3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra S1 vs Formlabs Form 4L
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 Formlabs Form 4L comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra S1COREXY | Formlabs Form 4LRESIN |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Formlabs |
| Class | COREXY | RESIN |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Anycubic Kobra S1[1] | Formlabs Form 4L[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the Anycubic store from 2 January 2025 (Shopify publish date)[3] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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][4] | Same Low Force Display engine as the Form 4 but a different machine on every physical figure: 353 x 196 x 350 mm vs 200 x 125 x 210, 46 um vs 50 um pixels, 58.5 kg vs 18.3 kg, 900 W vs 480 W, two resin cartridges vs one. Formlabs lists Basic, Premium and Complete packages, whose prices are not printer-only prices, and no printer-only USD figure was found on a live listing[2] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 250 x 250 x 250 mm[1] | 353 x 196 x 350 mm (Formlabs quotes 24.2 litres)[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 400 x 410 x 490 mm[1] | 664 x 528 x 794 mm[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 9.37 kg net, 20.2 kg packaged[1] | 58.5 kg[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][4] | Enclosed cabinet with a UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY (stated outright in Anycubic's specification table)[1] | Masked stereolithography (MSLA) with the Low Force Display engine; straight-lift peel[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 (manufacturer claims)[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct drive ("short distance extrusion")[1] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 320 C maximum nozzle temperature[1] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament detection with auto resume, filament entanglement detection and power-loss resume[1] | Not documented |
| 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 |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | Not documented | 100-240 VAC, 9 A, 50/60 Hz, 900 W[2] |
| Total rated power draw | Not documented | 900 W[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Kobra OS, with pressure advance and flow calibration supported[1] | Proprietary; print preparation is PreForm[2] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen[1] | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[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] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Printer UI, slicing software, Anycubic app, USB (print only)[1] | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, USB-C 2.0[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][4][5] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS, ASA[1] | Formlabs resin range as for the Form 4; biocompatible materials require a B-series machine[2] |
| 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[6] | Not documented |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | Not documented | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification[2] |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | Not documented | Low Force Display masking LCD with a 46 um pixel size. Formlabs does not publish the screen diagonal or pixel count[2] |
| Light source | Not documented | Backlight unit with uniform-wavelength LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[2] |
| Layer height range | Not documented | 25-200 um[2] |
| Resin vat & feeding | Not documented | Two next-generation resin cartridges. No vat capacity published[2] |
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
- Formlabs resin printer technical specifications (Form 4 / 4B / 4L) formlabs.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra S1 Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra S1 Max product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra 4 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor