Get the Saturn 3 12K if you have desk space for a 10-inch screen printer. It has roughly 3x the build volume of the Photon Mono 4, a higher-resolution 12K screen, and is the better choice for batch-printing miniatures. Get the Photon Mono 4 if your desk is small, you want the cheapest viable entry, or you specifically want to be in the Anycubic ecosystem (their slicer ACM and their resin range).
| Pick | Printer | Best for | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beste Gesamtleistung | Elegoo Saturn 3 12K | 3x build volume, 12K screen, batch printing armies | Check price → |
| Best Compact | Anycubic Photon Mono 4 | Small desk, Anycubic ecosystem, lower upfront cost | Check price → |
At a glance: spec-by-spec
| Spec | Photon Mono 4 | Saturn 3 12K |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Anycubic | Elegoo |
| Format | Small (7-inch screen) | Mid (10-inch screen) |
| Build volume | 153 × 87 × 165 mm | 219 × 123 × 250 mm (~3x) |
| Screen resolution | 7-inch 10K mono LCD | 10-inch 12K mono LCD |
| XY resolution | ~17 μm | ~19 μm |
| Auto leveling | Manual (4-point with paper) | Manual (4-point with paper) |
| Print speed (real-world) | ~70 mm/h (LighTurbo) | ~30 mm/h (standard) |
| Slicer | Anycubic Photon Workshop / Chitubox | Voxeldance Tango / Chitubox |
| Connectivity | USB | USB |
| Footprint | ~22 × 22 cm desk space | ~30 × 30 cm desk space |
| Price (2026 approx) | ~$270 | ~$300 |
Same price tier, fundamentally different printers
The price gap between these two is only about $30, but they’re sized for completely different workflows. The Photon Mono 4 is a compact, single-figure-at-a-time printer. The Saturn 3 12K is a batch-printing workhorse. If you don’t know which you want yet, ask yourself: do I plan to print whole units/armies, or one cool model at a time?
- Photon Mono 4 fits ~4 standard 28 mm infantry or 1 hero/monster at a time
- Saturn 3 12K fits ~15 standard 28 mm infantry or 5 heroes at a time
Anycubic vs Elegoo — the ecosystem question
Beyond size, the brand choice quietly locks you into an ecosystem — slicer, resin recommendations, replacement parts, community. Both are mature and well-supported, but they have different cultures:
- Anycubic — LighTurbo light source (very fast cure times), ACM/Photon Workshop slicer, cheap Anycubic-brand resin available in colour ranges. Community is large but more fragmented across YouTube channels.
- Elegoo — massive established user base for the Saturn line, Voxeldance Tango slicer (newer but improving), deep Elegoo-brand resin range, very strong community wiki and Reddit (/r/ElegooSaturn). More likely to find someone with the same setup as you.
For a first printer, Elegoo’s community size is a genuine advantage when you hit your first failed print. There’s almost certainly someone who’s solved the exact failure you’re looking at.
Where the Photon Mono 4 wins
- Desk space — about half the footprint. Decisive if your hobby corner is small.
- Faster prints out of the box — the LighTurbo light source is genuinely quick at curing layers; you get more like 70 mm/h vs the Saturn 3’s ~30 mm/h on standard settings.
- Slightly cheaper — ~$30 less. Marginal but real for a budget choice.
- Anycubic ACM slicer is genuinely good now — competitive with Chitubox for hobby resin printing.
Where the Saturn 3 12K wins
- 3x build volume — the headline. Batch-print whole units of miniatures.
- 12K screen — slightly higher resolution than the Mono 4’s 10K, though the difference is invisible on 28 mm miniatures (matters more for display busts).
- 250 mm Z height — you can print taller models in one piece (tall heroes, monster minis, props).
- Bigger community — the Saturn line has more YouTube tutorials, more profiles in shared slicer settings, more troubleshooting threads.
- Easier upgrade path — if you outgrow it, the Saturn 4 12K is a direct successor with tilt-release and smart auto-leveling.
Final recommendation
For most beginners: Saturn 3 12K. The build-volume advantage compounds over time, the community is bigger when you need help, and the price difference is only ~$30. Unless desk space is genuinely the constraint, the Saturn 3 12K is the better long-term value.
For small spaces or Anycubic loyalists: Photon Mono 4. The smaller footprint and faster LighTurbo cure are real advantages. If you’ve already used Anycubic FDM printers and like the brand, this keeps you in a familiar ecosystem.
Where to buy
- Elegoo Saturn 3 12K (recommended) — Check price on Amazon →
- Anycubic Photon Mono 4 (compact pick) — Check price on Amazon →
For consumables and upgrades see bestes Harz für Miniaturen (Siraya Tenacious mix is excellent for snap-resistant minis), the full 2026 printer guide, and the Saturn 3 12K vs Saturn 4 12K comparison if you’re considering paying more for the current Saturn flagship.
FAQ
Is the 12K screen on the Saturn 3 actually better than the 10K on the Mono 4 for miniatures?
On 28–32 mm miniatures, not visibly. Both produce detail finer than the naked eye can resolve at hobby scale. The 12K vs 10K difference is real on display busts (75 mm+) where you’re inspecting the surface up close, but for tabletop armies it’s not a deciding factor.
Which has fewer failed prints out of the box?
Both use manual paper-shim leveling, so both have the same beginner failure mode (un-level bed = ruined first layer). Once leveled properly, both are reliable. The Saturn 4 12K (and the Mars 5 Ultra) add smart auto-leveling which removes this failure mode entirely — if reliability is your top concern and you can stretch the budget, those are worth considering.
Can either of these print Warhammer 40k terrain?
Small terrain pieces and scatter, yes. Larger terrain (ruined buildings, dungeon walls, ITC objectives) is better suited to an FDM printer like the Anycubic Kobra X — resin gets expensive per millilitre for large solid pieces, and FDM is dramatically cheaper for terrain.
Should I just spend $70 more for the Saturn 4 12K?
If the budget allows, yes. The Saturn 4 12K adds tilt-release printing (~2x faster), smart auto-leveling, and AI failure detection — meaningful quality-of-life upgrades. See the Saturn 3 vs Saturn 4 comparison for the full breakdown.