3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra 4 vs Creality Ender-3 V3 SE
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 Creality Ender-3 V3 SE comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra 4BEDSLINGER | Creality Ender-3 V3 SEBEDSLINGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Creality |
| Class | BEDSLINGER | BEDSLINGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Anycubic Kobra 4[1] | Creality Ender-3 V3 SE[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the Anycubic store from 29 May 2026 (Shopify publish date)[3] | Not documented |
| 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] | $186.00 on store.creality.com, Aug 2026; Creality's own product page shows $199.00 for the same machine on the same day, so the two Creality properties disagree[4][2] |
| 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][5][6] | The cheapest of the Ender-3 V3 family and mechanically the most conservative: it keeps a conventional i3 bed-slinger layout, while the Ender-3 V3 and V3 Plus use CoreXZ and the V3 KE keeps the bed-slinger layout but adds an X-axis linear rail, a 60 W ceramic hotend and Klipper-based Creality OS. Speed ceilings differ sharply - 250 mm/s and 2500 mm/s2 on the SE against 500 mm/s on the KE and 600 mm/s on the V3/V3 Plus. The SE also stops at a 260 C nozzle where the others reach 300 C[2][7][8][9][10] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 260 x 260 x 260 mm[1] | 220 x 220 x 250 mm[9] |
| 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] | 349 x 364 x 490 mm (Tom's Hardware measurement of the machine footprint)[9] |
| 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] | 7.12 kg[9] |
| 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 i3 bed-slinger - Creality describes "neat X, Y, Z-axis, smooth T-shaped profiles" with a rigid dual Z-axis and a moving build platform on the Y axis[2] |
| Y-axis guide type | Not documented | Y axis runs on a pair of 8 mm steel linear shafts carrying the build platform[2] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Not documented | Rigid dual Z-axis, which Creality says reduces Z wobble[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 600 mm/s maximum print speed (manufacturer claim), 300 mm/s the default[1] | 250 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim, Creality Lab figure)[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] | 2500 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim). Tom's Hardware attributes the modest Benchy time directly to this acceleration cap[2][9] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct drive ("short distance extrusion")[1] | Creality "Sprite" direct-drive extruder, which Creality says works with PLA, PETG and flexible TPU and had shipped over 500,000 units as of June 2023[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] | Direct-drive hotend with a 0.4 mm high-flow nozzle (Tom's Hardware description); Creality does not describe an all-metal path for the SE[9] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 300 C maximum nozzle temperature[1] | 260 C maximum nozzle temperature per Tom's Hardware's spec box - the lowest of the Ender-3 V3 family, where the V3, V3 Plus and KE all reach 300 C[9][8] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 100 C maximum hotbed temperature on a PEI spring steel build plate[1] | Not documented |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | PC-coated spring steel sheet, heated, removable[9] |
| 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] | CR Touch inductive/mechanical probe for auto bed levelling plus a separate strain sensor for automatic Z offset - Creality's pitch is no levelling screws and no paper method[2] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament detection with auto resume, entanglement detection and power-loss resume[1] | Filament run-out sensor fitted[9] |
| 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 | Two fans on the printhead: a front-mounted fan onto the hotend heatsink and a second fan in the shroud with twin ducts aimed at the nozzle (Tom's Hardware teardown description)[9] |
| 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] | Creality publishes an open-source firmware repository for this model, CrealityOfficial/Ender-3V3-SE on GitHub under GPL-3.0 (last pushed July 2024). Unlike the KE, K1 and K2 repositories, it is not described as a Klipper clone, and Creality does not call the SE a Creality OS machine on its product page[11][12][7] |
| 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][6][13] | 3.2-inch colour screen with a control knob - not a touchscreen, unlike the KE and V3[9] |
| 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] | Knob-driven colour UI using motion graphics to show levelling progress and print parameters; auto filament load/unload from the menu[2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | USB, Anycubic Slicer and the Anycubic app[1] | SD card only - no Wi-Fi and no USB host, in contrast to the Wi-Fi-equipped KE and V3[9] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Standard HD camera fitted, 720p[1] | Not documented |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Anycubic claims assembly and first print within 15 minutes[1] | Kit-style assembly from a small number of pre-built sections; Creality claims printing within 20 minutes of unboxing[2] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, PETG, TPU 95A - and Anycubic notes TPU 95A cannot be used through the ACE 2 Pro[1] | PLA, PETG and TPU (Tom's Hardware); Creality's own copy names PLA, PETG and flexible TPU for the Sprite extruder[9] |
| 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[14] | Creality's US store states "Up to 12-Month Warranty", a 14-day return and refund window and "Lifetime Customer Support" on its printer product pages. The "up to" wording means the term is not uniform across parts[15] |
| 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] | Benchy in 41 minutes under Speed Boat Rules (2 walls, 3 top/bottom layers, 10% grid infill, 0.25 mm layer height, 0.5 mm width) in ordinary grey PLA - independently measured by Tom's Hardware, not a manufacturer figure[9] |
| Review scores from major outlets (list outlet + score + date) | Not documented | Tom's Hardware rating 4.5 out of 5 in the page's structured data[9] |
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
- Creality Ender-3 V3 SE product page creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra 4 Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - Ender-3 V3 SE 3D Printer product page (live price) store.creality.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
- Creality Ender-3 V3 KE product page creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality Ender-3 V3 product page (full specification table) creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Tom's Hardware - Creality Ender 3 V3 SE Review (spec box and Speed Boat Rules Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- Tom's Hardware - Creality Ender 3 V3 KE Review (spec box and Speed Boat Rules Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- GitHub API - CrealityOfficial/Ender-3V3-SE repository metadata ("Open source for Ender-3V3 SE", GPL-3.0) api.github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- GitHub - CrealityOfficial organisation repositories (per-model firmware sources) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Anycubic Kobra S1 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - K1 3D Printer product page (live price, warranty and returns banner) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor