Mercury XS
Updated 21 May 2026 · Live prices on every page load from Amazon US + UK
Buy on Amazon.com - $199.99 →Affiliate link. Price live from the marketplace, not cached.
At a glance
What this printer gets right and wrong
- ✓ Under $300 - low-risk way to get into 3D printing without regretting the spend.
- ! Open frame - PLA and PETG only, realistically. Forget ABS or nylon done properly.
- ! Manual levelling - plan a weekend of paper-under-the-nozzle rituals before your first clean first layer.
- ! Resin workflow - IPA baths, UV post-cure, nitrile gloves. Not a set-and-forget process.
Head-to-head spec + price table against the ELEGOO Mercury XS. Verified printers on this marketplace only.
Resin isn't a beginner's hobby. The chemicals, the IPA baths, the post-cure stations - it's a workflow. Start with FDM unless miniatures are specifically your reason for getting in.
A resin printer is a sideways move, not an upgrade - different workflow, different outputs. Worth it if you want minis or detailed parts, pointless if you want faster PLA prints.
Not a workshop machine. Small build area, messy workflow, mid-range output quality. If you need resin for business, you want something above it in the range.
Verdicts are rule-driven from the spec sheet and current price ($200). They don't capture firmware polish, support quality, or reliability - so treat them as a sanity check, not a final answer.
Live offers
Every live listing on the English-language Amazon marketplaces that I've matched to this printer. Cheapest first. Affiliate links.
- 🇺🇸 ELEGOO Mercury XS Bundle with Separate Wash and Cure Station 5PCS PFA Release Liner Film for Mars 3 and Mars 3 Pro Resin 3D PrinterAmazon.com · New$199.99View
Close alternatives - what $200 gets you elsewhere
Think of this like the shopping-cart upsell: here's what a tenner more or less could buy you in roughly the same category. Same MSLA tech, same marketplace, all prices live. Stretches are data-driven; they're not sponsored placements.
Save the money, same build volume at 2.1 L. You'd give up: nothing obvious on the spec sheet.
Get: 4.2 L more build volume (6.3 L).
Modest upgrade on the spec sheet.
Frequently asked
How sharp are prints on the ELEGOO Mercury XS? +
18 µm XY resolution. Fine enough for 28 mm tabletop minis, jewellery prototypes, and dental work. You will not see pixel artefacts on typical hobby prints.
What fits on the ELEGOO Mercury XS build plate? +
153.36×77.76×175 mm (2.1 L). Large enough for busts, multi-figure army trays and medium props sliced from a single file.
What else do I need to buy besides the ELEGOO Mercury XS? +
At minimum: a wash-and-cure station ($80-130), nitrile gloves, a bottle of IPA for washing, a funnel with filter, and somewhere ventilated to print. The printer is typically two-thirds of the total starting cost on a resin setup.
Is the ELEGOO Mercury XS worth $200? +
At $200 the ELEGOO Mercury XS is in hobby-entry territory - low-risk way to try the hobby. Expect older motion systems and basic feature sets, but print quality will surprise people coming from five-year-old reviews.
