The best 3D pens for 2023

The popularity of 3D printers has spiked in recent years, but if you want to take a more hands-on approach to creating three-dimensional objects, you’ll want a 3D pen. This gadget has many of the same features as a 3D printer: You “build” 3D objects using heated-up filament, which quickly hardens, leaving you with a model. The difference is that a 3D printer will automatically build the model for you based on a digital drawing, whereas you’ll need to build the creation manually using a pen. It takes more work, but building a model with the best 3D pens gives you much more precision as long as your hands are steady.

• Best overall: 3Doodler PRO+ 3D Printing Pen
• Best for kids: 3Doodler Start+ Essentials Kit
• Best budget: SCRIB3D P1 3D Printing Pen with Display

The best 3D Pens: Reviews & Recommendations

Best overall: 3Doodler PRO+ 3D Printing Pen

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Specs

• Materials: Wood, Nylon, Metal, ABS, PLA & Flexy
• Weight: .26 pounds
• Price: $199.95

Pros

• Works with a lot of materials
• Coms bundled with six materials
• LED screen shows the pen’s temperature and tactile speed

Cons

• Price

If you want to jump into the 3D pen world with both feet, 3Doodle’rs Pro+ is the one to get. The pen is compatible with Wood, Nylon, Metal, ABS, PLA & Flexy materials, and comes bundled with all those filament types, so you can start crafting right out of the box. The pen itself has an ergonomic, curved design, with a small LED screen on the top to show you key stats about the pen in real-time. You can adjust the pen’s temperature, changing how long it takes the material you’re working with to dry. The replaceable nozzle shouldn’t clog up, but if it does, 3Doodler includes an unblocking tool to dislodge stuck filament. If you’re looking to upgrade from a more entry-level 3D pen or want to get a sense of what types of creations this type of gadget is really capable of, 3Doodler’s Pro+ is our recommendation.

Best for kids: 3Doodler Start+ Essentials Kit

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Specs

• Materials: Plastics
• Weight: .68 pounds
• Price: $49.99

Pros

• Easy to hold
• Fun design
• Comes with eight sets of plastic

Cons

• Heavy

3Doodler’s Start+ Essentials Kit is basically a giant, interactive crayon. The fun-colored pen is large, comfortable to hold, and has large buttons that are easier to hit. It’s a little heavier than our other recommendations, but that’s due to its large, curved shape. 3Doodler says this model is 50% faster than the previous model, which should keep kids a little more engaged. While the 3D pen is only compatible with plastic, 3Doodler includes eight colors of filament to help get them started. The filament itself will not get hot enough to burn a kid’s hands, which is a good safety precaution. If you know a kid interested in art, a 3D pen will allow them to express themselves in new and interesting ways.

Best budget: SCRIB3D P1 3D Printing Pen with Display

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Specs

• Materials: Plastic
• Weight: .8 pounds
• Price: $29.99

Pros

• Comes with filament
• Mini LED screen
• Price

Cons

• Heavy

If you’ve been curious about 3D printers and pens but don’t know if you’ll like them enough to make a big investment, check out SCRIB3D’s P1. It has many of the same great features as our best overall pick, including a small LED screen that displays the filament temperature, a bundle of different plastic filament to get you started, and an easy-to-use design. Buttons on the 3D pen allow you to change the filament flow speed and temperature, giving you more precise control over your creations. The pen is heavier than our other recommendations, so it may fatigue your hand a little more quickly, but this won’t be an issue if you’re working on smaller projects. For $30, the P1 offers enough of the 3D pen experience to let you know whether jumping up to a more serious model is wise.

FAQs

Final thoughts on the best 3D Pens

• Best overall: 3Doodler PRO+ 3D Printing Pen
• Best for kids: 3Doodler Start+ Essentials Kit
• Best budget: SCRIB3D P1 3D Printing Pen with Display

We feel that 3D pens deserve more of the attention the best 3D printers have received lately, especially for makers on a more limited budget. Younger creators, in particular, may find this tool helpful because it doesn’t require a computer or software, just a reference drawing or imagination. You can hone your skills to create increasingly more intricate designs or continue building on older ones as your familiarity with 3D pens increases.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.