It’s never been easier to find the best 3D printer, because machines come in so many different shapes, sizes, and price ranges that there’s one for everyone.
For as little as $200, you can get a good, small machine that can quickly and easily bring your ideas to life. In the same way, tabletop gamers have it easy because high-resolution resin printers can make incredibly detailed miniatures in a matter of minutes.
Here are the 10 Best 3D Printers;
1. Anycubic Vyper
The AnyCubic Vyper, the best 3D printer that costs $359 and has an open frame, is a step up from the AnyCubic i3 Mega S that we just reviewed. It is a good value for a 3D printer that costs less than $500 because it has a large print area and can automatically level the bed. Even though its print quality and reliability aren’t as good as those of our Editor’s Choice budget 3D printer, the Original Prusa Mini, the Vyper can make bigger prints. You might just need to do a little cleaning.
2. Toybox 3D Printer
The Toybox 3D Printer, the cheap and best 3D printer for kids, lives up to its name: it makes it easy to make a lot of small toys. (It starts at $329, and we tested the Deluxe bundle for $389, which is talked about below.) It lets you print simple things with just one touch from an iOS or Android device or a web browser. In our tests, the print quality was good and there were no mistakes. You can choose from more than 2,000 printable objects or projects in the Toybox, or you can bring in 3D files made somewhere else.
You can even draw things that you want to print. Its biggest flaw is that it has a small print area, but that doesn’t stop you from printing things from the Toybox catalog. The Editors’ Choice award for basic budget 3D printing goes to this rare 3D printer. It is rare because it is closer to foolproof than most. Also, we’ve seen bundles sold directly from Toybox at very low prices.
3. Ultimaker S5 3D Printer
The Ultimaker S5 is our Editors’ Choice for a professional-grade filament-based best 3D printer because it has two extruders, good print quality, a large build volume, and is easy to set up and use.
4. The MakerBot Replicator+
You could think of the MakerBot Replicator+ ($2,499) desktop best 3D printer as a beefed-up version of the original Replicator ($1,949.00 at Amazon). It is faster, has a larger build volume, and is better designed than the original Replicator, which was already very good. It also has features that make it easier to use for professionals, who are its main audience, and it is quieter than the last version. It’s the Editors’ Choice for high-end 3D printers that can be used for a variety of tasks.
5. Original Prusa Mini
The Original Prusa Mini costs $349, which isn’t a lot, but it works well and is reliable. This open-frame best 3D printer comes as a kit that is pretty easy to put together, but we had to make a few changes to get it up and running properly. Once it was set up correctly, though, it worked like a boss, printing out a wide range of things without any mistakes and with good attention to detail. Our new Editors’ Choice winner for low-cost 3D printers is an easy choice.
6. Monoprice Mini Delta V2 3D Printer
Most of the important things to look for in the best 3D printer for beginners are met by the Monoprice Mini Delta V2 3D Printer. It costs only $199.99, is easy to set up and use (no calibration is needed), and always makes prints that are at least good enough. It’s also fast and can use many different kinds of filament. It has a small build area and average print quality, but it works smoothly and rarely makes mistakes. This makes it a good way to learn about 3D printing.
7. Original Prusa i3 MK3S Plus
The Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ is an incremental upgrade to the Editors’ Choice-winning Original Prusa i3 MK3S. It costs $749 as a kit and $999 fully assembled. The Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ doesn’t look or work much differently than its predecessor, but several changes under the hood make an already excellent 3D printer even more durable and reliable.
Our tests showed that the new model always made prints with the same high quality as the MK3S, and it didn’t give us any trouble while we were using it. The MK3S+ is the latest mid-priced 3D printer for hobbyists and makers to win our Editor’s Choice award.
8. Creativity Ender-3 V2
The $319.99 Creality Ender-3 V2, which is an updated version of the popular Ender-3, is a cheap open-frame best 3D printer that comes as a kit. It will take you a few hours to put this together, so you’ll need to be handy. The unit we looked at was a little hard to set up and use, but it was worth the trouble because most of the test prints were slightly better than average.
If you’re new to 3D printing and want to start printing as soon as possible, you should look somewhere else. But building and setting up the V2 should be fun for people who are new to 3D printing and are willing to give the process their full attention.
9. Dremel DigiLab 3D45 3D Printer
When judging the best 3D printer, we look at several things, such as how easy it is to set up and use, the quality and consistency of the prints, the build volume, the software, the filament, how well it connects, and how much it costs. Even though no printer is great at everything, the $1,799 Dremel DigiLab 3D45 3D Printer is the closest we’ve seen.
It is mostly made for product developers, engineers, and other professionals, but college students should also find it useful. Even though it costs a lot more than most consumer 3D printers, it’s easy to set up and use, and it consistently makes high-quality prints. This means that a tech-savvy hobbyist with some cash to invest could also use it. It gets our Editors’ Choice as a good 3D printer in the middle price range.
10. LulzBot Mini 2
The LulzBot Mini 2, which costs $1,500, looks a lot like its predecessor, the LulzBot Mini, which was our first Editors’ Choice mid-priced best 3D printer. However, the LulzBot Mini 2 can print more at once and has three key improvements: a better extruder head, an LCD, and quieter motors.
Even though it doesn’t quite beat our Editors’ Choice, the Dremel DigiLab 3D45, it gets high marks for being easy to set up, easy to use, and able to work with a wide range of filament types. This makes it a good choice for schools, hobbyists, and people who want to buy a more powerful and flexible machine than an entry-level model like the XYZprinting da Vinci Mini.
Also read: The Ultimate Guide to Industrial Applications of 3D Printing
