Shapeways
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're a hobbyist, model maker, or shop seller needing niche materials and you accept post-bankruptcy vendor risk.
New check
Comparison
Shapeways vs Quickparts
Shapeways and Quickparts both land on Depends.
Quickparts
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're an engineering team needing prototypes or low-volume parts via 3D printing, CNC, or molding.
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Hobbyists without a printer | Aerospace and defense prototype programs |
| Who it's not for | Anyone needing vendor stability . it filed Chapter 11 in July 2024 | Hobbyists and one-off maker projects |
| Privacy | 2016 breach exposed customer emails and home addresses; no newer incidents found in sources.⁴ | Publishes ISMS certificates for US facilities; parent 3D Systems settled US export-control violations in 2023. |
| Support quality | Quality-control and customer-service complaints on Trustpilot | No customer support evidence found |
| Public sentiment | Hobbyists value the material range and marketplace but frequently complain about high prices, quality-control slips, and 2024 bankruptcy disruption.⁷ | Public user feedback is sparse and scattered across Trustpilot country sites and comparison pages, with a modest 3.5/5 from very few reviews. |
| Biggest gotcha | July 2024 bankruptcy disrupted orders and shop payouts; sellers report ongoing limitations¹ | Sending defense or export-controlled designs? Verify current controls; parent settled 2023 violations. |
Pick Shapeways when
- Hobbyists without a printer
- Miniature and scale-model makers
- Designers selling via marketplace shops
- One-off prototypes in specialty materials
When Shapeways is not a fit
- Anyone needing vendor stability . it filed Chapter 11 in July 2024
- Price-sensitive buyers; quotes are widely called overpriced
- High-volume production runs
- People who already own a decent 3D printer
Pick Quickparts when
- Aerospace and defense prototype programs
- Product teams needing low-volume production parts
- Engineers wanting fast online quotes
- US/EU buyers of CNC and molded parts
When Quickparts is not a fit
- Hobbyists and one-off maker projects
- Anyone needing transparent, published prices
- Teams shipping ITAR-sensitive designs without extra compliance diligence
- Software buyers . this is a parts service, not a tool
Sources
- Shapeways Declares Bankruptcyfabbaloo.comnews
news
security
- External printing services - Extortionate prices?forum.prusa3d.comreview
- Is Shapeways overpriced? : r/3Dprintingreddit.comreview
review
- Shapeways quality control issues with 3D printsfacebook.comreview
review
- Shapeways . VoxelMattersvoxelmatters.directorynews
news
- Shapeways, the startup that lets you print 3D designs, gets funding from Andreessen Horowitztheverge.comnews
- Read Customer Service Reviews of shapeways.comtrustpilot.comreview
- QuickQuote by Quickparts . Instant Quotingquickparts.comofficial
- Quickparts Process Comparison Guidequickparts.comofficial