Here are our recommendations for 3D resin printers as of January 2025:
Best resolution printer
xy resolution of 14*19μm, highest resolution on the market
211.68*118.37*220mm (8.33*4.66*8.66 in) print size, compatible with all models on our website
Lowest price in its resolution category at $499.99
Best budget printer
xy resolution of 19*24μm, pixels are slightly larger than those of the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K
218.88*122.88*250mm (8.62*4.84*9.84 in) print size, slightly larger than the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K, compatible with all models on our website
Lowest price in its resolution category at $259.99, -48% compared to the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K, and it's literally the price of a good airbrush
Best small-sized printer
xy resolution of 17*17μm, highest resolution on the market
153.4*87*165mm (6.04*3.43*6.50 in) print size, compatible with small models such as 1/35 or 1/72 scale figurines and accessories (weapons etc.)
Lowest price in its resolution category at $199
Let's take a deeper dive into our methodology on comparing resin 3D printers
Did you know that the Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra 9K printer is actually more precise than the Elegoo Saturn 3 which is a 12K printer? We will walk you through the real meaning of marketing jargons such as "9K LCD screen size", "8520*4320 resolution", "xy resolution", "18*18μm pixel" and help you find the best printer at the lowest price from the scale modeling perspective using 3 criteria: precision, print volume and price.
Printer's precision
To understand the precision of a given printer, we first look at X and Y axis, then we look at the Z axis.
Let's take the specifications of the Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra as an example to explain how to compare the precision of a printer.
XY resolution: The resolution of the X and Y axis are often expressed using 2 metrics: "xy resolution" and "pixels".
In the specifications, 18*18μm XY resolution means that each pixel is a square with side length of 18 microns (0.018 mm). 9K LCD screen size means that the UV screen length is composed of 8,520 such pixels (rounded up to 9K). If we do some quick math, 0.018*8520=153.36mm, which matches the length of the advertised build volume length of 153.36 x 77.76 x 165 mm³.
If we come back to the example from the introduction, the Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra 9K printer has 18*18μm xy resolution, whereas the Elegoo Saturn 3 12K printer has 19*24μm xy resolution. The Saturn 3 has more pixels, but the Mars 5 has smaller pixels.
To sum up, if you want to compare printer precision, you shouldn't look at the 9K number because it's just the number of pixels and not its size. Instead, you should only compare the XY resolution of 18μm, which is the actual size of a pixel.
Z-axis resolution: The resolution of the Z axis equals to the layer height of the printer. For Mars 5 Ultra, the Z-axis accuracy is 0.02mm.
Print volume
Print volume is another important criteria to consider before buying a resin printer. If you buy a printer that is too small, it would be impossible to print larger models unless you chop it into many smaller pieces, which requires even more work to reassemble and increases fit issues.
Resin printers can be classified into 3 size categories:
Small size: 1-2 liters, for modelers who only print small models such as 1/35 or 1/72 scale figurines and accessories (weapons etc.)
Medium size: 6-7 liters, for modelers who print full vehicle models from 1/72 up to 1/12 scale. For vehicle models (aircrafts, tanks, cars, ships etc.) on Print Replica, the minimum print volume for your printer is 211*118*220mm or 8.31x4.65x8.66 inch, which is the size of medium-size printers.
Large size: >10 liters, for modelers with deep pocket who want to print large vehicles or action figure size figurines with high precision in one piece.
Price
An affordable brand new resin printer should cost in the $200-300 price range.
Another way to get cheaper printers is to find refurbished 2nd hand printers on the manufacturer's website.
Other features
Manufacturer are coming up with fancy features like automatic leveling, Wi-Fi remote control, automatic resin filling etc. In our opinion, some of them are nice to have, some others are useless gadgets. As modelers, we shouldn't pay extra money on anything other than print volume and XY resolution.
We don't think reliability is important
Reliability is an important criteria in choosing FDM filament printers. However, the reason why we didn't mention it for resin printers is because we don't think it matters that much for resin printers.
Resin printers are mechanically extremely simple. There is only one single motor (Z-axis) moving the build plate up and down. On the contrary, FDM printers have at least 5 motors (X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis, extruder, extruder fan) and more probability for things to go wrong.
When a resin printer breaks down, is most likely due to user error rather than a component breaking down by itself. So you shouldn't be paying extra money for supposedly "more reliable" resin printers.
Which is the best resin printer for scale modeling in January 2025?
To conclude this article, we're going to rank all resin printers using the 3 most important criteria for scale modelers: XY resolution, build volume and price.
First, to compare apples to apples, we separated resin printers into small, medium and large size category. Then, we ranked them using XY resolution with smallest values (more precise pixels) on top. Finally, we ranked the printers from cheapest to most expensive within each resolution category.
We also determined a reference printer (in red) in each printer size category that has the smallest pixel size and lowest price in that pixel size category. Then we added the Pixel size increase column to calculate how much bigger a given printer's pixels are compared to the reference printer. Similarly, we also added the Price discount column to calculate how much cheaper is a given printer compared to the reference printer.
For vehicle models (aircrafts, tanks, cars, ships etc.) on Print Replica, the minimum print volume for your printer is 211*118*220mm or 8.31x4.65x8.66 inch, which is the size of medium-size printers.
Medium-sized printer (for up to 1/12 vehicles and figures) ranking:
Brand | Model | XY resolution (μm) | Pixel size increase | X (mm) | Y (mm) | Z (mm) | Build volume (L) | Price ($) | Price discount |
Elegoo | Saturn 4 Ultra 16K (reference printer) | 14*19 | 0% | 211.68 | 118.37 | 220.0 | 5.5 | 500 | 0% |
Uniformation | GK3 | 14*19 | 0% | 211 | 118 | 240.0 | 6 | 670 | 34% |
Uniformation | GK3 pro | 14*19 | 0% | 211 | 118 | 240.0 | 6 | 800 | 60% |
Anycubic | Photon Mono M7 | 16.8*24.8 | 57% | 223 | 126 | 230.0 | 6.5 | 429 | -14% |
Creality | Halot-Mage S 14K | 16.8*24.8 | 57% | 223 | 126 | 230.0 | 6.5 | 459 | -8% |
Anycubic | Photon Mono M7 Pro | 16.8*24.8 | 57% | 223 | 126 | 230.0 | 6.5 | 549 | 10% |
Phrozen | Sonic Mighty Revo | 16.8*24.8 | 57% | 223 | 126 | 235 | 6.6 | 768.88 | 54% |
Elegoo | Saturn 3 | 19*24 | 71% | 218.88 | 122.88 | 250 | 6.7 | 259.99 | -48% |
Elegoo | Saturn 3 Ultra | 19*24 | 71% | 218.88 | 122.88 | 260 | 7 | 299.99 | -40% |
Elegoo | Saturn 4 | 19*24 | 71% | 218.88 | 122.88 | 220 | 5.9 | 299.99 | -40% |
Elegoo | Saturn 4 Ultra | 19*24 | 71% | 218.88 | 122.88 | 220 | 5.9 | 399.99 | -20% |
Phrozen | Sonic Mighty 12K | 19*24 | 71% | 218 | 123 | 235 | 6.3 | 571.99 | 14% |
Phrozen | Sonic Mighty 8K | 28*28 | 195% | 218 | 123 | 235 | 6.3 | 499.99 | 0% |
Creality | Halot-Mage 8K | 29.7*29.7 | 118% | 228 | 128 | 230 | 6.7 | 209 | -58% |
Uniformation | GK2 | 29.6*29.6 | 118% | 228 | 128 | 245 | 7.2 | 749.99 | 50% |
Using our methodology, the reference medium-sized printer is the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K because it has the smallest pixel size of 14*19μm and cheapest price of $500 among printers with the same pixel size category.
