3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus vs Original Prusa XL+ Dual-Head
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus comparisonsMore Original Prusa XL+ Dual-Head comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra 2 PlusBEDSLINGER | Original Prusa XL+ Dual-HeadTOOLCHANGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Prusa Research |
| Class | BEDSLINGER | TOOLCHANGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus[1] | Original Prusa XL+, Dual-Head variant ("Prusa XL+ Dual-Head" in the e-shop variant data)[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the Anycubic store from 31 August 2023 (Shopify publish date)[1] | The XL+ refresh was announced on 13 August 2026, on sale immediately in all toolhead configurations, with assembled printers shipping later in August 2026 and upgrade kits for existing XL owners from around the end of August. The original Original Prusa XL predates it[3] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $549.00 on store.anycubic.com, Aug 2026 (the compare-at price of $544.00 is lower than the sale price, which is a store data error rather than a discount)[1] | $2,768.52 on prusa3d.com, Aug 2026 (lowest listed price for the Dual-Head variant; the 2-toolhead Enclosure bundle starts at $3,128.70)[2] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Large Kobra 2. Against the small Kobra 2 machines: 320 x 320 x 400 mm build, 13 kg, dual-motor dual Z, 49-point LeviQ 2.0, 8 GB on-board storage and Anycubic APP support - but the bed ceiling drops from 110 C to 90 C, which matters for ABS and ASA. Anycubic's own comparison on the same page is against the older Kobra Plus (350 x 200 x 200 mm, Bowden, 180 mm/s), not against the Kobra 2[1][4][5] | One of three XL+ configurations - Single-Tool $2,128.70, Dual-Head $2,768.52, Five-Head $3,610.18 (Aug 2026). The frame, bed, electronics and 360 mm cube build volume are identical across all three; only the toolhead count, the price and the achievable multi-material workflow change. Toolheads can be added later[2][6] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 400 x 320 x 320 mm stated HWD, i.e. 320 x 320 x 400 mm; Anycubic quotes 40.9 L[1] | 360 x 360 x 360 mm, which Prusa states as 46.7 litres[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 630 x 605 x 564 mm stated HWD - footprint about 605 x 564 mm[1] | About 700 x 900 x 720 mm (Prusa's own figure is approximate)[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 13 kg[1] | About 30 kg[2] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Aluminium extrusions and steel sheets (Prusa's comparison table for the XL)[7] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame, no enclosure[1] | Open frame. The Enclosure for Prusa XL+ is an optional add-on; Prusa says the printer is ready for chamber temperatures up to 60 C, that the new better-sealed enclosure reaches around 50 C on the printer's own waste heat, and that 60 C needs an upcoming chamber heater for which no shipping date has been given[2][3] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Cartesian bed-slinger with double metal spindles on X and Y and included belt tensioners[1] | CoreXY with 1.5 mm GT belts, Input Shaper and Phase Stepping[2] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Dual-motor dual Z axis[1] | Not documented |
| Belts (type, width, e.g. Gates?) | Not documented | 1.5 mm GT belts[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 500 mm/s maximum print speed (Anycubic Lab figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 300 mm/s typical print speed (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Vibration Compensation / Input Shaping | ||
| Input shaping supported? Implementation (Klipper IS / Marlin ZV / proprietary) | One-click vibration compensation on X/Y plus flow control[1] | Input Shaper and Phase Stepping[2] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct extruder with double gears[1] | Nextruder direct drive; each toolhead carries its own extruder, hotend, nozzle and filament[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Not documented | Quick-swap nozzles - 0.25 mm for detail, 0.6/0.8 mm for speed, hardened steel for abrasives, high-flow CHT for throughput; toolheads ship with high-flow nozzles[2] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 260 C nozzle temperature ceiling; 0.4 mm replaceable nozzle[1] | 290 C claimed max nozzle temperature[2] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 90 C hotbed temperature ceiling - lower than the 110 C of the small Kobra 2 machines[1][4] | 120 C max heatbed temperature[2] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | PEI magnetic spring steel plate, 320 x 320 mm[1] | Segmented heatbed of 16 individually controlled tiles across the 360 x 360 mm surface, so only the tiles under the part are powered; removable double-sided satin print sheet supplied[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Anycubic LeviQ 2.0 automatic levelling, 49-point, with smart Z-offset[1] | Load-cell sensor - the nozzle is the probe, which Prusa says automatically accounts for nozzle changes, surface textures and thermal expansion and removes manual Z-offsets. Toolhead-to-toolhead