3D Printing Info

Printer comparison

Anycubic Photon P1 Max vs Creality Ender-3 V3 KE

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

2 selected · all documented properties

Anycubic Photon P1 Max vs Creality Ender-3 V3 KE — documented properties and sources
PropertyAnycubic Photon P1 MaxRESINCreality Ender-3 V3 KEBEDSLINGER
Identity
BrandAnycubicCreality
ClassRESINBEDSLINGER
Identity & Market
Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first)Anycubic Photon P1 Max[1]Creality Ender-3 V3 KE[2]
Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry)$959 advertised single-unit sale/from price; $999 compare-at, not launch MSRP. Global USD storefront, Other plug/no resin selected; US price, availability, shipping and tax require checkout. Checked 2026-10-17.[1]$259.00 on store.creality.com, Aug 2026; Creality's own product page shows $279.00 on the same day[3][2]
Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk)Not documentedSits between the SE and the V3 in the Ender-3 V3 family. Against the SE: linear rail on X instead of wheels, 500 mm/s instead of 250, 300 C ceramic hotend instead of 260 C, 4.3-inch touchscreen instead of a 3.2-inch knob screen, Wi-Fi instead of SD-card only. Against the V3: the KE keeps the conventional bed-slinger layout while the V3 is CoreXZ and reaches 600 mm/s. Build volume also differs subtly - 220 x 220 x 240 mm on the KE against 220 x 220 x 250 mm on the SE and V3[2][4][5][6]
Physical & Frame
Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable285.5 × 214 × 300 mm (X × Y × Z), advertised 18.3 L; usable volume not independently measured.[1]220 x 220 x 240 mm - 10 mm shorter than the SE and V3, a difference that is easy to miss[4]
Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang)430 × 414 × 625 mm, manufacturer dimensions; external clearance not specified.[1]433 x 366 x 490 mm (Tom's Hardware)[4]
Net weight (kg)23.1 kg (manufacturer specification)[1]7.8 kg[4]
Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lidNot documentedOpen frame, no enclosure[2]
Kinematics & Motion Hardware
Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other)Not documentedCartesian bed-slinger with a linear rail on X[2]
X-axis guide type (rods / linear rails / V-wheels; size)Not documentedSteel linear rail on the X axis with a ball-bearing carriage; Creality Lab quotes a 0.04 friction coefficient[2]
Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlashDual linear guide rails and ball lead screws (manufacturer specification)[1]Not documented
Speed & Acceleration
Max print speed (claimed, mm/s)Not documented500 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim, Creality Lab)[2]
Extruder
Type (direct drive / bowden) & design nameNot documentedDirect-drive extruder paired with the ceramic-heated high-flow hotend[2]
Hotend & Nozzle
Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?)Not documentedHotend with a 60 W ceramic heater, a bi-metal copper/titanium-alloy heatbreak to resist thermal creep, and a copper nozzle[2]
Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values)Not documented300 C claimed max nozzle temperature (Creality Lab test at 25 C room temperature)[2]
Heater cartridge power (W)Not documented60 W ceramic heater cartridge (manufacturer figure)[2]
Heated Bed & Surface
Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sidedPrecision-ground steel build platform[1]PEI-coated spring steel sheet, heated, removable[4]
Leveling & Z-Offset
Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe)Leveling-Free 3.0 with feedback and pre-print self-check (manufacturer claim)[1]One-tap self-test covering Z offset and auto levelling; Tom's Hardware records automatic levelling with automatic Z as well[2]
Filament Handling & Detection
Filament runout sensor (type, location)Not documentedFilament run-out sensor fitted[4]
Cooling & Air Handling
Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting designNot documentedTwo part-cooling fans, one on each side of the printhead, cooling the freshly printed section from both sides[2]
Electronics & Power
PSU (brand, wattage, rail voltage)296 W power supply (manufacturer specification; not measured consumption)[1]Not documented
Firmware & Openness
Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary)Not documentedCreality OS, which Creality states is "Based on the popular Klipper firmware", with open-source files published; the source is on GitHub as CrealityOfficial/Ender-3_V3_KE_Klipper, described as a clone of upstream Klipper, GPL-3.0. Input shaping and motion advance (pressure advance) are exposed as features[2][7][8]
Connectivity, UI & Camera
Display: size, type, touch?4.5-inch resistive touchscreen[1]4.3-inch touchscreen[4]
On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.)Not documentedTouch UI with a tab bar, real-time model preview, motion graphics for print parameters and a one-tap self-test[2]
WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-driveWi-Fi and Ethernet; manufacturer advertises LAN isolation mode.[1]Wi-Fi and USB; LAN printing and cloud printing through Creality Print on PC or the Creality Cloud app, with multi-printer print-farm management[4][2]
Materials Support
Officially supported filament listManufacturer lists all Anycubic resins; compatibility with other brands not verified.[1]Hyper PLA, PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU (95A) and ASA[2]
Safety
Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible)Not documentedNot verified directly. Creality states the Ender-3 V3 KE runs a Klipper-based Creality OS and publishes CrealityOfficial/Ender-3_V3_KE_Klipper (GPL-3.0) as a clone of upstream Klipper, which ships the verify_heater thermal-runaway check; the stock configuration was not checked here[7][8][2]
Reliability, Support & Ecosystem
Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes)Not documentedCreality'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[9]
Independently Measured Performance
Benchmark print times (source + settings)Not documentedBenchy in 19 minutes 48 seconds under Speed Boat Rules in ordinary grey PLA - independently measured by Tom's Hardware[4]
Review scores from major outlets (list outlet + score + date)Not documentedTom's Hardware rating 4.5 out of 5 in the page's structured data[4]
Resin & MSLA
Masking LCD14-inch monochrome 12K masking LCD; 24.8 × 24.8 µm XY pixel pitch (manufacturer specification)[1]Not documented
Light sourceCOB + Fresnel + mask light source[1]Not documented
Light uniformity & intensity≥4000 µW/cm² intensity and 92% uniformity (manufacturer claims)[1]Not documented
Vertical print speedmm/h15–25 mm/h at 0.05 mm layers with standard resin (manufacturer claim; not independently measured).[1]Not documented
Layer height range0.02–0.15 mm layer height[1]Not documented
Release filmNFEP release film; store separately describes its Wave Release system.[1]Not documented
Resin vat & feeding1.9 L vat with dynamic temperature control; auto-fill unit not supported.[1]Not documented
Fume extractionOptional AirPure 2.0 accessory; filtration efficacy not independently verified.[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

  1. Anycubic Photon P1 Max official store: single-unit price and specifications Anycubic · 2026-10-17 · vendor
  2. Creality Ender-3 V3 KE product page creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  3. Creality US store - Ender-3 V3 KE 3D Printer product page (live price) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  4. Tom's Hardware - Creality Ender 3 V3 KE Review (spec box and Speed Boat Rules Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
  5. Tom's Hardware - Creality Ender 3 V3 SE Review (spec box and Speed Boat Rules Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
  6. Tom's Hardware - Creality Ender 3 V3 Review (spec box and Speed Boat Rules Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
  7. GitHub API - CrealityOfficial/Ender-3_V3_KE_Klipper repository metadata ("clone from https://github.com/Klipper3d/klipper/", GPL-3.0) api.github.com · 2026-08 · doc
  8. GitHub - CrealityOfficial organisation repositories (per-model firmware sources) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
  9. Creality US store - K1 3D Printer product page (live price, warranty and returns banner) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor