3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra 4 vs Bambu Lab A2L
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Anycubic Kobra 4 comparisonsMore Bambu Lab A2L comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra 4BEDSLINGER | Bambu Lab A2LBEDSLINGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Bambu Lab |
| Class | BEDSLINGER | BEDSLINGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Anycubic Kobra 4[1] | Bambu Lab A2L[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the Anycubic store from 29 May 2026 (Shopify publish date)[3] | Pre-orders opened 1 June 2026 (Tom's Hardware spec box); Tom's Hardware review published 27 June 2026[4] |
| Launch MSRP (USD) | Not documented | $469 standalone, $569 Combo at launch[4] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $279.00 with a US plug on store.anycubic.com, Aug 2026, against a compare-at price of $379.00 ($320.90 for the EU plug variant)[3] | From $469.00 on the Bambu Lab US store, Aug 2026[5] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Shares its 260 mm cube volume and its exact machine dimensions (455.4 x 445.3 x 461.3 mm) with the Kobra X, so those two cannot be told apart on size. The difference is multicolour: the Kobra X ships with native 4-colour capability, while the Kobra 4 needs an ACE 2 Pro unit for multicolour and drying. The Kobra 4 also has a smaller 3.5-inch screen where the Kobra 3 and S1 use 4.3-inch panels[1][6][7] | Standalone and Combo (with AMS lite) SKUs, and an optional cutting/drawing module (blade cutter and pen plotter, 300x300 mm cutting area) that is a separate attachment, not a printer variant. Do not carry A1 or A1 mini figures across: the A2L is a different, much larger machine at 12.8 kg[2][4] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 260 x 260 x 260 mm[1] | 330 x 320 x 325 mm (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 455.4 x 445.3 x 461.3 mm for the printer; the optional ACE 2 Pro is a separate 368 x 291.5 x 236.5 mm unit[1] | 544 x 529 x 505 mm[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 9.9 kg for the printer (ACE 2 Pro 3.7 kg); packaged 12.6 kg bare or 17.5 kg as the Combo[1] | 12.8 kg net[2] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Aluminium and steel chassis with a plastic outer frame; Tom's Hardware describes a triangular gantry frame the base drops into[2] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame, no enclosure[1] | Open frame, no enclosure[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Anycubic's table gives the construction as "Gantry system" - a bed-slinger, not CoreXY[1] | Cartesian bed-slinger - Tom's Hardware's assembly description has the heatbed bolting to a Y-carriage inside the gantry frame[4] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Not documented | Not published in the spec sheet; no teardown source found that documents the Z drive[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 600 mm/s maximum print speed (manufacturer claim), 300 mm/s the default[1] | 500 mm/s max toolhead speed (manufacturer claim)[2] |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 300 mm/s default print speed (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20000 mm/s2 maximum acceleration, 10000 mm/s2 recommended[1] | 10 m/s2 = 10000 mm/s2 max toolhead acceleration (manufacturer claim)[2] |
| Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s) | Not documented | 28 mm3/s claimed, measured by Bambu on a 150 mm round single-wall model in Bambu PLA Basic at 220 C - note this test uses PLA, unlike the ABS-based figures Bambu quotes for its enclosed machines, so it is not directly comparable[2] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct drive ("short distance extrusion")[1] | Direct drive with a servo extruder motor and hardened-steel extruder gears; built-in filament cutter[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Hardened-steel nozzle, 0.4 mm standard with 0.25, 0.6 and 0.8 mm optional[1] | Stainless-steel nozzle; 0.2/0.4/0.6/0.8 mm supported. Bambu's A2L sheet does not state whether the hotend is all-metal[2] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 300 C maximum nozzle temperature[1] | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[2] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 100 C maximum hotbed temperature on a PEI spring steel build plate[1] | 80 C max heatbed temperature[2] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | Textured PEI plate included; Engineering Plate and Cool Plate SuperTack also supported[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | LeviQ 3.0 49-point auto-levelling with Z-offset; Anycubic claims levelling repeatability under 0.02 mm and states no manual compensation is needed[1] | Automatic bed levelling with automatic Z: Tom's Hardware confirms the nozzle is used as the probe and the machine can re-check level before each print[4] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament detection with auto resume, entanglement detection and power-loss resume[1] | Yes - run-out sensor, filament odometry, tangle sensor and clumping detection[2] |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | Multicolour and active drying both require the separate ACE 2 Pro unit; Anycubic quotes 4 independent brushless feed motors in that unit[1] | Not documented |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | Part-cooling fan and hotend cooling fan, both closed-loop controlled. No auxiliary part-cooling fan and no chamber fan[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Kobra OS with pressure advance and flow calibration; a built-in accelerometer drives vibration compensation[1] | Closed-source proprietary firmware - not a Klipper or Marlin derivative, and no printer-firmware source is published. The bambulab GitHub organisation carries 11 repositories (Bambu Studio, wxWidgets/boost/ffmpeg forks, the wiki); none is printer firmware. Updates are delivered over the air via Bambu Studio / Bambu Handy[8] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen - smaller than the 4.3-inch panels on the Kobra 3 and S1 series[1][7][9] | 3.5-inch 240x320 touchscreen[2] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Touchscreen plus Anycubic Slicer, the Anycubic app and USB; AI spaghetti detection and object skip supported[1] | Touchscreen plus mobile app and PC app[2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | USB, Anycubic Slicer and the Anycubic app[1] | 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only (802.11 b/g/n), Bambu-Bus, microSD card. Ethernet not available[2] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Standard HD camera fitted, 720p[1] | Built-in low-frame-rate camera, up to 1080p, timelapse supported[2] |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Anycubic claims assembly and first print within 15 minutes[1] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, PETG, TPU 95A - and Anycubic notes TPU 95A cannot be used through the ACE 2 Pro[1] | Suitable: PLA, PETG, TPU, PVA. PLA-CF and PETG-CF suitable only after fitting a hardened-steel nozzle. ABS, ASA, PA, PC and PET are listed as not recommended on the compare page[2][10] |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | 48 dB or less in standard mode and 45 dB or less in silent print mode - manufacturer figures with no distance or method stated[1] | 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[11] | 2-year limited warranty for consumers in the US, Canada, the EU, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland; 1 year in the rest of the world. Bambu Lab's own policy records the US/Canada term as a 2026 extension from one year to two[12] |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Benchmark print times (source + settings) | Anycubic claims a 14-minute Benchy - a manufacturer figure with no slicer settings published, not an independent measurement[1] | Not documented |
| Review scores from major outlets (list outlet + score + date) | Not documented | Tom's Hardware: Editor's Choice, rating 4.5 out of 5 in the page's structured data (27 June 2026)[4] |
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 4 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab A2L Spec Sheet (PDF) store.bblcdn.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Anycubic Kobra 4 Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Tom's Hardware - Bambu Lab A2L 3D printer review, 27 June 2026 tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- Bambu Lab US Store - 3D Printers collection listing (base prices, Aug 2026) us.store.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra X product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- GitHub - bambulab organisation repository list (11 repos, checked Aug 2026) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Anycubic Kobra S1 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab - Compare all 3D printers (A2L / X2D / H2C columns) bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab Warranty Policy bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor