Prusa i3 vs Ender 3 Reddit

Alright, I don't have anything against prusa, they make good printers, but here's a quick comparison.

Prices are in USD

Prusa mk3s kit costs around $750.

Let's start with a stock ender 3 pro. $209. Start by replace it with a micro swiss direct extrusion and all metal hotend kit. You get a good glass bed and clips. Now that's around $300.

Prusa mk3s has auto levelling?

No problem.

You get a better Capricorn PTFE tube. You get better bed springs. You get a BLTouch kit. That's gonna set you at around $360. Oh, get a fan upgrade. You are at $400. Get a dual z axis to make the z axis more stable. No problem! $430 now. Now you can do everything the Prusa can, in terms of functionality. And... You can print hotter (slightly) and more exotic filaments.

If you really mind the (not very bad) noise, you can top that with silent stepper motors, motherboard and fans. Now you are at around $550. That's around 70% of the Prusa mk3s price, with just a few more hours of work from your end. Quality is a little better. Build size is same. And you have a ton of parts you can sell for around $50-100. That's gonna make it around 65% of the Prusa mk3s price. Can someone enlighten me as to why people still buy Prusas, unless they are that lazy? I would love seeing your comments and correct me if I'm wrong.

Ok... I am a 1st time buyer and hobbies. I am torn between these 3 as a first printer.

Given all the reviews I went with the Ender 3 v2 but the first 2 I got were missing parts or one of the parts were defective. After installing the 3rd one... I feel like to get a solid print it is like pulling teeth! I feel like I have to re-level the bed and print at 10% speed every time!!! May be another defective printer... So I am thinking of returning it why I can.

So... If not Ender 3 v2 should I venture into the 5 plus or go with the Prusa i3 MK3S+?

I would have gone with the Prusa if Amazon sold it... but since it does not.

Appreciate feedback. If there is another printer I should consider let me know....

Putting it out there for people on the fence about upgrading or first purchase between ender3 and Prusa. I have had my ender for 3 years and it was good to learn on, but moving to the Prusa is a dream compared to that. I’m an electrician by trade and program and installing commercial hvac systems, so I have a background in install and programming. But that ender 3 is such a bitch sometimes. With the Prusa, I bought the three different sheets and use the materials Prusa recommends for each sheet. It’s a great feeling to send the print command from octopi from one room and go down to a completed print every time!! Only errors are my own mistakes

Hey everyone, I’m having some trouble deciding what to choose for my second printer. I currently have a CR-6 Se, and I’m looking for a printer to print bigger and higher quality prints with less issues. I do not have a budget so that won’t be a problem.

Here’s what I think of the two -

Ender 3 v2 : From what I’ve seen, read about, and heard, the Ender 3 v2 seems to be a very reliable and well known printer. It looks to be a great printer at its price point and has no problem with printing with quality. The only downside I see about the printer is that there are some known issues with creality beds being warped, as was my CR-6 Bed.

Prusa I3 Mk3s+ : From what I’ve seen, read about, and heard, the Prusa also seems to be a well known and reliable printer. Although it has a pretty high price point, it seems to be full of very nice features like Mesh Bed Leveling, option for the MMU upgrade, and more. Admittedly, I’ve done more research on this printer rather than the Ender, and I’m leaning towards this one.

Let me know your thoughts cause I’m pretty conflicted. Thanks!

The Mk3 Kit with smooth plate has been shipping in under a week for a little while now. Might be your time!

I went with a Prusa after messing with a DaVinci 1.0A for far too long. I know an Ender 3 is a huge step up from the 1.0A, but I knew that I wanted a printer that already had quality parts. I knew that I was going to upgrade the hotend on the Ender and spend far too long leveling the bed/messing with slicer profiles. I can still spend a fair amount of time messing with profiles, but I know that I can always get a good print mthe first time with the Prusa. Tinkering is a lot of fun, but sometimes you just want something printed that works the first time. Plus, I can count on Prusa's company support, warranty, and ingenuity. Prusa just released a new set of extruder body parts. Keep in mind, I've only been into 3D printing for about 2 months now. I ordered up some Sunlu PETG, loaded it up, set my first layer height, and printed the new parts perfectly using the provided PETG profile. It's now installed and working flawlessly. The Prusa is definitely worth the price if you value your time. However, you can definitely get some fantastic prints on the Ender - it's probably the best printer to come ever come around for such a low price, as far as I've seen.

Had I gone with the Chinese printer, I would be debating which extruder body design to upgrade to, messing with PETG profile settings, and settling for a design that was made by some rando on Thingiverse (which can sometimes be perfect, other times not so much) rather than a team of dedicated employees who communicate directly with customers on the official forums.

Edit: messed with the DaVinci for "far too long" was about a month of 50/50 failed prints. My patience was wearing thin and I wanted something reliable.