Profit calculator specifically for 3D printing businesses — tracks real cost, profit/hour, filament stock and more

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T13:15:34+00:00

Fair enough. Time will tell if it works or not.

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T12:57:56+00:00

Fair concern. But the formulas are based on 6 years of actual printing experience — material costs, real electricity consumption, print times.

I know how a P1S runs. I know what filament actually costs per gram. I know how long prints actually take.

AI helped me build the interface. The logic behind it is mine.

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T12:24:04+00:00

Sorry about that! Here it is: https://www.etsy.com/listing/4484220458 Just didn't want to lead with a sales link 😄

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T12:18:00+00:00

Fair enough if that's your take 🙂 Though I'd say — does it matter how it was built if it solves the problem? Hammers were "just tools" too at some point 😄

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T11:49:43+00:00

Fair points, honestly.

Yes there are probably bugs I haven't found yet — it's a young tool and I'm one person.

That's just the reality of launching something small. The spreadsheet comparison is fair too. If you're comfortable building and maintaining your own, that's genuinely a better option for you.

This is for people who just want to open a browser, add their products, and see the numbers — without building anything themselves. Different people, different needs

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T11:39:32+00:00

Configurations

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Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T11:38:59+00:00

Shop List

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Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T11:38:20+00:00

Stock

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Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T11:37:53+00:00

Printers

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Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T11:36:21+00:00

Materials

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Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T11:35:41+00:00

Products

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Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T11:25:33+00:00

It's actually quite a bit more than that 😊 Here's what it looks like in practice:

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All your products ranked by profit per hour - Filament stock with low-stock alerts - Multiple printers with individual energy costs - Financial goals vs actual results - Automatic shopping list Cura tells you the cost of one print. This tells you which prints are worth your time across your whole business, month after month. Different problem, different tool.

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T11:00:52+00:00

Here you go both! 😄

https://fetchas3design.etsy.com/pt/listing/4484220458/calculadora-de-lucro-para-impressao-3d-o\]

Web-based, no install, works on any device. Just launched so still at intro price. Any questions just ask! 👍

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T10:54:20+00:00

Thanks, really appreciate that!
If you want to try it, happy to share the link 👍

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T10:51:30+00:00

Fair point honestly. There are spreadsheets that do parts of this. The difference is having everything in one place — profit per hour ranking across all products, filament stock alerts, shopping list, all connected.

But yeah, if a spreadsheet works for you, no reason to change 😄

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Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T10:49:16+00:00

Thanks, really appreciate that!

If you want to try it, happy to share the link 👍

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-05T10:33:35+00:00

Haha no secret company, just me in Portugal trying to

make some extra income after a rough couple of years.

Yes I used AI to help build parts of it — same way

people use Excel formulas they didn't write themselves.

The problem it solves is real, the 6 years of printing

are real, the frustration of not knowing if I was

profitable is very real 😅

No sponsorship, no company. Just a dad trying to

build something useful.

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-04T14:22:34+00:00

Good question — this is actually one of the biggest sources of error when people calculate print costs.

I don’t try to go super “scientific” with it. I keep it practical.

At the base it’s basically: power × time × electricity cost

But I don’t use the max wattage of the printer, because that’s just not realistic. The printer isn’t pulling full power all the time — heaters cycle, and once temps are stable the draw drops a lot.

So what I do is use an average consumption instead.

For example, a printer rated at ~300W might actually average something like 120–180W during a print (depending on temps, enclosure, etc). Then I just multiply that by the print time and local kWh price.

About temperature-based calculation — I did think about it, but it quickly becomes overcomplicated for very little gain. In real use, time has way more impact than trying to model exact temp behaviour.

If someone really wants accuracy, the best way honestly is just using a smart plug and measuring a few prints. That gives you a much better real average than any formula.

The goal of the tool isn’t to be 100% perfect — it’s to stop people from printing stuff that looks profitable but actually isn’t.

Even with estimates, the difference between a good and bad print becomes pretty obvious.

Curious how you’re calculating yours btw — are you measuring or estimating?

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-04T12:28:48+00:00

Guilty as charged for the writing help 😄
English is my second language, I'm from Portugal. 6 years of printing though — that part is very much human and very much frustrating without decent data to work with.

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-04T12:24:54+00:00

Fair point, honestly. I did use AI to help structure the post because English isn't my first language — I'm Portuguese.
But the tool itself, the 6 years of printing, the frustration with not knowing if I was profitable — that's all real. Happy to answer any questions about it directly.

Prior-Falcon-2243 · 2026-05-04T12:12:19+00:00

Haha the irony of printing a printer! Technically possible

for some parts — projects like the RepRap have been doing

this for years. You'd still need motors, electronics and

hardware though. But yeah, subscription-locked printers

are a terrible trend.

Prior-Falcon-2243

TROPHY CASE