alignment on the XL+ uses a separate permanently mounted eddy-current Tool Offset Sensor, replacing the removable mechanical pin used on the original XL[2][3] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament detection fitted as default[1] | Filament sensors fitted; Prusa's comparison table lists two filament sensors for the XL[7] |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | Not documented | Two independent toolheads with automatic tool changing - two materials or two nozzle sizes in one job, with no purge tower waste between materials because each head keeps its own nozzle[2] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | 360-degree part cooling on each toolhead, new on the XL+ and matching the MK4S and CORE One arrangement; Prusa states it delivers more airflow and distributes it more evenly around the nozzle. Additional fans and heatsinks cool the electronics. Fan sizes are not published[2][3] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | Not documented | Custom 32-bit xBuddy electronics with STM32 (Prusa's comparison table for the XL)[7] |
| Host computer (SoC, RAM, storage) if firmware runs on embedded Linux | Cortex-A7 1.2 GHz processor; 8 GB built-in storage[1] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Not documented | Open-source firmware - Prusa states "Firmware: Open-source; ships with the full current Prusa feature set", and the XL is covered by the prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy source tree[2][8] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | Not documented | 3.5-inch 65k-colour screen with touch control (Prusa's comparison table for the XL)[7] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Anycubic app support (firmware 3.0.5+) for remote monitoring, online slicing and control[1] | On-device touch UI; Prusa Connect and the Prusa mobile app are optional - Prusa states the machine is fully offline capable[7][2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Not documented | Ethernet, optional Wi-Fi; USB drive for print files. Prusa Connect optional and fully offline operation supported[2][7] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, ABS, PETG, TPU (Kobra 2 family list)[4] | PLA, PETG, ASA, ABS, PC, PA (nylon), TPU, PVA, HIPS, PP, CPE, PVB and carbon-fibre composites. Prusa states an open material policy - any brand of 1.75 mm filament, no chips and no subscriptions[2] |
| Safety | ||
| Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible) | Not documented | Open-source firmware on the xBuddy platform, which carries hardware overcurrent protection cutting heater and heatbed power above 15 A[9][8] |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | One year on the complete machine (excluding gifted and second-hand machines), with component warranty periods that vary by part; the period starts on the delivery date and is suspended while a replacement is in transit. Anycubic states it will follow longer local statutory periods where they apply[10] | 2-year warranty for consumers in the EU, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland; 1 year for EU enterprises and 1 year for the rest of the world, which includes the United States. A printer bought from a reseller or privately carries 1 year from the original delivery date and is handled by the reseller. Prusa advertises 24/7 chat and e-mail support in seven languages[11][7] |
Manufacturer claims, independent measurements, packages and test conditions retain their source wording. FDM linear speed and resin vertical speed use different units and are not directly comparable. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.
Sources for this comparison
- Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus store page and Shopify product JSON (Tech Specs block, price, store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Original Prusa XL+ product page (spec block and variant price data) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa blog - Better Prints, Easier Use: Prusa XL+, CORE One L+ and CORE One+ (Gen 2), Our Big Product Update (published 13 August 2026) blog.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Anycubic Kobra 2 store page and Shopify product JSON (Tech Specs block, price, store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra 2 Max store page and Shopify product JSON (Tech Specs block, price, store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa 3D printers category listing with live e-shop prices, Aug 2026 prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Original Prusa MK4S 3D Printer product page (Technical Parameters + CORE One+/MK4S/XL comparison table) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- GitHub - prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy (firmware for MINI, MK4, XL and CORE One) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Prusa blog - Original Prusa MK4 is here (published 29 March 2023), including the MK4 specification table and launch prices blog.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Anycubic refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa Knowledge Base - Warranty help.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc