Elegoo Reviews: Affordable 3D Printing Brand or Support Gamble?
And if you’ve tried your hand at 3D-printing, there's nothing like the day-to-day grind of the “fun new tool” becoming a time-trap in constant need of bed-leveling, mysterious layer shifts, updating firmware and prints that failed over the weekend.
Elegoo enters into that frustration with a bold promise: robust FDM and resin printers that are fast, detailed and genuinely affordable but also approachable enough for novices to get great results without the knowledge level of an engineer.
The real query, then, is whether Elegoo actually follows through on that promise when we move past the marketing? On the one hand, experts say that a few machines, like the Centauri Carbon, Mars 5 Ultra and Saturn 4K or Saturn 3 Ultra and Neptune 4 Plus are quite possibly some of the very best you can buy for your money when you use adjectives such as “beautiful,” “flawless” and “incredible” to describe print results whose pricing skews more toward budget. On the flip side, real purchasers on Reddit and Trustpilot comment on noisy operation, immature firmware, short LCD warranties, slow shipping, and support experiences that range from “awesome” to “worst support ever.”
This review remains very much grounded to these real-world sources; blog reviews, Reddit threads and Trustpilot feedback – all in the pursuit of delivering a factual experience-based Elegoo. Not to persuade you to buy a particular brand, or dissuade you from any; rather, to reveal what happens after the exciting unboxing: how these machines print; how they behave over time; and what kind of service response you can anticipate when something does inevitably go wrong.
What you'll find in this review
Hands-on verdicts from expert reviewers
Direct feedback on Print quality / Speed/ Usability and Value from Tom’s Hardware (Centauri Carbon), MakerHacks (Mars 5 Ultra), Hackster.io (Saturn 4K), WIRED (Saturn 3 Ultra 12K), and Eurogamer/Digital Foundry (Neptune 4 Plus). We had a couple of reviewers run various Elegoo machines through actual print scenarios, ranging from miniatures and cosplay props to functional parts. That means you see how the printers behave beyond their spec sheets.
Owner sentiment from Reddit and Trustpilot
Straight quotes from users singing Elegoo’s praises over “great” detail, friendly pricing and “awesome” support, vs. a buyer who reported premature failures, warranty frustration, noisy fans and allegations of review manipulation and “scam” behavior. This makes transparent where expectations meet and fall short of reality.
Model-by-model strengths and weaknesses
A breakdown of what you can expect from top printers; Centauri Carbon’s “best out-of-the-box experience,” Mars 5 Ultra’s speed and ease of use, Saturn’s resin detail, Saturn 3 Ultra’s gigantic high-res build area, and Neptune 4 Plus for tremendous speed and value. Also, there are the old “pain points” that keep cropping back up such as camera gimmicks, adhesion problems, noise/slicer maturity and firmware stressors.
Brand-level risk profile
One place to look at where Elegoo obviously shines (price-to-performance ratio, print quality, feature sets) and where the risk is: reliability of support, extent of warranty available, timeliness of firmware updates, logistics etc), so you can make an informed decision about whether the savings are enough for potential hassle in your use case.
About Elegoo
Elegoo is an emerging brand dedicated to develop smart technologies for reducing the cost of building DIY projects. The brand features a variety of products such as: 3D printers (both resin and FDM), resins, filaments, laser engravers, and STEM kits.
The company prides itself on its affordable, high quality 3D printers, and focuses its R&D efforts on providing consumers with the benefits of smart manufacturing to enable powerful applications within our daily lives.
Elegoo Meta Review - Insights and Highlights
Discover firsthand opinions about Elegoo. Is it a hit or miss? We’ve aggregated user and pro reviewers feedback for you. below are the key takeaways:
Pros:
"The Centauri Carbon is a very affordable, fully enclosed Core XY speedster, debuting with a sale price of $299.99."
"This is the best out-of-the-box experience we’ve had with an Elegoo FDM Printer, the Centauri Carbon is packed with speed and precision at a price that’s hard to beat."
