How much is a 3D printer kit? Kit vs assembled prices

A desktop 3D printer kit cost $709 to $1,949 on Prusa Research’s US store on 27 October 2026, and $1,838.89 to $2,392.83 at regular prices for a Rat Rig V-Core 4.1 with electronics. Every Prusa kit listed $290 to $300 below the same printer assembled. Voron-design kits started at a regular $399.

Printer (maker’s US store, 27 October 2026)	Kit, regular price	Assembled	Kit costs less by
Original Prusa MK4S	$709	$999	$290 (29%)
Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2)	$999	$1,299	$300 (23%)
Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2) Ultimate Edition bundle	$1,399	$1,699	$300 (18%)
Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2) INDX, 4 tools	$1,699	$1,999	$300 (15%)
Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2) INDX, 8 tools	$1,949	$2,249	$300 (13%)
Rat Rig V-Core 4.1, 300 mm, with electronics	$1,838.89	Not sold assembled	n/a
Rat Rig V-Core 4.1, 400 mm, with electronics	$2,109.05	Not sold assembled	n/a
Rat Rig V-Core 4.1, 500 mm, with electronics	$2,392.83	Not sold assembled	n/a

The percentage is the share of the assembled price. Prusa’s prices are the ones its store shows for delivery to the United States, which it says include import duties; none was marked as a sale. Rat Rig’s store prices in euros and shows US buyers the amounts converted to dollars, and the kit ships from an EU warehouse, with delivery charged at checkout. On 27 October 2026 the store had the 300 mm and 400 mm frame kits on sale, which brought those two totals with electronics to $1,728.67 and $2,040.43.

How much is a 3D printer kit?

A 3D printer kit cost $709 to $1,949 at Prusa Research’s US store on 27 October 2026: $709 for the Original Prusa MK4S and $999 for the Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2). At regular prices, a Rat Rig V-Core 4.1 with electronics cost $1,838.89 to $2,392.83 by size, and Voron-design kits $399 to $1,449.99.

What a Prusa kit holds, from Prusa’s CORE One+ (Gen 2) kit page and assembly manual:

• The same parts as the assembled printer, plus the print sheet (smooth PEI, short for polyetherimide), the 3D Printing Handbook and a USB drive.
• The tools to build it: needle-nose pliers, a Phillips (PH2) screwdriver, a universal wrench, a 13 to 16 mm wrench, Allen and Torx key sets, and Prusa lubricant for the bearings.
• Less filament: two 25 g Prusament samples, where the assembled printer comes with a 1 kg spool of Prusament PLA.

Prusa says the MK4S kit needs no soldering: its cables come cut to length and ready to connect.

The figures above were listed during Prusa’s Black Friday promotion, which runs from 22 October to 30 November 2026. The promotion adds gifts and vouchers to printer orders and discounts filament. Prusa’s announcement mentions no cut to printer prices.

How much do you save buying a 3D printer kit?

On Prusa Research’s US store on 27 October 2026, the kit cost $290 less than the assembled Original Prusa MK4S ($709 against $999) and $300 less for every Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2) version, from $999 against $1,299 for the base printer. That is 13% to 29% of the assembled price.

Prusa Research is the one maker checked for this page that sells the same printer both as a kit and assembled, so these are the only like-for-like figures. Every CORE One+ (Gen 2) kit saves the same $300, so the share falls as the price rises: 23% on the base printer, 13% on the $2,249 INDX with 8 tools.

What the higher assembled price covers, by Prusa’s description:

• Assembly and setup time. Prusa says the assembled CORE One+ (Gen 2) is ready to print in about 10 minutes, and that building the kit “usually takes a full weekend.” Its assembly guide says a first printer build “generally takes several hours, complicated setups can take a day or two.”
• A spool of filament. The assembled CORE One+ (Gen 2) box holds 1 kg of Prusament PLA; the kit holds two 25 g samples.
• Nothing else in the printer. Prusa states that both versions “deliver the identical printer with the same warranty and performance.”

