Resin Printer Guide

Miniature-first buyer's guide

Best Resin 3D Printers for Miniatures

If you want crisp miniatures without wasting money on the wrong machine, start here. This guide is here to help miniature hobbyists compare printers faster and spot the tradeoffs that actually matter.

Printers tracked 74
Currently in stock 38
Strong recommendations 12

Start Here

What matters most when you are buying for miniatures?

For most people, the biggest questions are simple: how much space do you have, how much do you want to spend, and do you want built-in heating badly enough to pay for it?

The picks below are there to help you narrow the field quickly. The full table underneath is there when you want to compare specs, prices, and notes in more detail.

What To Look For

The best printer for miniatures is rarely just the one with the biggest number on the box.

For miniature printing, the real question is whether a machine gives you clean detail, sensible pricing, and an experience that does not become more frustrating than it is worth.

Beginner Favorite

Elegoo Mars 4

small No Would I buy it: Yes
Best price
$160
Screen
7"
Build volume
153 x 77 x 175
  • 18μm XY
  • 1364.7 PPI
  • Gen 4

This printer is so great. You are paying for no extra features, just raw performance. It is unlikely that the XY resolution will ever get much better than this, so getting a printer like this as a super cheap way to get...

Best Value

Elegoo Saturn 3

medium No Would I buy it: Yes
Best price
$230
Screen
10"
Build volume
219 x 123 x 250
  • 24μm XY
  • 1260 PPI
  • Gen 4

I don’t know man, I am just a sucker for a printer that is cheap and does the barebones very well. You get so much machine for so little money invested. No fancy crap, just close to 20 microns pixel and dead solid printe...

Best Small Printer

Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra

small No Would I buy it: Yes
Best price
$270
Screen
7"
Build volume
153 x 77 x 165
  • 18μm XY
  • 1364 PPI
  • Gen 5

Wow, this is a printer. Anycubic tried to make a faster resin printer and ended up creating a much worse product (going to 100 microns, making a quality reducing FEP to make it happen and using brittle fast flowing resin...

Top Heated Pick

Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16k

medium Heated VAT Would I buy it: Yes
Best price
$500
Screen
10"
Build volume
211 × 118 × 220
  • 19μm XY
  • 1635 PPI
  • Gen 6

This looks to be a pretty good starter printer, mainly because of the heated VAT. It has some extra features you pay for that you might not need (camera and smart stuff), but getting VAT heated at this price point is sup...

Comparison Table

Compare the current field faster.

Use this when you want the fuller picture. The picks above help you narrow the field. The table below lets you compare prices, screen size, XY resolution, heating, and the practical take on each machine.

74 printers shown

Brand Model Size Best Price Screen XY Volume Heating Buy? Stock Notes PPI Generation Light FEP File loading File type Air filter Supports AA Z Rail Auto levelling Screen protector Release
Anycubic Photon D2 small $400 5.9" 51μm 130 x 73 x165 No Maybe In stock View take 498 Gen 3 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2022
Anycubic Photon M3 medium $209 7.6" 40μm 164 x 102 x 180 No No Out of stock View take 635 Gen 3 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2022
Anycubic Photon M3 Max large $599 13.6" 46μm 300 x 298 x 164 No Unrated In stock View take 545 Gen 3 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No In box 2022
Anycubic Photon M3 Plus medium $440 9.25" 34μm 194 x 122 x 245 No No Out of stock View take 734 Gen 3 Unknown FEP USB, Wifi Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No In box 2022
Anycubic Photon M3 Premium large $500 13.6" 28.5μm 219 x 123 x 250 No Unrated Out of stock No take yet 881 Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown No Unknown 2022 Winter
Anycubic Photon Mono small $200 6.08" 51μm 130 x 80 x 165 No No Out of stock View take 498 Gen 1 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2020
Anycubic Photon Mono 2 small $147 6.6" 34μm 165 x 89 x 143 No No Out of stock View take 732 Gen 3 Unknown ACF Film USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No In box 2023
Anycubic Photon Mono 4 small $160 7" 17μm 153 x 87 x 165 No Yes In stock View take Unknown Gen 4 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No In box 2023
Anycubic Photon Mono 4k small $159 6.23" 35μm 132 x 80 x 165 No No Out of stock View take 727 Gen 2 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No In box 2021
Anycubic Photon Mono M5 medium $210 10.1" 24μm 200 x 123 x 218 No Maybe In stock View take 1248 Gen 4 Unknown FEP USB, Wifi Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No In box 2023
Anycubic Photon Mono M5S medium $270 10.1" 24μm 200 x 123 x 218 No No In stock View take 1248 Gen 4 Unknown ACF Film USB, Wifi Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual Yes In box 2023
Anycubic Photon Mono M5S Pro medium $300 10.1" 24.8μm 200 x 126x 223 Heated Chamber Unrated In stock View take 1412 Gen 5 Unknown ACF Film USB, Wifi Unknown USB Carbon Filter Unknown Unknown Yes In box 2024
Anycubic Photon Mono M7 medium $300 10.1" 24.8μm 223 x 126 x 230 No No In stock View take Unknown Gen 4 Unknown ACF Film USB, Wifi Unknown USB Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Dual Yes In box 2023
Anycubic Photon Mono M7 Max large $729 13.6" 46μm 298 x 164 x 300 Heated VAT Maybe In stock View take Unknown Gen 4 Unknown ACF Film USB, Wifi Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No In box 2023
Anycubic Photon Mono M7 Pro medium $500 10.1" 24.8μm 223 x 126 x230 Heated VAT Maybe In stock View take Unknown Gen 4 Unknown ACF Film USB, Wifi Unknown USB Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Dual Yes In box 2023
Anycubic Photon Mono SE small $350 6" 51μm 130 x 78 x 160 No No Out of stock View take 505 Gen 1 Unknown FEP USB, Wifi Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2020
Anycubic Photon Mono SQ small $170 6.9" 50μm 128 x 120 x 200 No No Out of stock View take 508 Gen 2 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2021
Anycubic Photon Mono X medium $300 8.9" 50μm 192 x 120 x 245 No No Out of stock View take 509 Gen 2 Unknown FEP USB, Wifi Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No No 2021
Anycubic Photon Mono X 6k medium $270 9.25" 34μm 197 x 122 x 245 No No Out of stock View take 734 Gen 2 Unknown FEP Lan, USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No In box 2021
Anycubic Photon Mono x 6ks medium $200 9.1" 34μm 195 x 122 x 200 No Maybe In stock View take 746 Gen 4 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No In box 2023
Anycubic Photon Mono X2 medium $179 9.1" 48μm 200 x 196 x 122 No No In stock View take 530 Gen 3 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No In box 2022
Anycubic Photon Ultra small $260 4.6" 80μm 102 x 57 x 165 No No Out of stock View take 319 Gen 2 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2021
Anycubic Photono Mono 4 Ultra small $219 7" 17μm 153 x 87 x 165 No Maybe In stock View take Unknown Gen 4 Unknown ACF Film USB, Wifi Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Single No In box 2023
Creality Halot Lite medium $250 8.9" 50μm 192 x 120 x 200 No No Out of stock View take Unknown Gen 2 Unknown FEP USB, Wifi Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2021
Creality Halot R6 2K small $130 6" 50μm 130 x 82 x 160 No No Out of stock View take Unknown Unknown Unknown FEP USB, Wifi Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2023
Creality Halot-Mage medium $230 10.3" 30μm 228 x 128 x 230 No No In stock View take 855 Gen 4 Unknown FEP USB Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Dual No Tempered Glass 2023
Creality Halot-Mage Pro medium $250 10.3" 30μm 228 x 128 x 230 No No In stock View take 855 Gen 4 Unknown FEP Lan, USB, Wifi Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Dual No Tempered Glass 2023
Creality Halot-Mage S medium $309 10.1" 25μm 230 x 126 x223 No Maybe In stock View take 1230 Gen 5 Unknown PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 Lan, USB, Wifi Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Dual No No 2024
Creality Halot-One small $200 6" 50μm 127 x 80 x 160 No No Out of stock View take Unknown Gen 2 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2021
Creality Halot-One Plus medium $300 7.9" 50μm 172 x 102 x 160 No No Out of stock View take Unknown Gen 3 Unknown FEP USB, Wifi Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Dual No Tempered Glass 2022
Creality Halot-Play medium $230 8.9" 50μm 192 x 120 x 200 No No In stock View take Unknown Gen 4 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No No 2023
Creality Halot-Ray medium $300 9.25" 30μm 198 x 123 x 210 mm No No Out of stock View take Unknown Gen 3 Unknown FEP USB, Wifi Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Dual No No 2022
Creality Halot-Sky medium $400 8.9" 60μm 192 x 120 x 200 No No Out of stock View take Unknown Gen 2 Unknown FEP USB, Wifi Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Ball Screw, Linear Rail Dual No Tempered Glass 2021
Creality LD-002H small $200 6.08" 51μm 130 x 82 x 160 No No Out of stock View take Unknown Gen 1 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No Tempered Glass 2020
Creality LD-006 medium $750 8.9" 50μm 192 x 120 x 250 No No Out of stock View take Unknown Gen 2 Unknown FEP USB Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Dual No Tempered Glass 2021
Elegoo Jupiter large $600 12.8" 51μm 278 x 156 x 300 No No Out of stock View take 448 Gen 3 COB PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 USB .ctb USB Carbon Filter Yes Linear Rail Dual No No 2022
Elegoo Jupiter SE large $530 12.8" 51μm 277 x 156 x 300 No Maybe In stock No take yet 488 Gen 4 COB PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 Lan, USB .ctb Carbon Filter Yes Linear Rail Dual No No 2023
Elegoo Mars 1 small $100 5.5" 47μm 120 x 68 x 160 No No Out of stock View take 534 Gen 1 COB FEP USB .cbddlp No Yes Linear Rail Single No No Summer
Elegoo Mars 1 Pro small $100 3.5" 47μm 129 x 80 x 160 No No Out of stock View take 839 Gen 1 Unknown FEP USB Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2019
Elegoo Mars 2 small $100 6" 50μm 129 x 80 x 150 No No Out of stock View take 504 Gen 2 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2021
Elegoo Mars 2 Pro small $135 6.08" 50μm 130 x 82 x 155 No No Out of stock View take 498 Gen 2 Unknown FEP USB Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2020
Elegoo Mars 3 small $119 6.6" 35μm 143 x 89 x 175 No Yes Out of stock View take 732 Gen 3 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2022
Elegoo Mars 3 Pro small $150 6.6" 35μm 143 x 89 x 175 No Yes Out of stock View take 732 Gen 3 Unknown FEP USB Unknown USB Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Single No Tempered Glass 2022
Elegoo Mars 4 small $160 7" 18μm 153 x 77 x 175 No Yes In stock View take 1364.7 Gen 4 COB PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 USB .goo USB Carbon Filter No Unknown No No 2023
Elegoo Mars 4 DLP small $190 0" 52μm 132 x 74 x 150 No Maybe Out of stock View take 0 Gen 4 DLP FEP USB .ctb USB Carbon Filter Yes Linear Rail Single No Tempered Glass 2023
Elegoo Mars 4 Max medium $200 9.1" 34μm 195 x 122 x 150 No Maybe Out of stock View take 746 Gen 4 COB PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 USB .goo No Unsure Linear Rail Single No Tempered Glass 2023
Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra small $170 7" 18μm 153 x 77 x 165 No Yes In stock View take 1364 Gen 4 COB ACF Film USB, Wifi .ctb, .goo USB Carbon Filter Yes Linear Rail Single No Tempered Glass 2023
Elegoo Mars 5 small $180 6.6" 35μm 143 x 89 x 150 No No In stock View take 732.1 Gen 5 COB PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 USB Unknown No Unsure Linear Rail Single Yes No 2024
Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra small $270 7" 18μm 153 x 77 x 165 No Yes In stock View take 1364 Gen 5 COB PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 USB, Wifi Unsure No Unsure Linear Rail Single Yes Tempered Glass 2024
Elegoo Saturn 1 medium $300 8.9" 50μm 192 x 120 x 200 No No Out of stock View take 509 Gen 1 Unknown FEP Lan, USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No No 2020
Elegoo Saturn 2 medium $209 10" 28.5μm 219 x 123 x 250 No Yes Out of stock View take 881 Gen 3 Fresnel FEP USB Unknown USB Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Dual No Tempered Glass 2022
Elegoo Saturn 3 medium $230 10" 24μm 219 x 123 x 250 No Yes In stock View take 1260 Gen 4 Fresnel PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 USB Unsure USB Carbon Filter Unsure Linear Rail Dual No Tempered Glass 2023
Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra medium $270 10" 24μm 218 ×122 × 260 No Maybe In stock View take 1260 Gen 4 Unknown ACF Film USB, Wifi Unknown USB Carbon Filter Unknown Ball Screw, Linear Rail Dual No Unknown 2023
Elegoo Saturn 4 medium $300 10" 24μm 219 x 123 x 220 No No In stock View take Unknown Gen 5 Unknown PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 USB Unknown No No Linear Rail Dual Yes No 2024
Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra medium $369 10" 24μm 219 x1 23 x 220 No Yes In stock View take Unknown Gen 5 Unknown PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 USB, Wifi Unknown No Yes Linear Rail Dual Yes Tempered Glass 2024
Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16k medium $500 10" 19μm 211 × 118 × 220 Heated VAT Yes In stock View take 1635 Gen 6 Unknown PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 USB, Wifi Unknown No Unknown Unknown Yes Tempered Glass 2025
Elegoo Saturn 8k medium $260 10" 28.5μm 219 x 123 x 210 No No Out of stock View take 881 Gen 3 Unknown FEP USB Unknown USB Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Dual No Tempered Glass 2022
Elegoo Saturn S medium $200 9.1" 48μm 196 x 122 x 210 No No Out of stock View take 531 Gen 1 Unknown PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No No 2021
HeyGears UltraCraft Reflex medium $1300 8.9" 33μm 192 x 122 x 220 Heated VAT Maybe In stock View take 763 Gen 6 Unknown PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 Lan, USB, Wifi Unknown No Unknown Ball Screw Yes No 2024
HeyGears UltraCraft Reflex RS medium $850 8.9" 30μm 222 x 122 x 230 Optional Maybe In stock View take 763 Gen 6 Unknown PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 Lan, USB, Wifi Unknown No Unknown Ball Screw Yes No 2024
Phrozen Sonic Mega 8k large $1400 15" 43μm 330 x 185 x 400 No Maybe Out of stock View take 587 Gen 2 Unknown FEP Lan, USB Unknown No Unknown Ball Screw, Linear Rail Dual No No 2021
Phrozen Sonic Mega 8k S large $1275 15" 43μm 330 x 185 x 300 No Maybe In stock View take 587 Gen 4 Unknown ACF Film USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No No 2023
Phrozen Sonic Mighty 12k medium $553 10.1" 24μm 218 x 123 x 235 No No In stock View take 1248 Gen 4 Unknown PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 Lan, USB, Wifi Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No No 2022
Phrozen Sonic Mighty 4k medium $200 9.3" 52μm 200 x 125 x 220 No No In stock View take 487 Gen 2 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No No 2021
Phrozen Sonic Mighty 8k medium $425 10" 28μm 218 x 123 x 235 No No In stock View take 881 Gen 3 Unknown FEP Lan, USB, Wifi Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No No 2021
Phrozen Sonic Mighty Revo medium $800 10.1" 24.8μm 223 x 126 x 235 Heated Chamber Maybe In stock View take 1412 Gen 5 Unknown PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 USB, Wifi Unknown USB Carbon Filter Unknown Ball Screw, Linear Rail Dual Yes No 2024
Phrozen Sonic Mini small $105 5.5" 62.5μm 134 x 75 x 130 No No Out of stock View take 400 Gen 1 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2019
Phrozen Sonic Mini 4k small $270 6.1" 35μm 130 x 73 x 130 No Maybe Out of stock View take 724 Gen 2 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2020
Phrozen Sonic Mini 8k small $323 7.1" 22μm 165 x 72 x 180 No Maybe In stock View take 1150 Gen 3 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Dual No Installed 2021
Phrozen Sonic Mini 8k S small $255 7.1" 22μm 165 x 72 x 170 No Maybe In stock View take 1150 Gen 4 Unknown FEP USB Unknown No Unknown Linear Rail Single No No 2023
UniFormation GK3 medium $570 9.6" 19μm 240 x 118 x 211 Heated VAT Yes In stock View take Unknown Gen 6 Unknown PFA/nFEP/FEP 2.0 Lan, USB, Wifi Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Single No Installed 2025
UniFormation GK3 Pro medium $670 9.6" 19μm 211 x 118 x 240 Heated VAT No In stock View take Unknown Gen 6 Unknown CPFA Lan, USB, Wifi Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Ball Screw, Linear Rail Single No Installed 2025
UniFormation GK3 Ultra large $1100 13.5" 26μm 300 x 160 x 300 Heated VAT Yes In stock View take Unknown Gen 6 Unknown ACF Film Lan, USB, Wifi Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Ball Screw, Linear Rail Dual No Installed 2024
UniFormation GKtwo medium $650 10.3" 30μm 228 x 128 x 245 Heated VAT Maybe Out of stock View take Unknown Gen 3 Unknown FEP USB Unknown Carbon Filter Unknown Linear Rail Single No Installed 2022

