Extruders make or break your 3D printing experience — so picking the best type of extruder is key. Do you want your TPU to print right almost every time, or are you a speed demon looking to print as fast as possible?

If you’re looking for consistent, accurate and reliable 3D printing, look no further than direct drive 3D printers.

The Best Direct Drive 3D Printers – Full Reviews

Here are some of the direct drive 3D printers we recommend, broken down into our top picks in each category and for different uses.

1. Prusa i3 MK3S+ – best 3D printer with a direct drive extruder in its price range

prusa i3 mk3s+

Pros

Tough, reliable, and always being upgraded and improved by the Prusa Research team.

Fitted with superPINDA probe to improve the first prints layer calibrations and adhesion.

Open-source.

Cons

Takes a long time to build (or you can opt for the pre-built version for $200 more instead)

The Prusa i3 MK3S+ is the undisputed king of desktop direct drive 3D printers. It’s tough as old boots, indisputably reliable, and always being upgraded and improved by the Prusa Research team.

Newly upgraded, the Prusa i3 MK3S+ is fitted with a superPINDA probe which improves your print’s first layer calibration and adhesion, adding to the huge range of features that come with this FDM kit king: power loss print recovery, a run-out filament sensor, quiet mode for printing at night or when you don’t want to be disturbed, and it’s open source.

Part of the reason Prusa kit printers are so famed for their durability and reliability is down to the high-quality parts that go into it — the direct drive extruder is developed by Prusa internally, and fitted with an E3D V6 hot end and Bondtech parts.

You can even upgrade your Prusa with the Multi Material Upgrade 2.0 and print up to 5 different filaments and colors simultaneously!

For more information on printing in multiple colors, read our guide to multi color 3D printers

Overall, the Prusa is undoubtedly one of the best direct drive extruder 3D printers around, and is still one of the most popular printers among hobbyists and professionals.

2. Creality CR-10 V3 — With New E3D Titan Direct Drive Exruder

creality cr-10 v3

Pros

Boosted performance for TPU and ABS 3D printing with the direct drive extruder.

Improved retraction and avoids filament stringing and oozing.

Silent motherboard.

Cons

Not automatic bed leveling.

Creality make some of the world’s most popular desktop 3D printers including the Ender 3 and Ender 5 range, as well as the highly-rated CR-10 range. 

Now onto the third iteration, the CR-10 V3 shifts away from the bowden extruder and implements an E3D Titan direct drive extruder, which Creality say boosts its performance for TPU and ABS 3D printing, as well as improving retraction and avoiding filament stringing and oozing.

Other key changes from the CR-10 V2 to V3 include an upgraded silent motherboard along with improved power supply, supercharging the CR-10 V3 with the power to print more precisely and quietly — a great advantage for those who want to run it all night but don’t want to be woken up by their printer.

The strong z-axis triangular beams improve stability as they are anchored against the axes, and though it doesn’t come with auto-leveling as standard, you can install BLTouch for auto-leveling without much issue. The CR-10 also has dual port fan cooling for more effective part cooling while printing, which Creality estimate improves print precision by 10%, and is 55% better at cooling than previous models.

3. Flashforge Creator Pro 2 – Great Dual Extruder Option

flashforge creator pro 2

Pros

IDEX dual extruder.

Has four modes of printing.

Can print ABS, HIPS, PVA, and PLA without issue.

Has a robustly built frame that anchors the printer down and prevents any vibrations.

Cons

Smaller build volume than similarly priced printers.

The original Flashforge Creator Pro was a big hit, with the upgraded Creator Pro 2 upgrading on areas where the tech had since advanced.

The main selling point is the Creator Pro 2’s upgraded IDEX dual extruder, meaning each extruder moves independently, opening up a range of new possibilities. The printer features four modes for printing:

  • Mirror Mode: prints two mirrored designs
  • Duplicate Mode: prints two completely identical models, but at twice the speed
  • Multi-material Mode: for printing multi-colored parts
  • Soluble Support Mode: for printing filaments like HIPS and PVA that can be dissolved to leave blemish-free ABS and PLA parts

This makes the Creator Pro 2 the ideal direct drive 3D printer for soluble filament 3D printing, and it can print filaments like ABS and HIPS, and PVA and PLA, without issue. 

The robustly built frame anchors the printer down and prevents any vibrations from affecting print quality, and the intuitive touchscreen is always a nice extra feature to have. It’s enclosed, with the top filtration part, and overall it’s a great dual extruder printer with a direct drive extruder.

4. Qidi Tech X-Plus 3 — Best Enclosed Pick (And It’s Super Fast!)

Pros

Dual hotends offer material flexibility.

Spring steel bed enhances print adherence and removal.

Precise extrusion and consistent print quality.

Cons

Some minor bugs can be confusing for beginners.

Boasting a compact direct drive extruder, the Qidi Tech X-Plus 3 delivers precise extrusion control.

