3D Work / SaaS
3D PriceTag
A web and Android SaaS pricing tool for 3D printing creators, Etsy sellers and makers who need to price from real costs instead of guesswork.
3D PriceTag is a pricing calculator for 3D printing creators, Etsy sellers and small print businesses. I built it around a simple problem I kept seeing in the 3D printing space: most makers know what their filament costs, but they do not always know what the full job actually costs.
The problem
Pricing a print properly is more complicated than material plus markup. A real order can include filament, electricity, labour, platform fees, packaging, waste allowance, maintenance, depreciation, VAT and profit. Miss one of those layers and a product that looks profitable can quietly lose money.
The aim was to turn that messy calculation into something fast enough for everyday sellers, but detailed enough for people who need confidence in their margins.
What I built
- A web calculator for quick print pricing from a desktop or workshop laptop.
- An Android app so prices can be checked at the bench, not just at a desk.
- Quick and advanced calculation modes for different levels of accuracy.
- Saved PriceTags, so each quote becomes a snapshot of the exact figures used at the time.
- Built-in support for marketplace fees across platforms such as Etsy, eBay, Amazon and Shopify.
- Clear handling for markup versus margin, because they are not the same thing.
- Multi-currency support for sellers working outside the UK.
Product thinking
The core decision was to avoid making the calculator feel like a spreadsheet. Quick Mode keeps the first calculation lightweight: material used, filament cost, print time and markup. Advanced Mode exposes the deeper business costs when accuracy matters, including labour, platform fees, VAT, packaging, waste, depreciation and rounding.
That split keeps the product useful for hobby sellers who need a fast answer, while still giving serious sellers enough detail to price repeat products, custom jobs and marketplace listings properly.
Why it matters
3D printed products often look cheap to make because the visible material cost is low. The hidden costs are where the business risk sits. A calculator like 3D PriceTag helps turn pricing into a repeatable system: know the cost, choose the profit, understand the fee impact, then set a price with confidence.
For me, this project connects several parts of my work: running 3D Print Land, understanding ecommerce margins, building practical tools, and creating software around real operational problems rather than abstract ideas.
Current platform
3D PriceTag is available on the web and Android, with iOS planned. The wider product includes a dashboard, saved PriceTags, printer and filament data, presets, exports and cloud sync for users who want the same pricing data across devices.