The best 3D printer for miniatures simplify the process of creating precise models for tabletop gaming, crafting, model-making, and more.
I’ve reviewed more than 50 of the best 3D printers, and in this guide I’m looking at my recommendations for 3D printing miniatures and models that are highly detailed, realistic, and accurate.
The Creality HALOT-MAGE S 14K is the best 3D printer for miniatures for most users. I tested this well-built machine and found it really easy to use, with excellent print results.
If you’re just starting out, I’ve rounded up the best hobby 3D printers for beginners and enthusiasts based on my tests.
The quick list
Creality HALOT-MAGE S 14K
Best 3D printer for miniatures overall
A great all-round printer for miniatures and all tabletop gaming, providing high-detailed prints even on small scale models.
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Best precision 3D printer for miniatures
If you need to print an table top army in one go, then this large scale resin printer is the ideal solution.
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Best beginner-friendly 3D printer for miniatures
Compact desktop resin printer that small print platform is capable of producing finely detailed miniatures making it a great option to start with.
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Best professional 3D printer for miniatures
If you can afford the printer and the materials then nothing else comes close to this resin printer when it comes down to absolute quality.
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Anycubic Photon Mono M7 Pro
Best high-volume 3D printer for miniatures
Mid size and mid ranged resin printer that’s capable of producing high quantities of miniatures at speed.
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Anycubic Photon Mono M5s Pro
Best miniatures 3D printer for enthusiasts
This machine takes the features up a touch from the smaller resin printers, with some great features at a reasonable price.
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Best 3D printer for finely detail miniatures
Although superseded by the Form 4, it’s still an exceptional machine that available at a cut price and will enable incredibly fine detailed prints.
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Best fast 3D printer for miniatures
Fast multi colour printing is made possible by this ground breaking printer. An ideal choice for larger prints and scenic props.
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Best 3D printer for miniatures on a budget
An entry level printer that’s capable of producing fine quality prints on a budget. An ideal choice for scenery and buildings.
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Best 3D printer for miniatures overall
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The Creality HALOT-MAGE S 14K is the latest of the HALOT design, but interestingly, while the resolution leaps forward, some of the other features that we’ve seen on previous Halot machines have been pared back, such as those seen on the 8K HALOT-MAGE Pro , it still represents one of the best resin 3D printers on the market. The 14K resolution is capable of producing some of the most detailed prints of any home 3D printer, and the resolution isn’t the only benefit; it also has the edge over the competition due to its size and price.
The printer is easy to navigate, and while no resin printer is easy to clean, the way that the resin tank and build plate have been designed does at least make it a little easier and less time-consuming to tidy up after use than some. Another major point for the system is that while Creality’s own brand resins can be quite expensive, and for good reason, you can also use any standard resin in the tank.
As Creality is one of the market leaders, there is obviously a good amount of support available and a huge online community where you can share your work and get handy tips, which is all part of the fun.
Read our full Creality HARLOT-MAGE S 14K review
Best precision 3D printer for miniatures
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The Uniformation GK3 Ultra is the update to the superb UniFormation GK2 I reviewed, and everything about it has been upscaled and refined. The GK2 was already one of the best resin printers out there, but with the resolution leaping from 8K to 16K, a redesign for the resin tank and auto-fill system coupled with filters and the heated chamber, there really is little not to like.
However, the impressive performance is also met with an impressive scale, and this machine requires a decent amount of space to properly accommodate it. Add the cure and wash machines into the mix, and this system will quickly take up a huge amount of workshop space. However, if you’re after the absolute best for the price, there’s just no other printer that comes close before you leap to the likes of the Form4.
Read our full Uniformation GK2 review
Best beginner-friendly 3D printer for miniatures
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The Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra offers a combination of high resolution, ease of use, and smart features that makes it perfect for printing detailed tabletop gaming miniatures and accessories. The point about this printer is that it strikes a perfect balance between size, resolution, and price, and with the 12K monochrome LCD screen, the midsized build plate is large enough to not only print the miniatures but also large buildings and vehicle parts to complete the set.
The printer also packs in a few handy smart features, including auto levelling and an AI camera that’s able to spot issues before those problems become a real issue, although we did find it’s accuracy was a little hit and miss. Overall, however, the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra is one of the cheapest resin printers of it’s size and a great choice for beginners.
Read our full Elegoo Saturn Ultra 4 review
Best professional 3D printer for miniatures
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If there’s one resin 3D printer that sets a benchmark for all others to follow, then its the Formlabs Form 4. This printer is essentially the best on offer and designed to deliver professional-grade prints, so by default the quality of the 3D-printed miniatures we produced with the machine was outstanding.
The printer’s high-resolution SLA technology ensures exceptional detail and precision, and while this machine is aimed at the pro market and has a price to match, if you’re serious about the intricate quality of the miniatures and terrain pieces you’re producing, then the additional cost will be worth it.
What’s more, while this printer is pitched at pros, the software is just about the most user-friendly out there and simplifies the printing process. OK, so this machine does come with a higher cost, but if you are bulk printing, then the reliability and quality of the prints make it a worthwhile investment.
Read our full Formlabs Form 4 review
Best high-volume 3D printer for miniatures
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The Anycubic Photon M7 Pro is another high-resolution resin 3D printer that enables fast print speeds at an exceptional quality. Anycubic has again balanced performance, price, build quality, and technology with this printer that features an impressive 14k resolution screen. While this printer was launched a while ago, it is still one of the highest on the market, which means that it’s available at exceptional prices.
While it does feature an auto-resin refill system, which, when it works, is fantastic, after some time using the printer, we found that rather than streamlining the process it’s reliability wasn’t always the best. Switching back to the manual filling of the resin tank proved more reliable and boosted the performance of the machine back to one of the best for the price and certainly one of the most reliable when it came to speed. The printer’s performance and print quality make it an excellent investment for serious hobbyists and gamers wanting to print large volumes of models quickly.
Read our full Anycubic Photon M7 Pro review
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Best miniatures 3D printer for enthusiasts
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Anycubic excels at making reasonably priced printers that offer exceptional performance. The Anycubic Photon M5s Pro is another great example, and while it may not have the sleek design of other recent releases, when it comes to performance for the price, there is little to fault, especially when it comes to high-detailed prints, making it an ideal choice for tabletop gaming enthusiasts.
The printer features a high-resolution 14k MSLA technology screen that enables it to produce detailed prints that will be perfect for miniatures and gaming accessories. The machine does feature an auto-levelling feature that goes some way to help simplify the setup process; however, careful attention to maintenance and cleaning is essential with this model. While there is a learning curve and some careful maintenance is required, the printer is capable of delivering consistent results.
Read our full Anycubic Photon Mono M5s Pro review
Best 3D printer for finely detailed miniatures
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The Formlabs Form 3+ has been the machine of choice for professionals for a number of years, and while it has been superseded by the Formlabs Form 4, it still stands above most others when it comes to outright performance and quality. As this is now the older machine, the retail price has dropped significantly, so if you want the very best but can’t quite stretch to the Form4, then this is a great second.
While it is cheaper than the Form 4, that unfortunately doesn’t mean it’s cheap, and when you factor in the price of the materials and resin tanks, you’re looking at the same cost for the renewables as you would usually pay for an entire machine. However, again when it comes to outright quality and high detailed prints, it’s hard to fault.
Read our full Formlabs Form 3+ review
Best fast 3D printer for miniatures
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The Bambu Lab A1 is a great all-round machine with plenty of flexibility and, of course, the headline features of high-speed printing and multi-material capabilities. While you can’t expect the high detail that you would get from resin models, when it comes to larger objects such as terrain, buildings, and vehicles, the use of a filament printer makes a lot more sense and will give you greater control over the production of your gaming pieces.
The speed does need to be toned down with more detailed prints; however, if you have larger buildings and objects to print en masse, this is a great choice, especially when you throw in the ability to use multiple filaments, such as combining PLA with a PVA for supports. If you’re a beginner, then the ease of use features, such as auto bed levelling and filament monitoring, will all help with the reliability.
