3D printer power consumption compared by model

Current desktop 3D printers average about 80 to 250 W while printing PLA. Their rated maximums, the figure on the spec sheet, run from 150 to 1,250 W at 110 to 120 V. At the US average price of $0.179 per kWh, an hour of PLA printing costs 1.4 to 4.5 cents.

How much power do popular 3D printers use?

Popular 3D printers average 80 to 250 W printing PLA, per maker data and published tests. A Bambu Lab A1 mini or Prusa MK4S averages 80 W. Large enclosed machines such as the Creality K2 Plus or Bambu Lab H2D average 200 to 250 W. An hour costs 1.4 to 4.5 cents at $0.179 per kWh.

Brand	Model	Rated maximum at 110 to 120 V	Average on PLA	Cost per hour on PLA
Anycubic	Kobra 3	400 W	205 W	3.7¢
Anycubic	Kobra S1	325 W	not published	not published
Bambu Lab	A1 mini	150 W	80 W	1.4¢
Bambu Lab	A1	350 W	95 W	1.7¢
Bambu Lab	A2L	1,000 W	145 W	2.6¢
Bambu Lab	P1P	350 W	110 W	2.0¢
Bambu Lab	P1S	350 W	105 W	1.9¢
Bambu Lab	P2S	1,000 W	200 W	3.6¢
Bambu Lab	X1 Carbon	350 W	105 W	1.9¢
Bambu Lab	X1E	600 W	185 W	3.3¢
Bambu Lab	X2D	1,100 W	250 W	4.5¢
Bambu Lab	H2S	1,250 W	200 W	3.6¢
Bambu Lab	H2D	1,250 W	197 W	3.5¢
Bambu Lab	H2C	1,250 W	200 W	3.6¢
Creality	Ender-3 V3 SE	350 W	not published	not published
Creality	K1C	350 W	about 144 W	2.6¢
Creality	K1 Max	1,000 W	175 W	3.1¢
Creality	K2 Plus	1,200 W	249 W	4.5¢
Elegoo	Centauri Carbon	350 W	160 W	2.9¢
Elegoo	Neptune 4	310 W	not published	not published
Flashforge	Adventurer 5M	350 W	130 W	2.3¢
Flashforge	AD5X	650 W	115 W	2.1¢
Prusa	MK4S	240 W supply	80 W	1.4¢
Prusa	CORE One+	240 W supply	90 W	1.6¢
Prusa	XL+	not published	not published	not published

Where the figures come from:

• Bambu Lab: its power wiki. Most PLA averages come from test prints of 15 to 18 minutes. The A2L figure is one hour of PLA printing, and the P2S and X2D figures are steady-state printing power (the X2D’s at a 25 °C room).
• Prusa: the product pages give the supply rating and a measured PLA average. Prusa publishes no PLA figure for the XL+, only 235 W when printing PETG.
• Creality: rated power from Creality’s support pages, one figure for both voltage ranges. The averages are third-party meter readings: China-Gadgets for the K1 Max (174.75 W) and K2 Plus (248.8 W), and game2gether for the K1C (about 0.12 kWh for a 50-minute PLA Benchy, heat-up included).
• Flashforge: rated power from Flashforge’s Adventurer 5M page and the AD5X user manual. The averages are third-party readings: Igor’s Lab measured 130 W for the Adventurer 5M at 220 °C nozzle and 60 °C bed; China-Gadgets measured 114.6 W for the AD5X at standard speeds.
• Elegoo and Anycubic: rated power from Elegoo’s product pages and Anycubic’s user manuals. The Neptune 4 and Kobra 3 ratings are one figure for both voltage ranges. The averages are Igor’s Lab readings: 160 W for the Centauri Carbon at 210 °C nozzle and 60 °C bed, and 205 W for the Kobra 3 at 230 °C and 65 °C.

The third-party tests used different parts, speeds and bed temperatures. Treat their figures as rough guides, not exact to the watt.

