3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra S1 Max vs Creality K2 Plus
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Anycubic Kobra S1 Max comparisonsMore Creality K2 Plus comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra S1 MaxCOREXY | Creality K2 PlusCOREXY |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Creality |
| Class | COREXY | COREXY |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Anycubic Kobra S1 Max[1] | Creality K2 Plus[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the Anycubic store from 16 January 2026 (Shopify publish date)[3] | Not documented |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $699.00 with a US plug on store.anycubic.com, Aug 2026, against a compare-at price of $899.00 ($804.00 for the EU plug variant)[3] | $999.00 on store.creality.com, Aug 2026[4] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | The large enclosed Anycubic. Against the Kobra S1: 350 mm cube against 250 (Anycubic claims 174% more volume), 350 C hardened-steel nozzle against 320 C, 65 C active chamber heating that the S1 lacks entirely, a titanium-alloy throat tube and hardened-steel extruder gears, an activated carbon filter, 720p camera against 480p, and 25.7 kg against 9.37 kg. Its engineering-filament list is correspondingly longer[1][5] | Largest and only fully specified K2. It is the only one with a 350 C nozzle, a 120 C bed, 30000 mm/s2 acceleration, step-servo motors on Z as well as X/Y, automatically adjusted belt tension, two auxiliary cooling fans, two air filters, a 1080p chamber camera, dual-band Wi-Fi and a 4.3-inch screen. Its "smart auto levelling" is listed as arriving via firmware update rather than shipping enabled, unlike the K2 and K2 Pro. A separate K2 SE model also exists[2] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 350 x 350 x 350 mm[1] | 350 x 350 x 350 mm[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 502.7 x 483 x 584 mm[1] | 495 x 515 x 640 mm[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 25.7 kg net, 31 kg packaged[1] | 35 kg[2] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Fully enclosed CoreXY with 65 C active chamber heating, dual external-circulation cooling fans and an activated carbon filter, plus a temperature and moisture display[1] | Enclosed with chamber temperature control up to 60 C and two air filters[2] |
| Passive chamber temperature reached (if enclosed; measured values preferred) | 65 C active chamber heating (manufacturer figure, actively heated rather than passive)[1] | 60 C max chamber temperature (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY (stated outright in Anycubic's specification table)[1] | CoreXY - Creality groups the K2 series with its CoreXY flagships and quotes 600 mm/s with step-servo motors on the X and Y axes[2] |
| Belts (type, width, e.g. Gates?) | Not documented | Automatically adjusted belt tension - the K2 and K2 Pro are tensioned by hand[2] |
| Stepper motors (frame size, step angle, brand if known) | Not documented | Step-servo motors on the X, Y and Z axes and the extruder[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 600 mm/s maximum print speed (manufacturer claim), 300 mm/s recommended[1] | 600 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim)[2] |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 300 mm/s recommended print speed (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20000 mm/s2 maximum acceleration, 10000 mm/s2 recommended[1] | 30000 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim) - 50% above the rest of the K2 family[2] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct drive ("short distance extrusion") with hardened-steel extruder gears, which Anycubic rates at six times the life of brass on carbon-fibre filament[1] | Direct drive with a 0.4 mm hardened "unicorn" quick-swap nozzle[6] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Quick-release hotend with a titanium-alloy throat tube; 0.4 mm and 0.6 mm nozzles supplied, 0.25 and 0.8 mm optional; hardened steel[1] | Not documented |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 350 C maximum nozzle temperature[1] | 350 C claimed max nozzle temperature[2] |
| Heater cartridge power (W) | Not documented | 100 W rated hotend power[2] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 120 C maximum hotbed temperature on a PEI spring steel build plate[1] | 120 C max heatbed temperature[2] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | Coated steel flex plate, heated, removable[6] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | LeviQ 3.0 auto-levelling[1] | Smart auto levelling listed as "Available via Firmware Update" rather than shipping enabled; automatic flow-rate calibration via the nozzle AI camera[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[6] |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | Up to 16-colour printing with ACE 2 Pro units, sold separately[1] | Not documented |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | Two auxiliary cooling fans and two air filters[2] |
| Chamber/exhaust fan & filtration (activated carbon / HEPA) | Activated carbon filter for odour removal; dual external-circulation cooling fans[1] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Kobra OS with pressure advance and flow calibration supported[1] | Creality OS, a Klipper derivative. Creality publishes the K2 firmware source as CrealityOfficial/K2_Series_Klipper on GitHub under GPL-3.0, last pushed March 2026[7][8][2] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen[1] | 4.3-inch touchscreen[2] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Touchscreen plus slicing software, Anycubic app and U-disk; AI spaghetti detection using an in-house algorithm and the 720p camera[1] | Touch UI with a built-in RFID reader; Creality notes the K2 Plus has no alarm sounds, which the K2 and K2 Pro do have[2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Printer UI, slicing software, Anycubic app and U-disk[1] | Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz), RJ45 Ethernet, USB drive and a Creality 485 port; 32 GB eMMC[2] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Standard HD camera, 720p, used for real-time AI anomaly detection[1] | One chamber camera at 1080p 30 fps plus the nozzle AI camera[2] |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Ships 95% pre-assembled; Anycubic claims unbox to print in 10 minutes[1] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | Consumer grades: PLA, PETG, TPU (95A), TPU for ACE, PET, PLA-CF, PETG-CF, PVA. Engineering grades: ABS, ASA, PC, PA, PA6-CF, PC-CF/GF, PET-CF[1] | PLA, PETG, PET, ABS, ASA, PLA-CF, PA-CF, PPA-CF[2] |
| Safety | ||
| Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible) | Not documented | Not verified directly. Creality publishes the K2-series firmware as CrealityOfficial/K2_Series_Klipper (GPL-3.0); upstream Klipper ships the verify_heater thermal-runaway check, but whether the stock configuration enables it was not checked here[7][8] |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | 48 dB or less in standard mode, as low as 45 dB in quiet 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[9] | 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[10] |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Benchmark print times (source + settings) | Not documented | Benchy in 15 minutes 56 seconds - independently measured by Tom's Hardware, which noted visible layer lines and slightly droopy overhangs at that speed[6] |
| 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[6] |
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 S1 Max product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality K2 series product page, including the Compare K2 Series table (K2 / K2 Pro / K2 Plus) creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra S1 Max Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - K2 Plus 3D Printer product page (live price) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra S1 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Tom's Hardware - Creality K2 Plus Review (spec box and measured Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- GitHub API - CrealityOfficial/K2_Series_Klipper repository metadata (GPL-3.0, last push Mar 2026) api.github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- GitHub - CrealityOfficial organisation repositories (per-model firmware sources) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- 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