The Best Places to Download STL Files for 3D Printing in 2025
You've unboxed your 3D printer, set it up and printed the little cat or boat you found on your SD card, all pre-sliced from the manufacturer. Now you’re wondering, what do I print next?
There are two options when it comes to keeping your 3D printer busy:
- Learn how to design models yourself.
- Find ready-made models online.
Thankfully, there are thousands of awesome models out there, from handy gadgets to adorable dragons. Whether you're printing for fun, to fix things or for selling at your local craft fair, it all starts with an STL file—the blueprint for your 3D print.
Here are my favorite places to find high-quality STL files (both free and paid), plus some tips for navigating this wild world of printable ideas.
The most obvious method -- using a search engine -- works fantastic for finding STL files. Try searching for the thing you want AND include "STL" or better "STL file" and you'll find lots of interesting things to print.
Scroll past the sponsored posts (I don't recommend going to Etsy for STL Files) and look for the images.
It's not perfect. STL also happens to be the nickname/airport code for my hometown of St. Louis, so some searches might just give you things from around here. Trying Googling Cardinal STL and you get anything BUT a 3d printable file.
Still, Google is smarter than the search functions in most file repositories, so this basic method might be all you need.
Yeggi
Yeggi is like the Google of 3D printing, it's an index of ONLY 3D printable models. It has over 7 million models in its library, which is a ton...but not all of them. Still, if you can't find it on Yeggi it may not be worth finding!
Type something into the search bar, and it will pull up everything it can find to match your terms. Yeggi shows results in the form of thumbnails. Hover over the thumbnail, and it will tell you if the print is free or for sale, and where it found the file. Keep scrolling to the bottom, and you'll see the most popular models that match your search.
The Best File Sharing Sites for 3D Print Models
Now let's talk about file sharing sites! The following websites are places where the files are kept like books in a library. Anyone can upload files they created at these sites to share (or sell) to others.
Thingiverse
Thingiverse is the OG file repository. Ask anyone online where you can get STL files and the automatic response is "Thingiverse!" This website has been around forever and still has one of the largest libraries of free files. Some of the content is dated and not always print-ready, but you can still find some gems.
Tip: Check the “Makes” tab on a model to see if others have successfully printed it.
Thingiverse is FREE to use, as both a creator uploading files and a printer downloading files. When you set up and log into your account you can "like" files, save them to your collection and post photos of your makes.
Because it's free, you'll also see ads on the site. I guess someone's gotta keep the lights on. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You're also going to find all levels of creators using the space: pros, amateur's and 4th graders who want to show off their Tinkercad Minecraft guy. Be wary of any model that only shows a blue computer render -- it's very likely the designer didn't bother to test print the file first.
Thangs
Thangs is part storage site and part search engine. When you search for an item on Thangs it can show you files in it's archive as well as files from other sites. Lately, there's been a big push to help designers monetize, so joining their memberships is heavily promoted. You can still find a lot of good free models here.
Thangs is free to use for both creators and makers.
Printables (by Prusa Research)
Prusa rebranded their file sharing site to "Printables" in order to serve the entire 3D printing community. They've separated it somewhat from the Prusa Research site, so if you want to shop for filament or a new printer, you'll need to visit the Eshop on the top menu bar.
Prusa wants to support but the maker and the designer, so they do offer memberships (clubs) and paid models. But these "extras" are hidden from the general search. My search for Yarn Bowl turned up only free models. To find "premium" models, you'll need to visit the store tab.
Prusa gives you 3 ways to download.
"Easy Print" goes to your Prusa account and is a simple way to slice a file right in the browser. This is the same slicer used by the Prusa mobile app and it will talk to whatever Prusa machine you have connected.
"Slice" opens your copy of PrusaSlicer and you can take it from there. This is a nice option if you use PrusaSlicer but have custom profiles or non-Prusa machines.
"Download" just gives you the STL file to do as you please. This is the best option if you have another slicer you want to use.
The company hosts themed contests with prizes of Prusa printers and filament. The contest pages are great places to find your next 3D print with winners listed at the top and every entry (sometimes hundreds!) listed below.
MakerWorld: For Bambu Fans
MakerWorld is a file sharing site for the Bambu Lab community. You don't techinally need to have a Bambu printer to use these files, but not all models have STL files at the ready.
MakerWorld files are practically presliced, with profiles set up by the designer...and random people trying to score points for free filament. Files can be downloaded straight to Bambu Slicer or directly to your Bambu Lab printer if its connected to the cloud.
The website has a very strong community, so you'll find lots of photos of printed files. There's also tools in the MakerLab to help you design your own files, and a Maker's Suppy shop to buy screws, magnets, lights and other fun things to make more complex gadgets.
After the introduction of the H2D, MakerWorld has also branched out to SVG files for lasering.
My Mini Factory
My Mini Factory claims to be even bigger than Thingiverse. You find models here lean heavily toward table top gaming and fantasy but you'll find lots of other awesome things to print here too. Do to the spicy nature of gaming figures, this site is not as kid friendly as others.
What sets them apart is their community verifies that every file is printable before they are allow to post.
I've found that My Mini Factory has higher quality files--probably because there is a $25 monthly fee to open and run a shop. This is not a place for your kid to drop his Tinkercad creations.
It is free to join the My Mini Factory community as a customer/user which allows you to save files in collections.
Cults3D
Not as big or old as Thingiverse, Cults3D is another 3D model sharing site with a huge archive.
Like Thingiverse, models can be upload by any designer of any skill level. Unlike Thingiverse these models can be offered for free or for sale. Cults charges a 20% fee on all sales.
Cults3D holds contests, awarding cool prizes for the best entries. Browsing through contest entries can often turn up better than average files. They also have hand curated collections like 3D Printed Keychains or Best Files for Magic Tricks. These are fun collections to browse through if you don't know what you want to print next.
Final Thoughts
There’s no one perfect place to find STL files—but these sites will keep your printer busy for a long time. I like to bounce between Printables for practical items, Thangs for wow-factor art, and MakerWorld for interesting Gadgets.