No matter what hobby you’re into — miniatures, RC cars, drones, model building, knitting — there are parts, tools, and accessories to 3D print.
3D printing has become an essential tool for hobbyists and its more accessible than ever. Yet not everyone has the space, budget, or time to invest in a their own 3D printer or the type of 3D printer they may need for high-quality parts. Even if it’s a hobby, sometimes you need 3D printed quality parts at an affordable price.
If you own a 3D printer and the quality is good enough, parts printed at home are always going to be cheaper than a 3D printing service. But sometimes you may need higher quality than you have the skills or time to produce. You may want parts or materials for which your own printer isn’t up to task, such as for carbon fiber-filled or heat resistant materials.
For these, and the peace of mind that the part will be flawless, a 3D printing service is your best bet.
There are a lot of 3D printing services out there, but most are only affordable when you purchase a large order. Below we focus on companies that offer the lowest price on the market for ordering only a few parts printed.
Let’s look at the best affordable services that suit the 3D printing needs of hobbyists.
What to Look For
What makes a 3D printing service suitable for hobbyists, i.e. people looking to get just a few quality prints made cheaply and easily? Turns out there are several feature you should look for.
- Printing capabilities: Companies with the most types of 3D printing technologies — and the ones designed for high-volume — can often offer the best price on small orders because they can squeeze them in with their larger batches.
- Printing materials: Some projects call for more demanding materials, but when it comes to economy, PLA is the most affordable.
- Affordable: Hobby projects tend to require a small number of parts, preferably at prices that are affordable. For most service providers, the price of the print shrinks with a larger order. But for our purposes we want to have that savings for low quantities, as well as companies that don’t charge a minimum.
- Convenient: We chose services that allow for online file uploading and ordering. Further, we gave preference to services that provide instant quoting, which allows you to compare prices quickly.
- Wide reach: Lastly, we gave preference to services that can ship worldwide or at the least to various countries in a certain region or continent. That being said, sometimes the easiest way to get a part 3D printed is to look locally. Oftentimes the cheapest way to print is to look in your neighborhood for a small 3D printing service provider, or makerspace that allows for you to rent their printers for short periods of time.
To give you a sense of what these companies charge, we sent each of them the same digital file to print. Using this file for a Spiral Vase designed by Thingiverse maker JJ76, we evaluated several 3D printing services.
Craftcloud
Craftcloud is more than just a 3D printing service. Users can compare manufacturers worldwide and order directly via Craftcloud. This is particularly useful for hobbyists for whom price plays an important role. You don’t need an account to get prices. The ordering process is pretty easy and they take care of everything. Their customer rating on Trustpilot is excellent!
By comparing instant quotes and shipping costs from each service, Craftcloud shows you the cheapest and fastest options available to you. You can select the best service, material, and technology to suit your needs and order directly.
If you need help designing parts for your hobby, take advantage of Craftcloud’s CADmore partner offer, which is on-demand design services.
- Printing technologies: All
- Materials: All, including copper and precious metals
- Processing time: Depends on provider
- Shipping: Worldwide
- Minimums: None
- Price for Vase Model: $33.71
- Colors Available: more than 130 to choose from
In3DTec
In3DTec is a China-based prototyping company specializing in 3D printing. Having an ISO9001:2015 quality standard certification and many glowing reviews on Trustpilot, you can expect a quality part at a great price. Among the services on this list, they offer the 2nd largest variety of 3D printing technologies and materials, from PLA to fiber-reinforced PEEK and Inconel 718, almost all of which at a lower price point than their competitors.
This service is perfect for hobbyists, as their services in specialized materials and technologies are especially cheap compared to other services without sacrificing high quality. This makes more demanding parts affordable for use in hobby projects.
Other than 3D printing, In3DTec offers some other manufacturing methods such as CNC machining, vacuum casting, and injection molding (of several materials). However, unlike their 3D printing services (which offer instant online quoting), these other services require manual quoting.
Depending on where you are, shipping costs differ, and it may be worth ordering several parts in one order.
