dominates. Keeping a standard bed at 60 °C for PLA accounts for well over half of an FDM printer’s average draw, and the share grows with bed size and target temperature — printing ABS at a 100 °C bed in a cold room can push averages well above the presets here. Ambient temperature, enclosures (which retain heat and reduce average draw), part cooling fans, and nozzle temperature all shift the number a little. Because of this variability, the most accurate approach is a cheap plug-in power meter: run one typical print through it, read the kWh it reports, and you will have your own machine’s true average to enter above.
Electricity vs the other costs of 3D printing
For most home users, electricity is a rounding error next to filament and machine depreciation. At a rough reference consumption of ~7.5 g of PLA per hour (approximate, varies hugely with nozzle size and profile), a 10-hour print uses about 75 g of filament — $1.50 or more even with budget spools, versus ~$0.23 of electricity. Where power cost becomes a real line item is print farms: ten printers averaging 125 W running 500 hours a month each consume 625 kWh ≈ $115/month at the EIA average rate. If that is your situation, enter your actual commercial rate — commercial and industrial tariffs differ from the residential average used as the default here.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much electricity does a 3D printer actually use?
Far less than most people assume. Independent wall-meter measurements (3DSolved) put a Creality Ender 3 at about 125 W on average while printing with a 200 °C nozzle and 60 °C bed, peaking around 277 W only during initial heat-up. Larger or high-temperature FDM printers average roughly 250 W, and MSLA resin printers often average only ~60 W since they have no heated bed.
What is the formula for 3D printer electricity cost?
Cost = (Watts ÷ 1000) × print hours × electricity rate. For example, a 125 W printer running 10 hours uses 1.25 kWh; at the US average residential rate of $0.1834/kWh that costs about $0.23.
Where does the default $0.1834/kWh rate come from?
It is the average US residential electricity price of 18.34 cents per kWh for June 2026, published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration in Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A. Your actual rate may differ significantly by state and utility — check your bill and enter your own number for an accurate result.
Does bed temperature affect power consumption a lot?
Yes — the heated bed is usually the biggest consumer. On an Ender 3, maintaining a 60 °C bed draws roughly 80 W on average, versus about 30 W for the hotend and ~15 W for motors and electronics. Printing PLA without bed heat, or with a lower bed temperature, meaningfully cuts consumption; printing ABS/ASA at 100 °C+ bed temperatures raises it.
Is electricity a big part of the cost of a 3D print?
Usually not — filament dominates. A 10-hour PLA print might use ~75 g of filament (at a rough reference rate of ~7.5 g/h) costing $1.50–2.00 at $20–25/kg, while the electricity for the same print is only around $0.23 at average US rates. Electricity matters more for print farms running many machines around the clock.
Should I use my printer's power supply rating (e.g. 350 W) in this calculator?
No — the PSU rating is a maximum, not an average. A printer with a 350 W power supply typically averages only 100–150 W during a print, because heaters cycle on and off once at temperature. Use a measured average (a $15 kill-a-watt style meter works well) or one of the preset values, which are based on real measurements.