About PrintMatch

Version 1.2  ·  Last updated June 25, 2026

Hey, I'm Blue_Speed. I've been 3D printing for 3+ years now and somewhere along the way I got way too deep into comparing printers. PrintMatch is what happened when that went too far.

I design and sell 3D printed products on Etsy, which means I actually use this stuff day to day, not just write about it. I built PrintMatch from scratch and have put 250+ hours into researching the printers in the database. When I talk about what a printer can and can't do I'm not just going off spec sheets.

Why I Built This

When I was starting out looking for my first ever 3D printer I spent 6 months looking through YouTube videos (half of them sponsored), forum posts, and still felt on the fence about buying. Why was that? Because everyone has their own needs, what they think is good, what they think beginners need, but what about me? Do I really care about how open source the Prusa printer is when the price is that absurd? Some people think it's a good trade off, not me.

And I needed what people say so I gave Reddit some info and it was the same problem. What I needed was a way to answer a few questions and get an unbiased answer, but no one is willing to look through 99 printers and the changing prices every month, so I made it. Not just for beginners, but intermediate and advanced users too.

What's in Here

The database has 99 printers with specs like max print temp, speed, build plate, best use case, compatible filaments and more. I also have filaments and their specs like needed print temp, price and more. Also got a catalog of printers that have been discontinued.

I have spent over 250 hours researching to give the best rating possible and give the most accurate specs. The rating only counts as a tiebreaker and at 12% that shows I will go above and beyond to give the best info for everyone.

You also got the compare tool to let you check printers side by side, a calculator to calculate how much it would cost to own resin printers, and blogs to learn things from a real human.

The Straight Version

No printer brand pays to be on this site or to rank higher in your results. Affiliate links will be added to PrintMatch soon (if you click and buy, I'll get a small cut at no cost to you), but that won't change anything about the recommendations. A printer either fits your answers or it doesn't. I'm not going to push an expensive machine on someone who's printing phone cases on a budget. Everything on the site is free and will stay that way.

The goal isn't to sell you the most expensive printer. It's to help you find the right one.

How the Algorithm Works

You answer the quiz and each answer scores points across categories like budget, build size, material support and experience level.

Each category has a different weight. Budget is the biggest at 25%, then must-have features at 20%, materials and other must-haves at 15% each, use case at 10%, with build size, brand preference and experience level making up the rest.

Every printer gets a final score out of 100% based on how well it matches your answers. Budget is a hard ceiling so printers over your max get heavily penalized.

The creator rating only steps in as a tiny tiebreaker at the very end. Want to know exactly how it works? Check out the full breakdown on the How PrintMatch Chooses Your Printer page.

How PrintMatch Makes Money

PrintMatch currently makes money from a few different sources.

Ads: The site has applied for Google AdSense and is awaiting review. Once approved, you may see Google-served ads here, but they have no effect on rankings or recommendations.

Affiliate links: I'll be adding affiliate links to the site soon, so if you want to support me you can - for example, buy some filament through a link here and I get a kickback at no extra cost to you.

Donations: If you like the site you can send me a message and give me a donation, and maybe later I can make a Buy Me a Coffee page. I don't really like this because it feels like a waste of money for you but I appreciate it a lot.

My own products: I got a product in the making soon, keep a look out. I also might make merch but that's a future I don't think I will reach.

Sponsors: This one is more complicated so I will explain more in the next section.

Sponsorships

PrintMatch can be sponsored, but with a few strict rules.

Tech brands only, no 3D printer manufacturers. I don't care if you want to sponsor filament, a review, or anything else. As long as your company sells even one 3D printer, it's not happening. I am willing to work with companies that make tools for 3D printing or even general tech companies, but no printer manufacturers.

Sponsored content labeled honestly. If a post is sponsored, then it has to be shown honestly. I won't recommend a tool that is useless, and I won't work with a company that doesn't want me to clearly label that a post is sponsored. It has to be clearly stated and easy to see, no tiny text hidden at the bottom of the page.

The whole point of PrintMatch is helping people find the right printer, so being honest comes before sponsorships.

Review Units

3D printer brands can send review units, but only on these terms:

1. I control what I say. The manufacturer has no input on the rating, the written review, or where the printer lands in quiz results. They can send the printer; they cannot send talking points I'm required to follow.

2. I disclose it. Any printer that was sent for review is clearly labeled as such. You will always know when a printer arrived for free rather than being purchased.

3. It gets rated like everything else. A review unit gets scored the same way as everything else in the database. Same criteria, same weighting, no bump for being sent for free. If it underperforms, it gets rated accordingly.

What's Next

I am hoping to keep updating prices to stay accurate and keep adding features to help you pick the right printer. I'm hoping to keep improving the site and adding new tools that make choosing a 3D printer easier.

Suggest a Printer

Know a printer that should be in the database? Submit it and I'll review it for the next update.

Suggest a Printer

Contact

For feedback, questions, or suggestions, reach me on Discord: @fireandspeed

Happy printing, Blue_Speed

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