5 Budget-Friendly 3D Printers That Provide The Best Bang For Your Buck

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3D printing is a great hobby for those who like creating objects that can be used around the house. You can even fix broken furniture and appliances by printing the relevant parts with a 3D printer. Whether you're a DIY enthusiast, a designer who wants to make quick prototypes, or an artist of any kind, a 3D printer lets you print objects you've never even thought of. However, the market is flooded with 3D printers of various kinds: There are FDM printers, SLA printers, bed slingers, Core XY machines, and whatnot. If you're a beginner, the sheer number of options and technical jargon is intimidating. So, we decided to put together a list of budget-friendly 3D printers that are ideal for dipping your toes into the hobby.

While these are cheap printers, they offer great value in terms of features, print quality, and speed. Far from being just a beginner's tool, those machines cater to a wide range of audiences, including seasoned printers looking to expand their arsenal. We've made sure to include printers of various types in this list: Core XY printers with enclosures, mini printers with multicolor support, and large, feature-loaded options.

Ask any 3D-printing enthusiast, and they'll tell you that the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon is the holy grail of consumer-grade 3D printing. However, that printer costs close to $1,000 — out of reach for most people. Elegoo — a renowned brand in 3D printing — has come up with a product that rivals the X1 Carbon, but at a third of its asking price. The Elegoo Centauri Carbon is a fully enclosed Core XY 3D printer with features such as auto bed leveling, 500 mm/s print speed, and a large build volume of 256 cubic millimeters. The brass-hardened steel nozzle can achieve temperatures of up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing a wide range of filaments to be used. The enclosure also helps maintain a high chamber temperature, which means you can print materials like ABS and ASA without any hiccups.

The built-in camera lets you monitor your prints remotely while also recording time-lapse videos of your prints. Despite being considerably cheaper than other machines of the same caliber and feature set, the Centauri Carbon doesn't compromise on build and print quality. Since it's a Core XY machine, it's also extremely fast to print. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced veteran looking for an affordable machine for your print farm, the Elegoo Centauri Carbon fits the bill. It has most of the features of an expensive printer, but with an affordable price tag. It lacks multicolor printing at the time of writing, though, which can be a deal-breaker for some.

Bambu Lab has built a strong reputation in the 3D printing business, thanks to reliable machines that just work. However, most 3D printers from the brand are rather pricey, which is why several consumers end up looking at other options. To fix this, the brand launched the Bambu Lab A1 Mini — an affordable 3D printer under $500. This instantly made it a lot more accessible to students and beginners who simply want to get a taste of 3D printing before going all-in on the hobby. The A1 Mini is essentially a trimmed-down version of the Bambu Lab A1. The brand has shaved off a few inches from the build volume, resulting in a printer that's quite small. Unlike most printers from the brand, the A1 Mini has a bed slinger design, which means the print bed moves along the Y-axis to facilitate printing.

As a result, the A1 Mini isn't as fast as some other options on this list with a Core XY configuration. That said, the print quality is excellent, just like you would expect from a Bambu Lab machine. Whether you're looking to print figurines or plastic bits of machinery for prototyping, the A1 Mini is a good fit. However, the small build volume means that you cannot print large objects like vases, helmets, and storage containers — objects that a standard-sized printer can easily handle. If you're willing to make that compromise, and strictly want a printer under $500, you simply cannot go wrong with the Bambu Lab A1 mini. For about $100 more, you can get the slightly larger Bambu Lab A1.

This is yet another bed slinger 3D printer that has made it to this list thanks to a few impressive features. For starters, the Anycubic Kobra 3 V2 is priced at $349.99 and offers a larger print bed compared to the Bambu Lab A1 mini. In fact, the print volume is the same as the Elegoo Centauri Carbon, which should satisfy most users. Apart from the ability to print larger objects, the print speeds are also higher on the Kobra 3 V2, reaching up to 600 mm/s — easily among the highest at this price point. Then, there are features like auto bed leveling, a 720p camera to monitor prints, and AI spaghetti detection that alerts you in case your prints go wrong midway through. These are features that are generally found on 3D printers that are a lot more expensive.

Another feature that's unheard of in this price range is multicolor printing. Anycubic has its proprietary multicolor printing solution that lets you print objects in multiple colors without manually changing the filament. While you have to purchase it separately, it's nice to see that even an entry-level machine like this is supported. Despite the Kobra 3 V2 being a bed slinger printer, it can give Core XY machines a run for their money, thanks to the premium set of features and high print speeds. If multicolor printing is an absolute must, this is the budget printer for you.

Creality is among the most renowned brands in the 3D printing world, with a bunch of printers across various price points. While most budget-oriented printers from the brand have a bed slinger design, the Creality K1C has a Core XY system that can print at a maximum speed of 600 mm/s — among the fastest on this list. Since it's an enclosed printer, it can also print materials like ABS and ASA that generally require a warm chamber. The extruder has a clog-free mechanism that's certainly beneficial if you're going to be printing abrasive materials frequently. Features like auto-calibration and bed leveling are present, with a built-in mechanism to reduce vibrations when printing.

A key feature of the Creality K1C is the AI baked into the onboard camera. Along with letting you view the progress of your print and recording time-lapse videos, the camera can automatically detect issues with the first layer or failed prints and alert you. Not only does it send alerts wirelessly, but it can also automatically stop printing to prevent the hot-end from getting damaged.

Despite being a large machine, the build volume is slightly smaller than other similarly sized printers. Combined with the fact that there's no multicolor printing support, the K1C does feel slightly pricey, at $599. However, it's an excellent choice for those who want a machine that prints fast and doesn't need constant monitoring, as the AI can detect faults by itself. It also has a built-in air purification system, making it ideal for those who have children at home.

Flashforge is yet another brand that has been making consumer-grade 3D printers for a while now. The Flashforge AD5M Pro can print at 600 mm/s, like a few other options on this list. It's a Core XY system that has all the usual features like auto bed leveling, a hardened nozzle that can achieve a temperature of up to 536 degrees Fahrenheit, a built-in camera to monitor prints, etc. It's worth noting that Flashforge has a proprietary app that you can use to monitor prints and send sliced files to the printer wirelessly. This is a feature that several printers lack, so it's nice to see that Flashforge has put a little extra effort into this department.

Another unique feature that the AD5M Pro has is silent printing. Core XY machines run at extremely high speeds, resulting in a lot of noise, especially during the infill process. If you have the printer next to your work desk or in your bedroom, you may have to deal with loud noises throughout the duration of the print. With the Flashforge AD5M, the brand claims to maintain a sound level of 50dB, which is relatively quiet. If keeping noise levels low is at the top of your list of priorities, this is a great option.

3D printers, unlike most modern electronic gadgets, aren't plug-and-play devices that work flawlessly right out of the box. That said, some of the latest printers make the set-up easier and more user-friendly, with sensors and cameras that can carry out the calibration without requiring a lot of human intervention. That's why all the items on this list have some form of auto-calibration.

Other factors we considered are price, usable materials, print quality, print speed. When you start 3D printing, it will take time before you get used to how slow they are, which is why beginners should aim for a relatively fast printer. The same is true of the material you can use: A versatile machine that can be loaded with carbon fiber-infused filaments, ABS, and ASA will allow you to take on more projects.