London, 9 October 2025 – The global 3D printer market continued to show starkly divergent trends in the second quarter of 2025, according to the latest analysis by global market intelligence firm CONTEXT. The consumer-centric Entry-level market continues to excel while the high-end of the industry remains stuck in slowdown mode as downstream capital spending stalls and consolidation continues.

The trend of disparate market performance continued into the second quarter. Weak demand from tariff-paralysis and high interest rates made for difficult market conditions in the Industrial and Midrange segments. In contrast, the Entry-level space continued to thrive, with key players even making moves to go public, highlighting the segment's sustained momentum.

Overall aggregate hardware system revenues remained flat year-on-year (YoY). A +21% surge in revenues from Entry-level printers, driven by strong shipments from vendors like Bambu Lab, was offset by significant downturns in all other price categories. Revenues from Professional systems fell by -29%, while Midrange and Industrial revenues dropped by -11% and -14% respectively.

Industrial and Midrange Systems

High interest rates and the fallout from widespread company consolidation created another challenging quarter for the high-end of the market. Global Industrial 3D printer shipments fell markedly in Q2 2025. This weakness was compounded by business distractions from bankruptcies, such as that of Desktop Metal, and complex mergers; the newly combined Nano Dimension (including Markforged and Desktop Metal for the period) saw its aggregate shipments of the three collective companies fall precipitously from a year ago. However, there were bright spots: HP saw impressive shipment growth in the quarter, largely driven by its unique upgrade strategy, and Stratasys posted nice growth as well. In the crucial metal PBF segment, China's Eplus3D took the top spot for units shipped and, alongside Velo3D saw YoY unit shipment growth, while stalwarts EOS and Nikon remained revenue leaders despite both seeing marginal unit shipment declines from a year ago.

The Midrange category saw a similar YoY shipment decline to the Industrial price-class. The downturn was most pronounced for Western vendors, including 3D Systems (which continues to get smaller each period) and Stratasys, while some Chinese vendors like UnionTech saw shipment growth fuelled by domestic demand. Flashforge, a standout performer on a trailing-twelve-month basis, saw a small quarterly dip in shipments in Q2 2025.

Professional Printers

The significant YoY drop in shipments of Professional printers was driven entirely by the collapse of the material extrusion (FDM/FFF) category, where shipments cratered. This segment, once the dominant force in the professional space, has been significantly impacted by the rise of capable, lower-priced Entry-level machines. In contrast, vat photopolymerization shipments in this category held steady, as vendors like Formlabs continued the successful refresh of key product lines. 

Entry-Level Printers

The Entry-level category was again the standout performer, again seeing strong YoY shipment growth. This growth was driven by continued strong demand for products from brands like Bambu Lab, which not only saw its shipments rise again, but also introduced new products. The quarter was also notable for the news that Creality, a long-time leader in the space, issued plans to go public. While Creality saw a shipment decline as it realigns its reporting for its IPO, the move signals the growing maturity and financial significance of the consumer market. The segment also saw record-breaking crowdfunding success for Snapmaker’s new multicolour FDM printer, demonstrating robust consumer enthusiasm.

Outlook

While the Entry-level segment remains strong, persistent headwinds from high interest rates, tariffs, and inflation are expected to continue suppressing capital expenditures for high-end systems for the remainder of 2025. In a welcome move for the industry, the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates in September 2025, with more cuts anticipated before year-end. However, it is expected that it will take several such cuts before capital spending is fully restimulated.

While many OEMs continue to report strong end-market engagement and pent-up demand, the recovery for the Industrial segment now looks to be pushed out. We don’t project a significant rebound to begin until 2026, when lower interest rates are expected to finally unlock renewed investment in capital equipment. Regional on-shoring initiatives and the need to overcome supply chain disruptions still present major opportunities for agile additive manufacturing once business conditions improve.

* Price classes: Entry-level <$2,500; Professional $2,500–$20,000; Midrange $20,000–$100,000; Industrial $100,000+