However, the Anycubic Photon Mono M7 has 57% bigger pixel sizes, but is selling at only $429, which is a -14% price discount compared to the reference printer. You would lose some precision but save $71.
If we go further down the list, the Elegoo Saturn 3 has 71% bigger pixel sizes, but it's selling at only $259.99, which is a -40% price discount to the reference printer. It's a great deal for modelers with a tighter budget who still want a relatively precise printer.
Small-sized printer (for small figures and accessories) ranking:
Brand | Model | XY resolution (μm) | Pixel size increase | X (mm) | Y (mm) | Z (mm)f | Build volume (L) | Price ($) | Price discount |
Anycubic | Photon Mono 4 (reference printer) | 17*17 | 0% | 153.4 | 87 | 165.0 | 2.2 | 199 | 0% |
Anycubic | Photon Mono 4 Ultra | 17*17 | 0% | 153.4 | 87 | 165.0 | 2.2 | 259 | 30% |
Elegoo | Mars 4 | 18*18 | 12% | 153.36 | 77.76 | 175.0 | 2.1 | 160 | -20% |
Elegoo | Mars 4 Ultra | 18*18 | 12% | 153.36 | 77.76 | 165.0 | 2 | 210 | 6% |
Elegoo | Mars 5 Ultra | 18*18 | 12% | 153.36 | 77.76 | 165.0 | 2 | 270 | 36% |
Phrozen | Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K S | 22*22 | 67% | 165 | 72 | 170.0 | 2 | 300 | 51% |
Phrozen | Sonic Mini 8K | 22*22 | 67% | 165 | 72 | 180.0 | 2.1 | 335 | 68% |
Elegoo | Mars 5 | 35*35 | 324% | 143.43 | 89.6 | 150.0 | 1.9 | 180 | -10% |
Anycubic | Photon D2 | 51*51 | 800% | 130.56 | 73.44 | 165.0 | 1.6 | 399 | 101% |
Phrozen | Phrozen Sonic Mini | 62.5*62.5 | 1252% | 120 | 68 | 130.0 | 1.1 | 150 | -25% |
Similarly, the small-sized reference printer is the Anycubic Photon Mono 4 because it has the smallest pixel size of 17*17μm and cheapest price of $199 among printers with the same pixel size.
However, the Elegoo Mars 4's pixel size is 18*18μm which is almost the same compared to the 17*17μm reference printer (we even wonder if it's just a rounding difference?), but it's selling at only $160, which is a 20% price discount to the reference printer, which would also be an even better deal.
Large-sized printer (for large vehicles and figures) ranking:
Brand | Model | XY resolution (μm) | Pixel size increase | X (mm) | Y (mm) | Z (mm) | Build volume (L) | Price ($) | Price discount |
Uniformation | GK3 Ultra (reference printer) | 20*26 | 0% | 300 | 160 | 300.0 | 14.4 | 1,300 | 0% |
Phrozen | Sonic Mega 8K S | 43*43 | 256% | 330 | 185 | 300.0 | 18.3 | 1,320 | 2% |
Anycubic | Photon M3 Max | 46*46 | 307% | 298 | 164 | 300.0 | 14.7 | 669 | -49% |
Anycubic | Photon Mono M7 Max | 46*46 | 307% | 298 | 164 | 300.0 | 14.7 | 849 | -35% |
Elegoo | Jupiter SE | 51*51 | 400% | 277.848 | 156.264 | 300.0 | 13 | 670 | -48% |
Finally, the large-sized reference printer is the Uniformation GK3 Ultra because it has the smallest pixel size of 20*26μm but is selling at $1300.
However, although the Anycubic Photon M3 Max has a 307% bigger pixel size, it's selling at only $669, which is a 49% price discount to the reference printer, which would save you a lot of money while sacrificing some accuracy.
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