What this calculator includes
A spool-cost shortcut tells you what plastic was consumed, but it does not tell you what a print costs to produce. LayerMargin combines the eight cost layers that can change the result: material, electricity, machine wear, maintenance, hands-on labor, packaging, other batch costs, and a reserve for failed attempts. It then accounts for percentage and fixed selling fees before solving for your target profit margin.
The calculator runs in your browser. You can upload G-code exported by Cura, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, or OrcaSlicer to fill supported time and material fields, or enter those values manually. Project details stay on your device.
Selling price = (true production cost + fixed fees) ÷ (1 − fee rate − target margin)How to calculate a defensible price
- Start with slicer facts. Record total filament used, total print time, and batch quantity. Include supports and purge material because the spool still paid for them.
- Add time-based costs. Electricity, scheduled maintenance, and machine depreciation accumulate while the printer is occupied.
- Count human work. Setup, model checks, part removal, cleanup, finishing, packing, and customer messages are real production work.
- Allow for retries. A failure percentage spreads the expected cost of unsuccessful attempts across successful jobs.
- Enter the fees you actually pay. Marketplace and payment fees vary by channel, country, listing, and transaction. Verify your current statement instead of copying a generic rate.
- Choose margin deliberately. Margin is profit as a share of selling price. It is different from simply multiplying cost by a markup.
What the result tells you
LayerMargin shows true production cost, break-even revenue, recommended revenue, per-part price, expected selling fees, profit, and actual margin after rounding. The recommended price rounds upward to a practical increment so a mathematically correct result does not become an awkward storefront number.
Use the result as a pricing baseline, then apply judgment for design ownership, licensing, unusually difficult support, rush work, taxes, shipping, or local rules. The tool is an estimate—not a substitute for your accounting records or the terms of the marketplace you use.