A finished print raises the pricing question: what should you charge on Etsy? Between filament, electricity, printer wear and your time, the true cost is easy to underestimate. This guide shows how to cost a print and add Etsy's fees so the price actually pays you.
Last checked October 2026 against etsy.com/legal/fees. Fee figures apply to sellers with a US bank account. All dollar amounts in the examples are made-up inputs, not market data.
Understanding Your Real Costs
Material Costs: More Than Just Filament
Filament is the obvious cost, but waste matters: support material, failed prints, purge material when changing colors, and the short end of a spool you cannot use. Add a waste allowance based on your own failure rate; 15-25% is a common planning assumption, not a measured figure.
Example: a 50 g model from a $25 per 1 kg spool uses $1.25 of filament. Adding 20% for waste gives $1.50.
Equipment Costs
Your printer is a business expense. If you bought a $300 printer and expect it to last three years at 20 hours of printing a week, that is 3 x 52 x 20 = 3,120 print hours, so depreciation is $300 / 3,120 = about $0.10 per print hour. Add repairs and parts you actually expect to buy (nozzles, build surfaces, maintenance) on top. Use your own records; the example below uses $0.10 per hour for depreciation only.
Electricity
A desktop printer commonly draws somewhere between 80 and 150 watts while printing. At an assumed $0.12 per kWh (check your own bill), a 6-hour print at 150 W is 0.9 kWh x $0.12 = $0.11.
Calculating Your Time
Your time has value, including when you are printing as a hobby. Count design or setup, checking the first layers, post-processing (removing supports, sanding, painting), photography, listing and customer messages. Estimate each from your own work; the example uses 1 hour of total hands-on time at $15 per hour.
Pricing a Print: Worked Example
For the 6-hour dragon print:
- Filament with waste: $1.50
- Printer depreciation (6 h at $0.10): $0.60
- Electricity: $0.11
- Time (1 hour at $15): $15.00
- Costs: $17.21
- Desired profit: $10.00
Using the reverse-fee formula:
Price = (costs + desired profit + $0.45) / 0.905
Price = ($17.21 + $10.00 + $0.45) / 0.905 = $30.56.
Check: Etsy fees at $30.56 are 30.56 x 0.095 + 0.45 = $3.35, so $30.56 - $3.35 - $17.21 = $10.00 profit.
Setting the profit equal to your costs (a 100% markup) would give ($17.21 + $17.21 + $0.45) / 0.905 = $38.53. Markup targets are a business choice, not a rule from Etsy.
If a sale comes from an Offsite Ad (15% under $10,000 in sales, 12% at $10,000+, capped at $100 per order), you owe that percentage of the order total on top. At $30.56 and 15%, that is $4.58, which takes a large part of the $10.00 profit.
Etsy Fees (US)
- Listing fee: $0.20 (renews every 4 months, and after each sale on a multi-quantity listing)
- Transaction fee: 6.5% of item price plus shipping (not US sales tax)
- Payment processing: 3% + $0.25 per order
Together these are about 9.5% of the order total plus $0.45 per order, roughly 10-13% on typical orders. A $30 item with $5 shipping is a $35 order, so fees are 35 x 0.095 + 0.45 = $3.78. See Etsy Fees Explained 2026 for the full schedule.
Market Research
Search Etsy for similar prints and note price ranges for comparable size and quality, what sellers include in listings, and whether reviews mention price or quality. Keep your own comparison table. Your costs set the floor; the market decides how far above it you can go.
Value-Based Pricing and Bundles
Sometimes costs do not reflect value. A useful, customized item may be worth more to a buyer than the sum of its costs. Bundles (three for one price) spread the fixed $0.45 per order across more items and raise average order value.
Shipping Strategy
You can charge shipping separately or build it into the price. Shipping is part of the order total that the 6.5% transaction fee and the 3% processing fee apply to, so include it in your math either way. For free shipping, add your shipping cost to the costs before dividing by 0.905.
Testing and Adjusting
Track profit per item after all costs and fees, your effective hourly rate, conversion rate and average order value. If you sell a lot but earn little, raise prices; if you get views but no sales, check price and listing quality.
Common Pricing Mistakes
- Undervaluing your time. A price that pays you almost nothing per hour is not sustainable.
- Forgetting scale. Costs change as you print more: bulk filament, upgraded printers, faster workflows.
- Competing only on price. The fixed $0.45 per order and your time put a floor under your price.
Key Takeaways
- Count filament with waste, printer depreciation (about $0.10 per print hour on the example above), electricity and your time
- Use price = (costs + profit + $0.45) / 0.905 to include Etsy fees
- Etsy fees are about 9.5% + $0.45 per order (10-13% on typical orders), more on Offsite Ad orders
- Research comparable listings in your category
- Test and adjust based on actual sales data
Ready to run your own numbers? Try our free 3D Print Cost Calculator and our Etsy Profit Calculator.