--- title: "Best 3D Printer for Beginners and Home Use (2026)" slug: best-3d-printer-for-beginners description: The best 3D printer for beginners and home use in 2026, ranked from today's prices, reviews and real use, with a pick for every budget and for multi-colour. target_keyword: best 3d printer for beginners secondary_keywords: - best home 3d printer - best 3d printer for home use - best budget 3d printer - best 3d printer for hobbyists audience: hobbyists category: comparisons buyers_guide: hobbyist buyers_guide_picks: overall: bambu-lab-a1-mini band_budget: bambu-lab-a1-mini multi_colour: snapmaker-u1 band_premium: none tags: - beginners - home - buying guide schema: TechArticle last_modified: 2026-10-19 published: 2026-10-18 author: simplyprint og_image: https://cdn.simplyprint.io/i/landing/articles/best-3d-printer-for-beginners/og.jpg og_image_alt: "The best 3D printer for beginners: the Bambu Lab A1 Mini, the Bambu Lab P2S and the Snapmaker U1" tldr: | The best 3D printer for beginners levels and calibrates itself, prints well on the first evening, and has a big community for when something goes wrong. Our picks are ranked from our catalog when you open the page: reviews, real-world use, price in your region, multi-colour and how open each brand is, with a pick for every budget. cta_inline: text: Control your printer from anywhere with SimplyPrint, free url: /panel/signup cta_final: text: Got your printer? Run it from your browser with SimplyPrint url: /panel/signup related_articles: - best-3d-printer - orcaslicer-vs-bambu-studio - what-is-a-3mf-file faq: - q: What is the easiest 3D printer for a beginner? a: | One that levels and calibrates itself, comes mostly assembled, and has a large community behind it. Choose an enclosed one if it will live in a living room or near children, and an open-frame one if you want to learn how it works and save money. - q: Do I need an enclosed 3D printer at home? a: | Not for PLA and PETG, the filaments most people print at home. An enclosure helps with ABS and ASA, keeps hot parts away from children and pets, and makes the printer quieter. It also costs more, so buy one when you need it. - q: Can I control a 3D printer from my phone? a: | Yes. Most new printers come with their maker's app, and SimplyPrint runs printers from more than 130 brands from your browser or phone: start prints, watch the camera and get a message when a print finishes or fails. --- The best 3D printer for beginners in 2026 is the one that works on the first evening and keeps working. Ten years ago a first printer meant a weekend of assembly and tuning; today most printers level their own bed, calibrate themselves and print a first model the evening they arrive. That makes the choice less about specs and more about price, ease, multi-colour and how much freedom you want later. The same picks make the best home 3D printer, whether you are new to it or one of the hobbyists who already own three. Our picks below are ranked when you open the page, from what our printer catalog knows today. **Our take for 2026** We rate these on one thing above all: how close they come to set-and-forget. When we started out, around 2017, 3D printing wasn't a welcoming hobby; you tinkered with the printer as much as you printed. With the printers we recommend here, you set them up and they just work. For a first printer at home, we'd buy the **Bambu Lab A1 Mini**: small, affordable, a camera built in, and multi-colour when you want it with the A1 Mini Combo. If you want a bigger, enclosed printer, the **P2S** is the best all-rounder this year. If multi-colour is the point, look at the **Snapmaker U1**: as a toolchanger it switches colours with far less waste than a filament changer. You won't be stuck with your first choice. Most people grow with the hobby, print upgrades for their own printer, and move on to another one later. The second-hand market is lively, on Facebook Marketplace, eBay and the like, both for buying a first printer cheaply and for selling it on. If you get serious about tough engineering materials, you'll need a more capable printer: look at the **Bambu Lab X2D** (not the X1 Carbon, which is discontinued). Before you buy, look at how open each brand is, further down. Bambu Lab makes great printers, and it decides what they can do: in January 2025 it announced firmware that requires its authorization before third-party apps can start a print, and later added an optional Developer Mode that keeps local control open, without Bambu Lab's support. On your home network, a printer only changes when you install an update. ## Our picks: the best 3D printer for beginners in 2026 The best first printer overall, then the best for each budget and the best for multi-colour. Every reason under a printer is read from its data and our assessment of it for home use, and the score is out of 100. ### Bambu Lab A1 Mini _Best overall for beginners and home use_ · Score 72 of 100 · Verified by SimplyPrint _Our editor's pick: hands-on experience puts it here, ahead of its score_ - Reviewed by Tom's Hardware, TechRadar, Maker's Muse - 500+ printers use SimplyPrint - Multi-colour with the Bambu