3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra S1 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 S1 comparisonsMore Bambu Lab A2L comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra S1COREXY | Bambu Lab A2LBEDSLINGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Bambu Lab |
| Class | COREXY | BEDSLINGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Anycubic Kobra S1[1] | Bambu Lab A2L[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the Anycubic store from 2 January 2025 (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) | $349.00 with a US plug on store.anycubic.com, Aug 2026, against a compare-at price of $549.00 ($401.00 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) | The CoreXY line, not to be confused with the gantry/bed-slinger Kobra 3, Kobra 4 and Kobra X. Within the S line the Kobra S1 Max is a much bigger machine: 350 mm cube against 250, a 350 C hardened-steel nozzle against 320 C, 65 C active chamber heating that the S1 does not have at all, and 25.7 kg against 9.37 kg. Multicolour is sold separately on both (ACE Pro / ACE 2 Pro)[1][6] | 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 | 250 x 250 x 250 mm[1] | 330 x 320 x 325 mm (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 400 x 410 x 490 mm[1] | 544 x 529 x 505 mm[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 9.37 kg net, 20.2 kg packaged[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 | Fully enclosed - Anycubic's own wording is "Fully Enclosed CoreXY Construction". There is no active chamber heating on the S1 (that is the S1 Max's addition)[1][6] | Open frame, no enclosure[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY (stated outright in Anycubic's specification table)[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 recommended[1] | 500 mm/s max toolhead 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 (manufacturer claims)[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?) | Quick-release hotend; 0.4 mm standard nozzle expandable to 0.25, 0.6 and 0.8 mm[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) | 320 C maximum nozzle temperature[1] | 300 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 - the highest bed ceiling of any Anycubic machine in this file except the S1 Max[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 auto-levelling with Z-offset, plus area levelling[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, filament 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 is sold separately - the ACE Pro / ACE 2 Pro units are not included with the bare S1[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 supported[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[7] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen[1] | 3.5-inch 240x320 touchscreen[2] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Touchscreen plus slicing software, the Anycubic app and USB (print only); 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 | Printer UI, slicing software, Anycubic app, USB (print only)[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, but only 480p - lower than the 720p units on the S1 Max, Kobra 4 and Kobra X[1][6][8] | Built-in low-frame-rate camera, up to 1080p, timelapse supported[2] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS, ASA[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][9] |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | 46 dB or less in standard mode and 44 dB or less in quiet mode - manufacturer figures with no distance or method stated, so not comparable with an independently measured reading[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 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[11] |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| 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 S1 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab A2L Spec Sheet (PDF) store.bblcdn.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Anycubic Kobra S1 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 S1 Max 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 4 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