Maker business library

36 ways to price and operate with better inputs.

Use a focused calculator when you need a number. Read the method when you need to defend it.

The pricing path

Start with the tool closest to your decision, then improve the inputs that matter most in your shop: material, transfer yield, energy, productive machine time, labor, marketplace fees, failures, investment, demand, and capacity.

Open the full calculator
05 resources

Pricing

Turn a complete cost into a defendable selling price and margin.

09 resources

Costs

Measure materials, energy, machine ownership, labor, and process choices.

03
Costs · Fit + cost calculator

DTF gang sheet cost calculator

Plan rectangular transfer fit, landed sheet cost, post-press failure-adjusted quantity, pressing cost, fees, and a true target-margin quote.

06
Costs · Job quote calculator

Laser cutting cost calculator

Estimate sheet allocation, productive machine cost, labor, failures, break-even, and a target-margin customer quote.

09
Costs · Shop-rate calculator

Laser machine hourly rate calculator

Build an auditable laser shop rate from productive utilization, ownership, overhead, utilities, consumables, operator attention, and target margin.

24
Costs · Calculator + guide

Filament cost per print

Convert spool price and slicer grams into material cost per item, order, and usable gram.

25
Costs · Conversion calculator

Filament length to weight calculator

Convert filament meters into grams, material cost, and remaining spool capacity from diameter and density.

26
Costs · Calculator + guide

Resin 3D printing cost calculator

Price resin, supports, consumables, machine time, labor, and failed plates per sellable part.

27
Costs · Comparison calculator

FDM vs resin cost calculator

Compare equipment, material, labor, consumables, failures, batching, and first-year cash cost per successful part.

28
Costs · Calculator + guide

3D printer electricity cost

Turn average watts, print hours, and your local kWh rate into a realistic power estimate.

32
Costs · 6 min read

How to set a 3D printer hourly rate

Turn purchase price, useful life, maintenance, and productive hours into a defendable machine rate.

14 resources

Marketplaces

Audit platform fees, advertising, payment costs, and channel profit.

12
Marketplaces · Calculator + guide

Etsy fee calculator (US & UK)

Estimate listing, transaction, payment, Offsite Ads, UK regulatory fees, and true order profit.

13
Marketplaces · Advertising calculator

Etsy Ads ROAS & break-even calculator

Combine Etsy Ads spend and clicks with marketplace fees and order costs to find true profit, break-even ROAS, and maximum CPC.

14
Marketplaces · Calculator + guide

eBay fee calculator (US & UK)

Model category, tiered final value, per-order, advertising, international, Store, VAT, and true profit costs.

15
Marketplaces · Plan break-even calculator

eBay Store subscription break-even calculator

Compare No Store, Starter, Basic, Premium, Anchor, and Enterprise plans by subscription cost, insertion fees, order volume, and final value fee savings.

16
Marketplaces · Advertising calculator

eBay Promoted Listings break-even calculator

Test a General campaign ad rate against eBay fees, order costs, target margin, and minimum price needed to protect profit.

17
Marketplaces · Comparison calculator

Etsy vs eBay fee calculator

Compare Etsy and eBay fees, advertising, shared business costs, and true profit for the same US or UK order.

18
Marketplaces · Calculator + guide

TikTok Shop fee calculator (US & UK)

Model referral, affiliate, advertising, refund, production, and fulfillment costs before estimating TikTok Shop profit.

19
Marketplaces · Calculator + guide

Shopify fee calculator (US & UK)

Model Shopify Payments, plan and app allocation, third-party providers, currency fees, and order profit.

20
Marketplaces · Comparison calculator

Shopify plan comparison & break-even calculator

Compare Basic, Grow, and Advanced monthly costs and find the sales volume where upgrading saves money.

21
Marketplaces · Comparison calculator

Etsy vs Amazon Handmade fee calculator

Compare US or UK platform fees and profit for the same handmade order with shared business costs.

22
Marketplaces · Comparison calculator

Etsy vs Shopify fee calculator

Compare Etsy deductions with Shopify plan, payment, app, and acquisition costs for the same order.

23
Marketplaces · Calculator + guide

Etsy 3D print profit calculator (2026)

Estimate US listing, transaction, payment, and optional Offsite Ads fees before you publish a price.

35
Marketplaces · Calculator + guide

Amazon Handmade fee calculator (US & UK)

Estimate referral fees, UK Digital Services Fee, production, fulfillment, tax, and order profit.

36
Marketplaces · Calculator + guide

Amazon Handmade FBA vs seller-fulfilled calculator

Compare FBA and seller-fulfilled profit, target-margin limits, monthly break-even units, and customization constraints.

08 resources

Operations

Plan capacity, failures, investment payback, and sustainable production.

04
Operations · Investment calculator

Heat press ROI and payback calculator

Test heat-press investment against production capacity, demand, item contribution, operating break-even, and cash payback.

08
Operations · Time + capacity calculator

Laser engraving time calculator

Estimate raster, fill, and image engraving minutes from area, line interval, scan speed, overscan, passes, setup, re-runs, and daily capacity.

10
Operations · Investment calculator

Laser cutter ROI and payback calculator

Compare upfront laser investment with order contribution, monthly volume, operating overhead, simple ROI, and payback targets.

11
Operations · Profit + capacity calculator

Laser business profit and capacity calculator

Test monthly demand against productive machine capacity, then calculate revenue, operating costs, break-even orders, and modeled cash profit.

29
Operations · Calculator + guide

3D print farm profit and capacity

Model productive machine hours, failure rate, monthly overhead, profit, and equipment payback.

30
Operations · Calculator + guide

3D printer ROI and payback

Compare equipment investment with monthly value, operating costs, break-even volume, and payback time.

31
Operations · Calculator + guide

The true cost of failed 3D prints

Turn observed failures into lost machine hours, monthly waste, and a realistic cost per good part.

34
Operations · 7 min read

The 9 costs small print shops often miss

A checklist for failures, labor, maintenance, fees, packaging, and the quiet leaks in every order.