Top 5 Budget 3D Printers in 2024: My Favorites
In this article, I will share my recommendations for my top 5 budget 3D printers for beginners in Mid-2024. This will contain printers which I have used, and I have personal experience with them, so I can offer an informed opinion and a few reasons of why I would recommend them.
3D Printers have come a long way in the last couple of years, so if you decide to start with one of the printers mentioned in this article, you should get a good overall experience as a beginner, or as someone who wants to upgrade an older printer without spending too much money.
As usual, I strongly recommend checking other reviews online to learn more about the items listed below, to ensure you take an informed purchase decision.
Flashforge Adventurer 5M – Best Price to Performance
Considering that you can get the FLASHFORGE Adventurer 5M for $299 USD on Amazon, I believe that it is a very attractive offering for the low-budget 3D printer category. While I didn’t review the printer, I have had the chance to print with one, and I also saw a high number of people reporting great feedback about the machine.
The Adventurer 5M is the cheap version of the fully enclosed 5M Pro from Flashforge, and while it looks more bare bone, it’s still an excellent Core-XY machine if you wish to print filaments that don’t require an enclosure, or if you are willing to build one yourself.
The Good
- Great print quality out of the box
- Comes pre-build, no complicated assembly
- Automated initial calibration
- Easy to replace 280C nozzle
- Fast print speed with Klipper Firmware
- Direct Orca Slicer compatibility
- Print monitoring with the Mobile App
- PEI Flexible Build Plate
The Bad
- It doesn’t look as good as the Pro version
- Can be a bit noisy when printing fast
- The Mobile App for monitoring is not great
The Ugly
- The Klipper firmware has a theme applied, which is less than ideal
- Not a lot of headroom available to extend it due to limited resources
- The 220x220x220 build volume is small compared to the overall size of the printer
- No remote camera monitoring out of the box (can be upgraded)
There’s no denying the Adventurer 5M is one of the best budget 3D printers in 2024 for under $300, but there are other small annoyances which are felt during use compared to other printers, or its 5M Pro version. For this price, I am not sure if you can get a better machine from other manufacturers right now.
If you are looking to get the Adventurer 5M, you can purchase it from the following websites:
Bambu Lab A1 – Excellent Entry Level 3D Printer
The Bambu Lab A1 is another 3D printer which I haven’t reviewed, but I have been using it since launch and it’s probably one of the best for 2024. It’s not my first choice when it comes to sending a print to it (as the A1 mini is enough for me most of the time) but I really appreciate the print quality and speed which are achieved at very low noise.
I rarely change the default 0.16mm slicer profile in Bambu Studio which usually works perfectly with their PLA. Other filaments also work, but most of the time I print those on an enclosed machine.
It’s also the one of the printers I can use in my apartment overnight, without my neighbors complaining, so the very silent operation is a big plus for me
The Good
- Great print quality out of the box
- Good feature set with complete automated calibration
- Very silent operation with PETG or large prints from PLA, PETG, ABS, etc.
- Remote control and monitoring using the integrated camera and Bambu Handy app
- Excellent integration in the Bambu Lab ecosystem (filament, software, hardware)
- One-Click 3D printing from MakerWorld
- Easy to replace nozzles
- Fast heating bed
- PEI Flexible Build Plate
- AMS compatibility with multi-color 3D printing capabilities
The Bad
- Can be a bit hard to work on the print head if there is a failure
- Not enclosed, and cannot be easily enclosed
The Ugly
- It won’t be able to print very tall prints at high speed
- Takes a lot of space due to it being a bedslinger
- If you buy the AMS Lite Combo, it takes double the space but you have the option to put it on top of the printer.
- Remote view camera is very low FPS, but still usable to check for issues
Overall, the Bambu Lab A1 is a great budget offering from Bambu Lab even if it is more on the pricey side of $339. If you consider the fully automated calibration, silent operation, and excellent integration of their ecosystem, it’s well worth it to be one of the best budget 3D printers in 2024.
If you are looking to get the Bambu Lab A1, you can purchase it from the following websites:
Creality Ender 3 V3 SE – Great for very low budgets
Another excellent entry-level 3D printer is the Ender 3 V3 SE from Creality. It’s under 200$ and most of the time, you can find it for a discount to purchase it for even less money.
It’s not the most feature-rich 3D printer, but it’s a great upgrade for the classic Ender 3 coming with a direct drive extruder that works well, an automated bed leveling system and decent print quality even if it’s not as fast as other printers with a slightly higher price tag.
The Good
- Good direct drive extruder with dual gears
- Automated bed leveling and Z offset calibration
- 220x220x250 build volume
- PEI Flexible Build Plate
- Relatively silent operation
- Easy to set up
The Bad
- Not as fast as other 3D printers on the market
- Compatible with Creality Print, but better used with Orca Slicer
- Not enclosed, and cannot be easily enclosed
The Ugly
- Still uses V-slot wheels on the X-axis
- Does not have a touchscreen
- Cannot print higher temperature materials due to the hotend limitations
Overall, the Creality Ender 3 V3 SE is great if you can find it for a good deal, and don’t want to spend more for your first 3D printer.
If you are looking to get the Ender 3 V3 SE, you can purchase it from the following websites:
Elegoo Neptune 4 – Budget printer with some quirks
An alternative to the Creality Ender 3 V3 Se is the ELEGOO Neptune 4 which is available for a price of around $230 and comes with slightly better specs and features.
It has a slightly larger build volume of 225x255x265mm and a 4.3-inch capacitive screen, dual-gear extruder and auto bed leveling. But the most attractive feature is the use of Klipper firmware, which comes pre-installed on the printer for fast 3D printing. This means the print speed is faster, and the quality can be even better due to the use of Input Shaping and Pressure Advance.
Besides that, it also has an auxiliary part cooling fan setup that ensures good cooling for those fast print speeds the machine is capable of, and it’s capable of printing up to 300C which is another improvement over the Ender 3 V3 SE.
The Good
- Good print quality out of the box
- 225x255x265mm print volume
- Uses a touchscreen for printer interaction
- Wi-Fi Connectivity for remote control on the computer
- Fast print speed with Klipper Firmware
- High-Temperature hotend allows for up to 300C
- Easy to set up
The Bad
- Not enclosed, and cannot be easily enclosed
- Less than ideal ecosystem, but compatible with Orca Slicer
- Noisy when printing with the Auxiliary fans turned on
The Ugly
- Uses V-slot wheels on both X and Y axis
Overall, the ELEGOO Neptune 4 can be a good printer if you are on a budget and don’t mind needing to do some fine-tuning and dealing with V-slot wheels in 2024.
If you are looking to get the Neptune 4, you can purchase it from the following websites:
Bambu Lab A1 mini – My Favorite
I am also including the Bambu Lab A1 mini in this top as a bonus entry, because it has remained by favorite 3D printer I currently own. As you might know, I love small 3D printers, and the A1 mini is able to print almost everything I need it to print while taking very little space on my desk and being very silent while doing so.
You can read a lot more about it in my dedicated Bambu Lab A1 mini review, and I would recommend checking it out if you don’t need a large print volume. You can get the same features as on the more expensive Bambu Lab A1 mini for only 199$ during the Bambu Sales which is an amazing for a small format 3D printer with so many features and one of the best budget 3D printers in 2024 if you don’t need a larger printing volume
If you are looking to get a Bambu Lab A1 mini, you can purchase it from the following websites:
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