Two Prusa printers ship only assembled, so they offer no kit saving: the Prusa CORE One L+ at $1,999, and the Original Prusa XL+ from $2,299 (Single-Tool) to $3,899 (Five-Head). Prusa says the XL+ ships assembled and the buyer attaches the toolheads.

The MK4S launched at $1,099 assembled, $100 above its 27 October 2026 store price. Launch prices for every Prusa model are on the Prusa 3D printer prices list.

How much does a DIY 3D printer kit cost?

A DIY kit, where the buyer sources or prints some parts, cost $399 to $2,392.83 at regular prices on US stores on 27 October 2026. Voron-design kits ran from $399 (Formbot Voron 0.2 R1 without printed parts) to $1,449.99 (LDO Voron 2.4), and a Rat Rig V-Core 4.1 with electronics from $1,838.89 to $2,392.83.

Rat Rig sells the V-Core 4.1 in two parts, at euro prices its store converts to dollars for US buyers. The frame and motion kit is priced by size, at regular prices of $1,102.20 for 300 × 300 × 300 mm, $1,372.36 for 400 × 400 × 400 mm and $1,656.14 for 500 × 500 × 500 mm. An electronics kit with a plug-and-play wiring harness adds $736.69 at every size. Without it, Rat Rig says, “only structural and mechanical parts are included.”

Neither kit comes with the enclosing panels. Rat Rig publishes DXF drawing files to cut them, and it sells no assembled V-Core.

Voron is an open-source design sold as kits by several vendors. Neither of the two US stores below lists a Voron assembled, so there is no assembled price to compare.

Voron kit	US store	Regular price, 27 October 2026
Voron 0.2 R1, without printed parts	Formbot	$399
Voron 0.2 R1, with printed parts	Formbot	$469
LDO Voron 0.2-S1 Complete Kit	West3D	$649.99
Voron 2.4 R2 Ultra, 250 mm, without printed parts	Formbot	$839
Voron 2.4 R2 Ultra, 300 mm, without printed parts	Formbot	$889
Voron 2.4 R2 Ultra, 350 mm, without printed parts	Formbot	$939
LDO Voron 2.4 R2, 300 or 350 mm	West3D	$1,449.99

Formbot ships both kits from its US warehouse. Printed parts are an option on the LDO Voron 2.4 R2 kit. On 27 October 2026 Formbot had the Voron 0.2 R1 kits on a flash sale at $375.06 and $440.86, and West3D had the LDO kits on sale at $614.99 (V0.2-S1) and $1,299.99 or $1,399.99 (V2.4 R2, 300 or 350 mm).

Which 3D printer makers still sell kits?

Prusa Research still sells kits: the Original Prusa MK4S and every Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2) version come either as a kit or assembled. Rat Rig sells its V-Core 4.1 only as a kit, and Formbot and LDO sell Voron-design kits. Bambu Lab, Creality, Elegoo, Anycubic and QIDI list no kits; their printers arrive fully or mostly assembled.

Makers that sell kits, as of 27 October 2026:

• Prusa Research: sells kits of the MK4S and of the CORE One+ (Gen 2) in its base, Ultimate Edition and INDX versions. The CORE One L+ and the XL+ ship assembled only, and the Original Prusa MINI+ is sold only semi-assembled, in a $549 listing Prusa titles “Enclosure Bundle”.
• Rat Rig: sells the V-Core 4.1 only as a kit.
• Voron kit vendors: Formbot sells its own kits; LDO’s kits are sold in the US by resellers such as West3D.

Makers that sell no kits:

• Bambu Lab: its store’s printer collection lists complete printers and refurbished units. Bambu Lab says the Bambu Lab A1 mini “comes to you pre-assembled, pre-squared, and pre-tuned” and takes about 20 minutes to set up for a first print.
• Creality: Creality says the Creality Ender-3 V3 “comes to you in highly pre-assembled modules” that a first-time user can put together within 10 minutes.
• Elegoo, Anycubic and QIDI: the printer collections on their stores list complete printers and no kit versions. Elegoo and Anycubic also list combos and bundles.

For what assembled printers cost across every maker in the database, see how much a 3D printer costs.