--- {"title": "Lychee Slicer vs UltiMaker Cura in 2026", "description": "Lychee Slicer, UltiMaker Cura and LunarWerx 3D Print compared: what each does, price, setup, and what to check before you pick.", "url": "https://texhouse.us/lychee-slicer-vs-ultimaker-cura/", "date": "2026-10-18"} --- Lychee Slicer, UltiMaker Cura and LunarWerx 3D Print compared: what each does, price, setup, and what to check before you pick. Lychee Slicer and UltiMaker Cura are slicing tools a maker can pick between, and LunarWerx 3D Print is a set of free browser helpers that work around them. Lychee Slicer's page says it is made for beginners and pros and is a tool for resin and FDM 3D printing. [^1] [^1] UltiMaker Cura's page says it is free software. [^2] LunarWerx 3D Print is a set of browser tools for ironing settings, injection moulding checks and foam inserts. [^3] | Option | What it does | Price | Where it runs | |---|---|---|---| | Lychee Slicer | A tool made for beginners and pros [^1]; for resin and FDM 3D printing [^1] | not published; Plus has a 30-day free trial [^1] | not published | | UltiMaker Cura | Free software [^2]; over 400 settings in Custom mode [^2]; supports STEP and IGES [^2]; compatible with printers [^2] | free [^2] | Mac, Windows and Linux [^2] | | LunarWerx 3D Print | Browser tools for ironing settings, injection moulding checks and foam inserts [^3] | free to use [^3] | in a web browser [^3] | ## The short answer Lychee Slicer's page says it is made for beginners and pros. [^1] It describes it as a tool for resin and FDM 3D printing. [^1] UltiMaker Cura's page says it is free software. [^2] LunarWerx 3D Print is a set of browser tools that work out ironing settings, check a part for injection moulding and design 3D-printable foam inserts. [^3] Lychee Slicer Plus has a 30-day free trial activated within the software. [^1] UltiMaker Cura Enterprise receives two updates a year. [^2] Each release of UltiMaker Cura Enterprise is independently scanned, tested and analyzed for vulnerabilities. [^2] If you want ironing settings exported as a ready 3MF file, the LunarWerx 3D Print claims say it does that. [^3] The two rivals can be looked at as different slicers, and LunarWerx 3D Print as a set of helpers that work around them. ## What Lychee Slicer, UltiMaker Cura is built for Lychee Slicer's page says it is made for beginners and pros. [^1] It is described as a tool for resin and FDM 3D printing. [^1] Its Plus version has a 30-day free trial activated within the software. [^1] UltiMaker Cura's page says it is free software. [^2] UltiMaker Cura Enterprise receives two updates a year. [^2] Each release of UltiMaker Cura Enterprise is independently scanned, tested and analyzed for vulnerabilities. [^2] ## What LunarWerx 3D Print is built for LunarWerx 3D Print is made by the team that publishes this site. It is a set of browser tools for ironing settings, injection moulding checks and foam inserts. [^3] The ironing helper works out settings for your printer, material and finish and exports a ready 3MF file. [^3] It makes a 9-pad or 16-pad test plate, and you mark each pad as worked or not. [^3] You can click flat top surfaces, and the export adds a modifier part over each picked surface. [^3] The mould helper runs 13 checks, shows shrinkage, pressure and weak-point maps, and builds the two mould halves; all numbers are estimates. [^3] The foam tool lays parts out in a box and designs a foam tray and top pad that each part lifts out of. [^3] It splits the insert into pieces that each fit your printer's bed. [^3] It also turns backwards faces in an STL file right side out and says how many it fixed. [^3] ## Pricing and fees | Option | Price | |---|---| | Lychee Slicer | not published; Plus has a 30-day free trial [^1] | | UltiMaker Cura | free [^2] | | LunarWerx 3D Print | free to use [^3] | The Lychee Slicer facts given here do not state a price for the base software; the Plus version has a 30-day free trial. [^1] UltiMaker Cura's page says it is free software. [^2] LunarWerx 3D Print says its tools are free to use. [^3] No card fee or add-on fee is published for any of these in these sources. ## Setting it up and printing Lychee Slicer Plus has a 30-day free trial activated within the software. [^1] UltiMaker Cura Enterprise receives two updates a year. [^2] Each release of UltiMaker Cura Enterprise is independently scanned, tested and analyzed for vulnerabilities. [^2] LunarWerx 3D Print runs in a web browser. [^3] You use it on its website, which is hosted on Cloudflare. [^3] It runs only in your browser; sign in and your settings, recent test plates and print results follow you to every computer. [^3] For your slicer, an uploaded Bambu or Orca project gets per-object ironing settings, and the rest of the file stays unchanged. [^3] One checkbox slows just the first layer to 15 mm/s by default. [^3] ## Things to check before you choose Ask how each tool's free version compares with its paid one, since Lychee Slicer Plus runs a 30-day free trial. [^1] Ask what a current version of UltiMaker Cura costs, since only the Enterprise release details are in these facts. Ask which operating systems you print on, because neither rival's allowed facts state them here. Ask whether a browser tool suits your workflow, since LunarWerx 3D Print runs in a web browser. [^3] Mould numbers are estimates, so decide how much weight to give them. [^3] If you want to see the code of a tool you use, check each one's licence; the LunarWerx 3D Print code package is marked private, not public. [^3] ## How to choose If you want a tool that is made for beginners and pros, Lychee Slicer's page says it is. [^1] If you work with resin as well as FDM, Lychee Slicer is described as a tool for both. [^1] If you want a free slicer, UltiMaker Cura's page says it is free software. [^2] If you want ironing settings with test plates, LunarWerx 3D Print says it makes them. [^3] If you want to add ironing to an existing Bambu or Orca project, it adds per-object settings. [^3] If you want a foam tray and top pad for a box of parts, it designs them. [^3] If you want a free tool, it says the tools are free to use. [^3] ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Lychee Slicer free? The facts gathered for this page do not state a price for the base Lychee Slicer, so none is given here. Its Plus version has a 30-day free trial activated within the software. [^1] Check its own page for the current price before you decide. For comparison, LunarWerx 3D Print says its tools are free to use. [^3] ### Is UltiMaker Cura free? UltiMaker Cura's page says it is free software. [^2] The facts here also say that UltiMaker Cura Enterprise receives two updates a year and that each release is independently scanned, tested and analyzed for vulnerabilities. [^2] [^2] Check its own page for what is covered in a free version. ### Can LunarWerx 3D Print work with a slicer? LunarWerx 3D Print is a set of browser tools, made by the team that publishes this site, that work around a slicer rather than replace one. For an uploaded Bambu or Orca project it adds per-object ironing settings and keeps the rest of the file unchanged. [^3] It also exports a ready 3MF file with ironing settings. [^3] ### Which machines can run Lychee Slicer and UltiMaker Cura? The Lychee Slicer facts gathered here do not state an operating system, so check its own page if you need one. The UltiMaker Cura facts gathered here do not state an operating system, so check its own page if you need one. LunarWerx 3D Print runs in a web browser. [^3] ### Does LunarWerx 3D Print need to be installed? LunarWerx 3D Print runs in a web browser. [^3] You use it on its website, which is hosted on Cloudflare. [^3] Sign in and your settings, recent test plates and print results follow you to every computer. [^3] The tools are free to use. [^3] - [Visit LunarWerx 3D Print](/go/start) ## Sources [^1]: Lychee Slicer, mango3d.io, read 2026-10-10 (https://mango3d.io) [^2]: UltiMaker Cura, ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura, read 2026-10-07 (https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura/) [^3]: LunarWerx 3D Print's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher) (/go/start)