Lab AMS Lite, Bambu Lab AMS, Bambu Lab AMS 2 Pro, Bambu Lab AMS HT, sold together as the Bambu Lab A1 Mini Combo - A built-in camera, for watching prints from anywhere - Prints PETG, TPU & flexibles well, as well as PLA - Watch out: Bambu Lab rates "Mostly closed" on our openness scale: see the brand notes below - Watch out: Bambu Lab has had setbacks in the last three years: see the brand notes below [Specs, reviews and setup](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/bambu-lab-a1-mini) ### Anycubic Kobra S1 _Best from $400 to $900_ · Score 77 of 100 · Compatible - One of the cheapest here, from US$401.00 - Multi-colour with the Anycubic ACE Pro, Anycubic ACE 2 Pro, sold together as the Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo - Launched January 2, 2025 - 250+ printers use SimplyPrint - Reviewed by Tom's Hardware, Aurora Tech - Watch out: Anycubic has had setbacks in the last three years: see the brand notes below - From US$401.00 [Specs, reviews and setup](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/anycubic-kobra-s1) ### Snapmaker U1 _Best for multi-colour printing_ · Score 88 of 100 · Compatible _Our editor's pick: hands-on experience puts it here, ahead of its score_ - A toolchanger, for several colours or materials in one print - Reviewed by Tom's Hardware, TechRadar, Maker's Muse - Launched 2025 - 500+ printers use SimplyPrint - A built-in camera, for watching prints from anywhere [Specs, reviews and setup](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/snapmaker-u1) ### Prusa CORE One _Most open choice_ · Score 78 of 100 · Compatible - Reviewed by Tom's Hardware, TechRadar, CNC Kitchen - Multi-colour with the Prusa MMU 3 - Launched January 2025 - 50+ printers use SimplyPrint - Prusa rates "Open" on our openness scale [Specs, reviews and setup](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/prusa-core-one) ## The best 3D printer for home use, ranked The top ten for home, and the best 3D printer for hobbyists who want room to grow. Open a printer for its specs, reviews and setup guide, or compare the top four on our [printer comparison](/compatibility/compare). | # | Printer | Score | From | With SimplyPrint | Brand openness | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | [Bambu Lab P2S](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/bambu-lab-p2s) | 88 | - | Verified by SimplyPrint | Mostly closed | | 2 | [Snapmaker U1](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/snapmaker-u1) | 88 | - | Compatible | Mostly open | | 3 | [QIDI Q2](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/qidi-q2) | 84 | - | Compatible | Mostly open | | 4 | [ELEGOO Centauri Carbon](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/elegoo-centauri-carbon) | 83 | - | Compatible | Mostly open | | 5 | [Bambu Lab H2C](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/bambu-lab-h2c) | 81 | - | Verified by SimplyPrint | Mostly closed | | 6 | [Creality K1 Max](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/creality-k1-max) | 81 | - | Compatible | Mostly open | | 7 | [Bambu Lab X2D](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/bambu-lab-x2d) | 80 | - | Verified by SimplyPrint | Mostly closed | | 8 | [Creality K1C](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/creality-k1c) | 79 | - | Compatible | Mostly open | | 9 | [Creality K2 Plus](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/creality-k2-plus) | 79 | - | Compatible | Mostly open | | 10 | [Prusa CORE One](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/prusa-core-one) | 78 | - | Compatible | Open | _QIDI sends us some of its new printers free of charge._ [Compare the top four side by side](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/compare?compare=bambu-lab-p2s,snapmaker-u1,qidi-q2,elegoo-centauri-carbon#compare) ## What a first 3D printer needs ### It sets itself up Automatic bed levelling and calibration are what make a modern printer easy. Without them, most beginner trouble starts with the first layer. Each printer's page in our [compatibility list](/compatibility) says whether it levels its own bed. ### Enclosed or open: where will it live? An open-frame printer, where the bed moves back and forth, is cheaper, easier to repair and fine for PLA and PETG. An enclosed printer is quieter, safer around children and pets, and prints ABS and ASA. In a living room, the enclosure is worth paying for. In a garage or workshop it is optional. ### Multi-colour: now or later? A multi-material unit feeds four or more spools into one printer, so a print can change colour by itself. It is the most fun upgrade in home printing, and it costs more and wastes a little filament on every colour change. Many printers can add one later, so you don't have to decide on day one. Our picks list which unit each printer works with. ### Software you can grow into Your slicer turns a model into instructions for the printer. Most makers ship their own, often based on the open-source OrcaSlicer or PrusaSlicer; we compared the two most popular in [OrcaSlicer vs Bambu Studio](/articles/orcaslicer-vs-bambu-studio). SimplyPrint adds the rest: [slicing in the