"The Centauri Carbon is giving customers what they want: an affordable and fast printer with a fully enclosed chamber."
"The machine doesn’t require cloud access, which means you can control your own data security."
"The UI for the touchscreen is nicely intuitive, with minimal digging needed to access everything needed."
"Compact Size: The Mars 5 Ultra offers similar features to the Saturn 4 Ultra but in a smaller, more compact form."
"Fast Printing: The tilting vat mechanism allows for incredibly fast printing."
"Ease of Use: The Mars 5 Ultra is easy to use, with no need to level the bed."
"Build Volume: It is perfectly capable of printing miniatures and even statues, despite the compact size."
"Safety and Reliability Features: Includes sensors to prevent overfilling with resin, a built-in camera for remote monitoring, power-loss resume function, and automatic firmware updates."
"Wi-Fi: Allows wireless printing and firmware updates."
"Exposure Testing: The ability to run multiple exposure tests simultaneously, saving time during calibration."
"Affordable: Priced at $270, making it an affordable option for an advanced resin 3D printer."
"Print Quality: Prints exhibit clean and smooth surfaces, even with minimal support adjustments."
"Drip Tray and Easy Pouring: The design includes dual spouts for easier resin pouring and cleanup."
"The ELEGOO Saturn's impressive build volume."
"The Saturn is much more compact than the IBEE. Despite having an almost identical build volume width and length, the Saturn is a more efficient use of space."
"The Saturn's build plate is easy to level, thanks to the ball mount."
"The plate's texture is great, allowing for both solid adhesion and frustration-free part removal."
"All of my tests turned out great. The prints were flawless and all of the little details were crisp and defined."
"Spacious 10.2 x 8.6 x 4.8-inch print volume. Ultra hi-res 12K screen provides incredible detail. USB filter is easy to replace. Wi-Fi printing makes sending files to printer convenient."
"The new Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra, on the other hand, fixes all of these problems and more.” (compared to the earlier Mars 3 limitations)."
"With the larger print size and a better filtering system, the Saturn 3 Ultra 12K made my dreams of making nerdy stuff a more convenient reality."
"The Saturn 3 Ultra has a positively massive 218.88 mm × 122.88 mm × 260 mm build volume."
"In practice, that means the Saturn 3 Ultra can make some incredibly intricate models."
"On the first Buddha print: it had “extremely faint horizontal lines visible but otherwise more detail than I was expecting on a figure standing only a couple of inches high."
"I was quite happy with the detail - seeing fine lettering on the side of the 1911 was particularly jaw-dropping - and the speed at which everything was produced."
"And in terms of value, the Neptune 4 Plus does seem like a good one. It's quite big compared to other 3D printers I've seen, yet relatively affordable."
"It's certainly not plug and play, but the build process is straightforward and relatively brief."
"I like the WiFi functionality, I like the integrated LEDs for the bed and the nozzle, I like the ability to do manual bed levelling."
"For now though, if you stick to the default firmware and the default software package, it seems surprisingly bulletproof for beginners."
"We have two Elegoo printers (one resin, one fdm) and love them both. They're running all the time and still working great. Customer service has been awesome-- one motor burned out after the warranty was up and they were super helpful in getting us a new part fast and dirt cheap. I know it's not a huge sample size, but I recommend them."
"The centuri carbon is great! It's set up otb to work with most filament types and easy for beginners. Only issue is they don't have a multi color unit."
"Fast prints, decent quality, consistent, customizable. Build plate is adhesive on both sides."
"Great tech support. We own 10 Elegoo printers that are pretty reliable."
Cons:
"The interior light is abysmally dim and probably my least favorite feature."
"One knock against the Centauri Carbon is the lack of a chamber heater, a feature we fell in love with on the Qidi Q1 Pro and hope to see more often."
"The smooth ‘cool’ plate side has a disappointingly weak grip at the suggested 30℃ temperature."