Printer Takes

The longer take on each machine.

The table is for scanning. These writeups are where the extra context lives when you want the fuller judgment on a machine.

Yes pick

Anycubic Photon Mono 4

Anycubic $160 7" 17μm In stock

Now we are talking Anycubic. The name scheme is back on track and this printer gives great quality in an okay build volume and the price is right.

Yes pick

Elegoo Mars 4

Elegoo $160 7" 18μm In stock

This printer is so great. You are paying for no extra features, just raw performance. It is unlikely that the XY resolution will ever get much better than this, so getting a printer like this as a super cheap way to get into printing

Yes pick

Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra

Elegoo $170 7" 18μm In stock

There are suble differences between this ultra version and the non ultra version. I would buy the non-ultra, but would also buy this. Tempered glass protection above the screen is super nice to have. Wifi I do not rate as high. The .goo format has problems with AA, but this Ultra here can do .cbt. instead - so if AA is a must for you, this is the way.

Yes pick

Elegoo Saturn 3

Elegoo $230 10" 24μm In stock

I don’t know man, I am just a sucker for a printer that is cheap and does the barebones very well. You get so much machine for so little money invested. No fancy crap, just close to 20 microns pixel and dead solid printer. Fans shut down when idle… peace…

Yes pick

Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra

Elegoo $270 7" 18μm In stock

Wow, this is a printer. Anycubic tried to make a faster resin printer and ended up creating a much worse product (going to 100 microns, making a quality reducing FEP to make it happen and using brittle fast flowing resin). Elegoo? They made a tilting vat. This thing can print so fast at crazy good quality. I see some issues popping up with the tilt vat failing over time, but so far Elegoo made something unique here. There are also issues with the build plate that holds a ton of liquid resin after printing. It has RERF which was not normal on the Elegoo machines

Yes pick

Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra

Elegoo $369 10" 24μm In stock

Does support AA while the non ultra does not. Tilting Vat. Great. Speed! Some issues with build plate. Some issues with wires on screen. Auto leveling still does not work great. Big gap on top of build plate is making the post process a bit more funky. USB is on the back. Has a power loss resume function. For the price? I think you are getting a lot of machine here. But would you rather have two machines that did the same thing, but without the speed and smart stuff?