Read our full Bambu Lab A1 review
Best 3D printer for large miniatures
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The Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo is relatively new to the market and the software and abilities of this open frame design is quick progressing. The machine absolutely excels in ease of use and through our tests it was the outright reliability and accuracy of prints that really made it standout for printing miniature accessories. While printing small detailed figures is best left to the resin printers for everything else the Kobra 3 makes is ideal.
What’s more with the multi filament there’s lots of material choice and again the ability to print using support materials for more complex models and structures. Despite some minor drawbacks, such as the lack of an excess filament tray, easily overcome if you print one yourself, and slower multi-filament printing, it offers excellent print quality and reliability.
Read our full Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo review
Best 3D printer for miniatures on a budget
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The Creality Ender-3 V3 SE is the cheapest of the printers I’ve looked at in this round up and simply offers a no fuss easy to use single filament option. While many of the advanced features are absent from this model, when it comes to pure print quality at a reasonable speed there’s little not to like. This is a great machine for those just starting out with it’s open frame design and simple to use interface and software.
There’s also enough here to keep more advanced gamers happy when it comes to quality, so if you’ve spend a small fortune on the cost of a resin printer and all the kit to go with it, the Ender-3 V3 SE is an ideal option for printing high detailed accessories such as buildings and terrain.
Read our full Creality Ender-3 V3 SE review
Best 3D printers for miniatures: FAQs
What 3D printers are suitable for printing miniatures?
There’s a huge volume of 3D printers out there to choose from, and many will enable you to produce very decent prints; however, when it comes to miniatures, you want a printer that can print fine detail. While filament printers will do an OK job, when it comes to the fine detail you want for tabletop gaming and other miniatures a resin printer is the ideal choice – then for buildings and other scenery you could look at a cleaner and simpler to use filament printer, I’ve included some great options at the end of this guide.
What kind of materials should you use to 3D print miniatures?
A resin 3D printer will get you the best results for printing miniatures, and as with filament printing, there’s a huge variety of options to choose from. Look out for high-resolution or high-precision resin to ensure the highest quality. As ever with models, a good spray undercoat should be used prior to painting
If you’re using a filament printer, then stick with PETG or PLA; both are relatively cheap and perfect for modelling and painting.
How to choose the best 3D printer for miniatures for you
In this guide we’ve focused on the best 3D printer for printing miniatures, with functional features and quality that will enable you to print high-quality models. However, while these printers are great for high detail, they can be slower than many other options, so you’ll need to consider what you’re going to do with it, aside from printing miniatures. If you’re going to be printing small, detailed objects for tabletop gaming, then one of these printers will make a great choice; however, a large printer is naturally the best option for bigger creations.
As you’ll probably have guessed, the requirements for printing miniatures, whether that’s as a hobby or for tabletop gaming, lead to some interesting considerations, where speed and multifilament printing might not be quite as high up on the list of requirements as with some other 3D print areas.
The key feature you should be looking for is high resolution, which instantly makes a resin printer the best, but it is not the only option that I would suggest. With the majority of figures used for tabletop gaming being either 15mm or 22mm, that small size requires all the detail you can get, and likewise, for any other miniatures you’re thinking of printing. Features such as build area and speed should be seen as secondary, so what’s nice about printing miniatures is that you can go for a nice small printer that can be easily tucked away when not in use.
However, the issue with that is that almost all small resin printers are aimed at the entry-level, and generally, the larger they get, the more features and higher the resolutions they can print.
So, what do I mean by high resolution when it comes to resin 3D printers? Resolution is essentially highlighted by several parameters, such as layer thickness, which is simply the thickness of each layer. A good example of layer thickness is 0.01mm, and this layer height is coupled, as an example, with a high-resolution LCD screen (8K, 10K, 12K, 14 or even 16K), all helping to ensure smooth and intricate details that are necessary for miniatures and their accessories.
