3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
ANYCUBIC Photon Mono M5s vs Creality K2
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore ANYCUBIC Photon Mono M5s comparisonsMore Creality K2 comparisons
| Property | ANYCUBIC Photon Mono M5sRESIN | Creality K2COREXY |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Creality |
| Class | RESIN | COREXY |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | ANYCUBIC Photon Mono M5s[1][2] | Creality K2[3] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $609.00 on store.anycubic.com, with the compare-at price also $609.00, but marked Sold out, checked Aug 2026. 3DJake also shows it sold out and delisted[1][2] | Not documented |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Older and smaller than the M7 family: 12K LCD (11520 x 5120) vs 14K, 218 x 123 x 200 mm vs 223 x 126 x 230, an LED-matrix light source rather than COB + Fresnel, and 105 vs 150-170 mm/h on high-speed resin. Note Anycubic's spec table lists the machine dimensions in H x W x D order[1][2][4][5] | Smallest of three K2 machines that share a product page. K2: 260 mm cube, no chamber heating, 100 C bed, 300 C nozzle, 8 GB storage, one air filter, one auxiliary cooling fan, 720p camera, no RFID reader, no Ethernet. K2 Pro: 300 mm cube, 60 C chamber, 110 C bed, RFID, Ethernet, 32 GB. K2 Plus: 350 mm cube, 350 C nozzle, 120 C bed, 30000 mm/s2, dual air filters, auto belt tensioning, 1080p camera, dual-band Wi-Fi. A K2 SE also exists as a separate model[3] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 218 x 123 x 200 mm (Anycubic quotes 5.4 L; the table writes it as 200 x 218 x 123 mm in H x W x D order)[1][2] | 260 x 260 x 260 mm[3] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 460 x 270 x 290 mm (H x W x D per Anycubic; 3DJake writes 270 x 290 x 460 mm)[1][2] | 404 x 436 x 545 mm[3] |
| Net weight (kg) | 8.9 kg[1][2] | 18.3 kg[3] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open-frame MSLA with a UV-blocking cover[1] | Enclosed, but with no chamber temperature control - Creality's table gives a max chamber temperature for the K2 Pro and K2 Plus and a dash for the K2. One air filter fitted[3] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | MSLA, single Z axis on double linear guides, straight-lift peel[1][2] | 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[3] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Double linear guides, 10 um precision[1] | Not documented |
| Belts (type, width, e.g. Gates?) | Not documented | Manual belt tensioning (the K2 Plus is auto-adjusted)[3] |
| Stepper motors (frame size, step angle, brand if known) | Not documented | Step-servo motors on the X and Y axes and the extruder (the K2 Plus adds them on Z)[3] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | Not documented | 600 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim)[3] |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | Not documented | 20000 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim)[3] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | Not documented | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[3] |
| Heater cartridge power (W) | Not documented | 70 W rated hotend power[3] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | Not documented | 100 C max heatbed temperature - the lowest in the K2 family[3] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Laser-engraved aluminium-alloy build platform[1][2] | Not documented |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Levelling-free design[1][2] | Smart auto levelling fitted; unlike the K2 Pro and Plus there is no nozzle AI camera, so there is no automatic flow-rate calibration[3] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | One auxiliary cooling fan and one air filter[3] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Total rated power draw | 100 W rated[1][2] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Not documented | 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[6][7][3] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch TFT touchscreen (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[1][2] | 4-inch touchscreen[3] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Not documented | Touch UI with alarm sounds; no built-in RFID reader[3] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | USB Type-A 2.0 and Wi-Fi[1][2] | Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz, USB drive and a Creality 485 port; no Ethernet. 8 GB eMMC storage[3] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Not documented | One chamber camera, 720p at 30 fps[3] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | 405 nm photopolymer resin; no closed compatibility list published on this page[1] | PLA, PETG, PET, ABS, PLA-CF - a shorter list than the K2 Pro and Plus, which add ASA, PA-CF and PPA-CF[3] |
| 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[6][7] |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | Not documented | 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[8] |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | 10.1-inch monochrome masking LCD at 12K, 11,520 x 5,120 px, 480:1 contrast, XY pixel pitch 19 x 24 um (manufacturer specification)[1][2] | Not documented |
| Light source | LED matrix UV light source. Anycubic does not publish wavelength or collimating optics for this model[1][2] | Not documented |
| Vertical print speedmm/h | 105 mm/h with high-speed resin, 70 mm/h with standard resin (manufacturer claims; Anycubic labels these average printing speeds and does not state the layer height assumed)[1][2] | Not documented |
| LCD life & replaceability | Swappable scratchproof screen protector film over the masking LCD. Anycubic publishes no rated screen life in hours[2] | Not documented |
| Resin vat & feeding | Unibody resin vat with scale lines. Capacity not published; no auto-refill and no level sensing stated for this model[1] | Not documented |
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 Photon Mono M5s product page store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Photon Mono M5s technical data table 3djake.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 Photon Mono M7 product page store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Photon Mono M7 Pro product page store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- 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
- Creality US store - K1 3D Printer product page (live price, warranty and returns banner) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor