3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra S1 Max vs Original Prusa XL+ Dual-Head
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 Original Prusa XL+ Dual-Head comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra S1 MaxCOREXY | Original Prusa XL+ Dual-HeadTOOLCHANGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Prusa Research |
| Class | COREXY | TOOLCHANGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Anycubic Kobra S1 Max[1] | Original Prusa XL+, Dual-Head variant ("Prusa XL+ Dual-Head" in the e-shop variant data)[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the Anycubic store from 16 January 2026 (Shopify publish date)[3] | The XL+ refresh was announced on 13 August 2026, on sale immediately in all toolhead configurations, with assembled printers shipping later in August 2026 and upgrade kits for existing XL owners from around the end of August. The original Original Prusa XL predates it[4] |
| 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] | $2,768.52 on prusa3d.com, Aug 2026 (lowest listed price for the Dual-Head variant; the 2-toolhead Enclosure bundle starts at $3,128.70)[2] |
| 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] | One of three XL+ configurations - Single-Tool $2,128.70, Dual-Head $2,768.52, Five-Head $3,610.18 (Aug 2026). The frame, bed, electronics and 360 mm cube build volume are identical across all three; only the toolhead count, the price and the achievable multi-material workflow change. Toolheads can be added later[2][6] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 350 x 350 x 350 mm[1] | 360 x 360 x 360 mm, which Prusa states as 46.7 litres[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 502.7 x 483 x 584 mm[1] | About 700 x 900 x 720 mm (Prusa's own figure is approximate)[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 25.7 kg net, 31 kg packaged[1] | About 30 kg[2] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Aluminium extrusions and steel sheets (Prusa's comparison table for the XL)[7] |
| 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] | Open frame. The Enclosure for Prusa XL+ is an optional add-on; Prusa says the printer is ready for chamber temperatures up to 60 C, that the new better-sealed enclosure reaches around 50 C on the printer's own waste heat, and that 60 C needs an upcoming chamber heater for which no shipping date has been given[2][4] |
| Passive chamber temperature reached (if enclosed; measured values preferred) | 65 C active chamber heating (manufacturer figure, actively heated rather than passive)[1] | Not documented |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY (stated outright in Anycubic's specification table)[1] | CoreXY with 1.5 mm GT belts, Input Shaper and Phase Stepping[2] |
| Belts (type, width, e.g. Gates?) | Not documented | 1.5 mm GT belts[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) | 20000 mm/s2 maximum acceleration, 10000 mm/s2 recommended[1] | Not documented |
| Vibration Compensation / Input Shaping | ||
| Input shaping supported? Implementation (Klipper IS / Marlin ZV / proprietary) | Not documented | Input Shaper and Phase Stepping[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] | Nextruder direct drive; each toolhead carries its own extruder, hotend, nozzle and filament[2] |
| 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] | Quick-swap nozzles - 0.25 mm for detail, 0.6/0.8 mm for speed, hardened steel for abrasives, high-flow CHT for throughput; toolheads ship with high-flow nozzles[2] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 350 C maximum nozzle temperature[1] | 290 C claimed max nozzle temperature[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 | Segmented heatbed of 16 individually controlled tiles across the 360 x 360 mm surface, so only the tiles under the part are powered; removable double-sided satin print sheet supplied[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | LeviQ 3.0 auto-levelling[1] | Load-cell sensor - the nozzle is the probe, which Prusa says automatically accounts for nozzle changes, surface textures and thermal expansion and removes manual Z-offsets. Toolhead-to-toolhead alignment on the XL+ uses a separate permanently mounted eddy-current Tool Offset Sensor, replacing the removable mechanical pin used on the original XL[2][4] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament detection with auto resume, entanglement detection and power-loss resume[1] | Filament sensors fitted; Prusa's comparison table lists two filament sensors for the XL[7] |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | Up to 16-colour printing with ACE 2 Pro units, sold separately[1] | Two independent toolheads with automatic tool changing - two materials or two nozzle sizes in one job, with no purge tower waste between materials because each head keeps its own nozzle[2] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | 360-degree part cooling on each toolhead, new on the XL+ and matching the MK4S and CORE One arrangement; Prusa states it delivers more airflow and distributes it more evenly around the nozzle. Additional fans and heatsinks cool the electronics. Fan sizes are not published[2][4] |
| Chamber/exhaust fan & filtration (activated carbon / HEPA) | Activated carbon filter for odour removal; dual external-circulation cooling fans[1] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | Not documented | Custom 32-bit xBuddy electronics with STM32 (Prusa's comparison table for the XL)[7] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Kobra OS with pressure advance and flow calibration supported[1] | Open-source firmware - Prusa states "Firmware: Open-source; ships with the full current Prusa feature set", and the XL is covered by the prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy source tree[2][8] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen[1] | 3.5-inch 65k-colour screen with touch control (Prusa's comparison table for the XL)[7] |
| 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] | On-device touch UI; Prusa Connect and the Prusa mobile app are optional - Prusa states the machine is fully offline capable[7][2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Printer UI, slicing software, Anycubic app and U-disk[1] | Ethernet, optional Wi-Fi; USB drive for print files. Prusa Connect optional and fully offline operation supported[2][7] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Standard HD camera, 720p, used for real-time AI anomaly detection[1] | Not documented |
| 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, ASA, ABS, PC, PA (nylon), TPU, PVA, HIPS, PP, CPE, PVB and carbon-fibre composites. Prusa states an open material policy - any brand of 1.75 mm filament, no chips and no subscriptions[2] |
| Safety | ||
| Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible) | Not documented | Open-source firmware on the xBuddy platform, which carries hardware overcurrent protection cutting heater and heatbed power above 15 A[9][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[10] | 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[11][7] |
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
- Original Prusa XL+ product page (spec block and variant price data) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra S1 Max Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa blog - Better Prints, Easier Use: Prusa XL+, CORE One L+ and CORE One+ (Gen 2), Our Big Product Update (published 13 August 2026) blog.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Anycubic Kobra S1 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- 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
- 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 refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa Knowledge Base - Warranty help.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc