Free tool
Resin print cost calculator
What a resin print really costs, with every layer shown. Takes the mL your slicer gives, converts it at your resin's density, and adds screen wear and the failure rate. No account needed.
This print
- Resin · 44g
- £1.32
- Electricity · 0.18 kWh
- £0.05
- Labour · 10 min
- £2.00
- Subtotal
- £3.37
- Failure-rate uplift
- £0.29
- Total for this print
- £3.66
Printer running cost: £0.02 an hour in electricity. Add the screen replacement cost and screen life above to include screen wear, usually the bigger part.
This uses a failure rate you typed
That is a guess, and it is the number that moves the total most. MakerProof works it out from the prints you actually log, along with your real waste, so the cost stops depending on what you estimated.
Create a free accountResin is sold by weight and sliced by volume, so the density is what connects the two. What a resin print actually costs
Printing with filament instead? Use the filament calculator
How the cost is worked out
Each line is a separate layer, so you can see where the money goes rather than one total.
- Resin: the slicer's mL × your resin's density gives grams, then grams × (bottle price ÷ bottle size). Resin is sold by weight, so grams are what get costed.
- Electricity: average watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × your price per kWh. A resin printer draws little; a curing station adds a bit more.
- Screen wear: the screen's replacement cost ÷ the hours it lasts, × the print time. It is the resin version of machine wear, and usually larger than people expect.
- Your time: minutes ÷ 60 × your hourly rate, for washing, removing supports, curing and packing.
- Failures: the total is divided by (1 − failure rate), not increased by it. A resin failure often takes the whole plate, so be honest about the rate.
- Per unit: the total ÷ the sellable parts from the plate.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with: 40 mL of resin at 1.10 g/mL from a £30, 1kg bottle, 3 hours at 60W, 10 minutes of your time and an 8% failure rate.
| Resin | 44g (40 mL × 1.10) at £30 a kg | £1.32 |
| Electricity | 0.18 kWh at 27p | £0.05 |
| Your time | 10 minutes at £12 an hour | £2.00 |
| Before failures | £3.37 | |
| Failures | £3.37 ÷ (1 − 0.08) | + £0.29 |
| Cost of one good print | £3.66 |
Screen wear is left out of the opening figures, because screen life varies too much between machines to guess. Enter yours: a screen costing £60 that lasts 2,000 hours, for example, adds 3p an hour.
Common questions
How do I work out the cost of a resin print?
Convert the slicer's mL to grams at your resin's density, cost the grams at your bottle's price, add electricity, screen wear and your time, then divide by (1 − your failure rate).
What density is resin?
Standard resins are around 1.10 g/mL, with most between 1.05 and 1.20 depending on the formulation. Check the figure on your own bottle or its datasheet. At 1.10, a 1kg bottle is about 909 mL.
Why cost resin by weight, not mL?
Resin is sold by weight, usually 500g or 1kg, and sliced by volume. Converting the slicer's mL to grams at the resin's density lets the price on the bottle apply directly.
What about IPA, gloves and the release film?
They are real costs but small per print. Put the screen into wear, count washing and curing in your time, and treat the film, alcohol and gloves as small regular costs. The resin guide goes through each one.
Why divide by the failure rate instead of adding it?
Because the failed prints are paid for by the good ones. At an 8% failure rate you make about 109 attempts for 100 good prints, so each good print carries 1 ÷ 0.92 of the cost. With resin a failure often costs the whole plate, which makes the rate matter more.
Does this include VAT?
No. Every figure here excludes VAT and sales tax. Enter your prices without VAT if you are registered, so the figures match your accounts.