Comparison
Anycubic Photon Mono M5s vs Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra: Which Is Better in 2026?
| At a glance | Anycubic Photon Mono M5s | Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | ★★★★⯨ 4.5/5 | ★★★★⯨ 4.6/5 |
| Price | $240-300 | $220-280 |
| Best for | Detail-obsessed makers who want top resolution with easier setup. | Tabletop gamers, jewelry makers, and anyone printing display models. |
| Guarantee | Amazon return policy applies | Amazon return policy applies |
| Check Today's Price → | Check Today's Price → |
Let's start with the truth most comparison articles bury: these two machines are more alike than different. Both are compact resin printers living in the same $220–300 bracket, both produce miniatures with detail no filament printer can match, and their ratings sit a tenth of a point apart — 4.5 for the Anycubic, 4.6 for the Elegoo. Nobody will pick up a finished chess piece and tell you which one printed it.
The real difference is what each company chose to automate. Anycubic put its budget into resolution and setup: the Photon Mono M5s pushes into 12K-class detail and adds a self-leveling build plate, which deletes the single fiddliest ritual in resin printing. Elegoo put its budget into supervision: the Mars 5 Ultra pairs a fast mono LCD with an AI camera that watches the print so you don't have to, alongside its own easy leveling. Same destination, different insurance policy.
The two printers
Anycubic Photon Mono M5s
12K-class detail and self-leveling — resin printing with less hassle.
$240-300 · Amazon return policy applies
The M5s is the machine for people who've been scared off resin by the setup horror stories. Leveling a resin plate badly is how you end up with prints welded to the film or nothing on the plate at all, and the M5s handles that step itself. Detail is superb — minis, display pieces, anything where surface quality is the whole point — and exposures are quick. The trade-offs: it takes up more bench space than you'd expect from this class, and consumables run pricier over time. Resin, gloves, and ventilation are the cost of entry either way.
Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra
Miniature-grade detail for tabletop, jewelry, and Daniel-style chess sets.
$220-280 · Amazon return policy applies
The Mars 5 Ultra is slightly cheaper, rated slightly higher, and its camera matters more than it sounds. Resin failures are silent — no clicking extruder, no spaghetti on the bed, just a machine happily curing layers onto a print that detached an hour ago. Being able to glance at a feed and kill a doomed job saves resin and cleanup. Fine detail is stunning for tabletop figures, chess sets, and jewelry masters. The build volume is small, so plan your models accordingly, and budget for a wash-and-cure station — every print needs washing and curing after it leaves the plate.
How to actually decide
Since the output is a wash, decide by temperament. If your nightmare is setup — you want to pour resin, press print, and trust the machine — the self-leveling plate on the M5s is worth the small premium. If your nightmare is waste — you hate the idea of a failed print curing away unwatched overnight — the Elegoo's monitoring earns its keep. Price shouldn't be the tiebreaker; the ranges overlap too much.
Who should skip both
Skip resin entirely if you mainly want functional parts: brackets, enclosures, cosplay armor, anything big or load-bearing. That's FDM territory, and resin will just frustrate you with small plates and brittle-feeling prints. Skip both if you can't give the printer a ventilated spot away from where you sleep — uncured resin needs gloves, airflow, and a little respect, and no feature on either machine changes that. And if you already own a resin printer that works, neither of these is a must-upgrade.
Bottom line
Get the Mars 5 Ultra if you're printing minis and want a watchdog on the job — it's the better value and the safer failure mode. Get the Photon Mono M5s if hands-off setup and maximum detail are the draw and you have the desk space. Then put another chunk of budget aside for resin, isopropyl, gloves, and a wash-and-cure unit, because that's the half of resin printing the product photos never show.