Does it include IPA washing and FEP replacement?

No — this covers resin material and electricity only. Add a small markup for IPA, FEP film and UV curing.

Resin 3D Print Cost Calculator — SLA & MSLA

Q: Where do I find the resin volume used?

Slice your model in Chitubox or Lychee Slicer — the summary shows ml used.

Your inputs

Your result

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Enter your values to see the estimated resin print cost

Resin 3D printing has fundamentally different economics from FDM filament printing. The material is liquid and priced by volume (ml or litre); the printer draws far less power; but post-processing adds consumable costs that FDM doesn't have. This calculator handles the core resin + electricity costs, and this article explains how to account for the rest — so you get the full picture before pricing a resin print or comparing resin vs. FDM for a project.

The formula, explained step by step

Total = (resin used in ml ÷ bottle volume in ml × bottle price) + (watts ÷ 1000 × hours × rate)

Part 1 — Resin material cost:
Resin cost = (ml used ÷ bottle ml) × bottle price
You're calculating what fraction of the bottle you consumed and applying that fraction to the bottle price. 18 ml from a 1000 ml bottle at $35: 18 ÷ 1000 × $35 = $0.63.
Note: resin prices vary enormously by type. Standard gray resin from Elegoo or Anycubic: $15–20/L. ABS-like or tough resin: $25–40/L. Water-washable: $20–30/L. Dental-grade or castable resin: $80–200+/L. Always enter the actual bottle size and price you're using.

Part 2 — Electricity cost:
Electricity cost = (watts ÷ 1000) × hours × rate ($/kWh)
Resin printers draw very little power compared to FDM. An Elegoo Mars 3 draws about 45 W; a Saturn 4 Ultra draws about 90 W. At $0.15/kWh, a 2.5 h print at 60 W costs: (60 ÷ 1000) × 2.5 × $0.15 = $0.023 — nearly negligible.

At scale, however, electricity in large-format resin printers adds up. A 90 W printer running 10 hours/day for a month: 0.09 kW × 10 h × 30 days = 27 kWh = $4.05/month at $0.15/kWh. Small but not trivial for a professional operation.

How to use this calculator

Get the resin volume from your slicer. Open Chitubox, Lychee Slicer, or your printer's native software (Elegoo's Chitubox fork, Anycubic Photon Workshop, etc.). After slicing, the summary shows estimated resin volume in ml. This figure includes supports but not the resin that remains in the vat.
Enter your bottle price and volume. The price is what you paid for the bottle. Common sizes: 500 ml and 1000 ml (1 L). Some specialty resins come in 250 ml. Enter the actual bottle size, not a per-litre conversion — the calculator handles the math.
Enter print time. The slicer shows estimated print time. Resin print time is determined by the number of layers × exposure time per layer. For standard resins at 0.05 mm layer height: exposure time 2–3 seconds per layer. A 30 mm tall object = 600 layers × 2.5 s = 1500 s = 25 minutes of actual UV exposure. Add lift time (typically 3–5 s per layer) for total print time: 600 × (2.5 + 4) = 3900 s ≈ 65 minutes ≈ 1.08 h.
Enter printer wattage. See the reference table below for common models.
Use the result as a baseline and add the consumable buffer described below.

What this calculator does NOT include

The calculator gives you the core resin + electricity cost. A complete cost analysis for resin printing includes:

IPA or cleaning solution: Standard IPA (99% isopropyl alcohol) costs $10–15/L. Each wash bath uses ~200–300 ml and can be reused 10–20 times before becoming too contaminated. Effective IPA cost per print: $0.10–$0.30. Water-washable resins eliminate this cost but typically cost $5–10/L more per bottle.
FEP/nFEP film replacement: FEP film wears out over 100–300 prints depending on model complexity, resin type and print quality. A replacement film costs $8–20. Amortized per print: $0.03–$0.20.
UV curing station electricity: A standard UV curing lamp (54 W) running 5–10 minutes per print adds 0.005–0.009 kWh per print — about $0.001 at typical rates. Negligible.
Gloves and mixing sticks: Nitrile gloves, stirring sticks, paper towels and funnels for straining resin back into the bottle. Roughly $0.05–$0.20 per session.
Failed prints and supports waste: Supports typically use 5–20% of the resin volume. Failed prints (not uncommon for new geometries or new resins) waste the entire print's resin. Budget 10–20% extra for a realistic total.