browser](/features/slicer), remote control from your phone, [AI failure detection](/features/ai-detection) that pauses a print going wrong, and [filament tracking](/features/filament-management) so you know what is left on each spool. ### What it really costs The printer is the big cost, then filament. Budget for a few spools of PLA and PETG, a spare nozzle and, later, a second build plate. The best budget 3D printer is often a cheap one with a large community, not a pricier one few people own: every problem you meet has already been solved by someone. ### Where to start printing Your first prints don't need a 3D design program. Model sites such as [Printables](https://www.printables.com) and [MakerWorld](https://makerworld.com) have millions of free models, and most open straight in your slicer. When you want to make your own, free tools like Tinkercad run in a browser and are made for beginners: our guide to [3D printing from Tinkercad](/articles/tinkercad-3d-printing) walks through the first model. ## Before you buy: a checklist - **Where will it live?** A living room or bedroom: enclosed and quiet. A garage or workshop: either. - **What will you print first?** Toys, organisers and gifts in PLA need nothing special; tough outdoor parts want PETG or ASA. - **Colour now or later?** If later, check the printer can take a multi-material unit. - **Who will help?** A big community and a maker that answers matter more than a spec you won't use. - **Can you get spares?** Nozzles and build plates wear out; check they are sold where you live. ## Open or walled garden: how free you are later Some printer makers work like Apple: the printer, slicer, cloud and spare parts come from one company, polished to work together, on its terms. Others work like Android, or a Linux PC: open firmware, any slicer, any filament, parts you can buy or print. Many beginners are happiest in the closed system at first. The question is what happens when you want to tinker, or the maker changes its mind about what your printer may do. We rate each brand in six areas from public sources. ### Prusa: Openness: Open (4.9 of 5) Prusa Research is a Prague company founded in 2012 by Josef Průša, who came from the open-source RepRap project. It designs and builds the Original Prusa and Prusa CORE printers, makes Prusament filament, develops the PrusaSlicer slicer and runs the Printables model site. Printers are built in Prague and at its US site in Delaware, sold assembled or as kits, and used by hobbyists, schools, businesses and print farms. - Firmware and custom firmware: 5/5. Firmware for current printers is published on GitHub under GPL-3.0 and updated with every release. Official firmware is signed, but Prusa documents how to flash custom firmware by breaking a seal on the board and says this does not void the warranty. Prusa says firmware and printable parts are shared right away and electronics schematics later. - Local control and integrations: 5/5. PrusaLink, built into the CORE One, MK4S, MK3.9, MK3.5 and XL, handles monitoring, file uploads and print control on the local network without internet or an account, and printing from USB works offline. Prusa publishes PrusaLink's HTTP API as an OpenAPI specification on GitHub, and its help centre covers OctoPrint setup. Prusa Connect is an optional cloud service for remote access. - Third-party filament, slicers and parts: 5/5. Printers are open to any filament; PrusaSlicer is GPL-licensed and other slicers work. Instead of a locked RFID system, Prusa created OpenPrintTag, an NFC spool-tag standard that is free for any brand to use and works offline. - Repairs and spare parts: 5/5. The e-shop sells spare parts for each printer, printable parts are published, and the full CORE One CAD files are released. Prusa's open-source page says its goal is printers that stay moddable and easy to repair for decades, and its licence explicitly allows making spare parts for your own machines. - Data and privacy: 4/5. No account is needed for local use through PrusaLink or USB. Prusa Connect needs a Prusa account and stores G-codes and telemetry in the cloud. Prusa Research is an EU company and publishes its privacy policy and a Trust Center. - Community and documentation: 5/5. Large community around Printables and the forum, a detailed knowledge base, and firmware and slicer developed in public on GitHub with open issue trackers. - July 2026: Printed Solid, the Delaware company Prusa Research bought in 2022, was renamed Prusa USA. Its Wilmington site builds the MK4S and CORE One+, makes filament and is Prusa's US service centre. - December 2025: Prusa released the full CAD files of the CORE One under its new Open Community License (OCL). OCL allows modifying, sharing mods and in-house commercial use, and grants patent and repair rights, but bars selling machines built from the files without an agreement, so it is not a standard open-source licence. Prusa said it is also filing patents on its designs. - October 2025: Prusa launched OpenPrintTag, a published NFC standard for smart filament spools that any brand can use without licence fees, starting with redesigned Prusament spools. - November 2024: Prusa announced the CORE One, its first fully enclosed CoreXY printer with active chamber temperature control. - March 2023: Josef Průša wrote that open source in 3D printing was under strain from cloners and licence violations. With the MK4, Prusa released firmware sources and models of the plastic parts but held back the electronics plans, planning to publish them later under a new licence. ### QIDI: Openness: Mostly open (4.2 of 5) QIDI Tech is a Chinese 3D printer maker formed in 2014. It sells enclosed, Klipper-based CoreXY printers such as the compact Q2 and the larger Plus4 and Max4, and develops the open-source QIDI Studio slicer and the QIDI Link app. - Firmware and custom firmware: 4/5. QIDI printers run QIDI's editions of Klipper and Moonraker with Fluidd. QIDI publishes them and per-model firmware packages on GitHub under GPL (for example the Q2 in January 2026 and the Max4 in August 2026) and answers issues there. - Local control and integrations: 5/5. QIDI printers run Klipper and Moonraker with Fluidd on the printer, and QIDI Studio connects to them on the local network by IP without an account. QIDI publishes its Moonraker edition on GitHub, and other software can use Moonraker's documented API. Only the QIDI Link phone app needs an account and QIDI's cloud. - Third-party filament, slicers and parts: 4/5. Third-party filament works; QIDI Studio is open source, and as Klipper and Moonraker printers they work with other Moonraker-compatible software. Hotends and nozzles are QIDI parts made per model. - Repairs and spare parts: 4/5. QIDI's store lists many individual parts, including motherboards, eMMC modules, fans, extruders, hotends and Wi-Fi cards, and its wiki has replacement guides such as the Plus4 hotend. - Data and privacy: 3/5. Local use needs no account. QIDI Link requires one and says which server it uses (Aliyun in China, AWS elsewhere). The published privacy policy covers the online store, not the printers or the app. - Community and documentation: 4/5. Firmware is released and issues are taken on GitHub, and QIDI keeps a wiki per model with manuals, maintenance and troubleshooting guides. - August 2026: QIDI published the firmware repository for the Max4 on GitHub under GPL-3.0. - January 2026: QIDI published the Q2's Klipper-based firmware on GitHub under GPL-3.0, with update packages and an issue tracker. ### Snapmaker: Openness: Mostly open (4.1 of 5) Snapmaker is a Shenzhen company founded in 2016, built around machines that swap tool heads; its Original, 2.0 and U1 machines were launched on Kickstarter. It sells the U1, a CoreXY printer with four tool heads that change in about five seconds for multi-colour printing, and the Artisan, which combines 3D printing, laser engraving and CNC carving. Its buyers are makers, hobbyists and small workshops. - Firmware and custom firmware: 4/5. The U1 runs modified Klipper, Moonraker and Fluidd. Snapmaker published its changes on GitHub under GPL-3.0 on 30 March 2026, about three months after Kickstarter deliveries finished. Firmware for the Snapmaker 2.0 and, since August 2026, the Artisan controller is also on GitHub under GPL. - Local control and integrations: 5/5. The U1 runs Klipper, Moonraker and Fluidd on the printer and prints from Snapmaker Orca over Wi-Fi or from a USB drive, so other software can use Moonraker's documented API; Snapmaker publishes its Moonraker changes on GitHub. For the Artisan, Snapmaker documents its G-code commands and has Luban pass jobs from OrcaSlicer over the OctoPrint protocol. The Snapmaker app is for remote monitoring. - Third-party filament, slicers and parts: 3/5. Third-party 1.75 mm filament works and the U1 is supported in OrcaSlicer, but its RFID filament recognition is proprietary and only reads Snapmaker spools, and its hotends are proprietary one-piece units. Snapmaker documents using Cura, OrcaSlicer and PrusaSlicer with its older machines. - Repairs and spare parts: 4/5. Snapmaker's shop sells most U1 parts on their own, including the main board, heated bed, extruder motor, toolhead board, belts, fans and touchscreen, and its wiki has replacement guides such as the U1 XY motor. Hotends can only be replaced as a whole unit. - Data and privacy: 3/5. Cloud features need a Snapmaker account. The privacy policy says personal data is stored on servers in the United States, may be shared with affiliates and third parties in China for some functions, and some data is kept for three years. - Community and documentation: 4/5. Active forum and a wiki with detailed FAQs and guides, firmware and slicer sources on GitHub, and frequent public updates and livestreams during the U1 campaign. - August 2026: Snapmaker published the Artisan's Marlin-based controller firmware on GitHub under GPL-3.0. - March 30, 2026: Snapmaker published its modified Klipper, Moonraker and Fluidd for the U1 on GitHub under GPL-3.0, on the last day of the deadline it had set itself. - December 2025: Snapmaker says all U1 Kickstarter orders shipped by 23 December 2025, ahead of its schedule. It says it delivered all three of its Kickstarter campaigns. - September 2025: The U1 Kickstarter raised $20.2 million from more than 20,000 backers by 30 September 2025, the most for any 3D printer on the platform. Snapmaker gives the final total as $20.6 million from 20,680 backers. ### ELEGOO: Openness: Mostly open (3.8 of 5) ELEGOO is a Shenzhen company founded in 2015 that makes FDM and resin 3D printers, filament, laser engravers and STEM electronics kits. Its FDM range is the Centauri Carbon, an enclosed CoreXY printer, and the Neptune 4 series of open-frame Klipper printers, sold to hobbyists at budget to mid-range prices. DJI became a shareholder in 2025. - Firmware and custom firmware: 3/5. The Neptune 4 series runs Klipper. For the Centauri Carbon, which went on sale in February 2025, ELEGOO published its modified source on GitHub under GPL-3.0 in September 2025, saying it did so in response to user feedback. - Local control and integrations: 5/5. ELEGOO's printers connect to its slicer on the local network by IP without an account. The Neptune 4 series serves Klipper's web interface and Moonraker, which OrcaSlicer reaches as an Octo/Klipper host. For the Centauri Carbon and Centauri Carbon 2, ELEGOO published Elegoo Link on GitHub in January 2026, an Apache-2.0 SDK for local discovery, status, file upload and print control. The Matrix phone app adds remote printing while the printer is online. - Third-party filament, slicers and parts: 4/5. Third-party filament works; ElegooSlicer is an open-source OrcaSlicer-based slicer, OrcaSlicer works with the Neptune 4, and ELEGOO published the data format of its RFID filament tags so others can use it. - Repairs and spare parts: 3/5. ELEGOO sells hotend, extruder and nozzle kits and some boards for the Neptune 4, and its wiki has many replacement guides, including the Centauri Carbon motherboard. The store's Centauri Carbon parts list is short (hotend kit, touchscreen, upper shell). - Data and privacy: 3/5. LAN printing needs no account; the Matrix app and cloud do. The privacy policy names the companies responsible for personal data in each region (Shenzhen, Hong Kong, United States) but is written mainly for the online store. - Community and documentation: 3/5. Active community and a wiki with guides per model; firmware and slicer sources are on GitHub, although the Centauri Carbon source came after users asked for it. - May 2026: ELEGOO's parent closed a B+ financing round of over 500 million yuan (about $73 million) from investors including Meituan, Hillhouse Capital and Shenzhen Capital Group. It reported 2025 revenue of 2.3 billion yuan. - April 27, 2026: CANVAS, the multi-colour system for the Centauri Carbon, became available, five months after ELEGOO said it could not give a release date. - November 18, 2025: DJI and Hangzhou Jiangyu Technology became shareholders of ELEGOO's parent company, according to a business registration update reported by TechNode. The size of the stake was not disclosed. - November 2025: ELEGOO said the multi-colour system it was developing for the Centauri Carbon did not yet perform as it wanted and that it could not guarantee a release date. It offered owners a choice of a $50 filament coupon, a 365-day warranty extension or $80 off a Centauri Carbon 2 Combo. - September 26, 2025: In response to user feedback, ELEGOO published the modified source code of the Centauri series firmware on GitHub under GPL-3.0. - February 2025: ELEGOO opened pre-orders for the Centauri Carbon, its first enclosed CoreXY printer, on 17 February 2025. ### Creality: Openness: Mostly open (3.6 of 5) Creality is a Shenzhen 3D printer maker founded in 2014. Its low-cost Ender series, launched in 2017, made desktop 3D printing affordable for many hobbyists. It now sells Klipper-based K-series CoreXY printers, Ender and CR open-frame printers, the Hi and SPARKX beginner lines, the CFS multi-material system, 3D scanners and laser engravers, and runs the Creality Cloud model platform. It listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2026. - Firmware and custom firmware: 3/5. Creality publishes Klipper firmware source for the K1, K2, Hi and Ender-3 V3 KE on GitHub under GPL, but after launch: the K1 source came about three months after the series launched in May 2023, the K2 and Hi sources in September 2025. Earlier K1 printers have an official root option with a published guide, but Creality's wiki says the 2025 K1C and K1 Max do not support root access. - Local control and integrations: 4/5. Creality Print sends jobs over the local network with no account, and Creality Cloud is optional. The K2 series and Ender-3 V3 serve Fluidd on the printer, so other software can use Klipper's documented Moonraker API. On the K1 series, Creality's firmware notes treat Fluidd and Mainsail as add-ons owners install themselves, and Creality says the 2025 K1C and K1 Max do not support root access. The SPARKX i7 is set up through the Creality Cloud app. - Third-party filament, slicers and parts: 4/5. Third-party filament works; Creality Print is an open-source (AGPL-3.0) slicer and OrcaSlicer supports Creality printers. Creality sells nozzle, hotend and extruder kits per model; newer K2 parts such as its nozzle kit are Creality