"Lid: Unlike some other models, it still uses a fully removable lid, which may be less convenient for some users."
"Over-Adhesion: The build surface may cause prints to stick too well, making it difficult to remove prints without reducing the bottom adhesion settings."
"No Heater: The Mars 5 Ultra does not include a built-in heater, although an external heater option will be available at some point?"
"Conservative Speed: The printer lacks an experimental ludicrous speed profile option that could push print speeds even further."
"Build Plate Shape: The two-tier design of the build plate can make it tricky to clean resin residue between prints."
"AI Camera: AI capabilities are a waste of time and their functionality remains uncertain."
"UI Confusion: Users need to be careful with speed settings, as forgetting to switch from slow to fast can significantly affect print time."
"Software Support: The current ChituBox did not have a profile and the included slicer software is in beta."
"Unfortunately for this Elegoo Mars 5 review I couldn’t get the network printing working so I was forced to use the USB stick."
"No air filter or chamber heating is included. Yes, this is foreshadowing."
"Replacing the FEP film is a chore, as it is with all resin 3D printers."
"Resin printing can be messier and more toxic than filament printing. Rinsing highly detailed prints sometimes takes more effort if resin gets stuck in crevices."
"More intricate details sometimes means supports have to hold up very tiny edges that are impossible to break off without taking some of the model with it."
"The Elegoo made a heck of a load of noise with its collection of tiny (80mm?) fans at full pelt, with the shaking of the desk and the squeak of the print head as it raced around in circles."
"The firmware and software remain immature, I think it's fair to say, with Elegoo's provided Cura software being on version number 4.8 while the main Cura build is on the (reportedly much-improved) version 5.5...."
"After switching slicers: “The next print I tried slammed into the nozzle into the print bed, and after this setback, a lot of stuff I tried failed…"
"On firmware-update risk: “Going onto the dedicated subreddit and seeing reports of people bricking their devices due to a firmware update is not a great look."
"I will also point out this company seems a bit scummy online from what I've seen. They've received fines for using bots to submit fake user reviews and they also abuse the Amazon review system to have critical reviews removed."
"They resin printers are decent when they work. But they have really shitty customer service."
"Can be some loud fan noise after prints until printer is cooled, may be either part fan or case fan. Very heavy and hard to transport, but expected for closed 3d printer. Some heavy ringing/VFA around Z-seams. Door cannot be removed to modify, as it's glued to the hinges. Bad elephant's foot that can't be resolved with cooler temps, higher z-offset, pressure advance, or anything. The cons are all fairly minor, but I feel like there's room for improvement."
"Worst support ever, IF they choose to answer they always do it just before they close so you can only get one info a day, so it takes forever to troubleshoot… Now there is no response from support anymore and no working printer."
Final Thoughts:
"Currently on sale for $299.99, the Elegoo Centauri Carbon is going to give Prusa and Bambu a run for their money. This is Elegoo’s first CORE XY machine, so we have no idea how well it will hold up in the long run or what kind of maintenance issues it could run into. However, for $300, it’s certainly worth the gamble."
"In summary, I’m super happy with it, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a feature-rich, reliable resin printer at a very attractive price point.
For the bargain price considering all the features and the output quality, I think it offers fantastic value."
"Otherwise, I wholeheartedly recommend the ELEGOO Saturn. Not only does it compare well to the direct competition, it can even replace a FFF 3D printer in many cases thanks to the large build volume."
"I’ve already been a fan of Elegoo’s 3D resin printers, but the Saturn 3 Ultra 12K feels like it’s solved every major and minor annoyance I had with the Mars 3. And at $550 (and often on sale for less), it’s still substantially cheaper than more typical filament-based printers. You might need to spend a little extra time learning how to work with liquid resin, but the results are more than worth it."
"So, in the end, I really quite like this 3D printer and at $350/£300/€350 it certainly represents good value for money given its size. “It just needs to mature so that I can use it with different software packages and upgrade the firmware without fear."
