3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Bambu Lab H2C vs Creality Ender-3 V3 SE
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Bambu Lab H2C comparisonsMore Creality Ender-3 V3 SE comparisons
| Property | Bambu Lab H2CCOREXY | Creality Ender-3 V3 SEBEDSLINGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Bambu Lab | Creality |
| Class | COREXY | BEDSLINGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Bambu Lab H2C; spec sheet header "H2C Spec Sheet"[1] | Creality Ender-3 V3 SE[2] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | From $2,199.00 on the Bambu Lab US store, Aug 2026, against a stated typical price of $2,399.00; the compare page shows $2,399[3] | $186.00 on store.creality.com, Aug 2026; Creality's own product page shows $199.00 for the same machine on the same day, so the two Creality properties disagree[4][2] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Dual-nozzle top model in the H2 family, in the same 492x514x626 mm body as the H2D and H2S. Distinguishing figures: 32.5 kg (vs 31 kg H2D, 30 kg H2S); single-nozzle volume 305x320x325 mm (vs 325x320x325 mm on the H2D); BirdsEye camera fitted as standard rather than only on a Laser Edition; laser safety window listed as equipped with the Laser Edition[1][5][6][7] | The cheapest of the Ender-3 V3 family and mechanically the most conservative: it keeps a conventional i3 bed-slinger layout, while the Ender-3 V3 and V3 Plus use CoreXZ and the V3 KE keeps the bed-slinger layout but adds an X-axis linear rail, a 60 W ceramic hotend and Klipper-based Creality OS. Speed ceilings differ sharply - 250 mm/s and 2500 mm/s2 on the SE against 500 mm/s on the KE and 600 mm/s on the V3/V3 Plus. The SE also stops at a 260 C nozzle where the others reach 300 C[2][8][9][10][11] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | Single-nozzle printing 305 x 320 x 325 mm; dual-nozzle printing 300 x 320 x 325 mm; total volume for two nozzles 330 x 320 x 325 mm. The sortable figure is the single-nozzle volume[1] | 220 x 220 x 250 mm[10] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 492 x 514 x 626 mm[1] | 349 x 364 x 490 mm (Tom's Hardware measurement of the machine footprint)[10] |
| Net weight (kg) | 32.5 kg net[1] | 7.12 kg[10] |
| Frame construction & material | Aluminium and steel chassis with a plastic and glass outer frame[1] | Not documented |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Fully enclosed with a door sensor; active chamber heating to 65 C, chamber exhaust and heat-circulation fans, G3 + H12 + granulated coconut-shell carbon filtration with VOC filtration rated Superior[1] | Open frame, no enclosure[2] |
| Passive chamber temperature reached (if enclosed; measured values preferred) | Active chamber heating, maximum 65 C (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY - not named in the spec sheet; grouped by Bambu with the H2 enclosed CoreXY machines at 20000 mm/s2[1] | Cartesian i3 bed-slinger - Creality describes "neat X, Y, Z-axis, smooth T-shaped profiles" with a rigid dual Z-axis and a moving build platform on the Y axis[2] |
| Y-axis guide type | Not documented | Y axis runs on a pair of 8 mm steel linear shafts carrying the build platform[2] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Not documented | Rigid dual Z-axis, which Creality says reduces Z wobble[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 1000 mm/s max toolhead speed (manufacturer claim); no independent measurement found[1] | 250 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim, Creality Lab figure)[2] |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20000 mm/s2 max toolhead acceleration (manufacturer claim)[1] | 2500 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim). Tom's Hardware attributes the modest Benchy time directly to this acceleration cap[2][10] |
| Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s) | 40 mm3/s, measured by Bambu on a 250 mm round single-wall model in Bambu ABS at 280 C[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Dual direct-drive extruders, hardened-steel gears, Bambu high-precision permanent-magnet synchronous motors[1] | Creality "Sprite" direct-drive extruder, which Creality says works with PLA, PETG and flexible TPU and had shipped over 500,000 units as of June 2023[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Hardened-steel nozzles, 0.2/0.4/0.6/0.8 mm supported; built-in filament cutter[1] | Direct-drive hotend with a 0.4 mm high-flow nozzle (Tom's Hardware description); Creality does not describe an all-metal path for the SE[10] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 350 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1] | 260 C maximum nozzle temperature per Tom's Hardware's spec box - the lowest of the Ender-3 V3 family, where the V3, V3 Plus and KE all reach 300 C[10][9] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 120 C max heatbed temperature[1] | Not documented |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Flexible steel plate with Textured PEI included; Engineering Plate also supported[1] | PC-coated spring steel sheet, heated, removable[10] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Not documented | CR Touch inductive/mechanical probe for auto bed levelling plus a separate strain sensor for automatic Z offset - Creality's pitch is no levelling screws and no paper