3D Printing Info

Printer comparison

Anycubic Kobra 4 vs Creality K1 Max

Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.

2 selected · all documented properties

Anycubic Kobra 4 vs Creality K1 Max — documented properties and sources
PropertyAnycubic Kobra 4BEDSLINGERCreality K1 MaxCOREXY
Identity
BrandAnycubicCreality
ClassBEDSLINGERCOREXY
Identity & Market
Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first)Anycubic Kobra 4[1]Creality K1 Max[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]$549.00 on store.creality.com, Aug 2026. Creality's comparison page shows $799 against a struck-through $899 on the same day[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 large K1. Build volume 300 x 300 x 300 mm and footprint 435 x 462 x 526 mm, both much larger than the K1/K1C's 220 mm cube and 355 mm-wide body; rated power is 1000 W against 350 W; it is the only K1 with RJ45 Ethernet. Its hotend is the older metal + PTFE-tube type with a copper nozzle, annotated by Creality as "Changing to All-metal Soon" and "Copper Nozzle Changing to Steel-tipped Nozzle Integrated with Heatbreak Soon", so hotend type varies by production run - do not assume it matches the K1C[2][7]
Physical & Frame
Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable260 x 260 x 260 mm[1]300 x 300 x 300 mm[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]435 x 462 x 526 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]18 kg (Tom's Hardware measurement)[8]
Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lidOpen frame, no enclosure[1]Enclosed with passive chamber heating only - Creality's comparison table lists "Passive Heating" for the K1, K1C and K1 Max and no chamber heating for the K1 SE[2]
Kinematics & Motion Hardware
Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other)Anycubic's table gives the construction as "Gantry system" - a bed-slinger, not CoreXY[1]CoreXY (Creality's own K1-series comparison table)[2]
Speed & Acceleration
Max print speed (claimed, mm/s)600 mm/s maximum print speed (manufacturer claim), 300 mm/s the default[1]600 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim). Creality's own footnote says the 600 mm/s figure was achieved in Creality Lab and that the typical speed is 300 mm/s[2][7]
Recommended/typical print speed300 mm/s default print speed (manufacturer figure)[1]300 mm/s typical printing speed with 12000 mm/s2 typical acceleration, stated by Creality alongside the 600 mm/s headline[2]
Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²)20000 mm/s2 maximum acceleration, 10000 mm/s2 recommended[1]20000 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim)[2]
Extruder
Type (direct drive / bowden) & design nameDirect drive ("short distance extrusion")[1]Dual-gear direct-drive extruder[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]Metal hotend with a PTFE tube and a copper nozzle, both annotated by Creality as changing to all-metal and to a steel-tipped integrated nozzle "soon"[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 limit100 C maximum hotbed temperature on a PEI spring steel build plate[1]100 C max heatbed temperature[2]
Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sidedNot documentedSmooth PEI steel flex plate, heated[8]
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 assisted by a lidar sensor - Tom's Hardware records "Automatic + LIDAR", a feature the K1 and K1C do not have[8][9][10]
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[8]
Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade pathMulticolour 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 designNot documentedClosed-loop part-cooling fan and PWM hotend fan, both annotated as changing to dynamically balanced versions; activated-carbon air filter fitted[2]
Electronics & Power
Total rated power drawNot documented1000 W rated power - nearly three times the K1/K1C figure[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]Creality OS, a Klipper derivative published as CrealityOfficial/K1_Series_Klipper on GitHub (GPL-3.0); the printhead front cover is listed as an open-source part[11][12][2]
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]4.3-inch 800x480 colour 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]Colour touch UI with remote monitoring, time-lapse, build-surface detection and failure detection all included[2]
WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-driveUSB, Anycubic Slicer and the Anycubic app[1]Wi-Fi plus RJ45 Ethernet - the only K1-series machine with a wired network port; 8 GB storage[2]
Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps)Standard HD camera fitted, 720p[1]1080p AI camera fitted as standard with foreign-object detection[2]
Calibration Routines & QoL
Assembly level & time from unbox to first printAnycubic claims assembly and first print within 15 minutes[1]Not documented
Materials Support
Officially supported filament listPLA, PETG, TPU 95A - and Anycubic notes TPU 95A cannot be used through the ACE 2 Pro[1]ABS, PLA, PETG, PET, TPU, PA, ASA, PC, PLA-CF, PA-CF, PET-CF[2]
Safety
Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible)Not documentedNot verified directly. Creality's published firmware for the K1 series (CrealityOfficial/K1_Series_Klipper, GPL-3.0) is described by Creality itself as a clone of upstream Klipper, and upstream Klipper ships the verify_heater thermal-runaway check; whether Creality's stock printer.cfg enables it, and with what thresholds, was not checked here[11][12]
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]Not documented
Review scores from major outlets (list outlet + score + date)Not documentedTom's Hardware rating 4.5 out of 5 in the page's structured data[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

  1. Anycubic Kobra 4 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  2. Creality - Compare K1 Flagship Series (K1 / K1C / K1 Max / K1 SE side-by-side spec table) creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  3. Anycubic Kobra 4 Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  4. Creality US store - K1 Max 3D Printer product page (live price) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  5. Anycubic Kobra X product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Creality K1C product page (full specification table) creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. Tom's Hardware - Creality K1 Max Review (spec box) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
  9. Tom's Hardware - Creality K1 Review (spec box) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
  10. Tom's Hardware - Creality K1C Review (spec box and measured print time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
  11. GitHub API - CrealityOfficial/K1_Series_Klipper repository metadata ("clone from https://github.com/Klipper3d/klipper/", GPL-3.0, last push Dec 2025) api.github.com · 2026-08 · doc
  12. GitHub - CrealityOfficial organisation repositories (per-model firmware sources) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
  13. Anycubic Kobra S1 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  14. Anycubic refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  15. Creality US store - K1 3D Printer product page (live price, warranty and returns banner) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor