3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
ANYCUBIC Photon Mono M5s vs Formlabs Form 4
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 Formlabs Form 4 comparisons
| Property | ANYCUBIC Photon Mono M5sRESIN | Formlabs Form 4RESIN |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Formlabs |
| Class | RESIN | RESIN |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | ANYCUBIC Photon Mono M5s[1][2] | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[3][4] |
| 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] | Starting at $2,625.00 at GoEngineer, in stock, checked Aug 2026. Formlabs sells the printer as part of packages (Form 4 Complete Package etc.), so package prices are much higher than the printer-only figure[4] |
| 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][5][6] | Three machines share this platform and are constantly conflated. Form 4: 200 x 125 x 210 mm, 50 um pixels, 18.3 kg, 480 W, one resin cartridge, NOT biocompatible. Form 4B: identical hardware but validated for 38 Formlabs materials including 15 biocompatible. Form 4L: 353 x 196 x 350 mm, 46 um pixels, 58.5 kg, 900 W, two cartridges[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] | 200 x 125 x 210 mm (Formlabs quotes 5.25 litres)[3][4] |
| 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] | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[3][4] |
| Net weight (kg) | 8.9 kg[1][2] | 18.3 kg[3][4] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open-frame MSLA with a UV-blocking cover[1] | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[3] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | MSLA, single Z axis on double linear guides, straight-lift peel[1][2] | Masked stereolithography (MSLA). Formlabs brands the engine Low Force Display; straight-lift peel[3][4] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Double linear guides, 10 um precision[1] | Not documented |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| 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] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | Not documented | 100-240 VAC, 4.8 A, 50/60 Hz, 480 W[3] |
| Total rated power draw | 100 W rated[1][2] | 480 W[3] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Not documented | Proprietary. Print preparation is PreForm; fleet management is Formlabs Dashboard[4] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch TFT touchscreen (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[1][2] | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[3] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | USB Type-A 2.0 and Wi-Fi[1][2] | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[3][4] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | 405 nm photopolymer resin; no closed compatibility list published on this page[1] | Formlabs resins across rigid, tough, general purpose, flame retardant, silicone, elastic, ceramic and castable families. Biocompatible resins require the Form 4B, not the Form 4[3] |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | Not documented | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement[3][4] |
| 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] | Low Force Display masking LCD with a 50 um pixel size and pre-tuned anti-aliasing. Formlabs does not publish the screen diagonal or pixel count[3][4] |
| Light source | LED matrix UV light source. Anycubic does not publish wavelength or collimating optics for this model[1][2] | Backlight unit with 60 uniform-wavelength high-power LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[3][4] |
| 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] | Maximum 100 mm/h; average 40 mm/h at a 100 um layer height (manufacturer figures — GoEngineer publishes both, which is unusually explicit about the basis). Formlabs separately claims most prints finish in under 2 hours[4][3] |
| Layer height range | Not documented | 25-200 um per Formlabs' own tech-spec page; GoEngineer's listing for the same machine says 25-300 um. Unresolved[3][4] |
| 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] | Single next-generation resin cartridge; Formlabs claims 5-10x faster filling and 63% less waste. Resin tank rated for 75,000+ layers with any Formlabs material. No vat capacity published[3][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 Photon Mono M5s product page store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Photon Mono M5s technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs resin printer technical specifications (Form 4 / 4B / 4L) formlabs.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs Form 4 3D printer listing store.goengineer.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