Best 3D Printers Under $300 in 2026

2 MACHINES IN STOCK RIGHT NOW · PRICES CHECKED SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK

Right now, two 3D printers under $300 are worth buying without hesitation: the Creality Ender-3 V3 SE ($179) for the lowest real entry cost, and the ELEGOO Centauri 2 ($279) for CoreXY speed and a bigger 256mm bed. The Ender-3 V3 KE, once a third strong option, is discontinued, and its replacement, the Ender-3 V4 Combo, sits above this budget.

This site does not own or test printers. Specs come from manufacturer pages. Strengths and limitations come from aggregated owner reports and independent review coverage, cited in the text. See How We Research.

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Quick Picks

Cheapest real buy

Creality Ender-3 V3 SE · $179

In stock now. Auto bed leveling, direct drive, 250mm/s. The lowest all-in cost among machines we can verify are actually shippable today.

Best overall

ELEGOO Centauri 2 · $279

In stock now. CoreXY motion at up to 500mm/s, a bigger 256×256×256mm bed, and full auto calibration, at $279 against the SE's $179.

How They Compare

Spec	Ender-3 V3 SE	Centauri 2
Price	$179 (was $199)	$279 (was $299)
Build volume	220 × 220 × 250mm	256 × 256 × 256mm
Motion system	Bedslinger (Cartesian)	CoreXY
Max speed	250 mm/s	500 mm/s
Auto leveling	CR Touch	Full-auto calibration
Multicolor	No	No (CANVAS module sold separately)
In stock	Yes	Yes

Prices checked several times a week directly on store.creality.com and us.elegoo.com. Both stores run frequent sales; the CTA links below always go to the live current price.

Creality Ender-3 V3 SE

The V3 SE is the cheapest printer we can currently verify is both real and in stock. CR Touch auto-leveling and a direct-drive extruder remove the two most common first-printer failure points, and Creality's Ender ecosystem means spare parts and upgrades are easy to find years from now.

Falls short: 250mm/s is the slowest machine on this list. No multicolor path at any price. The 220×220×250mm bed is on the small side for a bedslinger.

Check price: Ender-3 V3 SE →

ELEGOO Centauri 2

The Centauri 2 is a genuine step up in architecture, not just spec-sheet numbers. CoreXY motion at 500mm/s and full auto calibration are features that cost significantly more a year ago. The 256mm cube bed is the largest build volume on this list.

Falls short: no multicolor out of the box; ELEGOO sells a CANVAS module separately for that. If you would pay a little more for an enclosure and four-color printing, see our Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2 review. Newer to market than the SE, so the owner-report base is thinner.

Check price: Centauri 2 →

Also Worth Knowing

Want four colors without leaving this budget? The Creality SparkX i7 costs $279 for the printer alone and takes a CFS box later. We weigh it against the upcoming four-color i8 in Creality SparkX i8 vs i7: which to buy.

Creality Ender-3 V3 KE: discontinued. It used to be one of the best-value Klipper machines in this bracket, but Creality has replaced it with the Ender-3 V4 Combo, which sits above this budget. The Ender-3 V3 SE above is the in-budget Creality pick.

Check the Ender-3 V4 Combo at Creality →

Bambu Lab A1 Mini: shows up at the top of almost every other "best under $300" list, and for good reason, it is a genuinely strong machine, often on sale in the $219 to $249 range. We are not recommending it here because we do not have a verified cash-affiliate path for Bambu Lab printers to check against; see how we research.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best 3D printer under $300 right now?

Of the machines we can currently verify are in stock, the ELEGOO Centauri 2 ($279) is the best overall for its CoreXY speed and bigger bed. The Creality Ender-3 V3 SE ($179) is the better pick if price is the deciding factor.

Is the Ender-3 V3 KE still worth looking for?

No. Creality has discontinued it. Its replacement, the Ender-3 V4 Combo, costs more than this budget allows, so the Ender-3 V3 SE is the Creality pick here.

What about the Bambu Lab A1 Mini?

It is well regarded and frequently recommended elsewhere, but we do not have a verified cash-affiliate program for Bambu Lab, so it is not covered as a buy recommendation on this site.

Can I get multicolor printing under $300?

Not out of the box from either machine on this list. The Centauri 2 supports ELEGOO's CANVAS multicolor module as a separate purchase.