10 Niches to Make Money in 3D Printing
Reading Time: 13 minutes 3D printing offers many opportunities for entrepreneurs or novices looking to carve out a niche and make money. I researched some of the most popular niches among 3D printing enthusiasts and compiled them.
Here are some great niches to make money in 3D printing:
- Dragons
- Nametags/nameplates
- D&D tabletop models
- Cosplay props and accessories
- Home décor
- Custom cookie cutters
- Replacement parts and repairs
- Custom prints
- Action figures
- Jewelry
If you want to learn how you can make your first 3D print sale and a monthly income, join my Skool group 3D Printerly Profits.
1. Dragons
After doing much research into making money with 3D printing, I noticed a trend in 3D printed dragons.
They are especially popular for in-person selling at craft fairs and market events because they are so eye-catching, and dragons are cool.
3D printing allows for creating detailed and custom color dragon figures, making them a sought-after item for both adults and children.
I did an interview with Weston Bassett on how he makes $1,000 a week selling 3D printed dragons. That’s $4,000 a month! Check it out below.
Bill, who got interviewed by Nikko from 3D Printed Profits said he make about $3,000 every month from selling Cinderwing3D’s crystal dragons.
He added that he advertises through TikTok, and people are not getting over them. For example, customers always ordered the crystal dragons he made in different colors.
May, who also got interviewed on 3D Printed Profits said they printed a dragon, and their neighbor became their first customer after buying it for $15.
A friend also wanted the same after their neighbor posted it on her social media. Subsequently, it snowballed into a $3,000-per-month business.
Products to sell within this niche:
- Cinderwing3D Dragons – crystal, rose, lunar dragons & more
- Sunset3D Dragons – Flame, devil, poison, ice dragons
- 3D printed dragon eggs (Cinderwing3D)
2. Nametags/Nameplates
A lot of profit has been made from basic nametags and nameplates in 3D printing.
It’s perfect because it’s highly customizable, takes little filament and targets pretty much anyone.
They add a unique flair to everyday objects.
You can add nametags and nameplates anywhere to add a personal touch to various places like doors, desks, walls, and even keychains.
Plus, they’re pretty easy to print.
3D Design Bros, also known as 3DDB on YouTube created personalized stocking nametags.
He paired it to launch with Christmas decoration shopping and listed it on Etsy. Surprisingly, this listing grew to over $10,000 in revenue in just a month.
He highly recommends planning out selling events with customized 3D prints to get a solid advantage over other sellers.
MorenoCreatives3D has some lovely 3D printed name keychains in various colors that are doing very well on Etsy. This particular listing has over 1,200 five-star reviews. A client said his kids loved how the plastic with their names changed color from green to yellow.
I came across an interesting listing of Personalized Custom Pokémon Nametags on Etsy. It’s a seller called BCMakeStuff with over 13,000 sales and 3,000 coming from these nametags.
Products to sell within this niche:
- Custom luggage tags
- Personalized keyrings
- Personalized desk plaque
- Personalized cable tag
- Horse emergency information tag
- Minecraft inspired nametags
3. D&D Tabletop Models
Another niche to make money in 3D printing is D&D tabletop models.
Gamers love customizing their setups, and 3D printing makes it easy to create cool minis, terrain, and accessories that bring their fantasy worlds to life. This niche is a blast for anyone into tabletop gaming.
A guy from Reddit sells D&D resin miniatures weekly for players of a hobby shop. He’s friends with the owner so took advantage of the opportunity.
He sells each miniature for $2, with it only costing $0.75 to make.
With resin printers, you can have several miniatures in one print. So with 20 miniatures, he can be making a profit of $1.25 each, which would be $25.
Another Reddit user sells D&D minis online, which people pay for. He usually posts a self-ad on a Dutch D&D Reddit page, and people find him from there.
His operation was small as he mostly did it as a hobby while making small cash on the side.
Brandotof10 from the Bambu Lab Subreddit said he made around $4,000 in 2023 on Etsy by 3D printing dice towers.
This was the gross profit and not net after expenses. He usually sells everything at around 50-75% profit margin after covering the cost of box packing materials, but not including the material cost.
Products to sell within this niche:
- D&D miniatures – warriors, druids, goblins, ogres, elf rangers etc.
- Terrain – stone walls, castles, village terrain, rowboats
- Dice towers
- Ogre- tabletop miniature
- Treasure chest dice case
4. Cosplay Props and Accessories
Another goldmine niche is 3D printing custom cosplay props and accessories to bring characters to life. From helmets to weapons, the demand for detailed, unique pieces is huge. With endless design possibilities and fans willing to pay for quality, this niche is fun and profitable.
