REASONS TO BUY
Upgradable
Excellent support resources
Carefully crafted
REASONS TO AVOID
Lengthy initial build
Software is awkward
Expensive
Prusa MK4 Review
A flawlessly engineered machine, which requires a loving touch to realize its full potential
Credit: Matt Lighthart
By Graham Faulknor ⋅ Senior Review Analyst ⋅ July 31, 2025
Contributions From: Kyle Hameister
RELATED: The Best 3D Printers of 2025
Our Verdict
The Prusa MK4 is the tinkerer's champion. While it is undeniably chock-full of impressive specs and functionality, the unit (and experience as a whole) feels very industrial. Perhaps not ideal for beginners, the MK4 will feel comfortable and familiar to the experienced maker, builder, gamer, or designer with a penchant for hands-on fun. With some time to put into dialing in every setting, the capabilities, and high-level build quality will surely result in a reliable workhorse 3D printer. Perhaps most interesting, though, is that the MK4 is designed from the start to be upgradable, not only through sensible add-ons but with upgrade kits available for key components like the extruder as technology continues to improve. That alone makes the MK4 worthy of consideration in a quick-moving industry where, oftentimes, a great machine can become obsolete in a matter of years.
Our Analysis and Test Results
We had our share of frustrations with the MK4; it is not an unbox-and-go kind of printer. And don't get us started on the lofty price tag, but quirks and budget aside, we feel that it is ultimately worth the effort for those who have the time and the will.
The MK4 is a very capable little machine, seen here building our tugboat friend.
Credit: Graham Faulknor
Print Quality
Prusa has always focused on real-world print quality, and we're quite happy with the MK4 in that respect. The machine is meticulously designed, and even when using out-of-the-box settings to start our test prints, this thoughtful design shows in the end product.
Bridging long spans proved to be better than average across our tested lineup, but even so there were imperfections at connection points.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Layer and wall thicknesses are very well controlled. We saw clearances between joints, and moving components were clean and smooth for the most part. Only in some of the tightest gaps did we have to put in any effort to pry them open. Similarly, our vase test, printed with a single wall thickness in a continuous spiraling extrusion, showed minimal flaws. Only by filling it with water were we able to find any minuscule holes.
Detailed prints like this rocket engine resolve well on the Mk4.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
We encountered some small issues with rounded corners and bumps throughout otherwise clean surfaces. These bumps persisted even after changing filaments to ensure no moisture contamination was to blame. Our conclusion is that it is most likely due to retraction or extrusion speed issues, which can be dialed in the slicing software as you get to know your machine.
Ease of Use
The MK4 is a very industrial-feeling product. While the internal components clearly received a lot of design and engineering effort, the same attention was not paid to user experience and overall aesthetics.
The MK4 is quite the project build, but then it'll lend you a hand. Seen here moving through it's auto-leveling procedure.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Frankly, initial setup is a huge effort. It took us a full 10 hours, whereas much of the competition only needed 15-30 minutes. You read that right. This is the kind of thing that a puzzle enthusiast could enjoy, but might not be everyone's cup of tea. Prusa clearly knows they've got a complicated little gremlin on their hands as they offer a pre-assembled version for an extra $200-$300.
Navigation of the physical interface is fine -- done through a low resolution screen and knob.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Their in-house developed software, PrusaSlicer, feels similarly mechanical. A plethora of settings allows the user with experience to fine-tune things to an extent few other slicers can offer, but we did not find it to be particularly intuitive, and the UX/UI felt clunky.
Print Capabilities
The stock MK4 unit we tested has a better-than-average feature set. The removable build plate gave us no adhesion issues whatsoever, and the hotend cooled and stabilized prints with admirable reliability.
One of the engineering feats we like most is the (almost) overly powerful cooling system on the extruder chassis.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
The 250mm x 210mm x 220mm build volume is fantastic for a consumer printer. A 290°C max extruder temperature is more exciting, though. At that temperature, a wider variety of specialty print filaments, like flexible TPU, are on the table. However, you'll probably want to add an enclosure for additional heat control when using these materials.
The excellent removable print bed impressively toes the line by offering great adhesion during a build, and an easy release when cooled.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
The cherry on top here is that the MK4 and the rest of Prusa's product line are, as far as we can tell, upgradable. Add-ons like an official enclosure and multi-color printing kits are attractive in the near term, but the real benefit is that the most important parts are made to be interchangeable as new technology is released.
Support
In our opinion, Prague-based Prusa is an absolute industry leader in terms of customer support, manual quality, and other online resources.
Wow does this guy have a lot of parts. Prepare yourself for the build of a lifetime.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
One may argue that top-tier support is necessary with such a complex machine requiring a tedious, lengthy build. Despite this, we couldn't help but walk away impressed. They have excellent phone support even when calling from our US-based office, and it is additionally backed by 24-hour chat and email support. The manual we received was nothing short of excellent; it was easy to follow and by far the most polished part of the whole experience. The 12-month warranty offered by Prusa is also above average, though you may not have much need for it; the company alleges the claim rate, even on their older models, is less than 1%.
PrusaSlicer can be capably learned in a few hours, but a great online support community can fill in any gaps.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Should You Buy the Prusa MK4?
You'll pay dearly for the opportunity to try your hand at the MK4, but we're confident that for the right user, this could well be one of the best options available today. The potential is obvious at every turn. If you're patient and a capable problem solver, you'll undoubtedly find great value in the MK4.
Dimensional stability, improved here through multiple guide rails, goes a long way to producing reliable and repeatable high quality prints.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
What Other 3D Printer Should You Consider?
Even for the most dedicated 3D print addict, the price tag of the base unit here and any upgrades you may feel are needed may simply be too much to swallow. Thankfully, as the market matures there are plenty of other great options that won't set you back as much. The Bambu Lab lineup of printers, including the excellent P1P, generally produce excellent prints with even more bells and whistles, although slightly less customizability. Of the more budget-oriented products, we love the Entina Tina2 and the AnkerMake M5C.
Thermal imaging shows some cooler spots on the bed, but we found it resulted in no adverse affects through our testing.
Credit: Matt Lighthart
Side-by-Side Comparison
Compare Prusa MK4 versus top competing products:
—Graham Faulknor and Kyle Hameister
You Might Also Like