Practical approach: Add 20–30% to the calculator's output to get a comprehensive per-print cost that includes consumables and failure risk.

Real-world examples

Example 1: Tabletop miniature (Elegoo Mars 3 Pro)

A 28mm scale miniature uses 4 ml of resin. Standard gray resin at $18/L: 4 ÷ 1000 × $18 = $0.072. Print time: 1.5 h at 45 W: $0.010 electricity. Base cost: $0.082. With 25% consumables buffer: $0.10 per miniature. At $6–12 per miniature on Etsy, the material cost is essentially irrelevant — time and quality are what matter.

Example 2: Jewelry casting wax pattern (Peopoly Phenom)

A castable wax resin ring pattern uses 8 ml of castable resin at $80/L: 8 ÷ 1000 × $80 = $0.64. Print time: 2.5 h at 75 W: $0.028 electricity. Base: $0.668. With 20% buffer: $0.80 per piece. Professional jewelers charge $30–150 to cast from a wax pattern — the resin cost is a tiny fraction of the product value.

Example 3: Large functional part (Phrozen Sonic Mega 8K)

An ABS-like panel (150 × 80 × 10 mm) uses 110 ml of tough resin at $35/L: 110 ÷ 1000 × $35 = $3.85. Print time: 6 h at 90 W: $0.081 electricity. Base: $3.93. With 20% buffer: $4.72 per part. Equivalent in FDM PETG: approximately $0.90 material + $0.18 electricity = $1.08. Resin is 4× more expensive per part here — but offers dimensional accuracy and surface finish that FDM can't match without post-processing.

Example 4: Production batch of dental aligners (professional)

A dental practice prints aligner models: 12 models per plate, 45 ml total at $120/L for dental-grade resin: $5.40 resin. 3 h at 80 W: $0.036 electricity. Per-plate cost: $5.44. Per model: $0.45 material. These are sold at $500–1500 per aligner treatment — material cost is a negligible fraction of the service price.

Resin vs. FDM: when does resin make economic sense?

Resin wins when: Surface finish is critical (miniatures, jewelry, dental models, figurines). Detail resolution matters — resin routinely achieves features under 0.1 mm. The part is small enough to fit on the build plate. Post-processing (sanding, painting) of FDM would cost more in time than the resin's higher material cost.

FDM wins when: Parts are large (over 150 × 150 mm). Material properties matter (engineering grades like PETG, Nylon, PC aren't available in resin for most machines). High volume production where cost-per-part matters most. The workshop setup doesn't permit resin's ventilation and handling requirements.

Resin safety and ventilation costs

Unlike FDM, uncured resin is a hazardous material: it's a skin sensitizer and potentially harmful to breathe. The cost of proper safety equipment is a real ongoing expense: nitrile gloves ($10–20/box of 100 = $0.10–0.20/session), a respirator with organic vapor cartridges for uncured resin handling ($30 for respirator + $10/pair cartridges lasting 3–6 months), and adequate ventilation. If you're printing in a home workshop, factor in ventilation costs or the value of an air filtration unit ($50–200) into your overall setup cost.

Power reference for resin printers

Elegoo Mars 3 / Mars 4 — 40–50 W average
Elegoo Saturn 2 / Saturn 4 Ultra — 60–90 W (larger UV array)
Anycubic Photon Mono / Mono X — 40–65 W
Phrozen Sonic Mini / Mini 8K — 35–50 W
Phrozen Sonic Mega 8K — 80–100 W
Peopoly Phenom L / Phenom XXL — 100–140 W
Formlabs Form 3 / 3L (SLA laser) — 80–120 W

Recommended: Water-washable resins eliminate the need for IPA and reduce consumable costs significantly — though they cost slightly more per litre. For high-volume production, the savings on IPA can offset the higher resin price. Also compare different resin types by price per litre using this calculator's output.

Frequently asked questions

Does this calculator include IPA washing and FEP film costs?

No — the calculator covers resin material and electricity only. To estimate total cost per print, add: IPA cost (~$0.10–$0.30 per print for standard IPA use), FEP film amortized cost (~$0.05–$0.20 per print depending on film longevity), and a 5–10% buffer for failed prints and support waste. A practical rule: multiply the calculator's result by 1.25–1.35 to get a comprehensive cost estimate.

Where do I find the resin volume used per print?

