What It Costs to 3D Print 100 Units
$548.40 for a hundred of a 60 g, two-hour part — the whole per-unit curve, and the geometry that decides whether you get the discount.
A hundred units of a 60 gram part that prints in two hours costs $548.40 to make, which is $5.48 each. One of the same part costs $7.20. The gap is entirely machine time: the plastic never gets cheaper, but copies printed side by side share a setup, so their labour does. Put your own part in below.
Your part, 1 to 500 · same maths as checkout
PLA Basic
Two fit on one bed?
Per unit at 100
$5.48
$548.40 the lot · $1.72 less each than one
Material, 100 × 60 g$120.00
Machine time, 100 × 2 h$600.00
Quantity discount on labour−$171.60
Where the curve goes flat
Five hundred units and five thousand land at about the same price per part.
Ask thisIf a quote keeps halving with volume, ask what is being discounted. Plastic does not get cheaper.
The exact figures
The reference part — 60 grams of PLA, two hours on the machine, small enough that two copies share a bed. These are the totals the checkout charges, not a rounded illustration. For a whole production run, hardware and delivery included, see the low-volume manufacturing buyer’s guide.
60 g, 2 h, PLA at $0.02/g. Shipping is separate.
| Units | Order total | Per unit | Material | Labour before discount | Discount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $7.20 | $7.20 | $1.20 | $6.00 | — |
| 5 | $33.00 | $6.60 | $6.00 | $30.00 | −$3.00 |
| 10 | $62.40 | $6.24 | $12.00 | $60.00 | −$9.60 |
| 25 | $143.40 | $5.74 | $30.00 | $150.00 | −$36.60 |
| 50 | $278.40 | $5.57 | $60.00 | $300.00 | −$81.60 |
| 100 | $548.40 | $5.48 | $120.00 | $600.00 | −$171.60 |
| 250 | $1,358.40 | $5.43 | $300.00 | $1,500.00 | −$441.60 |
| 500 | $2,708.40 | $5.42 | $600.00 | $3,000.00 | −$891.60 |
- 1Order total$7.20Per unit$7.20Material$1.20Labour before discount$6.00Discount—
- 5Order total$33.00Per unit$6.60Material$6.00Labour before discount$30.00Discount−$3.00
- 10Order total$62.40Per unit$6.24Material$12.00Labour before discount$60.00Discount−$9.60
- 25Order total$143.40Per unit$5.74Material$30.00Labour before discount$150.00Discount−$36.60
- 50Order total$278.40Per unit$5.57Material$60.00Labour before discount$300.00Discount−$81.60
- 100Order total$548.40Per unit$5.48Material$120.00Labour before discount$600.00Discount−$171.60
- 250Order total$1,358.40Per unit$5.43Material$300.00Labour before discount$1,500.00Discount−$441.60
- 500Order total$2,708.40Per unit$5.42Material$600.00Labour before discount$3,000.00Discount−$891.60
By a hundred units almost every copy is already on the deepest rung, so five hundred instead of a hundred saves another six cents a unit, and the line stays flat from there.
Where the saving comes from
Copies of one file in one colour are priced on a graduated ladder. Each copy is priced by its own position on it, so adding one more can never lower your total.
- Copy 1
- Full labour. The first copy carries the setup.
- Copies 2–4
- 10% off their labour.
- Copies 5–9
- 20% off.
- Copy 10 on
- 30% off, however many you order.
The geometry decides whether you get the discount
The ladder applies only when two copies actually fit on a bed together. Our beds are 256 mm square, so a part wider than about 120 mm in both directions prints one per plate. That same 60 gram, two-hour part in a shape too big to pair costs $720.00 for a hundred, $7.20 each, at any quantity.
Flip the switch on the chart above to see it. If your part is just over the limit, shrinking its footprint — or splitting it into two pieces that ship loose, or that we assemble for $1 a part — moves a hundred units from $720.00 to $548.40. No material change comes close to that.
Lead time is usually the real constraint
A hundred parts at two hours each is 200 hours of printing, and machines do not run every hour of the day. Price is the easy part of a short run; scheduling is not.
- Tell us the quantity and the deadline before you order, and we’ll confirm the lead time first.
- Order a single sample and approve it before the run. One bad assumption times a hundred is expensive.
- Keep the run to one colour if you can. A colour change is a separate group, and separate setups.
- Send a file that is already the final revision: we print what you upload.
Our published ship target is 3 business days for a normal order. A hundred-unit run is not a normal order, so it gets a quoted date instead of that default.
How to bring the number down
In order of how much each is worth:
01
Cut print hours
Machine time is $4.28 of the $5.48. Thicker layers, less infill, fewer supports, a shorter Z height — twenty minutes off a two-hour part takes about 17% off the labour on every unit.
02
Check the footprint
Two on a bed is worth 24% at a hundred units. Nothing else on this list comes close.
03
Material last
Moving 100 units from PETG to PLA saves about $60 across the whole run. Pick what the product actually needs.
When 100 units is the wrong question
At some volume, a mould beats a printer, and it is worth knowing where that line is before you commit either way. 3D printing vs injection molding works the break-even through with published tooling prices. One limit of ours worth knowing: the largest part we print is 255 mm on any axis. Quantity is not one.
FAQ
For a 60 g part that prints in two hours, $548.40, or $5.48 a unit, in PLA with shipping separate. Your own part’s weight and print time change that number; a part that prints in one hour costs half the labour, and a part too large to fit two on a bed gets no quantity discount.
Yes, on labour. Copies of one file in one colour take 10% off their labour from the second copy, 20% from the fifth and 30% from the tenth, provided two copies fit on a bed together. Material is never discounted because it is a real per-part cost.
Multiply your part’s print time by the quantity: a hundred two-hour parts is 200 machine-hours. That is why bulk runs get a quoted lead time rather than the standard 3-business-day target. Tell us the deadline when you ask.
Almost always, because moulding starts with tooling. Protolabs publishes mould costs starting at $1,495, and Xometry puts the break-even between 3D printing and moulding at roughly 250 to 2,000 parts depending on the part. At 100 units you would be paying for a mould you have barely used.
Any size. Price it from your own file in seconds and pay at checkout; for a large production run, send us the quantity and the date you need it by and we schedule it. Quantity pricing applies at any size.
See the curve for your own part.
Upload the file and the price for 1, 100 or 500 comes back in seconds, from its real weight and print time. Larger runs are quoted and scheduled.
Keep reading