The best 3D printers, according to hackers
18 3D printers were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 11 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended 3D printers with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Open source and openness
People recommend Prusa printers for their openness, open source roots, repairability and long support life. The most common caveat is high cost, which many buyers find hard to afford.
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Easy setup and everyday use
Recommended for reliable, easy printing that works out of the box and needs little maintenance. Critics object to the closed ecosystem, cloud and account concerns, and the company's direction.
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Very reliable, low maintenance
People recommend it for reliability, repairability and easy printing out of the box, and it can be upgraded as the line evolves. The common caveat is its price, which critics say is high for what it offers.
We may earn a commission. It never changes the order.
We may earn a commission. It never changes the order.
All 18 3D printers, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bambu Lab 3D printer | 124 | 150 | 45% | 12 | — | — |
| 2 | Prusa 3D printer | 68 | 25 | 73% | 9 | 5 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| 3 | Bambu Lab P1S | 29 | 9 | 76% | 6 | 1.5 yrs10 owners | Approved |
| 4 | Prusa MK3 | 28 | 9 | 76% | 7 | 6 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| 5 | Bambu Lab A1 Mini | 27 | 3 | 90% | 8 | — | Approved |
| 6 | Bambu Lab A1 | 24 | 3 | 89% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Tied 7 | Prusa Core One | 21 | 4 | 84% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Tied 7 | Formlabs Studio 1 | 21 | 19 | 53% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 9 | Snapmaker U1 | 19 | 2 | 90% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Tied 9 | Voron 2.4 3D printer | 19 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Tied 9 | Bambu Lab X1C 3D printer | 19 | 6 | 76% | 6 | 3 mo3 owners | Approved |
| 12 | Elegoo Centauri Carbon | 14 | 3 | 82% | 5 | 4 mo4 owners | Approved |
| 13 | Bambu Lab P2S | 13 | 3 | 81% | 5 | — | Approved |
| 14 | Creality Ender 3 | 10 | 20 | 33% | 6 | 5 yrs3 owners | — |
| 15 | Bambu Lab H2D | 9 | 2 | 82% | 6 | — | — |
| 16 | Bambu Lab H2C | 6 | 1 | 86% | 2 | 1 mo3 owners | — |
| Tied 17 | Creality Ender 3 Pro | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 17 | Prusa XL | 5 | 2 | 71% | 3 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same 3D printer in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to 3D printers that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.