Resin 3D printing requires a slicer that handles tasks FDM slicers don't: support generation for inverted or tilted prints hanging from a build plate, exposure time calibration across the build volume to account for light source variation, and hollow shell generation to reduce resin consumption. For most of the hobby resin market's history, Chitubox was the default answer — widely supported by printer manufacturers, first to add many features, and free. Lychee Slicer, initially a subscription-based alternative, has grown into a serious competitor with a different development philosophy and feature set. In mid-2026 both applications are mature, actively maintained, and capable. Choosing between them depends on your printer, your workflow, and how you weigh specific feature differences.
Chitubox: Status in 2026
Chitubox is developed by CBD-Tech, a company based in Shenzhen that also manufactures resin printers under the Chitu Systems brand. This vertical integration means Chitubox has first-party support for Chitu-based printer control boards — used by Anycubic, Elegoo, Phrozen, and most of the major resin printer manufacturers — before competing slicers add that support. Chitubox's free tier provides core slicing, basic supports, and hollowing. The Pro subscription tier, at $9.99/month or $169/year, adds network printing, Chitu AI (automatic support optimization), anti-aliasing, and additional export formats. The free tier is adequate for basic users; power users hitting the Pro tier walls regularly is a known complaint.
Chitubox's support generation algorithm has historically been criticized for producing dense support forests that are difficult to remove and leave significant scarring on supported surfaces. The AI support generation in the Pro tier improves this by analyzing surface orientation and reducing support density in less critical regions. The improvement is real but does not fully close the gap with Lychee's support generation quality in the same price bracket.
Lychee Slicer: Status in 2026
Lychee is developed by Mango3D, a smaller software-focused company. It launched as a pure subscription product and has maintained subscription pricing — a model that generates regular revenue for continued development but creates friction for users who compare it to Chitubox's free tier. The current tiers are a free version with meaningful limitations (no hollowing, limited export formats, basic supports only) and a Pro subscription at $7.99/month or $71.99/year. The pricing is similar to Chitubox Pro with the Lychee plan running slightly cheaper annually.
Lychee's differentiating technical features in 2026 are its support generation quality, its calibration exposure testing system (MRLE — Mango Resin Leveling Exposure), and its scene analysis that flags potential print failures before slicing — islands, insufficient attachment, thin support branches — in a more readable visual form than Chitubox's equivalent warnings. The support generation produces lighter, more targeted supports that leave less visible contact scarring on finished prints, which matters significantly for display miniatures and jewelry.
Printer and Format Compatibility
Chitubox has broader printer compatibility by virtue of its integration with the Chitu hardware ecosystem. If your printer uses a Chitu mainboard — which covers the majority of consumer MSLA printers from Anycubic, Elegoo, and Phrozen — Chitubox's export profiles are first-party and reliably current. Lychee has expanded its printer support significantly and covers the major consumer machines, but new printer launches occasionally appear in Chitubox first. For Mars Pro series users (Elegoo), Aqua series (Phrozen), or Mono series (Anycubic) users, both slicers work well; for machines from smaller manufacturers with less market share, Chitubox's first-party integration is a stronger guarantee.
File format support matters for workflow integration. Both slicers export the proprietary formats their respective printers require (CTB for Chitu, various formats for others). Lychee additionally exports to the open Lychee-native format and supports importing existing scenes for re-slicing — a workflow advantage for iterative prints.
Hollowing and Drainage Holes
Hollow resin prints use far less resin and reduce suction cup forces during the peel cycle, improving success rates for large parts. Both slicers support hollowing with drainage hole generation. Chitubox's hollowing interface is straightforward; Pro users get additional controls for shell thickness gradients. Lychee's hollowing handles complex geometry more reliably, particularly for organic shapes with undercuts where uniform shell thickness is geometrically difficult — Lychee's algorithm adapts wall thickness to geometry better than Chitubox's uniform-offset approach. For simple shapes this difference is irrelevant; for detailed miniatures with armor plates, wings, or complex recesses, Lychee's hollowing tends to produce cleaner results with fewer trapped resin pockets.
Calibration and Exposure Tools
Dialing in resin exposure settings for a new resin requires test prints — calibration matrices that print a grid of small features at varying exposure times and allow visual selection of the optimal setting. Both slicers include exposure test generators. Lychee's MRLE calibration system includes a well-designed test pattern and interpretation guide that makes the calibration process clearer than Chitubox's equivalent. For experienced resin printers the difference is minor — both provide usable calibration outputs. For beginners setting up a new resin for the first time, Lychee's guided calibration is less likely to produce confusion.
Which to Choose
Choose Chitubox Free if you are a casual resin printer using a mainstream Chitu-based machine and do not want subscription cost. Its free tier covers basic use adequately. Upgrade to Chitubox Pro if you want AI supports and network printing within a familiar interface. Choose Lychee Pro if support quality and minimum resin usage are priorities — particularly for miniatures and jewelry where support scarring is more visible and post-cleanup time is a real workflow cost. If you print display miniatures or character models, the Lychee support generator's quality advantage is meaningful enough that most users in the miniatures community have moved to it. If you print functional parts where cosmetic support scarring is irrelevant, Chitubox Pro and Lychee Pro are essentially equivalent in practical output quality.
The subscription models are similar enough in cost that long-term users should evaluate on features rather than price. Both companies have been financially stable and actively developing their products through 2024 and 2025; neither shows signs of abandonment that would make subscription commitment risky.
