3D Printing Info

Printer comparison

Anycubic Kobra S1 vs Original Prusa XL+ Single-Tool

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

2 selected · all documented properties

Anycubic Kobra S1 vs Original Prusa XL+ Single-Tool — documented properties and sources
PropertyAnycubic Kobra S1COREXYOriginal Prusa XL+ Single-ToolCOREXY
Identity
BrandAnycubicPrusa Research
ClassCOREXYCOREXY
Identity & Market
Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first)Anycubic Kobra S1[1]Original Prusa XL+, Single-Tool variant ("Prusa XL+ Single-Tool" in the e-shop variant data)[2][3]
Release date (announcement and actual shipping)Listed on the Anycubic store from 2 January 2025 (Shopify publish date)[4]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[5]
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)[4]$2,128.70 on prusa3d.com, Aug 2026 (lowest listed price for the Single-Tool variant; the Enclosure bundle starts at $2,610.19)[2]
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]The XL+ is sold in Single-Tool, Dual-Head and Five-Head variants at $2,128.70, $2,768.52 and $3,610.18 respectively (Aug 2026), plus Enclosure bundles and a Critical Infrastructure edition. The frame is the same in all of them - Prusa states the frame is ready for toolheads to be added at any time - so build volume, bed and electronics figures are shared and only the toolhead count and price differ. The XL+ is itself a revision of the Original Prusa XL: the older XL aligned toolheads with a mechanical pin, the XL+ uses a dedicated electronic sensor, adds a nozzle wiper and is claimed to print 10-15% faster[2][3]
Market position: superseded? successor announced?Not documentedCurrent model; an Original Prusa XL to Prusa XL+ upgrade kit is sold for existing owners[3]
Physical & Frame
Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable250 x 250 x 250 mm[1]360 x 360 x 360 mm, which Prusa states as 46.7 litres[2]
Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang)400 x 410 x 490 mm[1]About 700 x 900 x 720 mm (Prusa's own figure is approximate)[2]
Net weight (kg)9.37 kg net, 20.2 kg packaged[1]About 30 kg[2]
Frame construction & materialNot documentedAluminium extrusions and steel sheets (Prusa's comparison table for the XL)[7]
Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lidFully 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. 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][5]
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 documented1.5 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 speed300 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
Vibration Compensation / Input Shaping
Input shaping supported? Implementation (Klipper IS / Marlin ZV / proprietary)Not documentedInput Shaper and Phase Stepping[2]
Extruder
Type (direct drive / bowden) & design nameDirect drive ("short distance extrusion")[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; 0.4 mm standard nozzle expandable to 0.25, 0.6 and 0.8 mm[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)320 C maximum nozzle temperature[1]290 C claimed max nozzle temperature[2]
Heated Bed & Surface
Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit120 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]120 C max heatbed temperature[2]
Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sidedNot documentedSegmented 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 with Z-offset, plus area 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][5]
Filament Handling & Detection
Filament runout sensor (type, location)Filament detection with auto resume, filament 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 pathMulticolour 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 designNot documented360-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][5]
Electronics & Power
Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist)Not documentedCustom 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, the Anycubic app and USB (print only); AI spaghetti detection and object-skip supported[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-drivePrinter UI, slicing software, Anycubic app, USB (print only)[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 fitted, but only 480p - lower than the 720p units on the S1 Max, Kobra 4 and Kobra X[1][6][9]Not documented
Materials Support
Officially supported filament listPLA, PETG, TPU, ABS, ASA[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 documentedOpen-source firmware on the xBuddy platform, which carries hardware overcurrent protection cutting heater and heatbed power above 15 A[10][8]
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[11]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[12][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

  1. Anycubic Kobra S1 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  2. Original Prusa XL+ product page (spec block and variant price data) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  3. Prusa 3D printers category listing with live e-shop prices, Aug 2026 prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  4. Anycubic Kobra S1 Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  5. 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
  6. Anycubic Kobra S1 Max product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Original Prusa MK4S 3D Printer product page (Technical Parameters + CORE One+/MK4S/XL comparison table) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. GitHub - prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy (firmware for MINI, MK4, XL and CORE One) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
  9. Anycubic Kobra 4 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. 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
  11. Anycubic refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  12. Prusa Knowledge Base - Warranty help.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc