Best 3D printers under $200
3D printers are definitely an increasingly popular bit of tech. And as a result, we’re seeing more and more entry-level 3D printers coming up on the market.
For those of you who are interested in the world of 3D printing, and are doing a bit of research on the best beginner 3D printers, you might find it all a bit overwhelming. The wealth of choice on websites such as Amazon can be a bit overwhelming.
We’ve put together a list of the best 3D printers under $200 currently on the market.
For those of you looking for more intermediate models, and wish to spend a bit more cash on a 3D printer, take a look at our recommendations for the Best 3D Printers for under $500.
Products at a Glance
How we picked the best 3D printers under $200
Buying a 3D printer can often be a considerable investment. And finding the best quality printer within a beginner’s price range can often be difficult if you’re new to the world of 3D printing. Print speed, definition, and safety features are often compromised at lower price ranges. So here are 5 of the best 3D printers under $200 that score highly and won’t break the bank.
Best 3D printers under $200
- Great build volume
- Great print quality
- Self assembly
The Creality Ender 3 tops our list of the best 3D printers under $200 on the market. The Creality Ender 3 is ideal for those who want to learn as they build, supported by a bustling community of Ender enthusiasts. The Creality Ender 3 also has the added benefit of being exceptionally well-suited for tinkering and upgrades. As Creality puts it, the Ender 3 Pro is ‘hackable as hell’.
Specification-wise, the Ender 3 features fairly high-range specs for an FDM printer. These include a fairly sizable build volume of 220 mm x 220 mm x 250 mm, a heated bed, power recovery mode, and a very tight filament pathway. This results in an incredibly high print quality for a router in this price range.
- Great beginner router
- Semi-assembled
- Loud
The Voxelab Aquila X2 is a great beginner router for customers looking to spend under $200 on a 3D printer. The Voxelab Aquila comes semi-assembled, making it a great choice for 3D printing newcomers, saving you a lot of hassle! It also comes with a 4.3” color LCD making interaction smooth and straightforward when choosing to initiate printer cool down, load material, etc.
With a Bowden-type extruder and a filament run-out sensor, the Voxelab Aquilla X2 can detect interruptions and pause printing when needed. Furthermore, included with the extruder module is a small tube to keep the filament from curling up and causing feeding problems with the extruder. These are both very important safety features for a beginner router, and won’t only save hassle, but will ensure safety too.
- Silent printing
- Print speeds of up to 150 mm/s
- Too small for some uses
One of the smallest and most affordable 3D printers on the market, the Tronxy CRUX1 is a great choice for beginners looking for a compact product. Not only is the Tronxy CRUX1 cheap and compact, but it also offers amazing silent printing – making it even better suited for home use. This is made possible thanks to dual-axis metal guide rails. The Tronxy CRUX1 also comes partially assembled, leaving only a few parts to put in place before getting started.
With print speeds of up to 150 mm/s, the Tronxy CRUX1 also offers a printing bed that can heat up to a maximum of 110 degrees Celsius and can reach 60 degrees Celsius in just 2 minutes and 25 seconds. The Tronxy CRUX1 delivers great print quality at a low price in a very compact size and sits comfortably on our list of best 3D printers under $200.
- Great resin printing
- Noisy
The Proxima by Voxelab is a great SLA printer for entry-level 3D printing. You can basically pull the printer out of the box, level the build plate (which is pretty easy), press print, and off you go. The build volume on the Proxima comes in at 130 x 82 x 150 mm, making it a decent size for home use.
With a 6-inch 2K monochrome screen allows users to cure each layer in just 1-3 seconds rather than over 10 second on most other 3D printers. For those of you that care about a high-quality surface finish, this is a great choice. The Proxima is also a great choice for beginner enthusiasts due to the fact that it comes fully assembled. This means you can start printing out of the box! The Voxelab Proxima is a great beginner router and finishes off our list of the best 3D printers under $200.
What to consider when buying the best 3D printer under $200
Print Bed Size
The size of the print bed of your 3D printer can determine the size of projects that you can print, so it’s important to think carefully about this. If the print bed is bigger it means you can print larger things. This may not be that important to you if you are primarily going to be making smaller objects, however.
Safety Features
3D printing can get very dangerous if you’re not careful, so it’s important to ensure that your machine has some precautions in place in case something goes wrong. There are some safety features in particular that you should consider getting. For instance, look for models that have automatic nozzle cooling once you have finished printing. Sometimes 3D printers will come with heated beds, and the printer may come with an automatic shut-off feature for this when the project is complete. These are just a few of the things that you should take into consideration.
Printer Style
There are a few different printer styles on the market that are worth thinking about. Again, what you choose can determine the sorts of things that you can make with the printer. The first type of 3D printer is the FDM printer. These are generally used by people that like to do 3D printing as a hobby. It’s often best to opt for a Cartesian style construction of FDM since this is usually going to give you significantly better control, and it may also improve the results that you get in the end.
For incredibly detailed work, you should opt for an SLA printer. These printers are incredibly precise. DLP printers on the other hand are much smoother in terms of operation than FDM machines are. You can also opt for SLS or Selective Laser Sintering printers, but these are usually best for creating industrial-level parts that may be a little difficult to make.
If you are looking for a beginner’s 3D printer, it’s definitely best to get an FDM printer, and they are also usually a lot more affordable too.
What is better FDM or resin?
It depends! Resin is better if you want to print smaller, more detailed objects, whilst FDM is better for larger more functional parts, although you can still print highly-detailed models with filament with a little practice. Note though that they are totally different types of printing – you can’t print with resin on an FDM printer and vice versa.
What can you print on a 3D Printer?
Anything within reason! You can only print out things as large as your printer’s Build Bed will make space for, and in the realm of consumer home-use 3D printers that we are dealing with here, that means objects that are pretty small.
Our Verdict
The Creality Ender 3 tops our list of the best 3D printers under $200 on the market. The Creality Ender 3 is ideal for those who want to learn as they build, supported by a bustling community of Ender enthusiasts. With customizable features, the Ender 3 is a no-brainer for those of you looking to get involved with 3D printing.