Yes pick

Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16k

Elegoo $500 10" 19μm In stock

This looks to be a pretty good starter printer, mainly because of the heated VAT. It has some extra features you pay for that you might not need (camera and smart stuff), but getting VAT heated at this price point is super good. The tilt works great.

Yes pick

UniFormation GK3

UniFormation $570 9.6" 19μm In stock

The next printer in the Uniformation line. Biggest thing here is still the heated VAT comboed with the micron size. Amazing printer. A bit expensive. Other features inlcude: UI screen can flip up. Drip hanger system. Easy to replace screen.

Yes pick

UniFormation GK3 Ultra

UniFormation $1100 13.5" 26μm In stock

Damn good printer. Extra features: Easy to change screen. Small dot to see if printer is level. Rails are covered. Can tilt the VAT. LED light bar. Do you want to pay for that big a printer or go down in size with the other versions? Also, still some funky issues with delivery and some durability issues. Not that much better than the last version, but you cannot get that anymore

Yes pick

Elegoo Mars 3

Elegoo $119 6.6" 35μm Out of stock

The Mars 3 is about the generation where I would consider getting it second hand. The Mars 3 Pro is something I think was the best entry level printer for a long time, mainly because the price different was small and the tempered glass was a big bonus. It is a bare bones 35 micron pixel sized printer. Great entry level, but today you can get better

Yes pick

Elegoo Mars 3 Pro

Elegoo $150 6.6" 35μm Out of stock

This thing was a killer for a long time. 35 microns at that price point was just a killer machine. These days you can get better, but this is not bad at all. Tempered glass and otherwise no extra fluff. Carbon filter is okay because you can actually change the carbon. The fans STILL do not turn of when idle on this generation…

Yes pick

Elegoo Saturn 2

Elegoo $209 10" 28.5μm Out of stock

This thing was a beast! The handling was much better than the Saturn 1 and was a better fit for beginners. Pixel size was low enough to be really great, it had tempered glass screen protection. Oh and the price was very quickly amazing. It. Sold. Have been running this beast for a long time now!

Maybe pick

Anycubic Photon Mono x 6ks

Anycubic $200 9.1" 34μm In stock

Super fine stock standard printer. For the right price, sure

Maybe pick

Anycubic Photon Mono M5

Anycubic $210 10.1" 24μm In stock

Pretty standard stock printer. For the right price it is fine. Would much rather have this than the M5S “speed” version

Maybe pick

Anycubic Photono Mono 4 Ultra

Anycubic $219 7" 17μm In stock

In this ultra version you get some improved light stuff, wifi and smart stuff. If the price is right, it is cool enough. Ohhh and ACF film…

Maybe pick

Phrozen Sonic Mini 8k S

Phrozen $255 7.1" 22μm In stock

I should love Phrozen printers more than I do. They stick to the basics with no fluff and extra, and I respect that a ton. Instead of jumping on any speed bandwagon, they just made a cheaper 8k version. The problem has always been that the price is just not low enough, compared to the others. And shipping and tarrifs have been a huge issue when buying from a lot of places with this company (but should be fixed now)

Maybe pick

Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra

Elegoo $270 10" 24μm In stock

I like the Saturn 3, but not super keen on the extra features on the Ultra version here. I think the added cost is high and the extra features are pretty whatever. The ACF film says they intend this to be a bit of a speed printer, but it’s not. It is just as great as the Saturn 3, but I would not pay extra what little more you get on here.

Maybe pick

Creality Halot-Mage S

Creality $309 10.1" 25μm In stock

This time the S does not indicate a worse product… If you like the features and think creality has enough quality control, might not be a bad buy

Maybe pick

Phrozen Sonic Mini 8k

Phrozen $323 7.1" 22μm In stock

With this machine phrozen again said to costumers “best quality is our game”. What a printer for its time. Expensive, yes. But cool. If pixel size mattered more, it might have sold more units.

Maybe pick

Anycubic Photon D2

Anycubic $400 5.9" 51μm In stock

I like DLP printers and I wish they would become more mainstream and be developed more. First of all the projector (yeah, no screen) is rated for 20.000 hours instead of the usual 20.000 hours of screens. There are also no fans to make noise and the DLP tech is a bit more crisp. So while it is “only 50 microns” it acts more like 30 micron printer. But DLP is often expensive, so they are hard to recommend

Maybe pick

Anycubic Photon Mono M7 Pro

Anycubic $500 10.1" 24.8μm In stock

I do not know what to say here. Anycubic is still trying to make faster resin 3D printing happen by going to a default of 100 micron layer height. I have not had hands on with this machine, but I tried the M5 series that tried to do same thing. That was by far my worst experience in resin 3D printing by a mile. Others are solving speed more elegantly, with less drawbacks and cheaper. Anycubic is losing this generation battle. But, heated VAT is a great feature.

Maybe pick

Anycubic Photon Mono M7 Max

Anycubic $729 13.6" 46μm In stock

Pretty interesting machine. Good to see Anycubic try something new with the heated VAT and everything. Pretty solid. If the price drops, this is great.

