A detailed comparison of cost, quality, convenience, and materials to help you make the right choice for your project.
For most people, an online 3D printing service is the better choice. You avoid the $200–$2,000+ upfront cost of a printer, skip the learning curve, and get professional-quality parts without maintaining equipment. Owning a printer only makes sense if you print multiple times per week and enjoy hands-on hardware tinkering.
The biggest misconception is that owning a 3D printer is cheaper. While raw filament is inexpensive, the total cost of ownership includes the printer itself, replacement parts, failed prints, electricity, and your time spent calibrating and troubleshooting.
| Factor | Online Service (Get3DPrints) | Own a 3D Printer |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront Equipment Cost | $0 | $200–$2,000+ |
| Material (per part, PLA) | From $0.02/gram | ~$0.02–$0.03/gram (raw filament) |
| Base Fee Per Order | As low as $4.00 | $0 (but electricity + wear) |
| Maintenance & Repairs | $0 (included) | $50–$300/year (nozzles, belts, parts) |
| Failed Prints (wasted material) | $0 (we absorb failures) | 10–20% waste rate typical |
| Learning Curve | None — upload and go | Weeks to months of calibration |
| Material Variety | 6 materials, no setup changes | 1 material at a time, swap = recalibration |
| Space Required | None | Desk/table + ventilation |
A budget FDM printer costs around $300-$500 (Bambu Lab A1 Mini, Creality Ender 3 V3, etc.). Add $50-$100 for tools, spare nozzles, and your first filament spools. That's roughly $400-$600 to get started.
At an online service like Get3DPrints.com, a typical small PLA part (30 grams) costs around $4.60 (base fee + material). If you printed the same part at home with raw filament, the material cost alone would be about $0.60 — but you'd need those 400+ parts just to recoup the printer cost, not counting your time, failed prints, or maintenance.
Rule of thumb: If you print fewer than 50 parts per year (about one per week), a service saves you money. If you print daily, owning a printer makes financial sense after 6-12 months.
One of the biggest advantages of a service is instant access to multiple materials without buying separate filament rolls or recalibrating your printer.
| Material | Get3DPrints Price | DIY Raw Filament | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | $0.02/gram | ~$0.02/gram (raw) | Most popular for decorative items, prototypes, and gifts |
| PETG | $0.03/gram | ~$0.03/gram (raw) | Strong, water-resistant, functional parts |
| ABS | $0.09/gram | ~$0.03/gram (raw) | Tough, heat-resistant — requires ventilation for DIY |
| ASA | $0.11/gram | ~$0.05/gram (raw) | UV-resistant outdoor parts — tricky to print at home |
| TPU | $0.15/gram | ~$0.05/gram (raw) | Flexible — difficult on most consumer printers |
| Nylon | $0.20/gram | ~$0.08/gram (raw) | Engineering-grade — needs a dry box and enclosed printer |
* DIY raw filament prices are approximate and don't include waste from failed prints, calibration, or purge material. Service prices include professional printing and quality checks.
The cheapest way is to use an online 3D printing service with PLA material. At Get3DPrints.com, a small part (around 20 grams of PLA) costs as low as $4.40 total — that's the base fee plus material. No equipment purchase needed. For someone who only needs a few parts, this beats the $300-$500+ upfront cost of even a budget 3D printer.
Only if you print frequently (multiple times per week) and enjoy tinkering with hardware. Budget printers start at $200-$400 but need calibration, maintenance, and weeks-to-months of learning. For occasional printing — a few parts per month — an online service like Get3DPrints.com is more cost-effective with zero setup time.
FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) melts plastic filament layer by layer — it's the most affordable and common technology, great for functional parts and prototypes. SLA (Stereolithography) uses UV light to cure liquid resin for smoother surfaces and finer detail, but costs more and requires messy post-processing. Get3DPrints.com uses FDM, which offers the best balance of cost, strength, and material variety for most projects.
At Get3DPrints.com, most parts are printed within 1-3 days and shipped via USPS or UPS within the United States. Total delivery time is typically 4-8 business days depending on the part complexity and shipping destination. Urgent orders may be available — include a note in your quote request.
Yes! Download the STL file from Thingiverse (or any other 3D model site), and upload it to Get3DPrints.com/quote. We accept STL, OBJ, 3MF, and STEP files up to 256MB. Make sure you have the right to reproduce the design.
Skip the printer purchase. Upload your file and request a quote — we handle the rest.
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