How much electricity does a 3D printer use?
A typical FDM printer averages 100–250 W while printing, so at €0.30/kWh it costs roughly €0.03–€0.08 per hour, about €1.80 per month at 10 hours of printing a week, or €32.40 per month running 24/7. Resin printers use far less (50–100 W, no heated bed). The exact figure depends on your machine and your kWh rate — the table below gives realistic numbers by printer class, the worked examples show the arithmetic, and the print time cost calculator computes it for your exact setup.
Power consumption by printer class
These are representative averages while printing (after heat-up), not nameplate ratings — measure your own machine before quoting them:
| Printer class | Typical average draw | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ender-3 class bedslinger (open frame, heated bed) | 150–250 W | Bed heater dominates; cycles on and off at target temperature. |
| CoreXY / enclosed (Voron, P1S-class, heated chamber) | 200–350 W | Bigger beds and chamber heaters; enclosure also keeps heat in. |
| Resin printer (MSLA) | 50–100 W | No heated bed; mostly the UV array and screen. |
All three classes spike well above their average during heat-up — the bed and hotend run at full power for the first few minutes — then settle as the heaters start cycling. That is why the sustained average, not the peak, decides your bill.
Worked costs at €0.30/kWh
The math is the same formula the calculator uses: watts × hours ÷ 1000 = kWh, then kWh × rate. Worked for a 150 W bedslinger:
| Scenario | Math | Energy | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| One 10-hour print | 150 W × 10 h | 1.50 kWh | €0.45 |
| ~10 h/week, per month (40 h) | 150 W × 40 h | 6.0 kWh | €1.80 / month |
| 24/7 for a 30-day month | 150 W × 720 h | 108 kWh | €32.40 / month |
| 24/7 for a full year | 150 W × 8,760 h | 1,314 kWh | €394.20 / year |
| Enclosed 300 W machine, 24/7 month | 300 W × 720 h | 216 kWh | €64.80 / month |
| Resin printer (70 W), 10-hour job | 70 W × 10 h | 0.70 kWh | €0.21 |
The headline takeaway: for typical hobby use, electricity is a rounding error. €0.45 of power for a 10-hour print is small next to the €2–4 of filament in the same job, which the filament cost calculator works out. If you sell prints, the price your prints calculator combines electricity, machine wear and material into the full machine-time cost.
How to measure your own printer
Representative figures are fine for estimates, but your printer is the one on the bill. A plug-in power meter (a €10–20 wattmeter that sits between the wall socket and the printer) gives you the real numbers:
- Plug the printer in through the meter and reset its cumulative kWh counter.
- Run a normal, full-length print — heat-up included, since that is when the printer draws its peak.
- Read the cumulative kWh at the end and divide by the print hours: that is your true average draw in kW.
- Multiply by your utility rate (EUR per kWh, from your bill) — or enter the watts and hours straight into the print time cost calculator, which also adds machine amortization per hour.
Measure once per material profile if you print both PLA and high-temperature materials: a 100 °C ABS bed holds a much higher average than a 60 °C PLA bed, and an enclosure raises it further.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to run a 3D printer for an hour?
At a 150 W average and €0.30/kWh: 0.15 kWh × €0.30 = €0.045 — about four and a half cents per hour. Even a 300 W enclosed machine is under €0.10 per hour at that rate.
How much does it cost to run a 3D printer 24/7?
A 150 W bedslinger running non-stop uses 150 W × 24 h × 30 days ÷ 1000 = 108 kWh per month, which is €32.40 at €0.30/kWh — about €394 per year. A 300 W enclosed machine doubles that to €64.80 per month.
Does the heated bed use the most power?
Usually yes, but only in bursts. Heat-up can spike past 250–350 W on a bedslinger, then the bed cycles on and off to hold temperature, so the sustained average lands far lower — that is why averages, not nameplate watts, decide the bill.
Is electricity the biggest cost of 3D printing?
Almost never. A 10-hour print at 150 W costs €0.45 in electricity, while the filament for the same job is typically €2–4 and machine wear adds more on top. If you sell prints, labor outweighs everything.
Do resin printers use less electricity than FDM?
Yes, substantially. With no heated bed, an MSLA resin printer averages roughly 50–100 W, so the same 10-hour job costs about €0.21 instead of €0.45 at €0.30/kWh.
How do I find my real power consumption?
Plug the printer through an inexpensive plug-in power meter (wattmeter) and let it run a full normal print. The meter reports both live watts and cumulative kWh — divide the kWh by the print hours for your true average, then multiply by your utility rate.