"Elegoo has mixed but generally positive reviews and user feedback: owners like the print quality, pricing, and in some cases “awesome” customer service, but there are also concerns about “shitty customer service and questionable online practices such as alleged review manipulation."
"Overall Rating: 4.0 out of 5; Total Reviews: 710
The general consensus on Trustpilot describes Elegoo as a company that provides a "great experience" with products that often "exceed expectations," particularly regarding price-to-performance ratio. The platform's automated summary highlights that customers find the printers "easy to use" with "straightforward setup processes," specifically praising the Centauri Carbon model for its speed and accuracy.
While the 4.0 star average suggests high satisfaction, the review distribution reveals a polarized user base.
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The Happy Majority (59%): A significant 59% of users gave 5 stars, and 9% gave 4 stars. These users praise the "amazing price" and "beautiful prints" right out of the box.
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The Frustrated Minority (23%): Conversely, 23% of reviewers gave the brand a 1-star rating. These complaints focus heavily on:
- Support Issues: Users describe the support as the "worst... ever," often citing slow responses (one reply per day) or attempts to "evade responsibility" for warranty claims.
- Broken Promises: A recurring specific complaint regarding the Centauri Carbon is a "bait and switch" regarding a promised multi-color (AMS) system that never materialized.
- Firmware: Several users noted that firmware updates often caused more problems than they solved, with one user stating, "Every update causes many more problems".
"The most accurate, fact-based conclusion is that Elegoo is a good choice if you care most about print quality, speed, and features per dollar and are okay with a wider range of firmware polish and support outcomes. In that case, machines like the Centauri Carbon, Mars 5 Ultra, Saturn series, and Neptune 4 Plus can really feel like "great value" and "worth the risk."
If you are more risk-averse, such as if you run a school or a business, or if you don't want to deal with warranty fine print, possible shipping mistakes, and mixed support behavior, these same reviews say that Elegoo should be seen as a calculated risk, not a sure thing. Paying more for a brand with a consistently praised service and warranty track record may be a better fit for your needs, even if it means giving up a little on paper specs or price-to-performance."
Where can I download the latest firmware and manuals for my Elegoo 3D printer?
You can download the latest firmware, manuals, and slicing software for your specific Elegoo 3D printer from the official support files section on the Elegoo website.
Why are Elegoo printers loud at higher speeds?
At normal printing speed (below 70mm/s), in a closed low-noise environment (30 decibels), the measured machine noise is below 50 decibels; when the machine prints at a faster speed, the noise generated is higher than that when printing at a normal speed, which is normal. Faster printing = louder noise. This is by design, not a defect.
Does Elegoo save Z-offset changes during printing?
The Z-offset value set in printing will not be saved, and the Z-offset value saved during leveling will be restored after restarting. The save option is not set because saving may cause a short pause of the print head during printing. This design choice: prioritizing speed over persistence, means users must re-adjust every time, increasing failure risk.
What SD card size and format does Elegoo recommend?
Use 32GB or smaller, formatted as FAT32. Larger cards won’t work. The printer can only recognize the file system of FAT32.
What file formats does the Elegoo SatelLite slicer support?
SatelLite supports importing common 3D model file formats such as .stl and .obj, as well as sliced files.
How often should you replace the PTFE tubing?
If the machine is used frequently, it is recommended to replace it at least once a month.
Can you print carbon fiber filament?
Carbon fiber material can be printed, but it is not recommended, because printing carbon fiber material will cause rapid abrasion of the PTFE tube and nozzle.
How can I get official resin settings for my Elegoo printer?
The Resin Library in SatelLite offers official Elegoo resin settings and allows users to modify or create custom settings in their personal library.
What should I do if my 3D printer is not printing properly or has technical issues?
Visit the troubleshooting section in the support center or the Elegoo Wiki for step-by-step guides and solutions. If the issue persists, contact technical support.