How do you calculate service bureau gross margin?

Subtract estimated job cost from the customer quote price to get margin dollars, then divide by the price basis. On a $4,200 quote against $2,850 cost, margin dollars are $1,350 and gross margin is 32.1%.

What is a good gross margin for a 3D printing service bureau?

Most healthy bureaus target 35-55% gross margin on machine-built parts and higher on design and finishing services. The 32.1% in our example is on the thin side and signals the job is priced near the floor.

Why is margin dollars different from margin percentage?

Margin dollars ($1,350 here) is the absolute cash a job contributes, while the 32.1% percentage scales that against the quote. A high-dollar, low-percentage job can still be worth taking if it fills idle machine time.

Should the price basis ever differ from the quote price?

Usually they match, but if you discount or bundle, set the gross margin price basis to the list price you want margin measured against so promotions don't distort your reporting.

What job costs should I include in estimated job cost?

Include powder or resin, machine time at your loaded hourly rate, support removal and finishing labor, consumables, and an inert-gas or sieving allowance — everything directly consumed by the build.

Gross margin vs net margin for an AM bureau — what's the difference?

Gross margin (this calculator) covers only direct job cost. Net margin subtracts rent, admin, sales, and depreciation, so a 32.1% gross job might net only single digits after overhead.

Additive Manufacturing Service Bureau Quoting calculator

Service Bureau Margin Calculator

Service bureau gross margin is the share of a 3D printing quote that remains after the fully-loaded cost of producing the job. Estimators, shop owners, and sales engineers at additive service bureaus use it to sanity-check every quote before it goes out the door. Because AM jobs vary wildly — a single resin master versus a 200-part SLS build — margin discipline at the line-item level is what separates a profitable bureau from one that is busy but broke. This calculator turns a quote price and a job cost into the gross margin percentage you actually clear.

What this calculator does

Calculate gross margin on an additive manufacturing quote from customer price, estimated job cost, and margin reference price.
a quoting manager needs to confirm a 3D printing quote meets the shop margin target
It computes gross margin percentage and margin dollars from a customer quote price and the estimated fully-loaded job cost.

Formula used

Margin dollars = customer quote price - estimated job cost
Gross margin = margin dollars ÷ gross margin price basis

Inputs explained

Customer quote price:
Estimated job cost:
Gross margin price basis:

How to use the result

Use it during quoting to confirm each order clears your floor margin before you send the price, and again at job close-out to compare quoted versus realized margin.
This is gross margin only — it excludes overhead allocation, rework, failed builds, and unbillable expedite labor, so it overstates the true profit you keep.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for plastic resins and materials stands at 319.371 (BLS, May 2026), up 19.5% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
The U.S. prime lending rate is 6.75% (Federal Reserve via FRED, 2026-07-02). Payback and financing math should start from today's rate, not a remembered one.

Common questions

How do you calculate service bureau gross margin? Subtract estimated job cost from the customer quote price to get margin dollars, then divide by the price basis. On a $4,200 quote against $2,850 cost, margin dollars are $1,350 and gross margin is 32.1%.
What is a good gross margin for a 3D printing service bureau? Most healthy bureaus target 35-55% gross margin on machine-built parts and higher on design and finishing services. The 32.1% in our example is on the thin side and signals the job is priced near the floor.
Why is margin dollars different from margin percentage? Margin dollars ($1,350 here) is the absolute cash a job contributes, while the 32.1% percentage scales that against the quote. A high-dollar, low-percentage job can still be worth taking if it fills idle machine time.
Should the price basis ever differ from the quote price? Usually they match, but if you discount or bundle, set the gross margin price basis to the list price you want margin measured against so promotions don't distort your reporting.
What job costs should I include in estimated job cost? Include powder or resin, machine time at your loaded hourly rate, support removal and finishing labor, consumables, and an inert-gas or sieving allowance — everything directly consumed by the build.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.