To price 3D prints to sell, start with what the item actually costs you to make — material, machine time, and labor — then add the margin you want to earn. That's not your final price. Etsy and Shopify each take a cut of every sale, so the number you list has to cover fees too, or your margin quietly shrinks to nothing.
What you actually keep
| What you sell | List price | Fees | You keep | Margin |
| A $6-to-make phone stand (Etsy)Etsy: transaction $1.17 · payment processing $0.79 · listing $0.20 | $18.00 | -$2.16 | $9.84 | 55% |
| The same stand (Shopify)Shopify: payment processing $0.82 | $18.00 | -$0.82 | $11.18 | 62% |
Start with your true cost (COGS)
Add up the material a print uses, the machine time it occupies, and any labor for setup, supports removal, or finishing. Include a small failure allowance for prints that don't come out right. That total is your cost of goods sold — the floor under which you're paying to sell, not earning.
Add margin — then subtract fees
Markup on top of your cost isn't profit yet — it's just your target price before the marketplace takes its share. Etsy charges transaction, processing, and listing fees; Shopify charges processing only. Price high enough above break-even that after those fees are subtracted, the margin you wanted is still there.
Price per listing, not per gram
Buyers pay one price for the whole item, not a per-gram rate, so batch efficiencies and minimum-charge thinking should shape your cost estimate — but the number a customer actually pays, the list price, is what marketplace fees are calculated against, not your raw production cost.
See your real margin on your own prints
Drop in an STL, set your price, pick your marketplace — our free calculator shows exactly what you keep after fees. No signup, no upload.
Run your own numbers Run a shop? Start freeFrequently asked questions
What margin should I aim for selling 3D prints?
There's no universal number: it depends on your costs and platform. What matters is that your margin survives a slow month, a failed print, or an unexpected fee, not just today's sale. Price so fees and COGS are covered first, then add the cushion you need.
Should I price by weight or per item?
Price per listing, since that's what the customer pays and what marketplace fees apply to. Use weight and machine time internally to calculate your cost — material grams times price per gram, hours times machine rate — but the price you publish is always a single per-item number.
Do I include failed prints in my price?
Yes — build a small failure allowance into your cost of goods, since not every print finishes cleanly. Spreading that expected loss across successful prints keeps one bad job from silently eating the margin you priced in for every sale.