I'm Obsessed With 3D Printers. These Are the Best in 2024 - CNET

Article updated on October 13, 2024 at 10:16 PM PDT

Getting the right 3D printer for your dream project is key to having it done right. Here's what you need to know.

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 to consider

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 to consider

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 perfecting those early machines, even setting up an Etsy store and selling what I produced. I bought new machines to try out and eventually started reviewing them as my job. Even when I turned my hobby into my job, I still didn't lose the fascination I have for them and even after trying dozens of different machines, I still get a kick when I make something awesome.

Whether you're looking to get a techy gift for someone close to you or looking into this for yourself, 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. There is a lot that I can say about this machine, most of which can be read about in my A1 Combo review, but the most important part of it is how simple it is to use. From opening the box to printing my first quality print took minutes and it continues to produce fantastic models months after my first try. 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.

Update: Prusa has released a new version of the Mk4, the Mk4S. It's an incremental upgrade but adds a lot of great features. It's faster- getting closer to that 500mm/s stated time in real life- and adding an app and proper WiFi connections makes it a solid purchase for anyone.No best 3D printer list is complete without the Prusa MK4. For nearly a decade, Prusa has dominated the market and the Mk4 continues the trend of excellent quality and customer care.

It is fast, though 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 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. I've spent hours using it to make cool little things for kids and having them learn what all the pieces do, too. The Mini Combo comes with an app that makes it simple to get started and allows you to monitor the print while you are away. The software on your computer is easy to use and can be set up immediately. If you are unsure about 3D printing and want a cheap way to get started, this is the printer for you.

Read more: A1 Mini Combo 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 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.

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.

A word of warning: The CR-30 is not for beginners. It is a complicated machine, and you will need some 3D-printing knowledge to really get the hang of it. It's also a very different beast, and instead of printing on a static-size build plate, it uses a conveyor belt to create an "endless Z-axis." That lets you print extra-long models or lots of things over and over again.

If you are a cosplayer looking to make weapons or large armor pieces, the CR-30 gives you a lot of room to create. I've managed to print Squall's Gunblade from Final Fantasy VIII as well as the Whisper of the Worm from Destiny 2 (both were printed in two halves and attached together). It's great for small businesses looking to mass-produce small parts. And with just two CR-30s you could create a small empire on Etsy or Shopify.

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.

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: Liquid resin is harder to work with, requiring good ventilation and a portable UV light to cure properly. D&D miniatures work perfectly on a resin printer like this, and I recommend this one to start making your own minis.

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 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 raise the P1S to be our 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 the speed at which it can print them is amazing and very few printers can do both of those things at 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.

Purchasing your first 3D printer can be nerve-wracking, but we're here to help. There are a few main areas that you should consider when choosing the best 3D printer, and we have them covered here.

3D printers are often available throughout the year at a discount price. Special days like Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great occasions to pick yourself up a new machine, but there are still plenty of deals to be had throughout the year. Make sure you stay fluid and choose your 3D printer deal based on the availability of the machine and what your research has told you is the best.

When deciding on what 3D printer to buy, you first have to know what type of things you want to print. Resin 3D printing is good for highly detailed models such as character busts, dental work or tabletop miniatures. Even jewelry can be made using a resin 3D printer.

For almost every other application, an FDM (aka filament) 3D printer, is likely the best choice. Filament 3D printing is versatile in the types of material you can use and offers much larger build volumes to work on models. Cosplay armor and helmets, practical parts and large-scale models are best printed on an FDM printer.

Read more: What Is 3D Printing?

Build volume is the amount of space a printer has to produce a model. Often calculated in millimeters cubed, it is the combination of the width, height and depth that your printer's nozzle can reach. This is not always the same as the internal volume of a 3D printer because the wiring and other mechanical parts can get in the way of the nozzle, reducing the area available.

