I currently run a Voxelab Aquila I got for $120 three years ago. It largely replaced a Monoprice Mini, and the Aquila’s done some surprisingly good work for me, but I may look for something new to put on the ol’ birthday list. I would like a flat bed and some modern QoL improvements built in (he said, side-eyeing the BLTouch clone he never installed), but I’m still looking to play in the shallow-end, price-wise, and anyway Bambu just has “future enshittification” written all over it. I don’t do anything time-sensitive, and I’m not afraid to put the whole thing together, so who are the current leaders in the value space? Recent machines from Creality?
Aside from what’s already been mentioned there’s the Qidi plus 4. Reviewers seem to like the newer Qidi printers but I have no clue how closed off their ecosystem is. Also seems to be about the price seems to be 800 usd which is cheaper than a Prusa but more expensive than some of the other options given.