How much does 3D printing cost in North Macedonia?
A print is priced by the plastic it uses and the time it takes, never below the material's minimum. Here is the formula, a worked example with real numbers, and what moves the price up or down.
"Where can I get this printed, and what will it cost?" is the question almost everyone asks before they send a file. The honest answer is "it depends", but it depends on exactly two things, and both are easy to understand. This post walks through them, so the quote that lands in your inbox makes sense, and so you know what to change if it comes back higher than you hoped.
Two things set the price
Every quote we send is built from the same two ingredients: how much plastic the part uses, and how long the printer works on it.
- Plastic, by the gram. The slicer (the software that turns your model into printer instructions) tells us the exact weight of the finished part, supports included. Each material has its own price per gram: PETG costs a little more than PLA, TPU more again.
- Print time, by the hour. A printer running for three hours uses electricity, wears its nozzle and needs someone nearby. That time is charged per hour, the same for every material.
The two are added up, and the result is never below the material's minimum. The minimum covers the work that is the same for a tiny part as for a big one: checking the file, slicing it, heating the printer, taking the part off the bed and cleaning it up. Right now that is €3.50 for PLA, €4.50 for PETG and €7 for TPU. Prices are rounded up to the next ten denars, so you never see odd figures.
A worked example
Take a typical small functional part: a bracket, a mount, a holder for something that keeps falling over. In PLA it weighs about 60 grams and prints in roughly 3 hours.
| What | Amount |
|---|---|
| Material | PLA |
| Plastic used | 60 g |
| Print time | about 3 h |
| Price of the print | €8 |
| Courier delivery | €2.50 |
| Total at your door | €10.50 |
Pick it up in person and the delivery line disappears. The same part in PETG would cost a little more for the plastic, and the print time would be about the same. This is also the example on our home page, priced live from the same numbers.
What makes a print more expensive
If a quote comes back higher than you expected, one of these is usually the reason:
- Size. Volume grows fast. A part twice as tall, wide and deep uses eight times the plastic and takes far longer, not twice as long.
- Solid parts. Most prints are hollow inside, filled with a light pattern. A part that has to be strong may need more infill, and infill is plastic and time.
- Supports. Overhangs and bridges need temporary scaffolding under them, which is printed and then thrown away. A model oriented cleverly needs less of it.
- Fine detail. Thinner layers look better on figurines and lettering, and they double the number of layers the printer has to lay down.
- Many pieces. Ten copies of a part cost roughly ten times the plastic and time. There is no tooling, so there is also no big volume discount, although we can usually print several at once and save on handling.
How to pay less
- Make it smaller, or thinner where it does not matter. Walls of 2 mm are plenty for most things.
- Let us pick the orientation and infill for the job. A decorative piece does not need to be strong; a bracket does not need to be pretty on the inside.
- Choose PLA unless you need PETG. PLA is cheaper and prints crisper; PETG earns its price in heat, sun and bending. The materials guide covers the choice.
- Combine orders. Delivery is €2.50 and free over 1 kg, so two parts in one parcel cost less than two parcels.
- Pick it up. Pickup is free.
Delivery and payment
Pickup in person is free. Otherwise we send the parcel by courier anywhere in North Macedonia for €2.50, free for orders over 1 kg; it usually arrives 1 to 3 working days after we hand it to the courier. You pay nothing when you order: the full amount is paid in cash when you collect the part or when the courier hands it over. For large orders we may ask for a prepayment before printing starts. The fine print is on the shipping and returns page.
What the quote tells you
When you send a file through the quote form, you get back the material, the estimated print time and the price, on the same working day. If a colour has to be restocked first, we say so; it may add 1 extra day. If the part will not print well, we say that too, and suggest what to change. Nothing is printed until you agree. No file yet? A photo and a few measurements are enough to start.
Want a number for your part? Send the file, or a photo, and get the price on the same working day.
Get a quoteCommon questions
- How much does a small 3D print cost?
- Small parts start at the material's minimum: €3.50 in PLA, €4.50 in PETG. The minimum covers preparing the file, warming up the printer and finishing the part, which takes the same effort whatever the size. Above that, the price grows with the grams of plastic and the hours of printing.
- Is PETG more expensive than PLA?
- A little. PETG filament costs more per gram and its minimum is €4.50 instead of €3.50. Print time is about the same, so on a typical part the difference is small. Choose PETG when the part has to survive heat, sun or bending; otherwise PLA is the cheaper and crisper option.
- Do I pay before printing?
- No. The quote is free and you pay nothing when you confirm the order. The full amount is paid in cash when you pick the part up or when the courier hands it over. For large orders we may ask for a prepayment before printing starts, and we agree that with you first.
- How much is delivery?
- Courier delivery by courier anywhere in North Macedonia costs €2.50 and is free for orders over 1 kg. Pickup in person is free. Parcels usually arrive 1 to 3 working days after we hand them to the courier.