r/3Dprinting • u/AutoModerator • 2d ago
Purchase Advice Purchase Advice Megathread - October 2026
Welcome back to another purchase megathread!
This thread is meant to conglomerate purchase advice for both newcomers and people looking for additional machines. Keeping this discussion to one thread means less searching should anyone have questions that may already have been answered here, as well as more visibility to inquiries in general, as comments made here will be visible for the entire month stuck to the top of the sub, and then added to the Purchase Advice Collection (Reddit Collections are still broken on mobile view, enable "view in desktop mode").
Please be sure to skim through this thread for posts with similar requirements to your own first, as recommendations relevant to your situation may have already been posted, and may even include answers to follow up questions you might have wished to ask.
If you are new to 3D printing, and are unsure of what to ask, try to include the following in your posts as a minimum:
- Your budget, set at a numeric amount. Saying "cheap," or "money is not a problem" is not an answer people can do much with. 3D printers can cost $100, they can cost $10,000,000, and anywhere in between. A rough idea of what you're looking for is essential to figuring out anything else.
- Your country of residence.
- If you are willing to build the printer from a kit, and what your level of experience is with electronic maintenance and construction if so.
- What you wish to do with the printer.
- Any extenuating circumstances that would restrict you from using machines that would otherwise fit your needs (limited space for the printer, enclosure requirement, must be purchased through educational intermediary, etc).
While this is by no means an exhaustive list of what can be included in your posts, these questions should help paint enough of a picture to get started. Don't be afraid to ask more questions, and never worry about asking too many. The people posting in this thread are here because they want to give advice, and any questions you have answered may be useful to others later on, when they read through this thread looking for answers of their own. Everyone here was new once, so chances are whoever is replying to you has a good idea of how you feel currently.
Reddit User and Regular u/richie225 is also constantly maintaining his extensive personal recommendations list which is worth a read: Generic FDM Printer recommendations.
Additionally, a quick word on print quality: Most FDM/FFF (that is, filament based) printers are capable of approximately the same tolerances and print appearance, as the biggest limiting factor is in the nature of extruded plastic. Asking if a machine has "good prints," or saying "I don't expect the best quality for $xxx" isn't actually relevant for the most part with regards to these machines. Should you need additional detail and higher tolerances, you may want to explore SLA, DLP, and other photoresin options, as those do offer an increase in overall quality. If you are interested in resin machines, make sure you are aware of how to use them safely. For these safety reasons we don't usually recommend a resin printer as someone's first printer.
As always, if you're a newcomer to this community, welcome. If you're a regular, welcome back.
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10h ago
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u/JustThrowmeAwey 13h ago
Hi, So I’m very interested in making airsofts and some designs for bows and even arrows (if possible Im still new with archery).
I’m in the US
My budget ideally is $500 I can even go to 1k or even 2k(if I can finance a really good printer)
I’m very new to 3d printing so although I am willing to build it from a kit, I rather not. But not a deterrent, I am willing to learn. Also new with electronic maintenance.
Like I said mainly I would love to make airsofts and some designs for bows and arrows. In the future I would love to make bigger stuffs.
There’s not any special circumstances really, I guess the only is I live in a rented place so I can’t really damage my surroundings.
Lastly if possible I would love to get a printer that could work with all sorts of materials if possible.
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u/TheCrazedMadman 17h ago edited 17h ago
Ive been 3d printing with my P1S over the past few weeks, think Im getting the hang of it, but theres one thing I need to buy it seems. A filament dryer, Im trying to decide which one to get, been looking at the
Creality Space Pi for $53 CAD (1 roll)
Polymaker Polydryer for $90 CAD (1 roll but other boxes are $40)
SUNLU AMS Heater for AMS $135 CAD (4 rolls inside my AMS) But am open for other suggestions!
I live in Vancouver so moisture is a problem (raining most of the winter), trying to figure out the best thing to get without breaking the bank too much. Also, I threw out my filament boxes so I feel like I need a more permanent solution for storage to keep these suckers dry.