designs. - Repairs and spare parts: 4/5. Creality's store sells extruder, hotend, heating-block and print-head kits per model, and its wiki has parts lists and replacement guides for current printers (for example the K2 Plus and SPARKX i7 hotends). - Data and privacy: 3/5. Local printing needs no account; Creality Cloud and its app need one. Creality's published privacy policy is written for its websites and services, allows use of data for targeted advertising, and says little about printer data or where it is stored. - Community and documentation: 4/5. One of the largest user bases (second in consumer 3D printers by 2025 sales value, per figures in its listing), a public wiki with model-specific guides, firmware and slicer sources on GitHub, and an official forum. - May 2026: Creality listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (3388.HK), raising about HK$1.27 billion net. Its prospectus showed 2025 revenue of RMB 3.13 billion and a net loss of RMB 182.4 million, after a profit in 2024. - November 2025: Creality's wiki states that the 2025 revisions of the K1C and K1 Max do not support root access, which earlier K1 printers offered through an official option and guide. - September 2025: Creality published the Klipper source for its K2 series and for the Hi on GitHub under GPL-3.0. - August 2023: About three months after the K1 series launched, Creality published its K1 Klipper source on GitHub, followed by a repository with a root guide and Fluidd and Mainsail install instructions. ### Anycubic: Openness: Mixed (3.0 of 5) Anycubic is a Chinese 3D printer maker founded in 2015. It sells the Kobra line of FDM printers, including the enclosed Kobra S1 and S1 Max, the large Kobra 3 Max and the low-cost Kobra X, the ACE Pro multi-material unit and Photon resin printers. Its printers are aimed at hobbyists and home users at budget to mid-range prices. - Firmware and custom firmware: 3/5. The Kobra 3, 3 Max and S1 run Klipper-go, Anycubic's Go port of Klipper. Anycubic published its source with the kernel and U-Boot under GPL, for the Kobra 3 in October 2024 and for the wider family in October 2025, but says some proprietary features are kept closed, and that modifying the firmware voids the warranty. The community project Rinkhals adds Fluidd, Mainsail and SSH, and reports that the newer Kobra X only accepts signed updates. - Local control and integrations: 3/5. LAN mode lets Anycubic Slicer Next send prints, show progress and stream video on the local network without an account, and the S1's firmware 2.5.9.9 added sending from OrcaSlicer. With LAN mode on, the cloud, the app and AI failure detection are off, and the S1 must leave LAN mode and be bound to an account to update its firmware. Anycubic documents no local API for other software; Moonraker, Fluidd and Mainsail come only with the community firmware Rinkhals. - Third-party filament, slicers and parts: 3/5. Third-party filament works. Anycubic Slicer Next is an open-source OrcaSlicer fork, and recent firmware accepts files sent from OrcaSlicer. Hotends, extruders and many other parts are model-specific Anycubic parts. - Repairs and spare parts: 4/5. Anycubic's store sells hotends, extruders, motherboards, heated beds, motors and screens, and its wiki has replacement guides for current models, for example the Kobra S1 Max XY motors and the Kobra X Y-axis motor. - Data and privacy: 2/5. LAN mode keeps data on the local network, but the app and cloud need an account. Anycubic's privacy policy allows broad collection, including product usage, device signals and nearby Wi-Fi access points, and storage in the United States. In February 2024 a flaw in its cloud MQTT server let a third party push a file to Kobra 2 printers; Anycubic apologised and patched it. - Community and documentation: 3/5. Active user community and a wiki with guides and error codes for each model. Source releases leave proprietary parts closed, and custom firmware is a community effort. - October 2025: Anycubic published Klipper-go, its Go port of Klipper, as a standalone project for the Kobra 3, Kobra 3 V2, Kobra 3 Max and Kobra S1, with the MCU firmware, Linux kernel and U-Boot sources, on GitHub under GPL-3.0. It says some proprietary features remain closed. - October 2024: Anycubic published the Kobra 3 firmware sources (Klipper-go, MCU firmware, Linux kernel and U-Boot) on GitHub under GPL-3.0. - February 2024: A third party used a vulnerability in Anycubic's cloud MQTT server to make Kobra 2 Pro/Plus/Max printers download a file named 'hacked_machine_readme.gcode'. Anycubic counted 237 affected printers and over 2,000 that received the file, apologised for its late response, tightened cloud authorisation and released a firmware fix. ### Bambu Lab: Openness: Mostly closed (2.3 of 5) Bambu Lab is a Shenzhen company founded in 2020 by former DJI engineers. It makes FDM printers in four families (A, P, X and H), the AMS multi-material units, the Bambu Studio slicer, the Bambu Handy app and the MakerWorld model site, and designs them to be used together. Its printers are used by beginners, hobbyists, schools and print farms. - Firmware and custom firmware: 