This allows clean, detailed prints even at high speeds. Filament loading is super easy with the direct drive, and print quality is consistent across materials.

The CoreXY motion system lets it zip through prints ridiculously quickly, and with dual hotends, you can swap between various materials easily.

The spring steel bed auto-levels and offers easy removal, even for large prints making the most of the impressive 280 x 280 x 270 mm build area.

Sure, I bumped into a few firmware hiccups, but honestly, it’s one of the best direct drive FDM printers I’ve come across.

Check out my hands-on Qidi Tech X-Max 3 review for all the details.

5. Qidi Tech X-Max — Larger Enclosed Printer

qidi tech x-max best direct drive 3d printer

Pros

Big and high-spec.

Comes fully assembled.

It can level quickly, is easy to use with the large 5-inch touchscreen, and features advanced air filtration systems.

Cons

No filament runout sensor.

The bigger and even more high-spec brother of the Qidi Tech X-Plus 3, the X-Max can print enormous models with it’s large enclosed build area, useful for fun home use 3D printing cosplays and other large projects, as well as for large prototype 3D printing for commercial uses.

The X-Max comes fully assembled so you can get straight to printing, and is easily accessible by WiFi to save you time, though it’s also USB connectable if you prefer this.

It can level quickly, is easy to use with the large 5-inch touchscreen, and features advanced air filtration systems to keep fumes from filaments like ABS away from you.

Like the X-Plus it comes with two sets of direct drive extruders which you can switch out based on what filament you’re printing. For casual use you can use the standard extruder, and for tough filaments like Nylon and PC, switch in the high-temp extruder.

The huge build volume is sure to impress, but the reliability and durability of the X-Max is another major factor in it being one of the best direct drive 3D printers around in its price range.

A Quick Intro To Direct Drive Extruders

Extruders are found on FDM 3D printers. They push plastic filament through to the hot end where it is melted and extruded out through the 3D printer’s nozzle to make your model.

Extruders have a stepper motor, hobbled drive gear, and mounted idler for pushing filament through.

There are two types of extruder however: direct drive extruders and bowden extruders.

In direct drive extruders the extruder is attached to the print head, rather than with bowden extruders where it is on the side of the printer’s frame.

Direct drive extruders push filament directly through to the hot end as they are so close together, while bowden extruders use a PTFE tube to push the filament the longer distance.

Here’s a very quick round-up of the differences, and advantages and disadvantages of these two types.

Direct Drive Extruder 3D printers

Advantages of direct drive extruders

Better retraction controls as the extruder is closer to the hot end.
The shorter distance and quicker command receiving from the hot end improves control over the material, leading to good quality prints – as well as making it easier to print flexibles.
Less force is required to have the same effect on the filament than would be required with a bowden extruder. You can therefore use a smaller stepper motor, and you have less chance of filament slipping.

Limitations

Adds mass to the 3D printer’s extruder and overall gantry system.
This added mass limits print speed as vibrations and wobbles start to creep in, creating imperfections in the print. You’re therefore more restricted with your printer’s top speed with a direct drive extruder.

Bowden Extruders

Pros

  • Can 3D print faster as they’re lighter without losing print quality

Cons

  • TPU can struggle — needs specially designed hobbled gears for this softer material, and larger retraction settings

For More Info, I Recommend These Resources

This article touches on most aspects of direct drive extruders, but for a deeper understanding we recommend you read our complete 3D printer extruder guide.

Many people also confuse the extruder with the hot end – the part responsible for quickly melting filament so it can be extruded. You can read more about 3D printer hot ends here.

A common debate is whether you can 3D print flexible filaments like TPU well with a bowden extruder, or if you should always use a direct drive extruder for flexibles. We go into more depth in our extruder article, but have some tips in our guides to 3D printing flexible filaments and TPU.

What’s Changed?

We’re constantly updating our recommendations based on our latest hands-on testing.

Jan 2024 updates:

  • Updated pricing information for 2024.
  • Replaced Qidi Tech X-Plus with X-Plus 3, based on our hands-on testing of the latest model. It’s a big improvement, especially with the faster print speed.

We also have buyer’s guides for a number of different uses:

Was this content helpful? Give us your feedback here.

Thanks for your feedback!
Photo of author

3DSourced

3DSourced is a leading authority in the field of 3D printing and scanning, dedicated to delivering expert insights and guidance since 2017. Our team, composed of experienced industry professionals, has been at the forefront of analyzing and reporting on the evolving landscape of 3D technology. Over the past six years, our commitment to quality and accuracy has earned us numerous accolades, including awards for our feature stories. Our hands-on experience is extensive, having rigorously tested more than 20 of the latest models in 3D printers and scanners. At 3DSourced, our mission extends beyond reporting; we strive to make 3D printing accessible and understandable for everyone.

Learn More About 3D Sourced