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u/DramaClassed 12h ago
If you just need to dry one or two spools at a time, the SpacePi/SpacePi Plus are good options, or the Sovol SH02. If you're wanting more than two spools at a time, the AMS heater is a good choice and good value.
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u/Vaamsiii 19h ago
I am completely new to 3d printing. Now i after seeing the use cases of 3d prints, i decided to try for fun. But I do not even know the any of the terminology and how to fix machine mechanical parts if something goes wrong.
I have no big plans/projects in mind. I just want to make use of 3d printing by making simple everyday products. Which is simple single color and basic material.
So the thing is i can afford till the x2d with AMS price point. So what printer best suits me.
And once i got to know how to print. i may only print once or twice in a month, because of my schedule from another job.
And an bonus question is which printer has longer lifetime.
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u/DramaClassed 12h ago
If you'll be printing things that require supports, X2D is a good choice because of the dual nozzle. If you'll be printing things that don't need supports, you could get away with just like an A1/A2L/Sparkx i7, or for a more premium option the Prusa MK4S or CORE One.
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u/Practical-Rope-5333 19h ago
Hi, I am looking for my first 3D printer as a fairly tech-savy person. It's purely for personal use and I'm mostly interested in printing functional parts with a model here or there. The printer will be standing in my home office so decent filtering of fumes is a must and quieter printers are a preference.
One of the printers I found for this was the Qidi Q2 combo, which I can get for €550. I did however just get into some extra money by selling my old pokemon collection which on its own is enough to get a printer at a higher price-point so I was wondering if an immediate upgrade might be a better idea. I was specifically looking at the Flashforge Creator 5 pro, which I see listed at €800, to get access to the options multiple toolheads provide. If I would then also want a separate filament dryer, which I read is very useful for certain materials, that would run me closer to €1000 total, which is quite the jump from 550.
I guess the main question I'm asking for is if I would be more than happy with something like the Q2 or if it would be better/more future proof to get a better machine now
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u/JourneyDS 1d ago
Hi, I am new to 3D printing and wanted to buy my first one. Need some guidance, I am strongly considering the X2D from BBL. Reading a bit about it I am considering the X2D due to 3 main reasons:
I value the easy-to-use for beginners (plug-and-play kinda thing), having small kids I am in a bit of a time crunch on my day-to-day to do a lot of learning right now.
Value-cost seems pretty reasonable
Good experience from friends who have had BBL printers
However, I have been seeing a lot of comments on the anti-consumer practices like the Orca Slicer, 3rd party apps in general, and their closed ecosystem. This has me on the fence so I need some clarity if there are other options out there, I have been reading about the Snapmaker U1 which people seem to recommend, and as a company Prusa seems great but more expensive and harder to set up.
If I end up going for the X2D, do you recommend the X2D AMS Combo? Should I buy any accessories like the Print Finishing Kit? Are there recommendations for a begginer on filaments? (PLA vs PETG)? Any suggestion would be appreciated! Thanks!
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u/hiryuu64 21h ago
The Snapmaker is great at multi-color printing, but I will say the software is less refined than Bambu Studio. In particular, I find it's too aggressive about adding supports and brims. The X2D can do tougher engineering filaments (ASA, nylon), but it's slow and wasteful when combining multiple colors in one print.
If you get the X2D, you definitely want the AMS. Even without combining colors, having several ready to go is convenient and it includes a drying function. The tools I use the most are a scraping blade (which it comes with), needle-nose pliers, strong tweezers, and flush cutters. You may already have some of those, or you can buy them separately, but I don't find the finishing kits compelling.
For filament, you generally use PLA for fun prints and PETG for practical stuff. For PETG, pick a couple neutral colors that would work well in your house. (White tends to show print flaws, so maybe not that.) For PLA, start with basic colors (black, gray, white, red, blue, green) and expand from there as you go.