1/5. The printer firmware is Bambu's own and closed; in 2022 Bambu said it would keep it in-house. Its security white paper describes secure boot that only runs verified firmware on X1, H2, P1 and A1 printers. Bambu publishes the GPL parts it uses (Linux kernel, U-Boot, BusyBox) but not the printer software. Rooting the X1 only became possible through a security flaw the X1Plus project used in 2024; Bambu then published a one-off rootable X1 firmware for owners who give up their warranty, and blocks rooting in later firmware. - Local control and integrations: 2/5. LAN Only mode prints and monitors from Bambu Studio or Bambu Connect without internet or an account; the Handy app, printing from outside the network and print history need Bambu's cloud. Since the 2025 authorization firmware, other software can only read status in normal mode. Full control needs Developer Mode, which cuts the cloud link and which Bambu says it cannot support because the protocols are not official. Bambu documents no local protocol; it offers a file hand-off to Bambu Connect and a Local Server SDK on application. - Third-party filament, slicers and parts: 3/5. Third-party filament works, and Bambu publicly denied in 2025 that it would restrict it. OrcaSlicer and other slicers can be used, but since the 2025 firmware they send and control prints through Bambu Connect or Developer Mode. Hotends are Bambu's own designs, and Bambu says it cannot promise long-term support for accessories that control the printer unless it approved them first. - Repairs and spare parts: 4/5. Bambu's store sells individual spare parts down to motors, belts, encoders and boards, and its wiki has step-by-step replacement guides for each model (for example the P2S hotend and the H2D/H2C AP board). Many parts, hotends included, are Bambu-specific, so spares come from Bambu. - Data and privacy: 3/5. Cloud features need a Bambu account, while LAN Only mode keeps jobs on the local network. Bambu publishes a Trust Center and a 38-page security white paper, says it holds ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27701 and TRUSTe certifications, and runs a paid bug bounty. In August 2023 a cloud outage made some printers start earlier jobs on their own; Bambu apologised. - Community and documentation: 4/5. Very large user community, the MakerWorld model site, a detailed wiki and a blog where Bambu explains its policy changes. Bambu Studio is developed in public on GitHub with an open issue tracker. The printer protocol is not documented, and Developer Mode is unsupported. - September 2026: A US federal jury in Texas found that Bambu Lab's X1, P1 and A1 printers infringe Stratasys patents on prime towers and bed levelling, and awarded Stratasys $27.6 million. No injunction was placed on the printers. Bambu told Tom's Hardware it disagrees with the verdict and intends to seek post-trial review and appeal. Stratasys had filed two suits in 2024; more patents are still to be decided. - May 2026: Bambu Lab pressed the developer of 'OrcaSlicer-bambulab', a fork that restored direct cloud printing from OrcaSlicer, to remove it, according to Manufactur3D. On 7 May Bambu said the fork impersonated the official Bambu Studio client to its cloud, which its user agreement does not allow, and that modifying and sharing its AGPL code remains fine. The developer disputed the claims. - October 2025: Bambu Lab opened a Trust Center with a security white paper and listed ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27701 and TRUSTe privacy certifications. A year later it said its bug bounty had worked with over 100 researchers and that it had added a public security update log. - January 20, 2025: After criticism from users and print farms, Bambu Lab announced an optional Developer Mode for X1, P1, A1 and A1 mini that leaves MQTT, FTP and the live stream open for third-party software in LAN mode, without official support. It also said LAN mode via Bambu Connect needs neither internet nor an account, and that third-party filament would not be restricted. - January 16, 2025: Bambu Lab announced firmware with 'authorization control', first for the X1: starting prints, moving axes, changing temperatures and binding the printer now require Bambu-approved software, also in LAN mode. On updated printers, third-party slicers and accessories such as the Panda Touch could no longer control the printer except through Bambu Connect; reading status still worked. Bambu cited security and up to 30 million unauthorised cloud requests a day; older firmware stayed optional. - March 2024: After the X1Plus jailbreak, Bambu Lab published a one-off rootable firmware for the X1 series for owners who give up their warranty support. It said it does not support X1Plus, and that firmware after it would block rooting again. - February 2024: Bambu Lab extended its A1 heatbed-cable callback to a recall of all A1 printers and asked owners to stop using them. It reported electrical faults in under 0.1% of units and offered a full refund plus an $80 voucher, or a redesigned heatbed plus a $120 voucher and six extra months of warranty. The A1 mini was not affected. - January 