Design guides
Industrial 3D printing cost: what sets the price
What sets the price of an industrial 3D printed part: volume, material, process, finishing and lead time, with indicative ranges and ways to pay less.
The honest answer: from a few tens of euros for a PLA prototype to several hundred for a high-performance polymer part, and the factor that really moves the price is not the one most buyers expect. It is not the size of the part's bounding box but the material inside it and the machine hours it takes. This guide explains how the cost of a 3D printed part is built, so you can estimate the order of magnitude before you even upload the CAD.
The six variables that set the price
The price of a 3D printed part depends on six variables, and the material's cost per kilo is only one of them.
- Material volume: what counts is the material actually deposited or fused, not the bounding box. A part hollowed out with 2–3 mm walls costs a fraction of a solid one.
- Material: there is more than an order of magnitude between PLA and PEEK per kilo, and high-performance polymers need dedicated machines and cycles. Every material in our catalog has a price band, from € (PLA, PCTG) to €€€€ (PEEK, PEKK, Ultem).
- Process: SLS amortizes batches of 10 to 500 well thanks to nesting in the build chamber, and MJF does the same for larger runs (380 × 284 × 380 mm build volume); FDM is unbeatable for a single part; MSLA trades a smaller build volume for fine detail and surface finish. Continuous fiber (CFC) and metal 3D printing (LPBF) sit higher up the scale, and should be compared with the CNC-machined part they replace.
- Machine time: parts that are tall in Z take a long time to print; geometry and build orientation decide the actual hours.
- Finishing and post-processing: standard bead blasting is included; inserts, CNC finishing of critical features or painting are quoted separately. In metal, the cycle always includes stress relief, removal from the build plate and support removal, and all of it goes into the price.
- Urgency: the 48–72 hour Express lane carries a premium; Rapid (5 days) is at the standard price and Economy (7+ days) at a reduced price, because the extra time leaves room to optimize nesting. The tiers apply to FDM, MSLA, SLS and CFC; for MJF and metal, lead times are given in the quote.
Indicative ranges by part type
These are the orders of magnitude for the most common part types.
| Part type | Indicative range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Visual or fit-check prototype (PLA, PETG) | tens of € | size, hollowing |
| Functional prototype (SLS PA12) | tens to hundreds of € | volume, quantity per batch |
| Small batch of 10–100 parts (SLS, MJF) | unit cost falls as the batch grows | nesting, geometry |
| High-performance polymer part (PEEK, Ultem) | hundreds of € and up | material, machine hours, tolerances |
| Tooling (jig, fixture, EOAT) | often 3–5× cheaper than the machined equivalent | material, loads |
| Continuous fiber structural part (CFC) | as a single part, usually cheaper than machined aluminum | fiber path, volume |
| Metal part (LPBF) | assessed on the CAD | volume, supports, post-processing |
These are orders of magnitude, not a price list: two parts with the same bounding box can differ in cost by a factor of three. A quote on the real CAD is the only reliable number, and ours arrives within 24 working hours, free of charge.
Why we don't have an instant price calculator
Automatic quoting tools price the volume, not the part. Our engineering team reviews every CAD, with a basic DfAM review included free in every quote, and often lowers the price compared with a naive quote: it changes the build orientation, suggests hollowing, or moves the part to a better-suited process or a cheaper material with the same performance. It is the same principle behind our approach to materials: not the most expensive one, but the best price-to-performance ratio.
Five ways to pay less (for the same result)
- Take the material advice: if PA12 does the job, you don't need PEEK (see our guide to SLS nylon PA12).
- Hollow the part wherever its function allows (or let our DfAM team do it).
- Batch your orders: 10 parts in one SLS or MJF build cost less than 10 separate orders.
- Avoid tight tolerances you don't need: every critical dimension adds inspection and machining (see which tolerances to expect).
- Plan ahead when you can: Rapid and Economy cost less than Express, and Economy is the reduced-price tier.
The hidden cost 3D printing removes
The real comparison is not "printing vs machining" on a single part: it is mold vs no mold. An injection mold starts at thousands of euros and takes weeks; 3D printing produces anywhere from 1 to a few thousand parts at a linear cost with zero upfront investment. In SLS, for example, a part stays competitive with injection molding up to 500–2,000 units, depending on how complex the geometry is. To see where the line falls, read 3D printing vs CNC machining: when additive pays off.
For metal parts, on the other hand, the comparison with machining is still the one that decides: LPBF pays off when the cost is driven by geometric complexity (internal channels, lattices, assemblies consolidated into one part), while for simple, prismatic parts CNC is usually cheaper. The criteria are in our guide to metal 3D printing.
Get the real number
Upload your CAD (.STL or .STEP, secure upload with an automatic NDA) through the quote form: within 24 working hours you get the price, the recommended material and the lead time, with no obligation.