The Best 3D Printers of 2021

3D printing gained popularity in today’s era. Aside from manufacturing, it’s now widely used in various sectors such as education, professional, or even personal. As time goes by, more and more 3D printing machines have been created to cater to the specific needs of every user.

There are many choices for 3D printing nowadays. Choosing one can be tricky as each has different capabilities. If you don’t know what a 3D printer is for you, we’ve created this guide to help you decide the best printer according to your needs. See below the best printers for 2021.

Things to Consider in Buying a 3D Printer

If you don’t know where to start, you should ask yourself these important factors to consider before buying a 3D printer.

The object that you want to print
Size, shape, and dimension of the object
Materials needed to form the object
If the object should have multiple colors
If the object needs to be in a high resolution
The 3D printing software that you would use
Your Budget
Lastly, your objective

Best 3D Printers for 2021 in Category

Here are the best 3D printers this 2021 based on different categories.

Best Overall 3D Printer

Monoprice Voxel - This 3D printer is best for most people since it provides an excellent quality print at a fast speed without spending too much. It has a bendable printing bed and an enclosed built frame. Setup can be a bit hard but manageable. If you are a novice or you want to experience operating a 3D printer, this one is a good choice.

Original Prusa i3 MK3S+- One of the top choices for the best overall 3D printer. It has a high print quality, very efficient with advanced calibration and monitoring. This 3D printer can easily detect errors and has automatic system mitigations. It performs greater than its price making it on the list of the overall best 3D printers.

Creality3D Ender-5 PLUS 3D Printer- Another best overall printer with its big machine that can print in high volumes. It has a good dimensional accuracy which stands out among other 3D printers. Frames are well-built and sturdy. The print quality is excellent even for a long period. The best printer that you can get for an average price.

Best Budget

Anycubic Photon Mono - This is the best budget for resin-type printers. Also, it is good for beginners because of its easy-to-use software. It can print parts quickly with its Mono LCD screen. The Photo Workshop slicer app is also simple to use. It prints with great attention to detail even with a budget price ($250)

Voxelab Aries- If you are looking for a budget-friendly 3D printer but with the best value, Voxelab would be one of the top choices. It does the job well, high-performance printing at a lower price. This also is a beginner-friendly printer that can be easily set up. It has a good motion system, semi-closed frames, and a wireless connection. Quality is not compromised even at a lower cost ($300)

Monoprice Delta Mini V2- Another best budget printer for ($200). With good quality print for its price. It prints various materials such as ABS, PLA, PETG, and a lot more. This is rare for a budget-friendly printer so if you are planning to buy this one would be good in value.

Best for Education

Ultimaker S3 - One of the best for education particularly in college. It is easy to network and supports various materials and accessories. The only downside is printing can be slow at times. Aside from education, it can also be used in the commercial market as it offers different features such as touchscreen UI and swappable cartridges.

Flashforge Inventor II- Another best education 3D printer with a nice touchscreen menu for ease of use. Has a lot of great features like pause prints when the printer door is open, onboard camera, and automatic calibrations. It is ideal for educational settings.

Best for Hobbyist

Toybox 3D Printer - best option for hobbyists who would like to focus on toys. This is efficient in printing simple and small toys of around 3 inches. This is good for a first-time Hobbyist who wants to bring out their creativity. Better for beginners since it’s easy to set up. You can also modify designs or upload your customized designs.

Creality Ender 3 V2- This 3D printer is also good for hobbyists or beginners who don’t want to invest in a higher model. The quality and accuracy are excellent. One of the best low-budget 3D printers. Hardware and software were upgraded for a better version.

Creality Ender 4- Another good hobbyist 3D printer from Creality. This is an FDM 3D printer that is semi-assembled. It is simple to use, with an open frame that gives easy access to its printing bed. Upgrades are easy and the machine is very compact. Making it suitable for hobbyists.

Best SLA Printer

FormLabs Form 3 - Best in SLA printers since it supports different materials and technology making it more versatile among other SLA 3D printers. The printing quality is also high and it supports different users.

Best 3D Printer for Beginners

LulzBot Mini 2 - This 3D printer is easy to use making it one of the best printers for beginners. It supports multiple materials. This is open-source and flexible so you can easily figure out solutions from the makers' community if you are looking for one.

AnyCubic Vyper- One of the best beginner-friendly printers, specifically in FDM 3D printers. With the number of features that you can get, this is great in value. The accessories drawer is built-in and has an automatic bed leveling. This 3D printer is good for beginners as it requires minimal assembly.

Best Easy to Use

Flashforge Adventurer 3 - This 3D printer is a usual go-to for good quality and price. It is very easy to use and can be set up quickly in 30 minutes. Materials are easy to gather as well. The printing quality is also great for its average price.

