3D printer cost per hour

The machine rate behind every price: what each print hour costs you in depreciation, spare parts and electricity, before filament and labor. Send it to the quote builder or the cost calculator in one click.

Last updatedOct 17, 2026

Model listBambu Lab US store prices and Bambu Lab wiki average power, both accessed Oct 17, 2026

Your printer

Values marked example are illustrative; replace them with your own numbers. For Prusa and other brands, get average watts from the printer power page.

Machine

Bambu Lab printerFills price and average power

Purchase price (in dollars)Store price for the selected model

Add-ons bought for itexample (in dollars)AMS, enclosure, spare plates at purchase

Resale value at the endexample (in dollars)What you expect to sell it for

Use

Years you'll keep itexample (years)

Print hours per weekexample (in hours)

Spare parts per yearexample (in dollars per year)Nozzles/hotends, plates, belts, lubricant

Electricity

Average power while printing (in watts)From the Bambu Lab wiki for the selected model

Electricity rate (in cents per kilowatt-hour)U.S. avg 18.31¢ (EIA, Jul 2026)

Machine rate per print hour

Cost per print hour$0.00

Per year$0

Other results
Lifetime print hours	0
Wear and parts only (no power)	$0
10-hour print, machine cost	$0

Use in the quote builder Use in the cost calculator

How use changes the rate

Same printer, prices and parts budget, at different print hours per week. Idle printers cost more per hour they do print.

Bambu Lab models in the list

Base price on the Bambu Lab US store and Bambu Lab's published average power while printing PLA. Combos with an AMS cost more; add the difference under "Add-ons".

How this is calculated

Lifetime print hours = years × 52 × print hours per week.
Depreciation per hour = (purchase price + add-ons − resale value) ÷ lifetime print hours. This is straight-line wear for pricing, not a tax depreciation schedule.
Parts per hour = spare parts per year ÷ (52 × print hours per week).
Electricity per hour = average watts ÷ 1,000 × rate.
Cost per print hour = depreciation + parts + electricity. Filament, labor, failures and packaging are separate; the cost per print calculator and quote builder add them.

"Use in the quote builder" sends depreciation + parts as its machine-wear rate and sends watts and electricity rate separately, so power isn't counted twice. "Use in the cost calculator" sends price minus resale, lifetime hours, parts per hour, watts and rate.

Sources

Printer prices: Bambu Lab US Store, 3D printers and product pages, base configuration, accessed Oct 17, 2026. The store marked H2S and H2D as reduced from a "typical price" of $1,249 and $1,749. Prices change often.

Spare-part examples: on the same store, a Bambu Hotend for H2/P2S/X2D listed from $17.99 and a Bambu Textured PEI Plate from $19.99 (accessed Oct 17, 2026). How many you'll need a year depends on your materials and use, so the $60/yr budget is an example.

Average power: Bambu Lab Wiki, "Printer and AMS power parameters" (accessed Oct 17, 2026). Electricity: EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.3, U.S. residential, July 2026.

Resale value, years of use, hours per week and parts budget are examples, not measurements.