The economic development of additive manufacturing has increased rapidly in recent years and has reached almost all industry areas. Due to the high degree of design freedom, it offers an excellent complement to conventional manufacturing methods. In particular, the laser powder bed-fusion process opens up new possibilities in lightweight construction and component complexity. As industrial manufacturing processes constantly compete, it is of high interest to continuously increase the economic efficiency of a production process. The central topic of this thesis is the economic representation of the additive manufacturing process, as well as its significant dependence on process parameters such as layer thickness and scan speed. For example, doubling the layer thickness leads to significantly shorter build times and, thus, a significant reduction in manufacturing costs. The focus here is on the nickel-based material IN718, frequently encountered in the aerospace industry. This material is outstandingly suitable for applications in jet engines, for example, thermal resistance and strength. Since this material is usually processed conventionally, a direct comparison with the additive manufacturing method is possible, as well as an economic and ecological consideration concerning tool life and resource consumption. In this study, a standardized component forms the basis for the investigation, based on which the essential process characteristics of conventional and additive manufacturing technologies can be evaluated, analyzed and finally compared.