Most FDM printers have a build area of around 220 by 220 by 250mm, although some of the best 3D printers have larger areas, while a few of the best budget 3D printers have smaller ones. I think the 220 by 220mm build plate is a good size for starting out, as it has room for large, practical pieces or several smaller models at once.

Testing 3D printers is an in-depth process. Printers often don't use the same materials, or even the same process to create models. I test SLA, 3D printers that use resin and light to print, and FDM, printers that melt plastic onto a plate. Each has a unique methodology. Core qualifiers I look at include:

A key test print, representing the (now old-) CNET logo, is used to assess how a printer bridges gaps, creates accurate shapes and deals with overhangs. It even has little towers to help measure how well the 3D printer deals with temperature ranges.

When testing speed, we slice the model using the standard slicer the machine is shipped with on its standard settings and then compare the real-world duration of the print to the statement completion time on the slicer. 3D printers often use different slicers, and those slicers can vary wildly on what they believe the completion time to be.

We then use PrusaSlicer to determine how much material the print should use and divide that number by the real-world time it took to print, giving us a more accurate number for the speed in millimeters per second (mm/s) that the printer can run at.

Every build plate is supposed to heat up to a certain temperature, so we use the InfiRay thermal imaging camera for Android to check how well they do. We set the build plate to 60 degrees Celsius -- the most used temperature for build plates -- waited five minutes for the temperature to stabilize, and then measured it in six separate locations. We then took the average temperature to see how close the 3D printer got to the advertised temperature.

Testing resin requires different criteria, so I use the Ameralabs standard test: printing out a small resin model that looks like a tiny town. This helps determine how accurate the printer is, how it deals with small parts and how well the UV exposure works at different points in the model.

Many other anecdotal test prints, using different 3D models, are also run on each printer to test the longevity of the parts and how well the machine copes with various shapes.

For the other criteria, I researched the company to see how well it responds to support queries from customers and how easy it is to order replacement parts and install them yourself. Kits (printers that come only semi-assembled) are judged by how long and difficult the assembly process is and how clear the instructions are.

Most home 3D printers use PLA or ABS plastic. Professional printers can use all sorts of materials, from metal to organic filament. Some printers use a liquid resin, which is much more difficult to handle. As a beginner, use PLA. It's non-toxic, made mostly of cornstarch and sugarcane, handles easily and is inexpensive. It's more sensitive to heat, so don't leave your 3D prints on the dashboard of a car on a hot day.

For a more detailed explanation of the different materials, check out our best filament article.

What brand is best will depend on the job you're trying to do. If you want to print something that looks amazing with no post-processing, Polylite from Polymaker is a great choice, with a large range of colors and finishes.

If you're printing something that's going to be sanded and painted, like cosplay armor, I would go with MatterHackers Build PLA. It's easy to sand, holds paint well and is cheaper the more you buy.

Most 3D printers include or link to recommended software, which can handle converting 3D STL or other files into formats supported by the printer. Stick with the suggested presets to start, with one exception. I've started adding a raft, or bottom layer of filament, to nearly everything I print. It has cut down dramatically on prints that don't adhere to the bed properly, which is a common issue. If you continue to have problems, rub a standard glue stick on the print bed right before printing.

Your 3D models probably need some help to print properly, as these printers don't do well with big overhangs. For example, an arm sticking out from a figure. Your 3D printer software can usually automatically calculate and add supports, meaning little stands that hold up all those sticking-out parts of the model. After the print is done, clip the supports off with micro cutters and file down any nubs or rough edges with hobby files.

Thingiverse.com is a huge online repository of 3D files for anything and everything you can think of. Pokemon chess set? It's there. Dyson vacuum wall mount? You bet.

You can also try Printables.com for the latest models. Printables uses a gamified reward system that can earn you free filament just for uploading pictures of the things you make.

When you're ready to create your own designs, there are a ton of software packages to choose from, but it's easiest to start with the browser-based free TinkerCad app from Autodesk.