West_Application_760 from the 3D printing Subreddit said that he used his 3D printers to make replicas/props from video games/movies and made good money ($4,480 in November for approximately 30 hours of work).
He added that most of the things he made were bought as gifts, and the average sale price was around $110.
Thepappasfritas from the same Subreddit said his friend who does 3D printing as a business mainly prints cosplay props like Star Wars, and Lego figures.
Most of his clients were sourced from Instagram and Comic Cons. Despite also having a website, there were still good and bad seasons.
Max, who got interviewed by Nikko in the video below mainly sells cosplay items started by following trends of what was big in the movie industry.
He listed some Robert Pattinson Batman cowls and sold 60 in three months. This slowly gradually grew to $1,000 – $2,000 monthly in revenue.
A problem that came up though is with copyright and using intellectual property from various companies.
He mentioned that Etsy took down his listing because he mentioned Batman in his title and description.
For a while, he was the topic result when you searched for Batman. Disney and various companies do protect their IP so you have to keep this in mind.
Products to sell within this niche:
- Wolverine claws
- Collapsing straight Katana
- Primordial jade cutter
- Death trooper full-scale helmet
- Red hood rebirth-inspired helmet
- Winter soldier-inspired mask
5. Home Décor
Home Décor will always be popular, and you can 3D print some amazing models to sell to people.
You can whip up unique, personalized pieces that fit any style, adding a special touch to any space. It’s a great way to make homes feel more like you.
Disastrous-Agency675 from the 3D printing Subreddit said that he sold several unique décor items that people love. He held monthly local events for 4-6 hours on a Saturday. This enabled him to make $400 on the low end and up to $1,500 in profits. He also sold dragons and other custom items.
This ribbed ornamental 3D printed flower vase is among the bestsellers on Etsy, with over 875 five-star reviews. One client said she had been looking for a vase for her Lego flowers for quite some time, and this vase was perfect for that.
The YouTuber ‘3D Printing With Richard’ lists home decorations as one of the top 10 niches to make money in 3D printing. You can print cabinet organizers, lamp shades, figurines, and planters.
Products to sell within this niche:
- Custom vases and planters
- Easter egg dispenser bunny
- Corner drawers
- Owl lamp
- Candle holders
- 3D printed designer soap dish
6. Custom Cookie Cutters
I’ve seen a lot of success with cookie cutters, especially custom ones.
You can craft one-of-a-kind shapes for any occasion, adding a fun twist to baking. Perfect for themed parties or because they’re a baker’s best friend.
Amber, a busy mom from the Nikko interview below said that she opened an Etsy store where she sold 99% cookie cutters and made about $200 the first month. After, they made a custom design that a software company liked and bought 300 of them. Seeing it was a viable business, she turned it into a side hustle.
She calculates that her business makes about 85% profit on everything they 3D print.
3DPrintCustomz is doing great on Etsy, selling custom cookie cutters for birthdays, weddings, business events, and Christmas holidays. His shop has over 2,000 five-star reviews, making him one of the top sellers.
Products to sell within this niche:
- Paw cookie cutters
- Frog cookie cutters
- Tesla cookie cutters
- Pokémon cookie cutters
- Cloud-shaped cookie cutters
- Sneaker cookie cutter
7. Replacement Parts and Repairs
3D printing shines in the replacement parts niche, offering custom fixes for broken or hard-to-find items.
It’s handy for industries needing rare or discontinued parts, bringing new life to old equipment.
Nick, in an interview with Nikko from 3D Printed Profits below said that he mainly focused on selling custom Dodge truck parts that had stopped being manufactured.
This earns him about $1,500 monthly. Some of these parts can be found on eBay or at a junkyard, but they were pretty expensive, so 3D printed ones offered people a cheap alternative.
One guy from Reddit said that he made a bit of money by printing repair parts for items that companies refuse to sell you repair items.
He also redesigned a part to strengthen it and sold it as an upgrade. This gave him a $148 profit margin.
BobbbyR6 from the mechanical engineering Subreddit said a friend with six printers made several hitch covers for a local club and made $2,000 in profits.
It took him approximately 5 hours to design, test, and prep the G-code for auto-running.
Check out this episode of 3D Printed Profits from someone who was able to turn a $1,000 investment into $30,000 by 3D printing racecar parts.
