In this DIY 3D printer kit buying guide, we’ll look at the best 3D printer kits under $500 based on price and features.
In my opinion, the best way to jump into 3D printing is to purchase an affordable DIY 3D printer kit. The reason is simple… if you take the time to assemble your first 3D printer you will gain a better idea of how these machines work and what the different components are that go into them. And, perhaps even more importantly, a 3D printer kit will allow you to test out the technology for a minimal investment.
For example, if you were to buy a ~$300 3D printer kit and find out that you can’t get into 3D printing it would not have been as bad of a loss as if you were to have purchased a high-end ~$1,000+ 3D printer instead.
With that being said, a lot of people ask whether or not they can get a quality 3D printer for under $500 and the answer to the question is: yes, you can.
With the 3D printer kits listed below, there are plenty of options that will allow you to assemble a machine that can be used as a very capable 3D printer. It should be noted, though, that while 3D printer kits are more affordable than pre-assembled machines, they do take some work to get running properly.
However, if you like to tinker and you wouldn’t mind making some modifications to your machine, with some of these kits you can have them running as well as some of the high-end FDM 3D printers currently on the market.
DIY 3D Printer KITS Under $300
Hey, look, I’m not going to sugar coat this for you… You get what you pay for.
There are a lot of quality kits out there, but even the best DIY 3D printer kit on the market will give someone who doesn’t have a lot of patience a fit.
If you are one of those people, and you get frustrated easily with technical products, then a kit might not be the best option for you.
However, if you think you’re up for the challenge of assembling a 3D printer and tinkering with it until it’s leveled and printing correctly, then the kits that follow offer a really budget-friendly way to do so.
In fact, if your biggest concern jumping into 3D printing is the price associated with getting started, these kits will bridge the gap and will at least give you an idea if the technology is something you want to pursue further.
3D Printer KIT Comparison (Click “Read Review” to Expand)
Q3D OneUp v2
7.1/10
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Recommendation
“If you’re looking for a ridiculously affordable DIY 3D printer kit, you probably won’t find one more budget-friendly than the Q3D OneUp v2. It’s not the greatest kit around, but for under $200 you’d be hard-pressed to find a kit that will require as little of an upfront investment as this one. And, because of its low-price, it really is a great option for anyone who is interested in trying the technology out without committing a ton of money to it.”
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Q3D OneUp v2
TECH SPECS
RESOLUTION
50 microns
VOLUME
4″ x 4″ x 5″
FILAMENT
1.75mm
TYPE
PLA
WEIGHT
~38lbs.
CONNECT
USB
HEATED BED
No (Upgrade Optional)
Who says you have to spend at least $300 to get a 3D printer? Well, the fact is that you can.
Sure, the Q3D OneUp V2 isn’t the greatest 3D printer in the world. And, it’s not even the best 3D printer kit on the market.
However, it’s one of the only 3D printers you can get for under $200.
And, that is a big feature because most people will likely want to have some kind of experience before they move up to a larger 3D printer… so what better way to minimize your initial investment than to go with this ultra-affordable kit?
It should be noted, though, that while choosing a cheap kit as your first 3D printer is a good idea, that the less you spend, the more headaches you are likely to have.
That doesn’t mean that the Q3D OneUp V2 will most definitely give you problems, but expect to do a lot of tinkering in order to get this printer printing out correctly.
As for specs, with the ability to hit 50 microns and a ~4″ x 4″ x 5″ build volume, the Q3D OneUp v2 actually is fairly impressive for its price. The build volume isn’t huge, but then again you should really expect too big of a build volume for under $200 anyways.
Ultimately, there is always a chance that you could end up not being interested in 3D printing and the Q3D OneUp v2 gives you the most affordable option to try the technology out before deciding to commit to one of the top 3D printers.