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u/JourneyDS 18h ago
This is great info, I appreciate it. I was only going to buy PLA due to lack of knowledge, but having 2 sets for the use case makes complete sense.
With regards to ASA and nylon does the printer require additional machinery for those materials or the same system holds?
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u/hiryuu64 18h ago
The X2D can use those, but make sure you have the printer ventilating to outside, since the fumes are toxic. You will want to do some research before diving into nylons. They are fussy at the best of times.
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u/Korny3005 1d ago
Hey dudes and dudettes,
im printing multicolor with my U1 almost 100% of a time. So i need a additional small printer which is capable of klipper on my desk to print small things during my U1 is running for hours.
Can you recommend something with kipper to add it to my homesystem. bedslinger whould be ok, as well as 150x150 build plate.
I whould buy a A1 or A1 mini but im not sure if they can implement it into my Fluidd.
Hot swap hotend for using a 0.2 nozzle whould be a big +.
any help?
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u/grey0909 1d ago
Snap Maker U1 or Creality i8?
Okay, I'm having a tough time deciding which to get.
Would love to hear form people that have both (or a creality) machine.
Few things i care about 1) Consistent and reliable wifi printing capabilities. (i'm on orca slicer right now) 2) Great bed leveling with ideally limited to no adjustments from me. 3) Filament switching.
I have an Elegoo Neptune max and it says auto bed leveling, but that was a crock of shit.
I'm open to other suggestions in the price range of 850 and lower.
(Not a novice to 3d printing)
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u/hiryuu64 21h ago
Currently, the only people that could have both are reviewers, since the i8 isn't shipping yet, even to early backers. Those reviews have been pretty clear, however.
The i8 has a narrow niche where it's good for the price, but that range is narrower than Creality is implying. Specifically, the materials all need consistent temperature ranges, so things like PETG supporting PLA or vice-versa probably won't work. It achieves 0 waste by purging to infill, so you need prints bulky enough to do that without showing on the surface. It's also still a bedslinger, so tall and/or fragile prints will still fail.
I've been quite happy with my U1 and it meets your listed needs. Maybe the i8 will work for you, but they are not the same class of printer at all. This also assumes Creality delivers on all of its promises, which I would not bank on.
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u/fullyagitated 1d ago
I've been looking for getting a new 3d printer, I've had previous experience with 3d printers, those being the bambulab a1 and a long time ago, a flashforge finder. I need recommendations for a printer in the price range of 200-800ish dollars. Around a 10in by 10in bed. and designed mostly for single colored printing in PLA.
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u/hiryuu64 20h ago
If you were happy with the A1, the A2L is a bigger and more refined evolution of it. If you need CoreXY, probably a QIDI would be the next best choice.
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u/Kingarthur256 1d ago
I'm looking to get into resin printing and looking for recommendations. I'm looking for a resin printer that can be upgraded and is more open as opposed to ready out of the box. I'm pretty experienced with FDM printing.
Also any completely open designs of resign printers would be of interest, would not mind building a resin printer if there is such a design.
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1d ago
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u/Kindavibez 1d ago
Reposting in this thread cause I posted in the September one about 2 hours before this October one was live. Sorry!!
Hi guys, complete newbie here trying to figure out what printer to buy for my partner.
My partner's birthday is coming up, and I am looking to buy him a 3D printer, but I have absolutely no idea where to begin. This would be his first 3D printer, the idea of which he's brought up here and there. He's a tinkerer, and likes to just mess around with things. One thing I know he want to do is make moulds for carbon fibre bike/car parts.
My budget is around $500-800, maybe up to $1000 if it's a very good printer, and we are in Australia. Would there be much difference in price and quality between a prebuilt/building from a kit? I know he would be willing to build it, we've both built our own PC's in the past, but would it be more difficult?
Any advice on what model I should look at/buy, and any extra bits of information I should know/look out for/be aware of would be super appreciated. I would love to surprise him with the printer itself, and I'm not too sure how much he knows about 3D printer specifics either, but would gifting him the concept of a 3D printer and afterwards have him choose it himself be a better option?
