3D printers under $300, cheapest first

Eight shipping 3D printers in the database launched at $300 or less. The cheapest is the Creality Ender-3 V3 SE at $199, and the other seven launched between $259 and $299.99. These are US launch prices for the printer alone. Street prices move after launch, so check a retailer for today’s price.

All eight auto-level the bed and use a direct-drive extruder. Seven claim a top speed of 500 mm/s. The exception is the Ender-3 V3 SE: it claims 250 mm/s, and its 2,500 mm/s² acceleration is the lowest in the database.

What 3D printers are under $300?

Eight shipping printers launched at $300 or less: the Creality Ender-3 V3 SE ($199), Elegoo Neptune 4 ($259) and Creality Ender-3 V3 KE ($279). Then five at $299 to $299.99: the Elegoo Centauri 2, Creality K2 SE, Bambu Lab A1 mini, Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro and Elegoo Centauri Carbon. Five are bedslingers and three are CoreXY.

• Bedslingers (bed moves front to back): Ender-3 V3 SE, Elegoo Neptune 4, Creality Ender-3 V3 KE, Bambu Lab A1 mini and Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro.
• CoreXY (bed moves only down): Elegoo Centauri 2, Creality K2 SE and Elegoo Centauri Carbon.

The motion systems comparison explains the two layouts.

Two more printers launched under $300 but are discontinued, so the table leaves them out: the CoreXY Elegoo Centauri ($199.99) and the Sovol SV06 ($299).

Three of the eight take an optional multicolor unit: the A1 mini (AMS lite), the K2 SE (Creality CFS) and the Centauri 2 (Elegoo CANVAS). The bundles cost more: the Centauri 2 Combo launched at $379 and the A1 mini Combo at $459. The cheapest multicolor printers list covers those bundles.

Is there an enclosed 3D printer under $300?

Yes, one. The Elegoo Centauri Carbon is the only enclosed printer under $300 in the database. It is a CoreXY that launched at $299.99, with a 256 × 256 × 256 mm build volume and a 320 °C hotend. Its enclosure is passive: the record lists no chamber heater and no chamber temperature rating.

The next cheapest enclosed printers launched at $399: the Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2 and the QIDI Q2C. Both are in the 3D printers under $400 list.

How big is the build volume of a 3D printer under $300?

Build volumes under $300 run from 180 × 180 × 180 mm on the Bambu Lab A1 mini to 256 × 256 × 256 mm on the Elegoo Centauri 2 and Centauri Carbon. The other five have beds about 220 mm square: the two Ender-3 V3 models, the K2 SE and the Neptune 4 pair.

The two Elegoo CoreXY printers hold 16.8 L, nearly three times the A1 mini’s 5.8 L. Heights range from 180 mm (A1 mini) to 265 mm (Neptune 4 and 4 Pro). The build volume sizes comparison shows what each bed size prints.

None of the eight reaches a 300 mm bed. The cheapest shipping printer with a 300 × 300 mm bed is the Sovol SV06 Plus ACE at $349. The 3D printers under $400 list adds 11 more printers between $349 and $399.