Article updated on September 16, 2024 at 4:18 AM PDT
I spent hundreds of hours testing popular 3D printers for in-depth reviews. These ones impressed me the most. printing machinery
CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.
What material type do you need?
Filament (FDM) is best for large useful prints, while resin is great for tiny details.
How big do you want to print?
If you want to make large cosplay items, a bigger print area is best. 220x220 or more should be the goal.
What's your budget?
A smaller budget doesn't have to mean a worse machine, but you should expect to tinker.
CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.
What material type do you need?
Filament (FDM) is best for large useful prints, while resin is great for tiny details.
How big do you want to print?
If you want to make large cosplay items, a bigger print area is best. 220x220 or more should be the goal.
What's your budget?
A smaller budget doesn't have to mean a worse machine, but you should expect to tinker.
Ever since I traded an old phone for a 3D printer nearly 10 years ago I've been obsessed with them. I spent a lot of time tuning and perfect those early machines, even setting up an Etsy store and selling what I produced. I bought new machines to try out and eventually starting reviewing them as my job. Even when I turned my hobby into my job, I still didn't lose the facination I have for them and even after trying dozens of different machines, I still get a kick when I make something awesome.
With so many options available now, it can be hard to tell which one is worth the investment. To choose the best 3D printer, prioritize speed and accuracy. For added versatility, consider features like multicolor printing or the ability to work with different materials.
After spending hundreds of hours printing on a wide range of machines, we've put together this list, giving it our all to ensure that no matter your project type or budget, there's something here for you. Whether you want a resin 3D printer to make miniatures for your Dungeons & Dragons game or a large-format one to make cosplay armor, we have the right 3D printer in this list.
This list features a range of both small and large 3D printers, with considerations for factors such as print speed, build plate size, material costs, print head type, and other important details. Once you've decided to take the plunge into additive manufacturing -- that's what 3D printing essentially is -- you can check out the FAQ below, too.
I've spent almost a decade and countless hours testing 3D printers in as many ways as possible to bring you the best 3D printers in every class. Right now, the Bambu Lab A1 Combo is our frontrunner: It's fast, can produce excellent detail and it's well priced at $489. It also comes with an excellent color system, allowing you to print in four different colors.
These models by Fotis Mint are extremely detailed.
I rarely find a product that impresses me, but the A1 Combo left me genuinely amazed with its performance and value. This 3D printer is excellent, with fast, quality printing at a great price. Adding the AMS lite elevates it to the best printer you can buy right now. Plus, its four-color printing for less than $600 is such a good deal; I'm still baffled by how the company pulls off that pricing. The A1 creates a lot of waste when printing in color, but that is not a good reason not to buy this machine. Whether it's your first printer or another one for your collection, the A1 Combo is the number one printer to buy right now.
Read more: A1 Combo review
No "best 3D printer list" is complete without the Prusa MK4. Prusa has dominated the market for nearly a decade, and the MK4 continues the trend of excellent quality and customer care while maintaining high standards in open source.
It is fast, although not the fastest, and always creates quality prints. I can count the number of print fails from MK4 on one finger, and I have been using it for months now. If you have the money, the MK4 is well worth the investment.
Read more: Prusa MK4 Review
The Elegoo Saturn 3 is an almost perfect upgrade from its predecessor. It is bigger and more powerful, with better-quality prints. It's fast, too, printing models at what feels like twice the speed you'd expect. I can print an entire plate of D&D minis in less than an hour, which is just astounding.
It is my No. 1 choice for a midrange resin 3D printer. If you're looking to print serious details or a lot of tiny models, this is simply the best choice.
The P1S is an updated version of our previous best 3D printer winner, the P1P. Each of the updates to the machine -- plastic side panels, glass top and door, camera, part fan and LED light -- helped land the P1S as our previous No. 1 pick. It's now been supplanted by another Bambu machine, but it still holds up as the best-enclosed printer you can buy.
The quality of the models and their speed are amazing and very few printers offer both of these aspects anywhere near the same price. The P1S beats out its predecessor, even though it is the same machine in every mechanical way, because the case and door make it a more well-rounded product.
Anycubic's reputation for dead simple printers to use without being prohibitively expensive scales well to its updated Kobra 2 Max, making any large printing job a mostly set-and-forget affair. The sheer size of this machine requires some consideration.
To maintain speed with the massive build plate, this bed-slinger comes with some powerful motors, which caused even the sturdiest table in my workshop to wobble. The gyroscope in the print head helps combat most of this, but if you're printing something especially tall, be prepared for some imperfections.
And like any Anycubic printer, the software is nowhere near as sophisticated as its more expensive competitors. As long as you're right with those minor compromises, you'll get a lot of great prints out of this machine.
These 3D printers are excellent for anyone just starting out in 3D printing. Check out our expanded list of the best budget 3D printers for more in this category.
The Kobra 3 is the first color combo 3D printer from one of the more budget-friendly manufacturers. It's a good machine, with a lot of nice little features. It prints at a good speed, and the ACE color system is positioned flexibly. It also keeps the filament secure and handles just about any filament roll you can throw at it. Models have been excellent and the color system handles the color changes well, though the software does create a barrier.
The software is the biggest barrier to the entire machine. I don't know why 3D printing companies invest so little time in Slicer software, given that it can make or break the experience. That said, Anycubic is working on a brand-new Slicer that may tip the scales back in their favor. Stay tuned
The A1 Mini Combo is an almost perfect entry to the world of color 3D printing. It's well-priced, and while the build area is small, the quality of the print -- and the fact you can print in four colors straight out of the box -- is amazing. If you're looking for your first printer and want to try color printing, this is a no-brainer.
Resin printers are the next step up in rapid prototyping design technology when you want your printing to look as high-quality as possible. Just be warned: The liquid resin is harder to work with, requiring good ventilation and a portable UV light to properly cure.
The Photon Mono 2 is Anycubic's latest upgrade to its popular Mono series and is a solid upgrade to the original. The prints are detailed and the printer's size makes it easy to put safely in your workshop. If you want to get into resin printing, the Mono 2 is a great starting point.
The Adventurer 5M and the 5M Pro are two excellent 3D printers from Flashforge. They aren't fancy, and you can see they take heavy influence from the P series from Bambu Lab -- but what they do, they do well, and they do it at an enticing price. A solid CoreXY printer that can print solidly at 300mm/s is not to be sniffed at, and one that's reasonably priced is well worth your time. I especially like the Flashprint software that allows you to network several printers at the same time effortlessly. Great for schools and small print farms.
narrow web intermittent letterpress label printing machine Qidi has made a lot of good 3D printers over the years -- one of my first printers was a Qidi machine -- but the Q1 Pro is the first to hit the sweet spot of price and performance in such a meaningful way. It has a bi-metal hot end that allows you to print exotic filaments like carbon fiber and nylons and a heated build chamber to support those exotic filaments. Those unique traits on a sub-$500 make it a great starter-choice for engineers.