Short answer
For a small functional part in PETG, expect roughly £12 to £30 including handling. The two things that move that number are how much plastic the part contains and how long it occupies the machine — not how complicated it looks.
Where the money actually goes
People often assume printing is priced like photocopying — so much per part, or so much per hour. It is closer to casting: you are paying for a quantity of material and a block of machine time, and the shape determines both.
A typical £18 part breaks down roughly like this:
| Plastic | Around £0.50–£1.50. Filament costs a few pounds per kilo and most small parts weigh 20–60 grams. |
|---|---|
| Machine time | The largest variable. Electricity is pennies, but wear, maintenance, nozzles and belts are real costs spread across every hour the printer runs. |
| Handling | A fixed fee per order covering checking the file, removing supports, inspecting, packing and posting. |
| Failure allowance | Some prints fail. That risk is priced in rather than passed to you as a surprise. |
Why complexity is nearly free
This is the part that surprises people coming from machining. A cube and an intricate lattice of the same volume cost about the same to print, because the nozzle traces whatever path it is given at the same speed either way. In milling, every extra feature is another operation and another setup. In printing, geometry is close to free and volume is what you pay for.
The practical consequence: do not simplify a design to save money on printing. Hollow it instead.
Four things that genuinely reduce the price
Shrink the solid volume. A part that is 30% smaller in every dimension is roughly a third of the volume, and close to a third of the price. Scaling down is the bluntest and most effective lever there is.
Raise the layer height. Printing at 0.30 mm instead of 0.12 mm can more than halve the machine time. For anything that is not a visible finished surface, the coarser setting is almost always fine.
Hollow what does not need to be solid. A solid block is mostly wasted plastic. Standard infill already leaves the middle mostly air; if your model is genuinely solid in CAD, shelling it out will cut the cost sharply.
Order several things at once. Handling is charged per order rather than per part, so four items in one order costs noticeably less than four separate orders.
What a few real parts cost
- A trim clip or small fastener — a few grams, typically at the minimum part price
- A control knob or dial — usually £12–£16
- A wall bracket for a tool or battery — usually £15–£25
- A vehicle cup holder or console insert — usually £15–£30
- A large enclosure filling most of the build plate — £40 and up
Why quotes differ so much between suppliers
Two bureaus can quote the same file at £15 and £60 without either being dishonest. Industrial processes such as SLS and resin printing cost far more per part but produce different results. Machine rates vary hugely between a farm of desktop printers and a serviced industrial machine. And some quotes bundle design time, inspection or certification that others do not. When comparing, check the process and the material before comparing the number.
What this means when you order
Our quote tool works this out from your actual file rather than a size band, so the price you see is the price you pay. If it comes back higher than you hoped, the sections above tell you which dial to turn.
Price my file →