The cost column applies one formula:

cost per hour = average watts ÷ 1000 × price per kWh
Bambu Lab P1S: 105 W ÷ 1000 × $0.179 = $0.0188, about 1.9 cents

The $0.179 is the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s average residential price for the 12 months ending June 2026. Put your own rate, print time and material into the electricity cost calculator.

How much power do Bambu Lab 3D printers use?

Bambu Lab printers average 80 to 250 W on PLA, from the A1 mini at 80 W to the X2D at 250 W. Their wattage at 110 V tops out between 150 W (A1 mini) and 1,250 W (H2 series). Bambu Lab is the only brand here that publishes a measured average for every current model.

Material moves the figure too. The open-frame A1 goes from 95 W on PLA to 200 W on ABS. The enclosed P1S goes from 105 W to 140 W. The H2D averages 395 W on PC. Standby with Wi-Fi on ranges from about 4 W (A1) to 28.6 W (H2C). When an H2-series printer is in low power mode, its peak drops to about 860 W.

How much power do Prusa 3D printers use?

Prusa measures 80 W on PLA and 120 W on ABS for its MK series in a 26 °C room. The CORE One+ averages 90 W on PLA and 110 W on ABS. Both use a 240 W power supply, which Prusa lists in place of a rated maximum.

How much power do Creality 3D printers use?

Creality publishes rated power but no measured averages. The ratings run from 350 W (K1C, Ender-3 V3 SE) to 1,000 W (K1 Max) and 1,200 W (K2 Plus). Independent meter readings put the K1C near 144 W, the K1 Max at 175 W and the K2 Plus at 249 W on PLA. The K2 Plus test also ran a 30 °C chamber.

How much power do Elegoo and Anycubic 3D printers use?

Elegoo rates the Centauri Carbon at 350 W on 110 V (1,100 W on 220 V) and the Neptune 4 at 310 W. Igor’s Lab measured the Centauri Carbon at about 160 W printing PLA, with a 1,030 W warm-up peak, in line with its 220 V rating. The Neptune 4 dropped to about 70 W once it reached 220 °C and 60 °C, a holding figure rather than a print average.

Anycubic’s manuals rate the Kobra 3 at 400 W and the Kobra S1 at 325 W on 100 to 120 V. Anycubic’s wiki gives 1,500 W for the Kobra S1 Combo, which adds the ACE Pro filament unit. Igor’s Lab measured the Kobra 3 at 205 W on PLA. No published measurement exists for the Kobra S1.

How much power do Flashforge 3D printers use?

Flashforge rates the Adventurer 5M at 350 W and the AD5X at 650 W, on either 100 to 120 V or 200 to 240 V. Igor’s Lab measured 130 W printing PLA on the Adventurer 5M, with a 320 W peak while nozzle and bed heated together. China-Gadgets measured a 114.6 W average for the AD5X.

Why is the rated wattage so much higher than the average?

The rating covers warm-up, when the bed and hotend heaters run flat out together. Once at temperature, the firmware switches them on and off to hold it. The draw swings between a low floor and a high peak, and the average sits in between.

Innosek logged this on a Creality CR-10S printing PLA. Warm-up took about 315 seconds and averaged 306 W. After that the draw swung between about 55 W and 280 W as the bed cycled, and averaged 130 W. The bed was on about a third of the time.

bed duty = (average − floor) ÷ (peak − floor)
CR-10S:   (130 − 55) ÷ (280 − 55) = 0.33

A hotter bed (ABS, PC), a bigger bed and a colder room all raise the average. An enclosure can lower it: Bambu Lab lists the enclosed P1S at 140 W on ABS against 170 W for the open-frame P1P. This is how the 1,250 W H2D averages 197 W on PLA: the rating covers warm-up, not the hours of printing.

Peak still sets how many printers a circuit can carry. A load running 3 hours or more is continuous under the National Electrical Code, so a 15 A, 120 V circuit should carry no more than 12 A (1,440 W). One H2-series printer at 1,250 W uses 10.4 A of that, while four 350 W printers fit. Plan with rated maximums in the circuit capacity calculator. To size a replacement supply for a custom printer, use the power supply calculator.