Best Resin 3D Printer in 2026
The best resin 3D printer for most people right now is the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K at $399. It prints at 14 by 19 micron detail on a 10 inch screen. The Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra suits smaller budgets and smaller desks. The Anycubic Photon Mono M7 gives you the largest build volume of the three.
Three machines made this list. All three are in stock today and all three are discounted. We don't own any of them, so every number here comes from the maker's own store or from a review we name. Our method is on the how we research page.
Which resin 3D printer should you buy?
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Best overall
Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K
Buy it if you want the sharpest detail here and a 10 inch plate. Tom's Hardware put it top of its 2026 resin roundup. Skip it if $399 is more than you want to risk on a first machine.
Best under $300
Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra
Buy it if you print miniatures or small parts and want change from $300. Same tilt release and auto levelling as the Saturn, on a 7 inch screen. Skip it if you already know you'll want a bigger plate.
Biggest build area
Anycubic Photon Mono M7
Buy it if volume matters more than pixel size. At 223 by 126 by 230 mm it's the roomiest of the three. Skip it if you're chasing fine detail, because 24.8 microns is coarser than either Elegoo.
How do the three compare?
| Printer | Screen | XY resolution | Build volume | Max speed | Price today | Was | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K | 10 in, 16K | 14 x 19 µm | 211.68 x 118.37 x 220 mm | 150 mm/h | $399 | $649.99 | In stock |
| Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra | 7 in, 9K | 18 µm | 153.36 x 77.76 x 165 mm | 150 mm/h | $259 | $338 | In stock |
| Anycubic Photon Mono M7 | 10.1 in, 14K | 24.8 µm | 223 x 126 x 230 mm | 150 mm/h | from $429 | $519 | In stock |
Prices read off the makers' own product pages on 18 September 2026. Both Elegoo sale prices carry a countdown ending 22 September. We keep the running version on our 3D printer price tracker.
Is the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K worth $399?
Yes, at $399. That's down from $649.99, and Elegoo's own countdown says the cut ends on 22 September. 3Dprinting.com listed the same machine at $549 to $599 in its 2026 guide, so this is a real discount rather than a permanent price.
The 10 inch screen runs at 16K and resolves 14 by 19 microns across X and Y. That is the finest pixel pitch on this page. Elegoo pairs a COB light source with a Fresnel collimating lens, heats the vat to 30 C so resin viscosity stays put on cold mornings, and adds tilt release so the print peels off the film instead of being yanked off it. Auto levelling and a camera with its own light round it out.
Who it suits. Anyone printing display pieces, busts or batches of 28 mm miniatures who wants the plate to hold a full squad.
Who should skip it. First time buyers testing whether they even like resin. Start cheaper. Our full Saturn 4 Ultra 16K write-up goes deeper on the specs.
Who should buy the Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra?
People who want the Saturn's engineering on a desk that can't take the Saturn's footprint. It's $259 today, down from $338, on the same countdown.
You get the same tilt release, the same auto levelling and the same 150 mm/h top speed, on a 7 inch 9K screen at 18 microns. Elegoo quotes 92% light uniformity from the COB source. The trade is the plate: 153.36 by 77.76 by 165 mm is under half the Saturn's area, so tall props and big batches are out.
Who it suits. Tabletop gamers and hobbyists printing one or two models at a time. It's the machine we point to on our best resin printer for miniatures page.
Who should skip it. Anyone who already knows they want to print in volume. You'll outgrow the plate inside a year.
What does the Anycubic Photon Mono M7 do better?
Space. Its 223 by 126 by 230 mm build volume beats the Saturn's on every axis, and it starts at $429, down from $519. Anycubic runs a 10.1 inch mono LCD at 14K.
The detail is the compromise. At 24.8 microns the M7 sits well behind both Elegoo screens, and you'll see it on fine texture like chainmail or hair. What Anycubic adds instead is monitoring: failed print detection that pauses the job, resin residue detection that protects the screen, release film lifespan reminders and a resin level check before a long run. Levelling is a 4 point manual process rather than automatic.
Who it suits. Cosplay props, terrain, and anyone printing parts that are big before they are detailed. More Anycubic machines are on our Anycubic reviews hub.
Who should skip it. Miniature painters. Buy the detail instead.
Who should skip resin printing altogether?
Plenty of people, and most roundups won't tell you. Resin is a wet, smelly process. Every print comes off the plate coated in uncured resin that has to be washed in isopropyl alcohol and then cured under UV light. You handle it in nitrile gloves, you need a window open or a carbon filter, and you dispose of the waste alcohol properly rather than down the sink.
If none of that appeals, buy a filament machine. You lose the fine detail and gain a process you can run in a spare room without ceremony. Start with our best 3D printers under $300, or read what FDM printing is first. If you want the full picture of how resin machines actually cure a layer, we explain it in vat polymerization, SLA and DLP. To put a resin machine next to a filament one, use our 3D printer comparison tool.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best resin 3D printer for beginners?
The Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra, at $259. It levels itself, it costs less than the alternatives here, and the 7 inch plate is the right size for learning on. If it turns out resin isn't for you, you're out less money.
What is the best-buy resin 3D printer?
On today's prices, the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K at $399. It's $250 below its list price and it carries the finest screen of the three. That gap closes on 22 September when Elegoo's countdown ends.
Which resin printer is better, Anycubic or Elegoo?
Elegoo, for detail. Both Elegoo machines resolve finer pixels than the Anycubic and both level themselves, which the Photon Mono M7 does not. Anycubic wins on build volume per dollar and on print monitoring. Pick Elegoo for miniatures, Anycubic for size.
What is the best high-quality resin for 3D printers?
We don't test resins, so we won't name one. The safe start is the printer maker's own standard resin, because the exposure settings shipped in the slicer profile are built around it. Move to a speciality resin once you know your machine's baseline.
Sources
- Elegoo, Saturn 4 Ultra 16K product page, price and specifications, read 18 September 2026.
- Elegoo, Mars 5 Ultra product page, price and specifications, read 18 September 2026.
- Anycubic, Photon Mono M7 product page, price and specifications, read 18 September 2026.
- Tom's Hardware, Best Resin 3D Printers 2026.
- 3Dprinting.com, Best Resin 3D Printers 2026: 14 Picks From Hobbyist to Pro.
Prices checked 18 September 2026 on the makers' own stores. Sale prices move without notice. The price tracker is the version we keep current, and how we research explains why we don't claim to have tested these machines.