Print Per Gram compares consumer 3D printers from the figures their makers and sellers publish, then does the arithmetic in the open. This page sets out what we read, when, how printers are sorted and picked, what is missing, and what we never do.
What we read, and when
- 72 printers from six brands, read by script on November 7, 2026: Bambu Lab (18), Elegoo (18), Anycubic (15), Creality (15), Flashforge (5) and Snapmaker (1). 57 are filament (FDM) printers and 15 resin printers.
- Prices from seven sellers: Elegoo's U.S. store (us.elegoo.com), Anycubic's store in U.S. dollars (store.anycubic.com, U.S. plug version), Creality's U.S. store (store.creality.com), Snapmaker's U.S. store (us.snapmaker.com), Flashforge's store (flashforge.com), Shop3D Universe (shop3duniverse.com, a U.S. reseller of Bambu Lab and Flashforge) and Bambu Lab's U.S. store (us.store.bambulab.com). Shopify stores were read from their public product feeds (
products.json), Creality from each product page. Bambu Lab's U.S. store redirects visitors from our server's location to its European store, so we could not read its prices: we show Shop3D Universe's price and link to both. - Specifications from the makers' own pages: bambulab.com tech-spec pages (the P1S from its store page), the Specifications tables of us.elegoo.com and store.anycubic.com product pages, Creality's support pages (www.creality.com/support), Snapmaker's U1 spec page and Flashforge's product pages.
- Spools and resin: 29 products, the cheapest in-stock 1 kg version of PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU and nylon at Elegoo, Anycubic, Snapmaker and Shop3D Universe (Bambu Lab filament), and resin at Elegoo and Anycubic, plus Elegoo's 12 kg resin box.
- Material requirements: Bambu Lab's filament guides for PLA, PETG HF, ABS, ASA, TPU 95A HF and PA6-GF (nozzle and bed ranges, enclosure advice). Resin density: Elegoo Standard Resin, "Liquid Density: 1.100 g/cm³".
- Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A, average residential price by state, August 2026 (50 states, D.C. and the U.S. average of 18.16 cents per kWh), read on November 7, 2026.
- Searches: the page topics come from Google's U.S. autocomplete (for example "best 3d printer for beginners", "bambu lab a1 vs p1s", "3d printing cost per gram"). We did not measure search volumes.
The figures we compare
- Build volume as published (single-nozzle figure on dual-nozzle printers), converted to inches; volume in liters [calc].
- Max speed as published: toolhead mm/s for filament, mm/h for resin. Flashforge publishes only a travel speed for the Adventurer 5M series: shown as such.
- Enclosure: from the maker's words ("Enclosed", "Shell: Enclosed", "Active Chamber Heating"). Creality's support tables contradict themselves on some models ("Frame: Open Frame" next to "Active Chamber Heating up to 60°C" on the K2 Plus and K2 Pro; "Frame: Enclosed" next to "Chamber Temperature: N/A" on the Ender-3 V3 SE): we follow the chamber line and say so.
- Colors in the box: filament slots or tool heads included as sold; the add-on is named when the maker sells one.
- Power: the maximum at 110 to 120 V when the maker separates it from 220 V; the steady-state PLA figure when published (Bambu Lab P2S, X2D, H2C, H3C). Anycubic's Kobra S1 Max page prints "1000V(110V)", which we read as 1,000 W. Resin: power supply rating, or volts x amps of the supply [calc].
- Materials: the maker's list; "not recommended" kept apart.
How picks are chosen
Each "Our picks in 30 seconds" box applies one written rule per badge: the cheapest printer, in stock and with a price we could read, that meets the condition in the badge; a printer already picked in the box is skipped for the next badge, and on a tie in price the first in alphabetical order of our model code wins. Conditions use published figures only: "4+ colors in the box" counts slots or tool heads included; "enclosed printer that lists ABS" needs both the maker's enclosure and ABS on its list; bed sizes compare the smaller of width and depth. Tables are sorted by price (cheapest first) or by the figure in the column. The calculators rank by computed cost, nothing else. Commissions are not part of any rule and never change an order: Shop3D Universe and Flashforge, for which we have no program, are picked whenever their price wins.
What is missing
- Not exhaustive. Brands not covered yet: Prusa, Qidi, Sovol, Elegoo's and Anycubic's refurbished machines, and laser or 3-in-1 machines (Snapmaker Artisan). Retailers not read: Amazon, Micro Center (refused our requests), Best Buy, Walmart.
- Creality models left out because their spec pages load their tables in a way we could not read: K3, Ender-3 V3 Neo, Ender-3 V3 Mega, K1 Speedy, SPARKX i8 and the HALOT resin printers.
- Not published by the maker: wattage of 12 filament printers (Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro, 4 Max, 3 Pro and OrangeStorm Giga, most Anycubic Kobra models, Flashforge AD5X); Anycubic's filament list for the Kobra S1 Combo; outside dimensions of Anycubic resin printers and some Flashforge models; print speed of the Adventurer 5M series. We write "not published" and never estimate.
- Costs leave out failed prints, purge waste, wear parts and washing liquids; electricity from maximum wattage is a ceiling.
How often we update
Prices were read once, on November 7, 2026, in the middle of Black Friday sales. We plan to re-read every catalog at least once a month, and first in early December 2026 when the sales end; each page shows the date it was last updated, and each price the date it was read.
What we never do
- We do not test printers. We have not bought or used any of them and never describe print quality, noise or reliability from experience.
- No star ratings, no scores and no customer reviews written or imported by us.
- No discount percentage computed by us: a struck-through price appears only when the store shows it.
- No fake urgency or stock counters.
How we are paid
Some links may earn us a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you, once an affiliate program accepts the site (none has yet). Details: affiliate disclosure. Who writes: the Print Per Gram editorial team, see About.