Slice your model in Chitubox, Lychee Slicer, or your printer's native slicing software (Elegoo's Chitubox, Anycubic Photon Workshop, Bambu's Orca for resin, etc.). After slicing, the summary screen shows estimated resin consumption in ml. This includes the model itself and support structures. Note: it does not include the resin that remains in the vat — which returns to the bottle and is reused for subsequent prints.

How many watts does a resin printer use?

Consumer LCD/MSLA resin printers: 35–65 W for small format (Mars, Photon, Phrozen Sonic Mini class). 60–100 W for mid-format (Saturn, Phrozen Mega). 100–140 W for large format (Peopoly Phenom XXL). SLA laser printers (Formlabs Form series): 80–120 W. These draw significantly less than FDM printers with heated beds (100–300 W). The tradeoff: resin costs more per ml than filament costs per gram for equivalent volume.

What is the typical resin cost per ml by type?

Approximate cost per ml (2024–2025): Budget gray/clear resin: $0.015–$0.020/ml. Standard MSLA resin (Elegoo ABS-like, Anycubic Tough): $0.020–$0.035/ml. Water-washable resin: $0.022–$0.030/ml. Flexible / elastic resin: $0.040–$0.060/ml. Castable wax resin: $0.060–$0.120/ml. Dental model resin: $0.080–$0.150/ml. Engineering/industrial resins: $0.100–$0.500+/ml. Standard miniature gray resin is roughly 10–20× cheaper than dental or castable resins.

How do I calculate cost for prints that use multiple resin types?

Run the calculator separately for each resin type and add the results. Some advanced printers (Bambu Photon for resins, or SLA systems with cartridge mixing) can blend resins, but for most consumer printers, you're using a single resin at a time. If you're using a support resin separate from your model resin (some dual-vat printers), calculate each resin's cost separately and sum them.

Is resin more expensive than FDM per print?

Usually yes, per unit volume of material. Standard resin costs $15–35/L = $0.015–0.035/ml. Standard PLA costs $20–28/kg, and with density 1.24 g/cm³, that's $0.016–0.023/cm³ = $0.016–0.023/ml equivalent. They're actually similar per volume for entry-level materials. However, resin printers are slower per volume of material cured, and resin has additional consumable costs (IPA, FEP). For equal-size prints, FDM is typically 20–50% cheaper all-in. Resin's advantage is surface quality and detail, not cost efficiency.

How does resin print time affect cost compared to FDM?

Resin print time is determined by number of layers and exposure time, not the volume or complexity of the model. A plate full of 10 miniatures takes the same time as 1 miniature (each layer exposes the entire plate at once). This "parallel" nature means resin becomes more cost-efficient per part when you fill the build plate. FDM, by contrast, takes longer for each additional part on a plate. For small, highly-detailed parts produced in batches, resin can be faster and more cost-effective per part than FDM.

What happens to resin left in the vat?

Resin remaining in the vat after printing can be returned to the bottle (filter it through a paint strainer to remove any cured particles), or left in the vat for the next print. Resin left in an open vat will eventually cure from ambient UV light (sunlight, fluorescent lights). In a closed vat with the lid on, fresh resin can sit for 1–2 weeks without issues; some resins can sit up to a month if the vat is covered and away from light. This leftover resin is not a sunk cost — it's reusable for subsequent prints.

When should I switch from FDM to resin printing?

Consider resin printing when: (1) You're printing miniatures (28mm scale or smaller) where FDM layer lines are visible and unacceptable. (2) Surface finish quality is essential without post-processing (jewelry, dental, cosplay prop details). (3) You need dimensional accuracy under 0.1 mm. (4) Parts are small enough for the build plate (typically under 130 × 80 mm for consumer printers). Don't switch to resin when: parts are large, strength is critical (most resins are brittle), or you need engineering material properties like flexibility, heat resistance or impact resistance.

How do I store unused resin safely?

Store resin in its original opaque bottle or a dark container, away from UV light (sunlight and fluorescent lights will cure it). Keep it at room temperature — below 5°C can cause components to separate; above 35°C accelerates degradation. Properly stored unopened resin lasts 1–2 years. Opened resin is best used within 6 months and should be shaken well before each use (components settle). Never pour liquid resin down the drain — cure it solid under UV light first, then dispose as solid plastic waste per your local regulations.

Resin 3D Print Cost Calculator