Creality Ender 3- his is also best for ease of use. Beginners can learn 3D printing in this machine without too much effort. It can also support various filaments such as PETG, PLA, and TPU. It has a high-quality 3D print at an affordable price.

Best for General Use

Creality Ender 3 Pro - One of the best for general use. It is widely known for its good features at an affordable cost. Designs can be modified and highly modular. Upgrades are easy and supplies are available since it’s open-source. This 3D printer can accommodate different types of printing needs without any issues.

Best FDM 3D Printer

Prusa MK3S+ - Considered to be best in FDM 3D printer and model slicing. It has stealth mode for silent printing, automatic bed leveling, and swappable platforms. It is originally from i3 which now has better upgrades. In addition, this 3D printer has its own slicer application called Prusa Slicer. Prusa Slicer has adorable features that can surpass other 3D printers. This printer is not budget-friendly but the quality that you can get is reasonable for its price.

Best High-End 3D Printer

Prusa SL1S - This 3D printer is one of the best high-end 3D printers. It is a resin-type 3D printer that offers efficiency and high-quality print. It has unique features such as colored LCD touchscreens, a tilting mechanism, and automatic leveling. This one is very easy to use and has guides whenever problems occur. Since it’s easy to use, the price is high for a resin 3D printer.

Best for Business

CEL-UK RoboxDual - This 3D printer is suitable for businesses since it is very easy to use. It’s adaptable to each level of users. FIlament loading is automated and there’s no problem with connecting to other printers as well. It has special features wherein you can monitor the prints easily.

Best for Kids

Monoprice Cadet - This 3D printer is good for beginners especially kids for its safety features. The components cannot be easily seen and other parts were covered by metal. So, this printer is good if you have kids around. Aside from that, it has an automatic leveling probe which is also good for beginners. Price is decent for its unique features.

Best in High Resolution

Phrozen Sonic Mini 4K - This 3D printer is best in resolution as it can print high-quality objects with greater details. It is a 4k resolution printer that can produce high-resolution models in just seconds. Making it the best printer for this category among the others. Since it produces high-resolution print, the price is definitely higher as well.

Best in Color

BCN3D Sigma D25 - This is a dual extruder 3D printer that can use two different materials at once. Allowing you to have two different colors on one object at the same time. You can even have multicolored objects in this type of 3D printer. This one is a smaller version of the industrial large 3D printers. The overall system and build quality are excellent.

Best Intermediate 3D Printer

FlashForge Adventurer 4 - This 3D printer is best for an intermediate level. It is very flexible for its swappable nozzles and can support various 3D printing materials. The complication for this type of printer is minimal. Print speed is average but with excellent quality print.

Best in Multifunctioning

XYXPrinting da Vinci Jr. 1.0 A Pro - Has 7 inches building surface which is good for engraving and using other materials like carbon-fiber filament. This 3D printer is bigger compared to others making it more efficient in multifunctioning. It’s also easy to use with its beginner-friendly navigation buttons. The only downside is that it doesn’t connect to a wireless network. Despite that, it does the job well.

Best Premium

Glowforge 3D Laser Printer - This 3D printer has laser cutters allowing a wide range of materials to be sculpted appropriately. Materials like leather, lucite, wood, and others. Compared to other printers, this can finish its job in just minutes. Software is cloud-based so it will require the internet to use it. This 3D printer is very versatile and can accommodate almost all objects that you want to make.

Best Dual Extruder

FlashForge Creator Pro2 - This 3D printer has an independent dual extrusion system that can create two objects at the same time with different colors. It has an enclosed design, independent nozzle, and print head. The bed needs to be leveled manually. The slicing software for this printer is FlashForge bundled. Can support several printing materials like ABS, PLA, and TPU.

Best for Consumer

CEL-UK RoboxPro - Best for consumer use. It can cater to large-scale objects. Bed leveling and filament loading are both automated. It’s a dual extruder and has a swappable print head. Can connect to wifi and with easy network printing. This is fairly reliable with a high-quality 3D print that can support consumer products for the market.

Conclusion

There are a lot of choices for the best 3D printers in the market. Each has its own specific features that can help every project. You must know the things to consider before buying one. Good research is the key to helping you decide the appropriate 3D printer according to your needs. Just like all other technologies, 3D printers are fast-paced so you should always be ready for a change.

If you are planning to buy high-quality 3D printers, we can help you! MakerCarl has been in the 3D printing industry for years. Providing good quality 3D printers and 3D printing needs for all industries. Contact us to know more about our 3D printer prices.