Products to sell within this niche:
- Replacement door slides
- Replacement bolts
- Rear heater valve shafts
- Repair brackets and mounts
- Replacement rubber rollers for Cricut Maker
- Bike puncture repair kit mount
- BMW i3 boot parcel shelf clips
- Cube Stereo hybrid HPC engine covers
8. Custom Prints
3D printing is mainly known for it’s ability to personalize models quickly. You can take advantage of this as a niche to make money.
One Reddit user said that after Walmart started installing coin-operated cart locks, they developed a model for a keychain to release them.
After tossing it on Facebook Marketplace, he sold 250 for $5 apiece over 2 months. They each cost a total of only $0.10 to make.
That’s a revenue of $1,250, and a cost of just $25.
Some examples are existing models that you edit to a person’s preferences such as dimensions or adding text.
You could make something like a YouTube Play Button, a trophy with the person’s desired text and colors, or a themed model to go with their desk setup.
One Reddit user said they 3D printed a custom flower pot and sold it for $20 after spending only $4 worth of filament and 10 minutes modeling it.
He recommended posting an ad for the custom print on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
Mms_au from Reddit said he went from zero to a consistent $9K monthly revenue by selling gaming, headphones, and PS4 game controller stands to new and repeat customers.
He got his first few orders by beginning with a Facebook marketplace listing for $3/print hour.
Techinkal from the 3D printing Subreddit said they spend their downtime coming up with accessories people want on their desks, such as business card holders and pen cups.
He said that he doubles his material cost and makes a decent amount per hour of printer time, and both these printers were paid for.
He makes sure to design models so they require very little to no post-processing and support removal.
Products to sell within this niche:
- Custom color holders (controllers, games, SD cards etc.) & organizers (desks, bathroom, kitchen etc.)
- Awards/trophies
- Action figures
- Phone & watch stands
- Phone cases
9. Action Figures
Action figures are a top pick in 3D printing, drawing in collectors and fans alike.
Norm, in an interview from 3D Printed Profits made a full-time hustle by 3D printing articulated action figures with the help of his wife Christina, who did the painting.
They got their first client after posting one of the figures on social media, which pushed them to start an Etsy store.
For tiny action figures, they charge about $17.50 each. Currently, they work with many voice actors who want to have a custom action figure made.
For example, there are tons of characters in Star Wars but not all of them will have action figures that people desire.
Several sellers on Etsy have successfully ventured into the action figures niche.
One shop that stands out is DreambigbyRayMOD, which has over 3,800 five-star reviews for selling DIY 3D printed figures.
Products to sell within this niche:
- Characters from movies or series
- Spiderman plastic cake toppers
- Frankenstein figures
- Star Wars tripod laser cannon 6” action figures
- Deadpool vs juggernaut
- Batwoman
- Lord Voldemort
It’s better to steer away from models that have intellectual property behind them. Some people try to use alternative names that are related to characters or action figures.
10. Jewelry
3D printing makes jewelry design accessible and customizable. Whether crafting intricate rings, unique necklaces, or personalized bracelets, this niche lets you easily create one-of-a-kind pieces.
It’s a great way to offer bespoke designs that stand out from mass-produced options.
A Reddit user asked about the most profitable 3D printed objects (best per gram of filament use) and got a reply that jewelry has a high-profit margin and is easy to sell on sites like Etsy.
This video by Superfinances ranks jewelry as one of the best 3D printed products to sell.
Why is that?
You have the creative freedom to create intricate and unique geometric patterns. Also, you can create personalized pieces, such as turning words into art that can be worn.
For example, this vessel pendant created by the Nervoussytem has over 3,000 raving reviews on Etsy. Its unique design made several customers term it as exquisite and amazingly designed.
Rod, a member from the 3D Printerly Profits Skool group made jewelry from soundwaves.
These were very popular. He even had women who were expecting request ultrasound recordings of the child in the womb – very creative and meaningful!
Oh yeah, nearly forgot. These go like hotcakes, especially since they are “personalized” It is jewelry that is created by recording one’s voice saying something pertinent, such as, “I love you.” and turning the resulting sound wave into a 3D representation. Women who are expecting have also had me make these using their ultrasound recording of the child in the womb.
Products to sell within this niche:
- 3D printed mushroom earrings
- Serpent 3D printed necklace
- Handmade hummingbird earrings
- Rubber TPU bracelets
- Gold ring with floral pattern
- Swirly jewelry ring holder
