Here Are the Best 3D Printers for Home Use

In order to be able to send a printer for less than 200 € into the race, Anycubic could have made it easy and only installed cheap components. Instead, the company developed the Mega Zero. This somewhat strange looking 3D printer was saved in the design, but this was made up in other places.

For example, one could now denounce the lack of a heated print bed. But as long as you don’t want to print with filaments, which cause problems if you just look at them crookedly, then you can in fact do quite a lot with an unheated print bed. PLA prints are not a problem, and neither is flexible TPU filament. The Anycubic Mega Zero can process the latter even better thanks to the extruder reminiscent of the excellent BMG from Bondtech. The two-course filament feed and the specified path of the filament to the extruder nozzle are also not to be despised.

If your budget really doesn’t give you any leeway at all and you’re forced to print as cheaply as possible, then the Mega Zero with its € 145 as an entry-level model is quite right.

Read the full Anycubic Mega Zero review.

• 2. Creality Ender 3

Specs

3D Printing Specifications

Software Requirements

Dimensions & Weight

Creality’s Ender 3 was the printer that thousands of makers used to get to know their new hobby. It came on the market at a time when you either had to spend a lot of money to get a decent device or you could hope for a lucky find for relatively little money. Then as now, this extremely successful printer primarily stands for a low price, simple operation and surprisingly good results without having to change a lot.

It has a heated print bed measuring 220 x 220 x 250 mm and can continue printing from the same point at which it was interrupted in the event of a power failure. The Ender 3, which is mostly delivered pre-assembled, delivers impressive immediate results despite its low price. Another plus: You can hack, modify and upgrade the Ender 3 at will .

Since the Ender 3 and its variants are so popular, you can also contact the large online community at any time for tips, tricks and suggested solutions if something does not work as it should with your printer .

Read the full Creality Ender 3 review.

• 3. Creality Ender 3 V2

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The Creality Ender 3 V2 is not a revision of its predecessor, the Ender 3s, but rather a refinement. The Ender 3 V2 takes the simple design that served the original so well and adds a few useful additions to make the printer more powerful and user-friendly. Nevertheless, it continues to rely on the tried and tested means of the entire Ender series: It combines a high-quality printing experience with an absolutely competitive price – in this case € 230.

At 220 x 220 x 250 mm, the installation space remains the same as with the Ender 3. And the Bowden extruder, with which you can process the usual filaments – PLA, PETG and with a great deal of sensitivity, also TPU – is retained. What is new about the Ender 3 V2, however, are the belt tensioners, the updated electronics (including a 32-bit board and noise-canceling stepper motor drivers), an integrated drawer for tools, a touchscreen and loads of other improvements.

The Ender 3 V2 can actually be compared even better with the Ender 3 Pro than with previous models, because both devices are similarly equipped and are accordingly closer to each other in terms of price – and rightly so.

Read the full Creality Ender 3 V2 review.

• 4. Flashforge Finder

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Specs

Software Requirements

Dimensions & Weight

Flashforge Finder has been around for a few years, and yet this powerful printer is still a solid choice when it comes to budget 3D printers. This colorful, cube-shaped printer, which is supposedly aimed at newbies, offers a colorful touch display, wireless data exchange and, so to speak, a plug-and-play workflow. The standard Flashprint software from Flashforge ensures that you only have to set up profiles with the desired print result (simple, right?). However, the profiles can also be adjusted manually.

The installation space of the Finder is relatively small (140 x 140 x 140 mm) and the printer only accepts chipped Flashforge filaments by default (the chip reader must be deactivated in the settings). And the lack of a heated print bed may also be a minus for many, but the printer is always good for simple PLA prints.

Read the full Flashforge Finder 3D printer review.

• 5. Creality Ender 5 Pro

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The Creality Ender 5 Pro is, as the name suggests, a better Ender 5. However, the Pro does not benefit from a comprehensive change in design, but from smaller, less noticeable improvements: higher-quality parts have been installed in it, for example a quiet V1.15 mainboard made by Creality with TMC2208 stepper motor drivers. This ensures whisper-quiet printing. The Pro also has an all-metal extruder, which Creality says is more durable than previous extruders.

The new Capricorn filament feed also helps make the aforementioned extruder so much better. This striking blue inlet with the even more striking name ensures that the filament is fed smoothly to the hotend. And that’s just one of the many small improvements that ensure that the Ender 5 Pro gives you the feeling that you own a premium device. The cables and the inlet can sometimes protrude into the installation space, which is why you should print a few clips or clips right at the beginning to prevent this.

Read the full Creality Ender 5 Pro review

• 6. Anycubic Mega X

BUY ON AMAZON | ANYCUBIC

Specs

3D Printing Specifications

Software Requirements

Dimensions & Weight

Anycubics i3 Mega is a reliable 3D printer that is easy to use and delivers excellent results. With the Mega X, Anycubic simply relied on everything that goes well with the i3 (basically everything) and enlarged everything three times.

