Printer payback and break-even

How many sales, and how many weeks at your pace, before a printer has paid for itself. Every number here is yours; the defaults are examples you should replace.

Last updatedOct 17, 2026

InputsYours. Get profit per sale from the Etsy pricing page, running cost from the hourly rate page and upfront cost from the startup cost planner

Your plan

Values marked example are illustrative; replace them with your own numbers.

Upfront

Printer and add-onsexample (in dollars)e.g. Bambu Lab P1S, $399 on the Bambu US store, Oct 17, 2026

Other startup costsexample (in dollars)First filament, tools, packaging stock

Each sale

Net per sale, before your timeexample (in dollars)After marketplace fees, materials, packaging and postage

Hands-on hours per saleexample (in hours)

Pay yourself per hourexample (in dollars per hour)Enter 0 to count only cash

Print hours per saleexample (in hours)From your slicer

Running cost per print hourexample (in dollars per hour)Electricity + parts, not depreciation

Pace

Sales per weekexample (sales)

Fixed costs per monthexample (in dollars per month)Software, subscriptions, storage

Hours the printer can run per weekexample (in hours)

Payback at your pace

Paid back aftern/a

Sales needed0

Other results
Paid back around	n/a
Printer capacity used	0%
Profit in year one	$0

Weeks to pay back, by pace and profit

Rows change sales per week; columns change net per sale. Same upfront, running and fixed costs. "Never" means a sale doesn't cover its running cost and the fixed costs at that pace.

How this is calculated

Contribution per sale = net per sale − hands-on hours × your hourly pay − print hours × running cost per print hour.
Weekly contribution = contribution per sale × sales per week − fixed costs per month × 12 ÷ 52.
Weeks to pay back = (printer and add-ons + other startup costs) ÷ weekly contribution. Sales needed = weeks × sales per week, rounded up.
Capacity used = print hours per sale × sales per week ÷ hours the printer can run. Above 100%, one printer can't keep that pace.

If the "net per sale" you enter already subtracts machine wear (as the cost per print calculator's "cost to make" does), payback counts the printer twice; use a cost without wear, or set running cost to electricity only. This ignores income tax, financing and the printer's resale value, which would shorten payback.

Sources

The only outside figure is the example printer price: Bambu Lab P1S, $399 base configuration, Bambu Lab US Store, accessed Oct 17, 2026. The example running cost ($0.07/hr) is what the hourly rate page gives for that printer without depreciation: electricity at Bambu Lab's published 105 W average and 18.31¢/kWh ($0.019/hr) plus an example $60/yr parts budget at 25 print hours a week ($0.046/hr), rounded. The parts budget is an example, not a measurement.

All other values are examples.