3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra 3 Max vs Original Prusa MK4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Anycubic Kobra 3 Max comparisonsMore Original Prusa MK4 comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra 3 MaxBEDSLINGER | Original Prusa MK4BEDSLINGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Prusa Research |
| Class | BEDSLINGER | BEDSLINGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Anycubic Kobra 3 Max[1] | Original Prusa MK4[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the Anycubic store from 19 February 2025 (Shopify publish date)[3] | Announced 29 March 2023 with assembled printers shipping immediately from stock; kits opened for ordering about two weeks later[2] |
| Launch MSRP (USD) | Not documented | 1099 USD assembled, 799 USD as a kit, VAT included, at launch[2] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $429.00 with a US plug on store.anycubic.com, Aug 2026, against a compare-at price of $699.00 ($493.00 for the EU plug variant)[3] | Not documented |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Same 420 x 420 x 500 mm build volume as the older Kobra 2 Max, so build volume will not tell them apart - but the Kobra 3 Max is faster (600 mm/s claimed against 500), runs Kobra OS with multi-colour support and a 4.3-inch touchscreen, and is lighter at 19 kg against 21 kg. Its acceleration ceiling is 10000 mm/s2, half the 20000 mm/s2 of the smaller Kobra 3 - a difference the marketing does not lead with[1][4][5] | Superseded by the MK4S, which is the same machine plus a 360-degree turbine part-cooling fan, a high-flow CHT nozzle and firmware/profile work; Prusa sold a 99 USD MK4-to-MK4S upgrade kit and automatically converted unshipped MK4 orders to the S version. The MK3.5 and MK3.9 upgrades convert an MK3S+ to part of the MK4 electronics stack but are not an MK4[6][2] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Not documented | Discontinued. No MK4 appears in Prusa's Aug 2026 3D-printer listing, and the MK4 product-page slugs redirect to the MK4S page, so no live first-party price could be recorded[7][6] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 420 x 420 x 500 mm, which Anycubic states as 88 L[1] | 250 x 210 x 220 mm (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 706 x 640 x 753 mm[1] | Not documented |
| Net weight (kg) | 19 kg[1] | Not documented |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Die-cast aluminium frame - Prusa replaced the MK3S+'s cut-aluminium frame for the MK4, keeping only the Y-axis profiles, some bearings, the heatbed and the power supply[2] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame, no enclosure[1] | Open frame; the Original Prusa Enclosure is an optional add-on[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Anycubic's table gives the construction as "Gantry System" - a bed-slinger, with dual Y-axis motors added to stop layer misalignment on the large moving bed[1] | Cartesian bed-slinger of the Prusa i3 family - Prusa's MK4 announcement records that the MK3S+ Y-axis profiles and heatbed were carried over[2] |
| Belts (type, width, e.g. Gates?) | Semi-automatic belt tensioning, which Anycubic pairs with motor anti-skip[1] | Not documented |
| Stepper motors (frame size, step angle, brand if known) | Not documented | 400-step (0.9 degree) stepper motors, stated by Prusa to prevent vertical fine artefacts[2] |
| Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?) | Not documented | Trinamic TMC2130-LA silent stepper drivers on the xBuddy board[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 600 mm/s maximum print speed (manufacturer claim), 300 mm/s recommended[1] | Not documented |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 300 mm/s recommended print speed (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 10000 mm/s2 maximum acceleration - half the ceiling of the smaller Kobra 3, because of the moving mass[1][5] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct drive ("short distance extrusion") with a quick-release hotend[1] | Nextruder direct drive with a planetary gear system, 1:10 gearbox ratio; aluminium heatsink, all-metal hotend, no PTFE tube in the filament path[2] |
| Gear ratio & drive gear material | Not documented | 1:10 planetary gearbox[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | 300 C quick-release hotend with an aerospace-grade ceramic composite throat tube; 0.4 mm standard nozzle, expandable to 0.6 and 0.8 mm[1] | Quick-swap nozzle system, 0.4 mm default, other diameters supported[2] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 300 C maximum nozzle temperature[1] | 300 C claimed max hotend temperature in Prusa's MK4 announcement table - note the MK4S product page publishes 290 C for the same hotend family[2][8] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 90 C maximum hotbed temperature on a PEI spring steel plate - 20 C below the smaller Kobra 3[1][5] | 120 C max heatbed temperature[2] |
| Heat-up time to 60°C (measured preferred) | Anycubic claims the ultra-large hotbed heats up in 125 s; no target temperature is stated for that figure and it is a manufacturer claim, not a measurement[1] | Not documented |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | Magnetic heatbed with removable PEI spring-steel sheets; compatible with the MK3 sheets (smooth PEI, satin, textured PEI, PA nylon)[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | LeviQ 3.0 auto-levelling with Z-offset and area levelling[1] | Load-cell sensor: fully automatic first-layer calibration with the nozzle as the probe, plus automatic mesh bed levelling over the print area[2] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament detection with auto resume, entanglement detection and power-loss resume[1] | Built-in Hall-effect filament sensor supporting automatic filament loading[2] |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | Supports 4- or 8-colour printing with ACE Pro units[1] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | Not documented | Custom 32-bit xBuddy board with STM32, designed and built in-house, with a separate extruder breakout board[2] |
| PSU (brand, wattage, rail voltage) | Not documented | 240 W Delta PSU with hardware power panic[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Kobra OS; Anycubic Slicer Next is built on the open-source Orca slicer[1] | Open-source Prusa Buddy firmware. The source tree (prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy on GitHub) explicitly covers the Original Prusa MINI/MINI+, MK4, XL and CORE One and was last pushed to in August 2026. Updates are applied from a USB drive, through Prusa Connect or through the Prusa mobile app[9][8] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen[1] | 3.5-inch 65k-colour graphic screen[2] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Touchscreen plus slicer, Anycubic app and USB (print only); AI spaghetti detection and object skip supported[1] | On-device colour UI with one-click printing and status LEDs; Prusa Link is integrated and Prusa Connect adds remote printing[2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Printer UI, slicing software, Anycubic app and USB drive (print only)[1] | Ethernet built in, optional ESP Wi-Fi module delivered with the printer, USB drive; print files can also arrive over LAN or the internet via Prusa Connect[2] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, PETG, TPU (TPU is not compatible with the ACE Pro)[1] | Prusa's launch table says "any thermoplastic including Nylon and Polycarbonate"; the enclosure is still needed in practice for ABS/ASA-class materials[2] |
| Safety | ||
| Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible) | Not documented | xBuddy hardware overcurrent protection disconnects heater and heatbed power when total current exceeds 15 A; firmware is open-source and auditable[2][9] |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | 60 dB or less in standard mode - a manufacturer figure with no distance or method stated; markedly higher than the 46-48 dB Anycubic claims for the Kobra S1 and Kobra 4[1][10][11] | Not documented |
| 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[12] | 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[13][8] |
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 3 Max product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- 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 Kobra 3 Max Shopify product JSON (variant prices and 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
- Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa blog - The Original Prusa MK4S is Here! (published 12 August 2024) blog.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc
- 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
- Anycubic Kobra S1 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra 4 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa Knowledge Base - Warranty help.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc