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Miniature Resin Weight & Cost Calculator

Another tool I built because I needed it myself

Accurately budgeting your tabletop 3D printing projects requires combining liquid volume geometry with resin density math. This 3D calculation tool breaks down exact material weight, hollowed wall volume, and total cost per print. Model a bounding box, paste the volume straight out of your slicer, price it against your own bottle, and scale it up to a whole army. Runs entirely in your browser — no uploads, no accounts, no cookies.

Features

Box, cylinder, and sphere volume math
Hollowed shell with wall thickness and solid base
Direct volume input from Chitubox or Lychee
6 bottle presets with per-mL cost rates
Army planner for N miniatures at once
Weight in grams as a hollowing sanity check

Calculator

Input:

1.0–2.0mm is the normal resin range. The cavity keeps a solid base.

%

Raft, supports, purge, and failed prints. Hollowed parts need more supports, not fewer.

Density: 1.12 g/mL

Your Bottle

Cost per mL: $0.0200

Bounding Volume

22.4

mL

Resin in Part

6.0

mL

Total Resin Used

6.9

mL with waste

Weight

7.7

grams

Cost per Mini

$0.14

resin only

Mini per Bottle

144

from a full bottle

Whole Army

690

mL of resin

Army Cost

$13.80

1 bottle to buy

The math

22.4 mL box · 6.0 mL hollow shell × 1.15 waste = 6.9 mL × 1.12 g/mL = 7.7 g

A bounding box is a bounding box, not a model

A 28mm figure is nowhere near a solid 28×20×40 block — it is mostly air, arms, and a cloak. The hollow math above uses the full box minus the cavity, so it overestimates a detailed sculpt and underestimates a chunky one. Treat the number as a planning figure, and switch to Volume from slicer once you have the exact figure for your own STL. Bottle prices are also ballpark: sales, bundles, and your region all move the real per-mL rate, so overwrite them with what you actually paid.

Back to 3D Math
Direct answer

How much resin does a miniature use, and what does it cost

A standard 28mm tabletop miniature consumes roughly 5ml to 12ml of resin hollowed, and closer to 20ml solid. Hollowing is the whole game on resin: a 28×20×40mm bounding box is 22.4ml, but hollowed at a 1.5mm wall with a solid base it holds about 6ml — a 73% saving over solid. Multiply that by your waste allowance for the raft, supports, and purge, and you have the real consumption.

For cost, work per millilitre. A 1kg bottle at $19.99 is 1000ml at $0.020/ml, so a 6ml hollowed miniature is about $0.12 in resin — a hundred of them lands near $12 and roughly one bottle. Weight is the same multiplication the other way: 6ml × 1.12 g/ml = 6.7g, which is what a hollowed 28mm mini should feel like in your hand.

Cost per Millilitre by Bottle

BottleSizePricePer mL
Budget 1kg bottle1000 mL$14.99$0.0150
Anycubic Mono 500ml500 mL$15.99$0.0320
Elegoo Mars 1kg1000 mL$19.99$0.0200
Anycubic Mono M5 Pro 1kg1000 mL$22.99$0.0230
Prisma Resin 1kg1000 mL$34.99$0.0350
Elegoo Saturn 2kg2000 mL$35.99$0.0180

These are the exact presets loaded into the calculator. Buy on per-millilitre, not on sticker price — a 2kg bottle looks like a bargain until you notice you cannot keep 2kg of mixed resin from six brands in one jug without curing problems.

How to budget a whole project

  1. 1

    Hollow everything, and set the wall once

    Most slicers hollow automatically at print time — Chitubox, Lychee, and Elegoo Space all have a per-object hollowing option. Pick 1.5mm and leave it there. Dropping to 1.0mm on a miniature saves maybe 0.6ml and is the difference between a part that survives a drop and one that does not.

  2. 2

    Honest about supports

    A hollowed mini needs supports for the same features a solid one does, but the supports themselves are solid, and the raft is solid too. 15% overhead is a reasonable floor for a small figure. Terrain tiles, flying models, and anything with a big unsupported flat want 25–40%, because that is where the failures cluster.

  3. 3

    Price the bottle, not the millilitre you use

    The calculator shows the cost of the resin you consume and, separately, how many bottles that project actually requires. They are not the same number. A 100-mini project that consumes 690ml costs $13.80 in resin but you still had to buy a whole bottle, and the half you never use will thicken in the jug.

  4. 4

    Watch the uncured waste, not just the printed part

    Your biggest resin loss is the failed hollow that slumps off the build plate, the rag you wipe the cup with, and the vat sediment you can never pour back. On a small-figure project those run 5–10% on top of everything else, and none of it shows up in a slicer estimate. Keep one bottle per resin brand — mixing is what actually wastes resin.

Miniature Resin Weight & Cost FAQ

How much resin does a 28mm miniature use?

Roughly 5ml to 12ml hollowed, and closer to 20ml solid. A 28×20×40mm bounding box is 22.4ml, but hollowed at a 1.5mm wall with a solid base it holds about 6ml. That is a 73% saving over solid, and it is why hollowing is the default on every slicer worth using.

How do I calculate the cost of resin for one miniature?

Work out your cost per millilitre, then multiply. A 1kg bottle at $19.99 is 1000ml at $0.020/ml, so a 6ml hollowed miniature with 15% waste is 6.9ml, or about $0.14. A hundred of them consumes 690ml and costs $13.80 in resin — though you still had to buy a whole bottle.

How much waste should I allow for supports?

15% is a sensible floor for a small hollowed figure: the raft, the supports themselves, the purge down the cup, and the occasional failed hollow that slumps. Terrain, flying models, and anything with a large unsupported flat want 25–40%, because that is where failures cluster. Nothing in a slicer estimate accounts for the rag you wipe the cup with.

How much does a hollowed 28mm miniature weigh?

About 6.7g. A 6ml hollowed part at 1.12 g/ml comes to 6.7g, and the same model printed solid is closer to 25g. The weight is a useful sanity check in the hand — if a hollowed 28mm feels like 20g, it is not hollow, and you are printing twice the resin you think you are.

Should I mix resin brands to save money?

No. Different resins have different shrinkage, different cure times, and different shelf lives, and mixing them gives you a blend with the worst of all three properties. The one bottle per brand rule is about consistency, not just storage — a batch that behaves predictably is worth more than a bottle you got half off.

Is resin or filament cheaper for a whole army?

Per millilitre, resin wins on miniatures. A 1kg PLA roll at $19.99 is $0.020/g, and a 28mm mini at 12g hollowed is $0.24 of filament against about $0.14 in resin. The gap widens as you scale up: resin wins harder on small figures, while filament wins outright on terrain and anything where print time matters more than surface finish.