The design of the Mega X is reminiscent of a large aquarium (and it has to, because the 300 x 300 x 305 mm installation space has to be somewhere). Compared to the i3, it benefits from a few small changes that are intended to improve the overall experience. This includes two Z-axis stepper motors and two threaded spindles with which the Y-axis slide is stabilized. The prints adhere well to the Ultrabase print bed and the titanium extruder also ensures that the extrusion system leaves a good impression overall.

Since the Mega X is a brand new part of the Anycubic Mega series, we would have expected major changes, such as a WLAN function and automatic bed leveling. Instead we have an oversized i3 Mega. Which is okay, because the part is really great.

Read the full Anycubic Mega X review.

• 7. Original Prusa Mini

AVAILABLE ON PRUSA

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If you want to get as close as possible to the excellent MK3S without actually having to buy one (or build it yourself from the individual parts), then you’ve come to the right place with the Original Prusa Mini. Nevertheless, it is very different from its great predecessor. However, the print results are mostly the same: It offers fantastic print quality, effortless operation and top-class features.

It impresses with its removable, magnetic print bed coated with PEI film, a carefully developed firmware that has really thought of everything – such as the breathtaking grid leveling of the print bed. But what you can always rely on with Original Prusa devices is the support that the company offers for its products. Regular firmware updates fix bugs, make improvements and even implement completely new equipment features.

The Mini is – well – mini, the installation space is only 180 x 180 x 180 mm. Given the average installation space and the general print quality that can be obtained with cheaper printers, one has to wonder whether the proud price of 379 € is justified. But you have to consider that these cheaper printers are not Prusa printers either.

• 8. Monoprice Voxels

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Most printers, such as Creality’s Ender range, always require some kind of assembly. Not so with the Monprice Voxel. This fact, as well as its general usability and its numerous features make the Voxel an excellent beginner printer under 400 €.

The Voxel, which is a white label copy of the Adventurer 3 from Flashforge, differs from its original not only in appearance. The printing experience and the software used ensure that the 3D printer is an easy-to-use device that gently increases the learning curve. The detachable print bed, print monitoring camera, and WiFi feature set the printer apart from most of the others on this list. However, the small installation space and the required slicing software can also be an obstacle for more demanding users.

• 9. Artillery Sidewinder X1

SEE ON AMAZON

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The Artillery Sidewinder X1 is a 3D printer with a large build volume, which is not only characterized by its high performance and its reliability in PLA printing. It also knows how to convince with its well-thought-out equipment features, all of which are designed to be able to produce large prints. Primarily we mean the Volcano hotend here.

The X1 has a 300 x 300 x 400 mm installation space and a direct drive extruder that sits on the Volcano hotend. Since more filament can be melted and flowed with this hotend at any given time, you should be able to increase the printing speed or the layer height (with the appropriate printer nozzle) without encountering problems with extrusion. However, the large, glass-coated print bed moves in the Y-axis, which is why the maximum speed ultimately always depends on how fast this mass can be moved.

The X1’s print bed has an Ultrabase-like texture that holds the material in place when heated and releases when it cools. The neat ribbon cables (some say they are not up to the task and others say they work perfectly) keep the X1 looking tidy. In our tests, we encountered minor shake at the very top of the Z-axis, but if you remove the filament spool holder from the top frame, this should be resolved.

Read the full Artillery Sidewinder XI review.

• 10. Qidi Tech X-Pro

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

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The Qidi Tech X-Pro is a cost-effective printer with double extrusion that is delivered ready to go – and these are really two features that are rarely found in budget 3D printers.

The Qidi Tech X-Pro, which is based on the often copied open source printer Replicator (the name says it all) from MakerBot, has a closed pressure chamber, which is particularly helpful when printing with heat-sensitive filaments that tend to warp is. The X-Pro also differs through a rigid, removable and magnetic pressure plate and a double extruder equipped with “turbo ventilation”.

Overall, we had the impression that the X-Pro was able to complete its print jobs quite satisfactorily. The double extrusion is at least on the same level, if not better, than the newer Creator Max from Flashforge. The print bed has to be leveled manually, which can lead to headaches with two extruder nozzles that really have to be aligned absolutely the same. However, we didn’t encounter any major issues with it in our testing.

Okay, the installation space really doesn’t knock anyone off their feet. But if you leave that out of the game, then the Qidi Tech X-Pro is an absolutely inexpensive and suitable entry-level model for everyone who wants to try their hand at double extrusion. Setup is really a breeze, even for absolute newbies.

Read the full QIDI Tech X-Pro review

• 11. Original Prusa i3 MK3S+

AVAILABLE ON PRUSA

Specs

Printer Specs

Power & Software

Physical Dimensions

With the Original Prusa i3 MK3S, the focus is entirely on extremely high user-friendliness, absolute attention to detail and the range of many equipment features.

You can expect excellent print quality, an enthusiastic and helpful community, easy-to-use slicing software and lots of other special features, such as automatic calibration, a filament sensor and error detection. Regular software and firmware updates make the printer even better by eliminating bugs and improving existing features and adding new ones.

You will also receive a pack of gummy bears if you assemble the device yourself. If the eight hours of assembly time put you off, you can also pay an additional $ 200 to get a fully assembled MK3S.

This is practical, but there are no gummy bears here. Hard decision.

Read the full Original Prusa i3 MK3S review.