3D Printer Monthly Power Cost Calculator

The electricity cost of running a 3D printer is often underestimated. The heated bed is typically the largest power draw. A 24 V 235 x 235 mm bed running at 60°C can pull 60-100 W continuously. The hotend heater block adds 30-60 W. Stepper motors and electronics add another 30-50 W.

Typical average power draw by printer class:

• Budget Cartesian (Ender 3 style): 60-100 W average while printing
• Mid-range CoreXY (Bambu, Prusa MK4): 100-200 W average
• Large format (Voron 2.4, CR-10 Max): 150-400 W average
• Resin (MSLA, UV): 30-80 W average (no heated bed, UV LEDs are low power)

The “average” draw is lower than the peak because the bed heater runs on a duty cycle: it heats up, overshoots slightly, then switches off until the temperature drops again. At steady state, a bed that takes 120 W to reach temperature might only draw 40-60 W to maintain it.

Cost calculation:

monthly_kWh = (printer_W + bed_W x duty_cycle) / 1000 x hours_per_day x 30 monthly_cost = monthly_kWh x rate_per_kWh

Electricity rates. The global average is roughly $0.12-0.15/kWh. The US average in 2024 was about $0.16/kWh. Germany and California are above $0.30/kWh. Australia is around $0.25/kWh.

Per-print cost. Divide monthly cost by monthly print hours to get cost per hour, then multiply by average print time to get cost per print. For most desktop printers electricity adds 5 to 50 cents per print, which is far less than the filament but worth tracking once you are running several machines.