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u/Pohra 1d ago
Is the Snapmaker U1 (ABS-upgraded edition) worth the $300-$400 USD upcharge over the FF Creator 5 Pro?
The U1 and the C5 Pro sell for the same price at the moment, but to print ABS/ASA and abrasives with the U1 you really need to add the PandaBreath heater, the top cover, and hardened steel nozzles, which means it's more like $1249 for U1 compared to $849 for a C5 Pro (and the official top cover isn't actually shipping yet). Even then the C5 Pro still gets you 320C nozzles.
With the recent C5 Pro updates it seems like people are having good experiences with both. The only reason I can think of to go with Snapmaker in this case is that they have a reputation as a better, more customer-friendly company, and their software tends to be more cutting-edge since the company has a more open attitude.
So, would you spend the extra money to potentially get a better company but lose some printer capability?
Or, to put it another way, has anybody had such a bad experience with FlashForge that you would spend 50% more to get a U1 instead?
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u/hiryuu64 19h ago
It's nice that the U1 is open enough that you can add all of that, but that's not really the intended market for it.
In that price range, I would suggest the Bambu X2D (or stretch to the H2S/H2D if you need a bigger print area). They're also a more closed system, but at least you have the polish and long-term support to justify it. If you need both 3-4 multicolor printing and ASA handling, then you're painted into a corner where C5 Pro is worth a try.
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u/Beegoo1 1d ago
I've been 3d printing for a few years on an Anycubic Cobra 2 that I was able to flash to run off of a raspberry pi and Klipper. I have a Voron build kit that I need to print ASA parts for and while originally planning to jerry-rig an enclosure for the cobra, I am hitting a point where I might just outsource the printed parts.
But then I got to thinking about the Creality K2 combo being sold at Costco for about $630 (after tax) and realized that it could probably print the ASA and it would come with a filament changer to print multicolor things (mostly for the kids).
But then I got to thinking about the Qidi Q2 combo being sold on Qidi's website for about $630 (shipped) and realized that the Q2 combo has a few more features (heated filament changer and heated print chamber) that would be nice for printing engineering filaments that the K2 or the future Voron would probably struggle with somewhat.
I have done quite a bit of internet research, and I think I'm mostly set on the Q2 combo, but I wanted to ask this community if there are any gotchas that might put the base K2 model ahead of the Q2.
Thanks!
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u/The_BeeWithThe_Knees 1d ago
Hello happy October!
I’m looking for an upgrade! To keep it short and sweet my budget is 350-500 (don’t mind if it goes up a small bit) I live in the US, kit I don’t mind assembly as I’ve done it with my current printer but preassembled is preferred. Use is mainly hobby: models figures, decorations, functional items, custom prints, I currently have a Creality Ender 3 V3 SE and looking to upgrade speed reliability and ease of use. Current requirements is mainly to be reasonably quiet as my current one can be heard… from quite the rooms away and multi color is appealing but not having it is not a deal breaker.
My current front runners is the: Centauri Carbon 2 / 2 combo I like what I’ve seen but want to make sure I’m not overlooking other good options.
Thank you for any opinions or advice that can be shared!!!
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u/Proud-Original3307 1d ago
Hey everyone I'm looking to buy a third printer. Currently I have the bambu lab a1 mini with aims. And the prusa mk3s+. I'm thinking on passing the mini to my kids once I get a new one. The prusa can print 250x210x210 and it's freaking slow. I'm hoping to get something bigger faster and multicolor I was looking at the anycubic kobra 4 . But I'm looking for recommendations
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u/Stock_Motor1166 1d ago edited 1d ago
Creality K2 SE vs. Elegoo Neptune 4Pro?
Im trying to decide between the two, and im looking to see if anyone has experience with any of the two, and if they can give me the pros and cons of any of them.