While resolution is important, it shouldn’t be the only consideration. Other key features that I would recommend looking into include auto-leveling. However, this isn’t so much of an issue for Resin, user-friendly software, preferably a touchscreen LCD and a heated chamber. Auto-levelling for both filament and resin printers helps simplify the setup process and reduce print failures. At the same time, user-friendly software makes printing easier, especially if you’re printing multiple miniatures at a time. Different print speeds are also something that I would highly recommend as it will enable faster prints for less detailed models such as scenery and vehicles and then slower print speeds for the high-detail miniature prints where precision is critical. Smart features like auto-resin refill systems, temperature control, and AI cameras for monitoring are all handy additions.
Ultimately, printers, such as the Creality HALOT-MAGE S 16K, Uniformation GK3 Ultra, AnyCubic and Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra, offer a range of features and capabilities that should meet a good variety of needs and budgets. The issue with these printers is that while they offer all the features and individually produce outstanding prints, they are all very large. While high-end models provide all the advanced features and superior print quality, the cheaper models for this type of printing should actually be more than sufficient. AnyCubic, Elegoo, and PRUSA Research all make outstanding compact printers that should do the job.
If you’re looking at a resin printer, then you’ll also need a few accessories, most notably a wash and cure machine. These can be found as a combined machine or as two separate ones. While these may seem like an additional extravagance, in reality, they’re an essential part of the process, with the wash enabling the softening of supports so that they can be easily removed without damaging the final print and the cure is used to set the plastic so that it can be finished and painted.
Another thing to consider is the resin that’s used. These days, there’s plenty of choice over the materials and colours, but there are some, such as the SUNLU 14K Ultra high-resolution resins, which are ideal for smaller detailed prints.
Alongside the high detail of resin, you may want to consider a filament printer for scenes, vehicles, and other accessories. They’re a lot cheaper and less messy to run, and there are a few superb compact solutions.
How we test the best 3D printers for miniatures
We’ve tested, reviewed, and rated a whole range of printing tools, tech, and services, from the best printers for home and office to the best business card printing services. Whether we’re evaluating and comparing the best all-in-one printers or 3D printing equipment, we apply the same rigorous testing process to every model so you can make an informed choice.
Our testing of 3D printers use a collection of bespoke benchmarks that help show the strengths and weaknesses of each model that, after time, can be compared against other products. These will differ depending on printer type, but a filament printer will be tested for stringing, bridging, and speed, as well as additional commentary on detail, achieved, and noise levels.
This will be done fairly, with dues given to different materials and printer types, with resin printers being subject to smaller, more detailed models to replace the stringing test. Design, price, and performance will also be explored as sections within the reviews.
In our 3D print workshop, every 3D printer undergoes a comprehensive testing process, regardless of whether it’s budget-friendly or eye-wateringly expensive. Our testing procedures are designed to put these printers through rigorous evaluations to ensure we identify the best options available for you.
The testing journey begins with the initial build, set-up and calibration, assessing the ease of the process. While some printers can be up and running within minutes, others may require far more time and effort.
Next, we examine the first layer print quality, dimensional accuracy, bridging, overhangs, stringing, layer adhesion, and surface finish. Speed is another important factor, as we analyse the time it takes the printer to produce a model without compromising print quality. Noise levels are also a consideration; some printers are far from quiet, especially when the speed picks up – OK for short prints but incredibly annoying if a print duration is hours or days long.
Our comprehensive testing includes thoroughly examining features, such as connectivity options, user interface intuitiveness, software compatibility, and any additional functionalities offered. We explore material compatibility, testing the printer with various filaments or resins to assess versatility.
Finally, we consider the price of the printer’s overall performance and features, ensuring it aligns with our expectations. We carefully evaluate the intended market for the printer, considering specific user needs and suitability for various applications. Additionally, we analyse the design and aesthetics, recognising the importance of a well-designed and visually appealing product.
By subjecting each printer to these tests and assessments, we can confidently provide you with an informed recommendation as to which is the best 3D printer.
All our tests are conducted from the perspective of the printers target market where possible, so expect to see a lot of tabletop miniatures and figurines alongside the usual ‘benches’ (test models that are also dubbed as ‘torture tests’ to see where a printer needs to be better optimized for future prints).
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