Bambu Studio cost estimate vs the real cost of a print

The number shown under Cost after slicing is a single multiplication: the total filament weight times the price per kilo stored in the filament profile. In Bambu Studio's source code, the tooltip for that field says it is "for statistics only". It gets the material right when the price is right, and nothing else.

Where to set the filament price in Bambu Studio

1. On the Prepare tab, in the filament list on the left, click the edit icon next to the filament. The filament settings window opens.
2. If you do not see the field, turn on Advanced mode: price is an advanced option.
3. On the Filament tab, in the Basic information group, fill in Price, in money/kg. Enter what you paid per kilo, shipping and tax included: a 1 kg spool that cost you $20 delivered is 20.
4. Save. Stock profiles are not overwritten, so Bambu Studio stores a preset of your own.
5. Repeat for every filament you use and slice again. The cost appears in the preview, in the summary of the Line Type and Filament views.

Two details change the result:

• The stock price is not your price. In the current stock profiles, Bambu PLA Basic ships with 15.99 in that field and generic PLA with 20 (checked November 2026, in Bambu Studio's profiles). If you never changed it, a 125 g part shows a cost of 2.00, whatever you actually paid for the spool.
• The weight depends on the profile's density. The slicer works out the volume and multiplies it by the density of the selected filament. With a PLA profile on a PETG part, both the weight and the cost come out wrong.

In OrcaSlicer, the field is also called Price and sits in the same group, in advanced mode. In PrusaSlicer, the equivalent is Cost, in the filament settings.

What the slicer's cost includes and what it leaves out

Bambu Studio multiplies the total weight, which already includes supports, purge and prime tower, by the profile price. OrcaSlicer does the same and also adds a printer Time cost (cost per hour), if you fill it in. Neither knows about anything else.

Example: the slicer says $2.50, the part costs $14.50

A vase sliced in Bambu Studio needs 125 g of PLA and 6 hours of printing. With the profile price at 20, the slicer shows 2.50. The full math, the way the calculator does it:

1. Filament: 125 g × $0.02 = $2.50. That is the slicer's number.
2. Electricity: 120 W × 6 h = 0.72 kWh × $0.17 = $0.12.
3. Wear: $600 ÷ 6,000 h × 6 h = $0.60 ($0.10 per hour).
4. Maintenance: $0.05 × 6 h = $0.30.
5. Failures: 5% on filament, electricity and machine ($3.52) = $0.18.
6. Labor: 20 minutes to prepare the plate, remove the part and check it, at $30 per hour = $10.00.
7. Packaging: $0.80 in this example.

Total: $14.50, almost six times what the slicer showed. Without labor and packaging, machine and material come to $3.70.

These are the calculator's starting values for the United States: PLA at $20/kg, electricity at $0.17/kWh, a $600 printer with a 6,000-hour useful life, 120 W average power and labor at $30/h. The packaging and the 20 minutes are assumptions for this example. The guide to 3D printer cost per hour explains where electricity, wear and maintenance come from.

How to bring the slicer's number closer to reality

• In Bambu Studio, only the filament price can be set. Use the price you paid with shipping and check each filament's profile. The guide to cost per gram shows the spool math.
• In OrcaSlicer, use Time cost. It lives under printer settings › Basic information › Advanced and is multiplied by the print time. For this part, electricity, wear and maintenance add up to $0.02 + $0.10 + $0.05 = $0.17 per hour. With that, Orca would show 2.50 + 0.17 × 6 = 3.52, the same as items 1 to 4 above.
• Do not put labor into Time cost. A 10-hour print does not take 10 hours of your work; labor depends on the minutes of setup and finishing for each part.
• Failures, packaging and fees do not fit in any slicer field. They come in later, when you work out the price.

From the slicer's cost to a selling price

The slicer is the best source for grams and time, because it already accounts for supports, purge and speed. The MakerPrice 3D calculator builds on that: in Bambu Studio, use Export plate sliced file to save the sliced 3MF, or export the G-code, and import the file. The weight of each filament and the time come in exactly, and the calculator adds electricity, wear, failures, labor and packaging, then applies margin, platform fees and sales tax. The step-by-step pricing is in the guide to how much to charge for 3D printing.

Frequently asked questions

Does Bambu Studio's cost include the purge from color changes?

Yes. The cost uses the total weight, which adds part, support, purge (Flushed) and prime tower (Tower). On a multicolor print, the purge can weigh more than the part itself; the guide to multicolor waste cost shows how to read those columns.

Why does the cost show no dollar sign?

Because the price field has no currency: the unit is "money per kilo". The slicer multiplies by whatever number is in it. Enter the price in dollars and the cost comes out in dollars; enter it in another currency and it comes out in that one.

I changed one filament's price and others changed too. Why?

That happens when several presets inherit from the same base: the ones without a price of their own use the base price. Open each filament you use, check the Price field and save a value for each one.

Is the slicer's time good enough for electricity and wear?

It is a good starting point. Compare the estimated time with the actual time of a few prints, which shows up in the printer's history or app. If the difference repeats, use the actual time in the math.

Does Bambu Studio suggest a selling price?

No. The price field exists for statistics, and neither Bambu Studio nor OrcaSlicer applies margin, fees or tax. For that, take the weight and the time to a pricing calculator.