The Best Creality 3D Printers of 2022

In the past few years, at-home 3D printing has matured quite a bit from something exclusively for tinkerers with a weekend to devote to assembly and calibration. In 2022, there are many affordable options that anyone can get set up and printing in a matter of hours. This year, Creality released the Neo series of 3D printers, which are the next generation of the Ender 3, Ender 3 V2, and Ender 3 Max.  On the premium side, Creality also released the Ender 3 S1 Pro, which adds to the already robust feature set of the Ender 3 S1.

A theme we have seen in 2022 is that auto bed leveling is becoming a standard option rather than a feature reserved for premium printers, which was cemented by the Ender 3 Neo and Ender 3 V2 Neo. We definitely suggest going for a printer with this feature unless you are looking at a sub $200 printer.

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Budget Pick: Creality Ender 2 Pro

The Ender 2 Pro build surface is magnetic, and can be easily upgraded to PEI Steel, an excellent build surface.

If you are looking to spend as little as possible and still get a 3D printer that can handle the basics, the Creality Ender 2 Pro (Amazon link) is a great choice. The other contender for budget category is the original Creality Ender 3, which was released in 2018. The Ender 3 is becoming dated at this point and is missing features that are expected on printers in 2022, so we recommend the Ender 2 Pro over it. The Ender 2 Pro includes many of these features and is even a bit cheaper than the Ender 3, however you will need to sacrifice a bit on build volume since it is 165 x 165 x 180 mm vs the 220 x 220x 250 mm of the Ender 3.

The upgraded features of the Creality Ender 2 Pro include:

  • Modern mainboard with quiet stepper drivers

  • Built-in belt tensioners and tool drawer

  • Power outage recovery

  • Magnetic build surface (the one it comes with isn’t great, but it’s much easier to upgrade than the Ender 3)

  • Simple assembly (under 15 minutes)

For these reasons, the Ender 2 Pro is our pick if you are looking for a low cost printer under $200. That said, if your budget is closer to the low $200s, we recommend you look at the Ender 3 Neo instead, which offers auto bed leveling and the larger build volume of the Ender 3. You can see a more detailed comparison between those machines in our Ender 3 vs Ender 2 Pro comparison article.

Click here to look at the Creality Ender 2 Pro on Amazon.

Entry Level Pick: Creality Ender 3 V2 Neo

The Ender 3 V2 Neo is much easier to assemble than its predecessor, the Ender 3 V2.

The Creality Ender 3 V2 Neo (View on Amazon) is our top pick for an entry level 3D Printer because it comes standard with many modern features while keeping within a budget price range. The Ender 3 series of printers has become very popular since their introduction, and for good reason. They’re very affordable and offer excellent print quality. With a 220 x 220 x 250 mm (X, Y, Z) print volume, they’re still large enough to print models and small parts, and won’t take up too much space on a desk.

The Creality Ender 3 V2 Neo was released in 2022 as the next iteration of the Ender 3 V2, which was our previous recommendation. Additionally, the Ender 3 V2 Neo is shipped almost fully assembled, so you can get it set up and running in about 15 minutes.

The Ender 3 V2 Neo adds auto bed leveling, a metal extruder, and a steel magnetic bed for a modest $40 increase in price, which is well worth it—an auto bed leveling upgrade alone will typically cost $50.

The Ender 3 V2 Neo typically comes in at around $80-100 more than the Ender 3, but we think it’s well worth the added cost. With its modern features and improved design, this is a premium-feeling printer in an affordable package. It’s one of our top picks for 3D printers in 2022.

Click here to look at the Creality Ender 3 V2 Neo on Amazon.

All-Around Pick: Creality Ender 3 Max Neo

For an all-around 3D printer, we’re looking at the overall value of the printer in terms of its value for the cost, material quality, and versatility. 

For the best all-around 3D printer, we recommend the Creality Ender 3 Max Neo (Amazon link).  We previously recommended the CR-10s Pro V2, but the newer Ender 3 Max Neo offers almost all of the same benefits at a much lower price point. The only benefits of the CR-10 Pro is a sleeker unibody design with a touch screen and a higher maximum height (400mm vs 320mm), which we do not feel justifies the ~$150 extra you’ll pay for it.

Notable features of the Creality Ender 3 Max Neo include:

  • The print bed is larger (300 x 300 x 320mm) than most 3D printers and it works with most common printing materials, including PLA, ABS, PETG, and TPU.

  • It includes a reliable metal extruder, which is less prone to breakage than the plastic extruders of earlier models

  • Automatic bed-leveling with a BLTouch probe removes the headaches that often occur from bed leveling while 3D printing. Probes are considered the most modern bed-leveling techniques, and the BLTouch is among the most advanced and reliable.

  • The silent stepper drivers are the same as those included in the Creality Ender 3 V2 and later, which make printing much more quiet and less distracting.

The Creality Ender 3 Max Neo is ideal for those looking to upgrade from an entry-level machine to something larger, which unlocks a lot of possibilities in terms of what you can print, especially for functional parts. The Ender 3 Max Neo is also a great beginner 3D printer if cost is less of a concern and you are looking for a printer with the latest quality and convenience features.

Click here to look at the Creality Ender 3 Max Neo on Amazon.

Premium Pick: Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro

The Ender 3 S1 Pro includes an all-metal direct-drive extruder, which allows you to print with both flexible and high temperature filament.

In late 2021, Creality introduced the Ender 3 S1, which packs in a lot of improved features over the Ender 3 V2, but with a substantial increase in price. It’s a 3D printer that has the single body chassis of the Ender 3 series, but with several key upgrades, most notably a fully redesigned direct drive extruder.

In 2022, Creality released the even more premium Ender 3 S1 Pro, which adds a touch screen, improved PEI build surface, and an all-metal hot-end, which allows you to print more exotic materials such as nylon, and improves the overall reliability of the hot end.

Overall, we feel that the many new features of the Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro are worth the price tag if you are looking for a printer that will be easy to use and produce consistent quality without much monitoring. Also, if you are looking to print with flexible or high-temperature materials, the Ender 3 S1’s direct drive extruder and all-metal hot end will perform much better than other printers.

If you want to learn more, check out our detailed comparison between the Ender 3 S1 and the Ender 3 V2.

Click here to look at the Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro on Amazon.

Looking for More Info?

If you’d like to see more information about other available 3D printers or the materials you’ll need to get started, take a look at some of our other articles here:




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