Maybe pick

Phrozen Sonic Mighty Revo

Phrozen $800 10.1" 24.8μm In stock

This is Phrozen attempt at going “smart printer”. It has heating which I like, but the heater heats the chamber and not the bed (this is less efficient and it can cause some other issues). The smart features are still in the stage where I don’t really trust them to work all the time, so for me they are not a big bonus. You get some light and the camera in the machine, which is cool enoigh.Not a bad printer, but for the same price I think there are better options in this size and feature range

Maybe pick

HeyGears UltraCraft Reflex RS

HeyGears $850 8.9" 30μm In stock

The printers from Heygears are very divisive. It is a very closed ecosystem, which for some can be a massive deal breaker. You are locked into a specific slicer, maybe resin and so on. What if the company goes under and the server it needs to operate via is not online? Do you have a very expensive brick? But part of the printing community also comes from the “makerspace”. The ideals are open source and tinkering and modding is fun. I think these printers are pretty cool, but I can also see the argument about how any locked down machine is a bad machine. You have to make up your own mind I guess. For a beginner you do get a LOT of help with a machine like this. The RS version is a bit cheaper, more plasticy version of the non RS. It does not have heated VAT, but you can buy one

Maybe pick

Phrozen Sonic Mega 8k S

Phrozen $1275 15" 43μm In stock

This is supposed to come “pre-level”, but sometimes it was not. It also has a feature where you can tilt the build plate inside the machine, which is a must have when using such a big build plate (there can be a lot of liquid resin on top of that). This uses the ACF film to try and print faster, which is not something I rate very high. The S is often a term for a cheaper or feature cut down version. That is also true here, but the features cut a extremely minor. I think the S is just a better printer. But this thing is really huge. Do you want to pay for that? Do you need that?

Maybe pick

HeyGears UltraCraft Reflex

HeyGears $1300 8.9" 33μm In stock

The printers from Heygears are very divisive. It is a very closed ecosystem, which for some can be a massive deal breaker. You are locked into a specific slicer, maybe resin and so on. What if the company goes under and the server it needs to operate via is not online? Do you have a very expensive brick? But part of the printing community also comes from the “makerspace”. The ideals are open source and tinkering and modding is fun. I think these printers are pretty cool, but I can also see the argument about how any locked down machine is a bad machine. You have to make up your own mind I guess. For a beginner you do get a LOT of help with a machine like this. This version has the holes in the build plate, which can be a benefit but you also need to know a bit about what you are doing. The wave lenght of this printer is also 385nm, which is not the standard wavelenght as most other printers. If you know you need it, it is super cool. If you do not know what that means, it is very unlikely you need to use resin where that is a factor and better.

Maybe pick

Elegoo Mars 4 DLP

Elegoo $190 0" 52μm Out of stock

I really like the DLP printers, but sadly they are not something that I expect to see much off. Because there is no screen it is harder to break. The projector is rated for some insane amount of hours, so it is a long term value investment. It prints better than the micron size suggests, because there is much less light bleed. II think the prints are on par with 30 microns. DLP is cool!

Maybe pick

Elegoo Mars 4 Max

Elegoo $200 9.1" 34μm Out of stock

This is a bit of a weird machine. If you really want a bigger machine than the small 6-7” screens, this is a cheap bare bones option. The Pixel size is a bit on the high end, but not that bad. My biggest gripe is the naming. There was no Mars 3 Max and there will be no Mars 5 Max. So why throw this printer in the Mars line? But for bigger models on a budget, it’s fine

Maybe pick

Phrozen Sonic Mini 4k

Phrozen $270 6.1" 35μm Out of stock

For the longest time this was THE entry level printer to get. 35 microns was unheard of when this came out and it took a good long while for Elegoo and Anycubic to catch up. If only the shipping for this thing was not that damn expensive in the , I might have gotten one. Today? Still a fine machine, but the build volume is tiny. You can likely do better on the use market

Maybe pick

UniFormation GKtwo

UniFormation $650 10.3" 30μm Out of stock

Becauseof the heated VAT, this is a very good machine. The number of issues that removes for a lot of people is insane. But would you pay the price for it? Depends on your location and printer space. Could be upgraded with wifi

Maybe pick

Phrozen Sonic Mega 8k

Phrozen $1400 15" 43μm Out of stock

Is Mega bigger than Mighty? According to Phrozen, yeah. The Mega sizes are BIG printers with a big price tag. There are holes in the build plate to make sure the suction does not get way out of hand. They are supposed to be calibrated, but sometimes they are not. It IS impressive to have such a large printer with a solid sub 50 micron pixel size. But look up images of the build plate compared to others. It is MEGA. Do you need that? Are you willing to pay for that?

No pick

Anycubic Photon Mono X2

Anycubic $179 9.1" 48μm In stock

The pixel size is just too big for this to be relevant really

No pick

Elegoo Mars 5

Elegoo $180 6.6" 35μm In stock

This is a bit of a weird product in the Mars series. The screen is actually worse than the Mars 4, which makes it even more convoluted to know what is what. Upon release the Mars 3 is almost sold out everywhere and this printer kinda replaces that model (same screen), but with more ease of use features. It is good for them to have a 4k entry level printer, but still a strange naming scheme to have. The Mars 5 is just worse than the Mars 4 in terms of pixels. This printer does not support anti aliasing, so that is a bummer. It also has the flawed build plate with a ton of liquid resin resting on top. No thanks.