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Q3D TwoUp
7.2/10
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Recommendation
“If you like the Q3D OneUp v2 3D printer kit, but you want something with a bigger build volume, then the TwoUp might be your best bet. However, even if you already chose the OneUp and you wished you would have chosen the TwoUp, you can always get the kit from Q3D to upgrade your OneUp to a TwoUp.”
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Q3D TwoUp
TECH SPECS
RESOLUTION
50 microns
VOLUME
7″ x 7″ x 5″
FILAMENT
1.75mm
TYPE
PLA
WEIGHT
~33lbs.
CONNECT
USB
HEATED BED
No (Upgrade Optional)
Q3D dominates the under $300 DIY 3D printer kit category as they have three of the four entries here.
Essentially, though, all of their printers are pretty much the same, with a few different alterations that give them more print volume.
For $80 more than the Q3D OneUp 3D printer kit you can get the Q3D TwoUp kit, that is virtually the same as the OneUp, but it just as a ~7″ x 7″ x 5″ build volume (compared to the OneUp’s ~4″ x 4″ x 5″ volume.)
The cool thing about the Q3D kits is that even if you start off with the OneUp, but later regret not getting the TwoUp or the ThreeUp, they have “upgrade-kits” that you can use to convert your kit into the TwoUp or ThreeUp kit.
They also have different upgrade options such as a heated print bed and an LCD controller that will allow you to use an SD card as well.
But, back to the TwoUp base model, the real difference is the print volume and after that the specs are the same as the OneUp kit (50 micron resolution max, 1.75mm PLA filament—unless you upgrade to a heated print bed—and USB connection only.)
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CoLiDo DIY Printer
7.3/10
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Recommendation
“Another good little DIY kit for under $300 is the CoLiDo DIY printer. It has a pretty solid build volume for the price (~8″ x 8″ x 7″) and it can hit up to 100 microns resolution. Overall, it’s not a bad option for anyone looking to get started in 3D printing.”
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CoLiDo DIY Printer
TECH SPECS
RESOLUTION
100 microns
VOLUME
~8″ x 8″ x 7″
FILAMENT
1.75mm
TYPE
PLA
WEIGHT
~19lbs.
CONNECT
USB
HEATED BED
No
If the CoLiDo looks somewhat familiar to the OneUp and TwoUp 3D printer kits listed above, that’s because a lot of these kits are based off of the Prusa i2 and i3 open source designs.
Essentially what this means is that the design for this kind of printer is available to anyone. So, if you have the means to make all the parts that go with it, you can definitely do so.
What all of these listings are for is for companies who offer their own version of the Prusa i2 or i3. Some are modified a little bit, but a lot of them are similar.
Still, though, there are different factors that go into these kits and not all are exactly identical. For instance, this CoLiDo kit has an ~8″ x 8″ x 7″ build volume, and has a little bit of a different configuration than the Q3D kits.
Ultimately, while the CoLiDo kit isn’t as well-known as some of the others on this list, it does have a decent build volume and can hit 100 micron resolution.
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Q3D ThreeUp v3
7.3/10
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Recommendation
“If you’re looking for more print volume than the TwoUp kit and you don’t want to go with the CoLiDo kit, then the Q3D ThreeUp v3 kit is a great option. It has 4 more inches of volume on the z-axis to work with in comparison to the TwoUp kit. And, just like you can upgrade from the OneUp to the TwoUp, you can also buy a kit that will allow you to upgrade from the TwoUp to the ThreeUp. So, if you’ve already purchased the TwoUp kit, you can easily upgrade to the ThreeUp.”
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Q3D ThreeUp v3
TECH SPECS
RESOLUTION
50 microns
VOLUME
7″ x 7″ x 9″
FILAMENT
1.75mm
TYPE
PLA
WEIGHT
~13lbs.
CONNECT
USB
HEATED BED
No (Upgrade Optional)
Finally, for the last sub-$300 DIY 3D printer kit we have Q3D’s ThreeUp vs kit. Essentially this is the same 3D printer as the TwoUp, with the only difference being in how high the z-axis will go.
On the Q3D TwoUp kit you could print objects as tall as 5″. However, on the ThreeUp kit you can print objects as tall as 9″.
So, you do get quite a bit more print volume for just ~$20 more total.
And, like the other two Q3D kits, the ThreeUp can hit resolutions as low as 50 microns.
Ultimately, for under $300 and this big of a print volume, it’s a really good buy. I’d say it’s on par with the CoLiDo DIY printer which has a similar build volume.
Neither kits are extraordinary, but they will get your feet in the door and let you learn about the technology.
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DIY 3D Printer KITS UNDER $350
In my opinion, the DIY 3D printer kits between $300-$350 might be the best value kits currently on the market.
For starters, you have the HICTOP Prusa i3 kit which features a huge build platform for the price. In fact, there’s quite a few $1,000+ 3D printers that don’t even have as big of a build volume as the HICOP Prusa i3.
Ultimately, though, all of the kits in this price range are Prusa i3 kits and so the quality of each is fairly similar. It’s just that some have bigger build volumes and different levels of support and documentation.
In any case, if you’re looking for a solid option under $350, there are a few good kits that will work with your budget.
3D Printer KIT Comparison (Click “Read Review” to Expand)
HICTOP Prusa i3
7.5/10
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Recommendation
“With a huge build platform and a heated print bed included, the barely-over $300 pricetag on the HICTOP Prusa i3 is a steal. In my opinion if you are working with a tight budget but you still want something that will be able to print out large objects, this is really your only option in this price range.”
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HICTOP Prusa i3
TECH SPECS
RESOLUTION
100 microns
VOLUME
11″ x 8″ x 8″
FILAMENT
1.75mm
TYPE
PLA/ABS
WEIGHT
~18lbs.
CONNECT
SD Card/Micro-USB
HEATED BED
Yes
In my opinion, HICTOP has two of the best 3D printer kits currently available, simply because for the price they offer and the build volume they have, there really isn’t anything better available.
For instance, the HICTOP Prusa i3 comes with an enormous ~11″ x 8″ x 8″ build platform and a heated print bed all for just a little bit over $300.
There isn’t a kit in this price range that can offer the build volume that the HICTOP does, which is crazy considering it is also the most affordable DIY 3D printer kit among the five listed here.
Of course, build volume and the addition of a heated bed aren’t the only factors involved in delivering a solid experience, but for a kit, you can’t expect a high-end 3D printer out of the box unless you tweak, tinker, and modify it to the point to where it is performing on a level with some of the high-end machines on the market.
Overall, I feel like the HICTOP Prusa i3 is as good of a kit as any on this entire list… especially considering the price. However, if you want to add automatic bed leveling, for ~$100 more you can upgrade to the HICTOP Prusa i3 desktop.
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FUNFLAG Prusa i3
7.5/10
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Recommendation
“The FUNFLAG Prusa i3 is a very similar alternative to the HICTOP Prusa i3 listed above. The only real difference is that the FUNFLAG model has a little bit smaller of a build volume and costs just a few bucks more. Still, though, if you want an alternative to the HICTOP kit, this one will definitely get the job done. And, finally, if you’re purchasing through Amazon, the FUNFLAG model does have free Prime shipping, which means you can get it in as little as 2 days—whereas the HICTOP printer does not have that option.”
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FUNFLAG Prusa i3
TECH SPECS
RESOLUTION
100 microns
VOLUME
~10″ x 8.5″ x 7″
FILAMENT
1.75mm
TYPE
PLA/ABS
WEIGHT
~11lbs.
CONNECT
USB/SD Card
HEATED BED
Yes
The FUNFLAG Prusa i3 DIY 3D printer kit is another great option for under $350.
Essentially, this kit is very similar to the HICTOP Prusa i3 kit listed above with the only exception being that the FUNFLAG kit is a few bucks more and it offer