Printer comparison
ANYCUBIC Photon Mono M7 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 M7 comparisonsMore Formlabs Form 4 comparisons
| Property | ANYCUBIC Photon Mono M7RESIN | 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 M7[1][2] | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[3][4] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $493.00 on store.anycubic.com against a $597.00 compare-at price, in stock and quoted as shipping in 24 hours, checked Aug 2026[1] | 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) | Distinct from the Photon Mono M7 Pro, which shares the 223 x 126 x 230 mm envelope and a 10.1-inch 14K LCD but adds LighTurbo 3.0 optics, a heated peristaltic-pump vat and auto resin refill, and runs 170 vs 150 mm/h on high-speed resin. The M5s is a different machine again (12K, 218 x 123 x 200 mm). 3DJake shows the M7 sold out[1][5][6][2][7] | 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 | 223 x 126 x 230 mm (Anycubic quotes 6.5 L)[1][2] | 200 x 125 x 210 mm (Formlabs quotes 5.25 litres)[3][4] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 312 x 315 x 520 mm[1][2] | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[3][4] |
| Net weight (kg) | 12 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 dual linear rails, 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 | Dual linear rails, Anycubic quotes 10 um Z precision[1] | Not documented |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Laser-engraved build plate[1] | Not documented |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Levelling-free — no user levelling step[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 | 135 W power supply[1] | 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 touch control screen (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[1] | 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 and Wi-Fi[2] | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[3][4] |
| Camera features: live monitor, timelapse, AI failure detection (spaghetti detection) — how real is it? | Failed-print detection[2] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | High-speed, water-washable, standard, ABS-like and plant-based resins (Anycubic's own list)[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 14K, XY pixel pitch 16.8 x 24.8 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 | COB light source with a Fresnel lens and a light-uniformity algorithm[1][2] | Backlight unit with 60 uniform-wavelength high-power LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[3][4] |
| Light uniformity & intensity | Uniformity >=90% and intensity 4500 +/-10% uW/cm2 (both manufacturer claims, no independent measurement). Anycubic also states light intensity is uniform within an angle of <=3 degrees[1][2] | Not documented |
| Vertical print speedmm/h | 150 mm/h with high-speed resin at 0.1 mm layer height; 90 mm/h with standard resin at the same layer height. Anycubic's headline maximum is 90 mm/h for standard resin, so the 150 figure is resin-dependent (manufacturer claims)[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 | 0.01-0.15 mm[1] | 25-200 um per Formlabs' own tech-spec page; GoEngineer's listing for the same machine says 25-300 um. Unresolved[3][4] |
| Release film | Improved ACF film. No rated life published for this model (the M7 Pro's ACF film is rated ~45,000 uses)[1][2][7] | Not documented |
| Resin vat & feeding | Resin vat capacity up to 1 L, with resin level monitoring. No auto-refill on this model[1][2] | 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 M7 product page store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Photon Mono M7 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 Pro product page store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Photon Mono M5s product page store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Photon Mono M7 Pro technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor