Get Ahead of the Curve: Best 3D Printers of 2023

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The best 3D printers of 2023 were not simply the machines with the fastest advertised speeds. That year marked a turning point in desktop 3D printing: automatic calibration became more common, CoreXY machines pushed speed dramatically higher, beginner printers became easier to operate, and established manufacturers started competing on workflow instead of specs alone.

Looking back from 2026, that makes 2023 unusually interesting. It was the year many features we now take for granted stopped feeling experimental and started becoming normal.

Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only include partner links where they fit the reader’s actual 3D printing need.

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Why 2023 Changed Desktop 3D Printing

Before 2023, buying an inexpensive printer often meant accepting a fair amount of manual adjustment. Bed leveling, Z-offset, slow printing, basic interfaces, and tinkering were simply part of the experience.

During 2023, the competitive question changed. Manufacturers increasingly had to answer something much more useful:

That shift is one reason I do not recommend choosing a printer purely because a specification sheet says it can move at an extreme speed. The machine, material, slicer, calibration, hotend flow, cooling, geometry, and desired surface quality still have to work together.

If you are brand new to that workflow, start with my 3D Printing for Absolute Beginners guide. It explains the process before you spend money on hardware.

Best 3D Printers of 2023: Side-by-Side Comparison

1. Creality Ender-3 V3 SE: Best Budget Beginner Pick

Creality introduced the Ender-3 V3 SE in August 2023, and it represented something important for beginners: features that once felt like upgrades were moving down into affordable machines.

Creality equipped it with CR Touch automatic leveling, automatic Z-offset adjustment, a direct-drive extruder, dual Z-axis structure, and advertised speeds up to 250 mm/s. The bigger story was not the top speed. It was reducing the amount of setup friction standing between a beginner and a first successful print.

• Best for: beginners, household projects, PLA and PETG printing, learning FDM.
• What made it compelling: accessible price combined with increasingly automatic setup.
• Watch-out: an open-frame budget printer still requires realistic expectations about materials, temperature control, speed, and tuning.

2. Bambu Lab P1P: The Speed-and-Convenience Disruptor

The Bambu Lab P1P helped change expectations about how quickly a desktop printer could move while still offering an integrated user experience. Its 256 × 256 × 256 mm build volume, CoreXY motion system, automatic bed leveling, vibration compensation and network-connected workflow put pressure on the rest of the industry.

The P1P did not invent fast 3D printing. What mattered was the combination. Speed, calibration, slicer integration, monitoring, and an increasingly appliance-like experience were becoming part of one package.

• Best for in 2023: makers wanting dramatically faster FDM without building a machine from scratch.
• Why it mattered: it reset expectations around speed and automation.
• Watch-out: ecosystem, repairability, long-term support, material requirements and workflow preferences still matter alongside speed.

3. Creality K1: The CoreXY Race Gets Serious

Creality announced the K1 series in April 2023. The K1 and larger K1 Max were marketed around CoreXY motion, enclosure, high acceleration and speeds up to 600 mm/s.

Those numbers grabbed headlines, but the more lasting importance of the K1 was competitive pressure. High-speed enclosed CoreXY printing was no longer a niche conversation. Major desktop manufacturers were racing toward the same destination.

• Best for in 2023: buyers wanting an enclosed, modern high-speed FDM platform.
• Why it mattered: speed, enclosure and automation moved further toward mainstream pricing.
• Watch-out: the maximum motion speed printed on the box is not necessarily the speed that produces your best part.

This is still one of my favorite lessons from the speed race: print speed is a system limit, not a single setting. Your hotend must melt the material fast enough, cooling must keep up, acceleration must suit the geometry, and quality requirements still determine how aggressively you can run the machine.

That is why slowing selected features can sometimes improve a print dramatically. My guide to what happens when you slow a 3D printer down explains why.

4. Original Prusa MK4: Best Reliability-Focused Prosumer Pick

Prusa announced the Original Prusa MK4 on March 29, 2023. It retained the familiar bed-slinger layout but replaced or redesigned much of the underlying system, including a 32-bit architecture, the Nextruder, load-cell-based first-layer calibration, networking features and support for Input Shaper.

That made the MK4 a different kind of 2023 standout. It was not trying to win solely through an enclosure or the largest possible speed number. Its appeal centered on repeatability, documentation, support and reducing the uncertainty of the first layer.

• Best for: experienced hobbyists, workshops and users who value consistency.
• Why it mattered: it modernized a mature platform instead of abandoning the workflow that made its predecessors successful.
• Watch-out: premium support and ecosystem value usually come with a higher purchase price than entry-level machines.

This is also a good example of why I rarely use the phrase “best printer” without adding for what? A machine optimized for predictability may be a much better purchase than a faster one when you are making repeatable functional parts.

5. Anycubic Photon Mono 2: Best Entry-Level Resin Pick

Anycubic released the Photon Mono 2 in April 2023 as an entry-level resin printer. For buyers interested in miniatures, figures and highly detailed visual work, that made much more sense than forcing an FDM machine to reproduce tiny features it was not designed to handle as cleanly.

• Best for: miniatures, decorative models, display pieces and fine surface detail.
• Why it mattered: it lowered the barrier to modern monochrome resin printing.
• Watch-out: resin adds chemical handling, washing, curing, PPE and workspace requirements that filament printing does not.

For my own current custom-printing work, I focus on filament-based printing rather than resin. That is another reason I separate “the right machine for the application” from “the printer I personally use.”

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What Happened to the Older “Best Printer” Picks?

Older printer roundups often keep the same machines forever because the model names continue attracting searches. That is not a good reason to recommend them.

Printrbot

Printrbot was important in early desktop 3D printing, but the company shut down in 2018. A used Printrbot can still be an interesting restoration or enthusiast project, but I would not present it as a sensible mainstream 2023—or 2026—buy.

Monoprice Select Mini and Other Legacy Compact Printers

Compact older printers helped make 3D printing accessible, but nostalgia should not be confused with value. When modern budget printers offer easier leveling, better parts availability, larger communities and faster workflows, an older machine needs to be extremely inexpensive—or simply interesting to you—to justify the compromises.

3D Printer Planner: Match the Machine to the Job

Before buying any printer—old or new—start with the problem. This is the same logic behind my P.R.I.N.T. Method™: define what the finished object must accomplish before choosing the machine.

The Costs a “Best 3D Printer” List Usually Forgets

The printer is only part of the investment. A cheap machine can become frustrating if you have not budgeted for the workflow around it.

• Filament or resin
• Replacement nozzles and wear parts
• Build surfaces
• Filament drying and storage
• Basic hand tools
• Calipers and measurement tools
• Ventilation where required
• Wash-and-cure equipment for resin
• Maintenance time
• Failed-print allowance

Consistent material matters too. If filament is wet or inconsistent, chasing slicer settings can turn into an afternoon of fixing the wrong problem.

What If Your Project Starts With a Physical Object?

Printer selection is only one side of the workflow. If you are replacing a discontinued plastic part or reproducing physical geometry, the harder question may be how to create the digital model in the first place.

That is where measurement, CAD and 3D scanning can enter the process. A scanner can capture complex visible geometry, although functional parts may still require cleanup, dimension checks or CAD reconstruction before they are ready to print.

What the Best 3D Printers of 2023 Taught Us

The most valuable part of revisiting 2023 is not deciding which old machine deserves a trophy. It is seeing which changes survived.

Buying in 2026? Do Not Stop at a 2023 List

If you found this page because you are shopping today, use the 2023 machines as reference points rather than a final shortlist. Desktop 3D printing moved quickly after these printers appeared.

Continue with my updated printer comparison for beginners and experienced makers, or start with 3D Printing for Absolute Beginners if you are still deciding whether owning a printer makes sense.

For a deeper practical reference, my P.R.I.N.T. It Practical 3D Printing for Beginners ebook walks through printer decisions, materials, calibration, troubleshooting, replacement parts and the P.R.I.N.T. Method™ in one organized workflow.

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Knowledge Check: Can You Choose the Right Printer?

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the best 3D printer for beginners in 2023?

The Creality Ender-3 V3 SE was one of the strongest budget beginner options introduced in 2023 because it combined approachable pricing with automatic leveling, automatic Z-offset and a simplified setup process.

What was the best high-speed 3D printer of 2023?

There was no single universal winner. The Bambu Lab P1P and Creality K1 were both important to the high-speed CoreXY movement, while buyers still needed to compare enclosure, ecosystem, materials, support and workflow—not only maximum speed.

Was the Prusa MK4 released in 2023?

Yes. Prusa announced the Original Prusa MK4 on March 29, 2023. It introduced a new 32-bit platform, Nextruder and load-cell-based automatic first-layer calibration among its major changes.

Is the Bambu Lab P1P still available in 2026?

Bambu Lab announced the end of P1P production in February 2026. That does not erase its importance, but it means today’s buyer should compare current models rather than treating the P1P as a default recommendation.

Is resin better than FDM?

Neither technology is universally better. Resin is excellent for small visual details and smooth surfaces. FDM is generally more practical for functional parts, larger models, prototypes and a cleaner everyday workflow.

Should I buy a 2023 3D printer in 2026?

Possibly—but only after comparing it with current alternatives. An older machine can still be a good value when replacement parts, firmware, documentation and support remain available and the price reflects its age.

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Final Takeaway: The Best Printer Is the One That Fits the Work

The best 3D printers of 2023 helped push desktop printing toward the experience users now expect: faster motion, more automatic calibration, stronger software integration and fewer tedious setup steps.

But the most useful lesson survived every product launch. Do not buy a printer because the internet calls it the best. Buy it because its capabilities match what you intend to make.

Start with the problem. Define the requirements. Think about material, size, detail, environment and reliability. Then choose the machine. That approach ages much better than any annual Top 10 list.