No pick

Phrozen Sonic Mighty 4k

Phrozen $200 9.3" 52μm In stock

A fine medium sized printer with about 50 microns. Was often too expensive for what you got.

No pick

Creality Halot-Mage

Creality $230 10.3" 30μm In stock

For the price it is not bad. I am just not rolling the dice again with Creality anytime soon

No pick

Creality Halot-Play

Creality $230 8.9" 50μm In stock

Not really anything great to say

No pick

Creality Halot-Mage Pro

Creality $250 10.3" 30μm In stock

Faster than non pro, Maybe better light than non pro, Wifi and cloud stuff. Resin pump… Not for me, thanks.

No pick

Anycubic Photon Mono M5S

Anycubic $270 10.1" 24μm In stock

I owned this printer and hated it so much. I tried to give it a go with the speed feature, the fast flowing resin and the auto leveling. The speed resin is brittle and crap. Printing at 100 microns is just not great. The self-level did not work, compressed everything and even standard resin was much worse on this. No thanks man

No pick

Anycubic Photon Mono M7

Anycubic $300 10.1" 24.8μm In stock

I will never be cool with the ACF, print fast with 100 micron layer height. But maybe this is better than the M5 stuff

No pick

Elegoo Saturn 4

Elegoo $300 10" 24μm In stock

Does not support AA as far as I can tell. This is a bit of a weird one. It does not have the tilting VAT that was this elegoo generations big seller. So it is a printer with more smart features? No thanks, to expensive. Just get a cheaper Saturn 3 or get the Ultra version of this instead

No pick

Phrozen Sonic Mighty 8k

Phrozen $425 10" 28μm In stock

The camera had some issues. They where one of the first with this good pixel size on a bigger printer, but you had to pay to get it.

No pick

Phrozen Sonic Mighty 12k

Phrozen $553 10.1" 24μm In stock

Another printer with rectangular pixels of 19 x 24 µm. More helpful UI. This printer joins a long line of Phrozen printers where they fail to put the most important specs on the product page, forcing me to hunt for it in another places. Anyway, camera is cool and overall a very good package. For me, it always comes back to the sticker price. And you can get basically the same thing for much less

No pick

UniFormation GK3 Pro

UniFormation $670 9.6" 19μm In stock

What you get with the pro version: it is actually a bit more of a machine for features that might not even be relevant to you. The wavelength of the light is different, which should be better for some more exotic resins.

No pick

Elegoo Mars 1

Elegoo $100 5.5" 47μm Out of stock

This was one of those resin 3d printers that kickstarted the consumer resin printing market as we know it. Looking at it with todays standards, it was extremely basic and quite bad. The biggest reason was that the screen was not a mono screen. That meant that the expected lifetime was in the 200 hour range (compared to 2k today) and it took way longer to expose one layer on a non mono screen. I remember running close to 10 seconds exposure time on a normal layer (granted, in the cold). Things took forever to print. Notice that the micron size is pretty low, even though it was a 2k screen. Super small screen size and low build volume. It belongs in a museum.

No pick

Elegoo Mars 1 Pro

Elegoo $100 3.5" 47μm Out of stock

This pro version of the OG Mars was a weird one. A carbon filter inside you could not replace? A build plate with a better surface? USB on the front? Bit higher build volume and better light? These where the days man

No pick

Elegoo Mars 2

Elegoo $100 6" 50μm Out of stock

This was a cheap mono printer and it rocked the world. Wow did this ever bring in the resin revolution as we know it. Look at the pixel size - I could run my Mars 2 today and would have a hard time spotting the difference between those prints and my new printers

No pick

Phrozen Sonic Mini

Phrozen $105 5.5" 62.5μm Out of stock

Phrozens first attempt at a machine was okay. The micron size was pretty huge, but it did have a mono screen. Looking back, this would have been better for me to get than my Mars 1! You should not print with this today…

No pick

Creality Halot R6 2K

Creality $130 6" 50μm Out of stock

Creality printers are weird man. I would not touch this, better things to get. How is this a new generation printer? You can get sub 20 micron pixels for about the same price…

No pick

Elegoo Mars 2 Pro

Elegoo $135 6.08" 50μm Out of stock

For me this was where it all really started. This was my first printer with a mono screen and buy what was that ever an upgrade. I remember the cost difference between the pro and the non pro was pretty big. The pro has slighly higher build volume, the crappy air filter inside (that needed to be replaced, but you could not replace). It also had a non plastic VAT wich was something and then USB on the front and a tiny bit better build plate. But it was a beast of a machine back then

No pick

Anycubic Photon Mono 2

Anycubic $147 6.6" 34μm Out of stock

A bare bones 30ish micron printer for cheap is pretty good. It is outlclassed in terms of other options you can get for the price, but it was pretty good. The only reason I would not recommend it back when it battled the Mars 3 was because the blue UV screen did actually let a ton of light through. Get something better

No pick

Anycubic Photon Mono 4k

Anycubic $159 6.23" 35μm Out of stock

Stock standard. For the right price, sure.

No pick

Anycubic Photon Mono SQ

Anycubic $170 6.9" 50μm Out of stock

What was the point of this Anycubic experiment?

No pick

Anycubic Photon Mono

Anycubic $200 6.08" 51μm Out of stock

The mono in the anycubic naming scheme is likely because it was a big selling part - for these very early consumer resin printers. Now, they all have mono screens. This is a fine little printer, but you can do much better today

No pick

Creality Halot-One

Creality $200 6" 50μm Out of stock

An extremely basic machine. You can get MUCH better for the same price

No pick

Creality LD-002H

Creality $200 6.08" 51μm Out of stock

A basic no BS printer. Pretty solid, but dated now

No pick

Elegoo Saturn S

Elegoo $200 9.1" 48μm Out of stock

After the Saturn 1 but before the Saturn 2. If you wanted a bigger printer on the cheap, fairly good buy at the time. These days, no thanks. Even used you can find much better stuff.

No pick

Anycubic Photon M3

Anycubic $209 7.6" 40μm Out of stock

New weird Anycubic naming scheme starts here. Suddenly hard to figure out what printer is in what series. Maybe okay, but you can do better at this price.

No pick

Creality Halot Lite

Creality $250 8.9" 50μm Out of stock

I have been burned by creality, so I am negatively biased here. But there is a resin creality are known for their FDM printers and not their resin printers. You can get better in the same price and feature category

No pick

Anycubic Photon Ultra

Anycubic $260 4.6" 80μm Out of stock

DLP printers are cool, but the first generation of them was not that great. Look for a never DLP printer if you are keen on the benefits

No pick

Elegoo Saturn 8k

Elegoo $260 10" 28.5μm Out of stock

This was one of thise weird one off things. Was it the Saturn 1 with a better screen? Maybe. But the Saturn 2 was better and they where often almost the price.

No pick

Anycubic Photon Mono X 6k

Anycubic $270 9.25" 34μm Out of stock

35 microns is decent. But still not great.

No pick

Anycubic Photon Mono X

Anycubic $300 8.9" 50μm Out of stock

Meh

No pick

Creality Halot-One Plus

Creality $300 7.9" 50μm Out of stock

zzzZZZzzz

No pick

Creality Halot-Ray

Creality $300 9.25" 30μm Out of stock

Just a Creality printer

No pick

Elegoo Saturn 1

Elegoo $300 8.9" 50μm Out of stock

Back in the days it was common knowledge that bigger printers where not great to get for beginners. The Saturn was a prime example of that. A 2 screw ball join is not great on a printer this sized, and it was very easy to misalign the build plate with a bit of force applied. If we compare today, it was just quite expensive for what it did really.

No pick

Anycubic Photon Mono SE

Anycubic $350 6" 51μm Out of stock

Pretty ahead of it’s time. But also quite expensive for non relevant features.

No pick

Creality Halot-Sky

Creality $400 8.9" 60μm Out of stock

There are some marketing around it with “AI” features, but not what they do or why you should care. Just skip it

No pick

Anycubic Photon M3 Plus

Anycubic $440 9.25" 34μm Out of stock

Is max bigger than plus? apparently so. Another so so printer

No pick

Elegoo Jupiter

Elegoo $600 12.8" 51μm Out of stock

The original price is a bit misleading. It was actually 600 on Kickstarter, but things get blurry in that space. Really cbig and cumbersome printer. A lot of small errors with this machine, so a classic first in a line of printers. While big is cool, big can also mean big failures. Unless you have a very specific use case, this type of printer is not something I would get

No pick

Creality LD-006

Creality $750 8.9" 50μm Out of stock

Basic and way too expensive printer

Unrated pick

Anycubic Photon Mono M5S Pro

Anycubic $300 10.1" 24.8μm In stock

This is the M5S with a heater and a tiny bit better resolution. The M5S is not for me. Get auto level when it actually works. No thanks

Unrated pick

Anycubic Photon M3 Max

Anycubic $599 13.6" 46μm In stock

Big build plate helps a lot. Resolution could be a bit better and at that price range I think you can do better

Quick Buying Rules

If you are new, keep the decision simple.

  • Small and medium printers are usually the sweet spot for miniature hobbyists.
  • Heating matters more if your room runs cold or your setup is inconsistent.
  • Do not chase the biggest build volume unless you know you actually need it.

How This Guide Thinks

The goal is better miniatures, not more printer drama.

  • Miniature print quality matters, but so do ease of use, sensible pricing, and reliability.
  • Some older printers are still worth knowing about because second-hand value can be strong.
  • A long spec sheet is only useful if it helps you avoid a bad buying decision.