MakerProof vs a spreadsheet
Most people selling 3D prints start with a spreadsheet, and plenty never need anything else. Here is what each one does well, and how to tell which you need.
On this page
Side by side
| Spreadsheet | MakerProof | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free for unlimited filament and 3 licences. Standard is £3.50 a month including UK VAT, with 30 days free when you sign up |
| Cost per print, including failures | If you build the formula and log every failed print | Worked out from each print you log, with every layer shown |
| Filament waste | If you build it | By category, including the tail left on a retired reel |
| Renewal reminders | Only when you open the file | An email 30 days before a licence lapses, and 14 and 3 days before on paid plans |
| Receipts and proof | Kept somewhere else, with a link in a cell | Stored with the licence, and only ever shown to you when you are signed in |
| The licence terms as they read on the day | Only if you save a copy yourself | Paste them in when you add the licence and they are kept, dated |
| Evidence if a designer or marketplace asks | Put together by hand | An evidence pack in one download, on Standard and Unlimited |
| Using it at the printer | Awkward on a phone | Installs on a phone, and scans the labels you print for your spools |
| Your own columns, charts and formulas | Anything you like | Fixed screens, with everything exportable to CSV |
| Without an internet connection | Works | Needs a connection |
When a spreadsheet is the better choice
Stay with a spreadsheet if most of these are true:
- You have a handful of licences and you know their renewal dates without looking.
- You already log every print, failures included, and the sums are right.
- You want your own reports, or you share the file with someone who needs it in that form.
- You often work somewhere without a connection.
A spreadsheet that answers your questions is doing its job, and there is no reason to replace it. How to build a 3D printing business spreadsheet sets one up properly, with the three sums people usually get wrong.
What MakerProof adds
The gap usually shows up on the licence side first. A renewal date in a cell only warns you if you open the file that week. The receipt is in an inbox, and the terms page you linked to has since been changed. MakerProof keeps the licence, the receipt and a copy of the terms together, and emails you before the date passes. What a 3D print licence tracker does goes through why each of those matters.
On the cost side, the difference is that the sums are already built and cannot drift. Each print you log carries its failures, purge and machine time, and the cost of a finished item shows each layer rather than one total. What does a 3D print actually cost to make? explains the layers.
What it does not do: it is not an order book. It does not track customers, orders or sales by channel. Your marketplace already reports those.
What each costs
A spreadsheet costs nothing but the time to build it and keep it up to date, which is where most of them fall behind.
MakerProof’s free plan has no limit on filament, printers or finished items, and holds 3 licences with a reminder 30 days before each one lapses. New accounts start with 30 days of Standard free and no card. Standard (10 licences, the evidence pack and a second reminder) is £3.50 a month or £30 a year including UK VAT. All prices are on the pricing page.
Moving across
You do not have to retype your filament. MakerProof imports an export from Spoolman, or a CSV file laid out like its template. If your spreadsheet has its own columns, MakerProof AI matches them to the right fields for you to check. Licences are added one at a time, with the receipt attached, and MakerProof AI can read the receipt and fill in the details.
It works the other way too. You can download everything as CSV files whenever you like, so if you go back to a spreadsheet, your records come with you.