2024: Community developers rooted the X1 series through a security flaw in its firmware (up to version 1.07) and released the X1Plus custom firmware. Bambu Lab closed the flaw in later firmware. - August 2023: During a Bambu cloud outage on 15 August 2023, some printers started print jobs without user action, because jobs stuck in the cloud were resent when service returned. Bambu apologised, took responsibility and said it would add checks before a print starts. - May 2022: Before its first printers shipped, Bambu Lab said its firmware would stay closed and in-house to remain competitive, and promised to open-source everything if the company ever could not survive. ## Where they come from, and staying compliant Most of the best 3D printers today come from Chinese companies, and this ranking reflects that: right now they give you the most printer for the money. That's no judgement of the people who make them. But for some buyers, where a printer comes from matters: some people would simply rather buy from a company closer to home, or keep a printer off its maker's cloud. 9 of the top 10 printers in this guide come from a Chinese company. Here are the best-ranked from EU companies: - [Prusa CORE One L+](https://simplyprint.io/compatibility/prusa-core-one-l-plus) · Score 60 of 100 · $1,999.00 ### Any printer, on your terms, with SimplyPrint Whoever makes your printer, SimplyPrint decides what it talks to: - **Off its maker's cloud.** Most printers connect through the SimplyPrint Client on your own network, or in their local-network mode (Bambu Lab's LAN-only mode, with Developer Mode on its newer printers), so they never need their maker's cloud. You can block them from the internet entirely and let only the SimplyPrint Client connect out. - **Your data stored in Europe.** SimplyPrint's cloud is hosted in Frankfurt, Germany, under the GDPR. See [how we keep it secure](/security) and [who processes data for us](/legal/subprocessors). - **One place for access.** Users, permissions, [single sign-on](/single-sign-on) and an audit log, for every printer, whatever its brand. - **On your own servers, if you need it.** See [cloud vs. on-premise](/cloud-vs-on-premise). ## How we choose No brand pays for its place in this guide. The ranking is a formula over our catalog, the same for every printer, and it runs again each time the page loads. For beginners and home use it weighs our assessment, price, reviews and multi-colour most: | What we weigh | Points | How it is measured | | --- | --- | --- | | Our assessment for this use | 20 | Our written assessment of the printer for this kind of buyer: great, good, OK or poor. A printer we rate poor for it is left out. Not every printer is assessed yet; for those, this factor is left out and the others count for more. | | Price | 12 | The lowest current price for your region, compared on a log scale with the others in the guide. No current price counts low. | | How many are in use | 10 | How many printers of the model run on SimplyPrint, on a log scale: a sign of how many people trust it. | | Independent reviews | 10 | How many respected reviewers (press and YouTube) have reviewed it, up to four. | | Multi-colour and multi-material | 10 | Whether it ships with or works with a multi-material unit, a toolchanger or two extruders. | | Works with SimplyPrint | 8 | Verified by SimplyPrint, compatible, or expected to work from how it connects. | | How new it is | 8 | Launched this year or last counts fully, less each year after. | | The brand's openness | 6 | The brand's place on our open-to-walled-garden scale, below. Not rated yet counts as the middle. | | Built-in camera | 5 | A camera built in, for watching prints and failure detection. | | Enclosure | 4 | Fully enclosed counts most, partly enclosed half. | | Rating by SimplyPrint users | 3 | What SimplyPrint users rate it, when they have. | | Materials it prints well | 3 | How many kinds of filament it prints well, from its temperatures, enclosure and the maker's list. | | The brand's track record | 1 | Negative events in the brand's last three years (recalls, layoffs, policy changes that took features away), each with its sources. Not researched yet counts as a small deduction. | The score picks the printers, with one exception: where our own hands-on experience with a printer disagrees with its score, our editor can choose a different pick, and that pick says so. A printer replaced by a newer model we recommend instead is left out. A few makers send us printers or work with us directly; where one does, the guide says so next to its printers. Openness areas: Firmware and custom firmware (30%), Local control and integrations (30%), Third-party filament, slicers and parts (15%), Repairs and spare parts (10%), Data and privacy (10%), Community and documentation (5%). Some buying links earn us a commission at no cost to you; they never change the ranking. We make SimplyPrint, which runs printers from every brand here, so "works with SimplyPrint" is one factor: it is a fair sign of how many people trust a printer. _Built from our catalog: 214 printers ranked out of 223 on sale that work with SimplyPrint._