Here we list the best budget resin 3d printers available today after testing 30+ printers. I have made a compilation of the 5 best resin 3d printers of the moment and that are available to everyone, for the quality price ratio they keep.
When you decide to buy a resin 3D printer you have to take into account several details that make you decide on one or the other. Perhaps the brand, the results obtained, if it has a powerful community behind where you can ask for help for the problems that may arise, the price or components that comes with it, type of resins that you can use etc…
If you want to know more about 3d printing, check out our guide to 3D printing basics
In this list we are going to show you all these details, to help you to choose the best resin 3d printer for your need.
Best Resin 3D Printers Under $500
Below we summarise the individual evaluation of each of the selected models, so you can make a correct assessment, and find the one that best suits your needs.
#1 ELEGOO MARS 3D Printer – The Best Budget Resin 3D Printer
We start with the best-selling resin 3D printer. And the best quality / price on the market, because right now it is the cheapest you can find. The Elegoo Mars , which has all the qualities to be among the best.
The most remarkable thing about the Elegoo Mars is the price , the cheapest of the 5 resin printers that we present to you in the comparison. But it is also has excellent technical characteristics, achieving excellent results, backed by the many positive user reviews.
The 2K LCD screen provides super detailed results and the USB reader instead of the SD card reader makes life easier for us.
The Elegoo Mars is medium in size and well built. It comes with all kinds of elements you will need to use like the gloves, masks, measuring cup, scraper and funnel are included. The package is quite complete, to get to work as soon as we have it ready. The calibration process is quite simple and if you already have experience, you will have it in a moment. A great help is the Z-axis spring, to adjust the platform.
The Elegoo Mars comes semi-assembled. The screen shows us a preview of the model to be printed. Menu navigation is quite smooth and lag-free. The printer supports resins from other brands as well as castable resins for jewelry.
Pros
– Robust structure, can be purchased in 2 colors.
– High accuracy.
– Excellent cutting software.
– Price
– Full color touch screen.
– Big fan base
– Comes with tool kit
Cons
– Warranty does not cover LCD, 5.5 ”2K LCD and FEP films.
– Small build volume, but normal for resin 3D printers.
– The printer is quite noisy.
Check User Reviews & Latest Price
#2 Anycubic Photon S – The Upgraded Photon
Second place goes to the Anycubic Phonton S , which presents some differences with respect to its predecessor.The Anycubic Photon S adds a centimeter of height to the print volume, it is not something that is noticeable much, but it makes a noticeable difference in the print volume. Anycubic Photon was one of the best 3D printers available then, but with many shortcomings. The company, however, managed to resolve all those issues with the Photon S. The major upgradation is as follows:
- Enhances UV light and a new high-resolution display.
- Double Z axis unlike the previous model, and an improvement requested by the user community.
- Double active carbon filter, to better filter vapors and odors, even so they are not enough and you must have ventilation in the place that you are going to use it.
- And a new laminator called Photon Workshop that adds improvements, and can be used on the previous model.
- The printer brings us 2 FEP films, funnels to collect the resin and to be able to use it again, scraper, gloves, mask, a USB memory.
The Anycubic Photon S, you can find it in 2 different colors, black and white. You can use resins of all brands of 405. The bad thing, that all these improvements added to the normal Photon, also raise the price of this resin 3d printer by a few dollars.
Check User Reviews & Latest Price
#3 Anycubic Photon – The best known resin 3D printer
In 3rd place in this comparison we put the Anycubic Photon, which was the one that brought us 3D liquid or photosensitive resin printing to the general public at affordable price.
The Anycubic photon is still one of the best resin 3D printers to consider, do not think that because there is an update it is no longer a downward option, it is still a piece of awesome 3D printer.
Related Read: The Best Dual Extruder 3D Printers You Can Buy Right Now
The Anycubic Photon comes comes with a little less components than its new model, but enough, to be able to work with it as soon as we have it in our hands. The Laminator is the Photon Slicer, but we can use the new cutting program of the Anycubic photon S. But it will not be any impediment. The Anycubic Photon has the largest community of all, and shares it with its older sister. You can get all the questions answered in the forum.
Check User Reviews & Latest Price
#4 LGT Longer Orange 10 – The Newcomer
Its a surprise to list the fairly new Longer Orange 10 in this article but believe me, the printer is worth it.
The Longer Orange 10 brings us very similar characteristics to the previous models
Longer 10 technical specifications
Printing technology: LCD stereolithography
Size: 98 * 55 * 140mm
Layer thickness: 0.01-0.1mm
LCD resolution: 854 × 480 115um
Z axis resolution: 10um
Print speed : 30mm / h
Material : Rigid resin, Castable resin, Dental resin, etc.
Light sources: UV LED 405nm
Software Cut: LONGER / CHITUBOX
Slice Software Operating System : Windows (64bit) / MAC
Connection mode : Micro SD
Printable file format : STL
Touch screen: 2.8 inch full color
Power supply: AC 100-240V 50 / 60Hz 1.6A
Power input: DC12V 6A
Nominal power: 41 W
Product size: 170x170x360mm
Package size: 220x220x550mm
Net Weight: 5.4KGS
Gross Weight: 7KGS
Working temperature : 20 ℃ -40 ℃
Relative humidity: 30% -60%
Related Read: 5 Best Budget 3D Printers for Creative People
The Longer Sla Orange 10 comes with slightly less utensils, gloves, spatula, a Fep film, a 250gr bottle of resin, tools, and a single funnel to collect the excess resin. The printed pieces are of a fairly high quality as we tested a few.
Check User Reviews & Latest Price
#5 Creality LD002R 3D Printer
This 3D printer brings us a very similar design at first glance to the Elegoo Mars, but it is still a very good looking design . It has a very goof build quality and sturdy body that shows good quality as soon as you touch it. All components has awesome quality, from the metal body to the screws.
The manufacturers of 3D resin printers begin to put filling marks on the tray , which, although it may seem silly, you can see how it makes life easier in certain situations. Another novelty is the perforated printing plate, which makes it easier to hold prints to the base optimally in its first layers. It also comes with a carbon filter and 2 interior fans, inside to try to eliminate odors from the resin, although they do not completely eliminate them. 3.5 ″ full color touch screen, to facilitate navigation through all menus, to operate the machine.
This time Creality LD002R achieves excellent results and catches up with its competitors , and we believe it will be a tough competitor for both Elegoo and Anycubic. Without a doubt LD002R is a great printer and that achieves excellent results the first time itself.
Check User Reviews & Latest Price
Conclusions and which resin 3D printer to buy?
If you have come this far I recommend that you choose one of the teams that are evaluated in this guide. Fortunately, resin 3D printers are no longer too expensive equipment, with that in mind, I recommend that you bet on equipment that has excellent quality and has the right accessories to meet your demands. In this case, I would have to recommend the Elegoo Mars for being the best quality / price today. With the passage of time we will update the list with the new models that come out in the future, hopefully very close.