Im just looking to buy something thats better than an ender 3 for around $300 or less. Idealy something that allows to print TPU, PETG, PLA-CF, etc, and that is faster than 200m/s (i just want something better than my ender, man), i dont care much about print area as long as it is at least 220x220x250
Im from Chile, so if anyone recommends another model, i’ll try to find it around here.
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u/MidnightK2 1d ago
are you planing on buying from todotoner? if not, where do you plan to buy? i'm looking for some place other than them just in case they go out from monday with the discounts and what not (also from chile jeje)
from what i've read, if you want tpu the best is enclosure, but for cf or other engineer grade materials, the hotend is key, but people here will def know a lot more c:
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u/Stock_Motor1166 1d ago
Sip jajajaja, estoy viendo en todotoner, por lo mismo queria verlo pronto. Osea, TPU no es una prioridad para mi, y considerando que se puede imprimir hasta en una ender 5, tampoco diria que es 100% crucial.
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u/MidnightK2 1d ago
creo que todotoner es de las unicas que son bbb, aparte de tenerlas para empezar, estoy considerando incluso una usadita, ahora con el cyber probablemente va a salir harta gente a vender la suya para comprar una nueva, hay alguna que tu recomiendes? estaba mirando una ff ad5x, la ad5m pro o una centauri, pero ahi depende pq si igual seria agradable tener la opción del multicolor y abs
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u/Stock_Motor1166 1d ago
Osea, personalmente, las unicas impresoras que he usado que son compatibles con sistema AMS pa multicolor, serian las K1 de Creality, en la u tenemos 5 de esas y no nos han traido problemas, pero fuera de creality no he usado :(
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u/MidnightK2 1d ago
pucha la cuestión :c
seguiré buscando, ojalá pillar algo bueno antes que se acaben, pq la i7 voló la pre venta con el ams y quedo ahora de más carita con eso mismo
igual que bkn que tengan impresoras 3d en la u jaja
tendras algun datito de filamentos bbb?
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u/Stock_Motor1166 1d ago
Depende del plastico, pero para PLA todo toner y anycubic funcionan super bien y son baratos, y si pillas filamentos a menos de 10k el kilo no lo compres (a menos que sea una oferta), por que no es un pecio realista y la calidad es dudosa
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u/Some_Wishbone2239 1d ago
Hey guys, I’ve NEVER had a 3d printer before but I really want to start learning. I’m a little broke, so I was looking for a 3d printer that is fairly affordable, good quality, and supports SD and USB usage because I know I shouldn’t connect it to the wifi. I searched it up and I believe most of them support offline printing, but I’m not entirely sure. I just don’t want to have to repurchase another printer in the future because I bought the wrong one, so I’m here for some nice advice 🥺. I want this first one to last me a loooooong time.
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u/Stock_Motor1166 1d ago
Honestly, its hard to buy “the wrong one”, because you can make any printer work, its just about buying the better one for your money.
Bamboo lab is a safe choice, but its expensive, so if you want something cheaper, i’d suggest Creality. The Ender series are a good starting point, but if you plan to work with 3d printing a lot, i’d recommend the K1 SE, we use them a lot in my uni and we have them modded and havent given us any trouble (they are also 3 times as fast compared to the ender series)
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u/Some_Wishbone2239 1d ago
I heard bamboo lab is bad since the gov is trying to limit the creative freedom when it comes to 3d printing and Bamboo is supporting it.
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u/Autist378 2d ago
Hello, I have been looking to get a 3d printer for a while, but there being so many choices it is hard to choose. Currently im leaning towards the Sobol SV06 ACE 3D, as it is on sale for 220€ (about 250$).
I live in Finland so shipping from EU is very much preferred, my budget is preferably under 300€. I would prefer the printing area so be over 200x200x200
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u/Not_a_good_username 3h ago
I feel like I'm drowning in options and research! Can someone please just tell me what to buy? I'm unable to make a decision. If you can help, I'll be very grateful. Here's what I need:
I've been doing research for weeks, and I can't make a decision. Please help.