- Printing technologies: FDM, SLA, SLS, MJF, SLM
- Materials: PLA, PLA-CF, Wood PLA, ABS, ABS-CF, PETG, PETG-CF, ASA, PTFE, PVC, HDPE, PEI, PEKK, PEEK, PEEK-GF, PEEK-CF, PC, PA6, PA11, PA12, PA-CF, PA-GF, TPU 90A, TPU 92A, PP, various resins, aluminum, 316L stainless steel, 17-4 PH stainless steel, maraging steel, Inconel 718, titanium
- Processing time: 3-5 days for our print using FDM, but can range from2-8 days, depending on technology used
- Shipping: Worldwide (almost)
- Minimums: None
- Price for Vase Model: $28.27
- Colors Available: 14 available colors
PCBWay
The popular PCB manufacturer PCBWay has upped its game and introduced the option to order 3D prints directly from its website. Alongside various circuit boards and SMT assembly options, you can now have your model 3D printed in around 30 different materials. FDM, SLS, SLA, MJF, PolyJet, and SLM manufacturing are the main technologies offered.
In addition to 3D printing, PCBWay offers a wide range of prototyping and manufacturing processes like CNC machining, vacuum casting, and injection molding. There are also options to add metal inserts to the parts, mark prints with serial numbers, or even assemble them. And to make your part even more aesthetic, the surface finishes offered include electroplating, spray painting, and sanding.
- Printing technologies: FDM, SLA, SLS, MJF, DMLS, Polyjet
- Materials: Resin, nylon, PLA, ABS, PETG, TPU, PC, ASA, PEEK, aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, tool steel, custom materials
- Processing time: 3-4 days
- Shipping: Australia, North America, South America, Japan, Europe
- Minimums: None
- Price for Vase Model: $100.19
- Colors Available: 16 available colors plus the option of multi-color
JLCPCB
JLCPCB is China’s largest PCB prototype manufacturer, and they’re famous for their ultra-low price PCBs with sufficiently good quality. Recently, they expanded to other manufacturing services, including 3D printing and CNC machining. Similar to their PCBs, JLCPCB’s 3D printing service comes at a low price point, and instant online quoting is available through their website.
Although JLCPCB only offers a relatively small range of materials, you’re still able to get nylon and stainless steel parts at low prices. FDM parts may be quite expensive and with a tolerance of ± 0.3 mm, less accurate than usual. However, parts printed in other technologies are likely to be more dimensionally accurate, thanks to lower tolerances.
This option is definitely worth considering, especially if you’re also ordering some PCBs for your projects!
- Printing technologies: FDM, SLA, SLS, MJF, SLM, WJP
- Materials: PLA, ABS, ASA, various resins, nylon, PA-12CF, 316L stainless steel, TPU plastic
- Processing time: 2-4 days
- Shipping: Worldwide
- Minimums: None
- Price for Vase Model: $95.50
- Colors Available: black, white, red, blue
SGD 3D
The UK-based SGD 3D offers on-demand 3D printing services to hobbyists and professionals alike. Like other services featured on this list, they also offer CAD design services, reverse engineering, and scanning.
SGD 3D specializes in FDM, SLA, and SLS technologies, and they’re able to print in a variety of materials, with FDM offering the largest selection. They also offer post-processing services such as painting, polishing, and assembly. You can schedule a free 15-minute appointment with an engineer to discuss your project.
If you’re unsure if your model is ready to be printed, you can consult their online guide or schedule a free 15-minute appointment with an engineer to discuss your project. In fact, users have been particularly happy with their customer service. Additionally, they appreciate the fast production times and the great print quality. This comes at reasonable prices, which you can save further with bulk orders: the bigger the order, the higher the discount!
- Printing technologies: SLS, FDM, SLA
- Materials: ABS, ASA, PC, PEEK, Ultem (PEI), PETG, and PLA; various resins including clear, Rigid 10K, Rigid 4000, Tough 2000, Flex 80A, and Flame Retardant; nylon PA12
- Processing time: 7 working days for standard
- Shipping: UK, Europe, and North America
- Order minimum: $19
- Price for Vase Model: $125 plus shipping
- Colors Available: black, white, grey
License: The text of "Best 3D Printing Services For Hobbyists: Our 5 Picks" by All3DP Pro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.