3D printing gear under $250 compared

Your printer decides which half of this page is yours

Nothing here crosses over. A filament printer melts plastic off a spool, and what it needs is dry plastic — the two Creality dryers and the ANYCUBIC PLA — and, for ABS or ASA, an enclosure: Prusa’s own advice is that the printer should be inside one for ABS ². A resin printer cures liquid resin with light, and every print comes off it wet: it needs washing, then curing, which is what the Wash & Cure 3 does ¹, and it needs resin — six of ELEGOO’s are here. If you are still choosing a printer, our guide to 3D printers under $300 starts with that fork.

1. Wash & Cure 3 Anycubic — the maker's page: washing by alcohol soaking; largest part 165 x 100 x 180 mm; 10 x 405 nm LEDs and a gooseneck light; 1-30 min timer; for LCD resin printers up to 7.3 in
2. ABS Prusa Knowledge Base — 'The printer should be inside an enclosure'; a well-ventilated room; shrinkage of about 1-2%

A dryer’s top temperature decides which plastics it can dry

Filament takes water out of the air. Prusa names nylon, PVA and TPU as the filaments most often in need of drying, ahead of PLA, and lists what wet filament looks like: a poor surface, more stringing, weak layers, blobs, and bubbling or smoke at the nozzle ¹ — the same symptoms as a dozen other faults, which is why damp filament wastes so many evenings.

Prusa’s drying temperatures run from 45°C for PLA, 55°C for PETG and 60°C for TPU up to 80°C for ASA and 90°C for carbon-fibre nylon ¹. Both dryers here stop at 70°C: the Space Pi runs from 45 to 70°C ² and the Multi-kilo heats to 70°C ³. So they cover PLA, PETG and TPU, and not the engineering plastics. If ASA or nylon is why you want a dryer, look for one that goes hotter.

Drying is half of it; storage is the other half. Prusa’s advice is to keep filament in a dry box between uses ¹ — worth remembering before ten kilos of PLA arrive at once.

1. Drying filament Prusa Knowledge Base — 'Polyamide, PVA, and TPU (Flex) are filaments more often in need of drying than more popular filaments like PLA'; signs: poor surface, more stringing, low layer adhesion, blobs, bubbling and smoke; Prusament drying: PLA 45 C 6 h, PETG 55 C 6 h, TPU 60 C 4-6 h, ASA 80 C 4 h, PA11 carbon fibre 90 C 6 h; keep filament in a dry box between uses
2. Creality Space Pi Filament Dryer Jaspertronics — a single 1 kg spool; 45-70 C (113-158 F), adjustable; humidity display; timer 0-48 h; 110 W PTC heaters
3. Creality Multi-Kilo Dryer 123-3D — 'suitable for reels from 1 kg to 5 kg'; heats to 70 C; removable heating module; 145 W

Which resin, and where its rinse goes

Most resin prints are washed in alcohol, and Anycubic builds the Wash & Cure 3 around soaking in it ¹; ELEGOO says its Standard Resin V2.0, formulated to smell less, cleans up in isopropyl alcohol or ethanol ³. The ABS-like V2.0 is ELEGOO’s tougher formula, sold on strength and impact resistance ⁴, for parts that get handled rather than displayed. The plant-based resin is one ELEGOO calls eco-friendly ⁵ — its word, and not a reason to treat the waste any differently.

The two water-washable resins rinse off in plain water instead, which saves buying, storing and smelling alcohol. That does not make the waste harmless. The rinse water carries uncured resin, and FacFox’s guide to this resin is blunt: do not pour it down the sink, because it harms aquatic life. Leave the water in a clear container in the sun until the resin in it cures, take the solid pieces out, and ask your local authority how to dispose of them ². Budget a few clear jugs and a sunny windowsill along with the resin.

1. Wash & Cure 3 Anycubic — the maker's page: washing by alcohol soaking; largest part 165 x 100 x 180 mm; 10 x 405 nm LEDs and a gooseneck light; 1-30 min timer; for LCD resin printers up to 7.3 in
2. Elegoo Water Washable Resin - Is It A Washout? FacFox — 'DO NOT pour this down the sink as it will affect aquatic life'; leave the used water in a clear container in the sun to cure the resin, dispose of the pieces, reuse the water; ask the local authority
3. Standard Resin V2.0 ELEGOO — the maker's page: 'specially formulated with less odor'; 'can be easily post-processed and cleaned with isopropyl alcohol or ethanol'; low shrinkage
4. ABS-Like Resin V2.0 ELEGOO — the maker's page: 'superior strength, impact resistance and high precision for durable, high-quality prints'
5. Plant-Based Resin ELEGOO — the maker's page calls it 'eco-friendly'

What these prices mean

Each price here is the one we last checked on that product’s own page, and each page says the date. The Multi-kilo dryer’s and the enclosure’s prices are Creality’s own and the six resins’ are ELEGOO’s own, read every day from the product feeds the two companies give their affiliates. We have not seen any of the eight charged at its list price since we started reading those feeds — Creality’s on September 23, ELEGOO’s on September 28, 2026.

The other three are AliExpress listings. AliExpress quotes new accounts a lower “Welcome deal” price and runs store coupons on top, so you may be shown less than we list; the struck-through figures there are the sellers’ own, and we have not verified them.