method[2] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Yes - run-out sensor and door sensor[1] | Filament run-out sensor fitted[10] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Part-cooling fan, hotend cooling fan, chamber exhaust fan and chamber heat-circulation fan, all closed-loop controlled[1] | Two fans on the printhead: a front-mounted fan onto the hotend heatsink and a second fan in the shroud with twin ducts aimed at the nozzle (Tom's Hardware teardown description)[10] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Total rated power draw | 100-120 VAC / 200-240 VAC 50/60 Hz; 1800 W at 220 V, 1250 W at 110 V[1] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Closed-source proprietary firmware - not a Klipper or Marlin derivative, and no printer-firmware source is published. The bambulab GitHub organisation carries 11 repositories (Bambu Studio, wxWidgets/boost/ffmpeg forks, the wiki); none is printer firmware. Updates are delivered over the air via Bambu Studio / Bambu Handy[12] | Creality publishes an open-source firmware repository for this model, CrealityOfficial/Ender-3V3-SE on GitHub under GPL-3.0 (last pushed July 2024). Unlike the KE, K1 and K2 repositories, it is not described as a Klipper clone, and Creality does not call the SE a Creality OS machine on its product page[13][14][8] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 5-inch 720x1280 touchscreen[1] | 3.2-inch colour screen with a control knob - not a touchscreen, unlike the KE and V3[10] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Touchscreen plus mobile app and PC app[1] | Knob-driven colour UI using motion graphics to show levelling progress and print parameters; auto filament load/unload from the menu[2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Wi-Fi; built-in 8 GB eMMC and a USB port. Ethernet not available[1] | SD card only - no Wi-Fi and no USB host, in contrast to the Wi-Fi-equipped KE and V3[10] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Four cameras as standard: live view 1920x1080, nozzle camera 1920x1080, toolhead camera 1920x1080 and BirdsEye 3264x2448[1] | Not documented |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Not documented | Kit-style assembly from a small number of pre-built sections; Creality claims printing within 20 minutes of unboxing[2] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, PETG, TPU, PVA, BVOH, ABS, ASA, PC, PA, PET, PPS, plus carbon/glass-fibre reinforced PLA, PETG, PA, PET, PC, ABS, ASA, PPA and PPS[1] | PLA, PETG and TPU (Tom's Hardware); Creality's own copy names PLA, PETG and flexible TPU for the Sprite extruder[10] |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | 2-year limited warranty for consumers in the US, Canada, the EU, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland; 1 year in the rest of the world. Bambu Lab's own policy records the US/Canada term as a 2026 extension from one year to two[15] | 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[16] |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Benchmark print times (source + settings) | Not documented | Benchy in 41 minutes under Speed Boat Rules (2 walls, 3 top/bottom layers, 10% grid infill, 0.25 mm layer height, 0.5 mm width) in ordinary grey PLA - independently measured by Tom's Hardware, not a manufacturer figure[10] |
| Review scores from major outlets (list outlet + score + date) | Not documented | Tom's Hardware rating 4.5 out of 5 in the page's structured data[10] |
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
- Bambu Lab H2C Spec Sheet (PDF) store.bblcdn.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Creality Ender-3 V3 SE product page creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab US Store - 3D Printers collection listing (base prices, Aug 2026) us.store.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - Ender-3 V3 SE 3D Printer product page (live price) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab H2D - Technical Specifications bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab H2S & H2S Laser Edition Spec Sheet (PDF) store.bblcdn.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Lab - Compare all 3D printers (A2L / X2D / H2C columns) bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality Ender-3 V3 KE product page creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality Ender-3 V3 product page (full specification table) creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Tom's Hardware - Creality Ender 3 V3 SE Review (spec box and Speed Boat Rules Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- Tom's Hardware - Creality Ender 3 V3 KE Review (spec box and Speed Boat Rules Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- GitHub - bambulab organisation repository list (11 repos, checked Aug 2026) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- GitHub API - CrealityOfficial/Ender-3V3-SE repository metadata ("Open source for Ender-3V3 SE", GPL-3.0) api.github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- GitHub - CrealityOfficial organisation repositories (per-model firmware sources) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Lab Warranty Policy bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - K1 3D Printer product page (live price, warranty and returns banner) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor