Printer comparison
Bambu Lab P1S vs Original Prusa i3 MK3S+
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Bambu Lab P1S comparisonsMore Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ comparisons
| Property | Bambu Lab P1SCOREXY | Original Prusa i3 MK3S+BEDSLINGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Bambu Lab | Prusa Research |
| Class | COREXY | BEDSLINGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Bambu Lab P1S. Store title: "Bambu Lab P1S 3D Printer"[1] | Original Prusa i3 MK3S+. The only version still listed in Aug 2026 is the "Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ 10th Anniversary Edition"[2] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | From $369.00 (base P1S) on the Bambu Lab US store, Aug 2026, against a stated typical price of $399.00; with the P1S AMS 2 Pro Combo variant selected the same page shows $539.00 against a typical $579.00[3][1] | $1,199.00 assembled, $899.00 as a kit, for the 10th Anniversary Edition on prusa3d.com, Aug 2026. This is above the price the standard MK3S+ sold at, so do not read it as the MK3S+ street price[2] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Enclosed version of the P1P and mechanically the same motion platform. Three SKUs on one product page: P1S, P1S AMS Combo and P1S AMS 2 Pro Combo (the AMS 2 Pro adds active filament drying). Sibling figures that get mixed up: net weight 12.95 kg (P1S) vs 9.65 kg (P1P); depth 389 mm vs 386 mm; ABS/ASA Ideal (P1S) vs Capable (P1P). Also distinct from the 2026 P2S, which is a different machine (600 mm/s, 110 C bed, 5-inch touchscreen, 14.9 kg)[1][4] | Only the 10th Anniversary Edition remains on sale; the standard MK3S+ is gone from Prusa's printer listing. Two official upgrade paths change the machine substantially and are frequently confused with it: MK3.5 (xBuddy board and new LCD, keeps the MK3 extruder) and MK3.9 (adds the Nextruder). A caution on Prusa's own pages: the "Awards & Press Reviews" paragraph about the MK3S is reproduced verbatim on the MINI+ product page, so award text found on a Prusa page does not necessarily belong to the printer on that page[2][5][6][7] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Still sold in Aug 2026, but Bambu now markets the P2S as "The Classic Evolves" above it in the same enclosed-CoreXY slot[3][8] | Superseded by the MK4/MK4S line. Prusa cut MK3S+ prices at the MK4 launch in March 2023 and said it would keep selling the MK3S+ at a lower price and hold spare parts in stock[6][7] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 256 x 256 x 256 mm advertised. Bambu's own footnote sets the default printable height in Bambu Studio to 250 mm to prevent heatbed collisions, and notes the collapsible filament-cutter stopper occupies part of the print area when popped out[1] | 25 x 21 x 21 cm = 250 x 210 x 210 mm (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 389 x 389 x 458 mm; package 485 x 480 x 530 mm[1] | 500 x 550 x 400 mm (X x Y x Z), without the spool holder[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 12.95 kg net, 17.60 kg gross; the AMS Combo ships at 21.60 kg gross and the AMS 2 Pro Combo at 21 kg gross[1] | 7 kg (without spool)[2] |
| Frame construction & material | Steel chassis (shared with the P1P) inside plastic and glass panels[1] | Cut aluminium frame - Prusa's MK4 announcement contrasts "the cut aluminum frame we used so far" with the MK4's new die-cast frame[6] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Fully enclosed - plastic and glass panels with a glass front door and lid, plus an activated-carbon air filter. No active chamber heater; the chamber temperature regulator fan is closed-loop controlled[1] | Open frame; the Original Prusa Enclosure is an optional separate product[6] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY driven by two stepper motors, each with an independent belt to the printhead; the P1P and P1S share the same motion system[9] | Cartesian i3 bed-slinger. Prusa's MK4 announcement notes the MK3S+ Y-axis profiles and heatbed were among the few parts carried into the MK4[6] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Three leadscrews belt-driven from a single stepper motor, whole bed moving in Z; manual tramming by three knobs under the bed, no motorised Z-tilt[9] | Not documented |
| Belts (type, width, e.g. Gates?) | Rear adjustable belt tensioners with a Belt Tension Monitor[9] | Not documented |
| Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?) | Not documented | Trinamic 2130 drivers at 256 microstepping on the EINSY RAMBo 8-bit board, co-developed with UltiMachine; sensorless homing on X and Y[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 500 mm/s max toolhead speed (manufacturer claim); no independent measurement found[1] | Not documented |
| Max travel speed | Not documented | "200+ mm/s" max travel speed (manufacturer figure, no measurement basis given)[2] |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20 m/s2 = 20000 mm/s2 max toolhead acceleration (manufacturer claim)[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct drive; the service part is the "Stainless Steel Extruder Unit (P1 series)"[9] | Direct drive with Bondtech gears and an E3D V6 hotend[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | All-metal all-in-one hotend with the nozzle integrated into the heatblock, replaced as a unit; 0.4 mm stainless-steel nozzle included, 0.2/0.6/0.8 mm optional[1][9] | Not documented |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 300 C claimed max hot-end temperature[1] | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[2] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 100 C max build-plate temperature[1] | 120 C max heatbed temperature[2] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Textured PEI plate; Cool Plate, Engineering Plate and High Temperature Plate compatible[1] | Removable magnetic spring-steel sheets in several finishes; heatbed with cold-corner compensation[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Nozzle-touch probing using three ceramic force (piezo) sensors mounted under the heatbed - Z homing is done by detecting the force of the nozzle contacting the bed[10][9] | SuperPINDA inductive probe (Prusa's temperature-drift-free replacement for the original PINDA), driving automatic mesh bed levelling and a self-test routine[2] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Yes - filament run-out sensor[1] | IR filament sensor built in, supporting filament auto-loading; the print pauses when filament runs out[2] |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | AMS-compatible; sold as P1S AMS Combo and P1S AMS 2 Pro Combo, up to 16 colours with four AMS units[1] | Not documented |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Part-cooling fan plus auxiliary part-cooling fan, control-board fan and chamber temperature regulator fan, all closed-loop controlled (all four are merely Optional on the P1P)[1] | Not documented |
| Chamber/exhaust fan & filtration (activated carbon / HEPA) | Chamber temperature regulator fan with an activated-carbon air filter[1] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | Not documented | EINSY RAMBo 8-bit board, co-developed with UltiMachine[2] |
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | Not documented | Custom Delta PSU with hardware-based power panic[2] |
| Total rated power draw | 100-240 VAC 50/60 Hz; 1000 W at 220 V, 350 W at 110 V[1] | Power consumption 80 W on PLA settings, 120 W on ABS settings[2] |
| 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[11] | prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware on GitHub, GPL-3.0, whose README states it is "proudly based on Marlin 1.0.x" and covers the MK3S/MK3/MK2.5S/MK2.5 line; last pushed August 2025. Updated over USB from a PC[12] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 2.7-inch 192x64 monochrome screen, not a touchscreen; control by button, app or PC application (P1 series)[9] | Not documented |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Button-driven monochrome on-device UI; job setup happens in Bambu Studio or Bambu Handy[9] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Bambu-Bus, microSD card storage, 5 V/1.5 A USB output power (P1 series)[9] | SD card (16 GB card included); Ethernet and Wi-Fi only via an optional Raspberry Pi[2] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Low-rate chamber monitoring camera, 1280x720 at 0.5 fps, timelapse supported[1] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | Ideal: PLA, PETG, TPU, PVA, PET, ABS, ASA. Capable: PA, PC[1] | PLA, PETG, ASA, ABS, PC, CPE, PVA/BVOH, PVB, HIPS, PP, Flex, nGen, Nylon, carbon-filled, woodfill and other filled materials[2] |
| Safety | ||
| Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible) | Not documented | Prusa shipped Thermal Model protection to the MK3 line as a firmware update shortly before the MK4 launch; the firmware is open-source and auditable[6][12] |
| 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[13] | 2-year warranty for consumers in the EU, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland; 1 year for EU enterprises and 1 year for the rest of the world, which includes the United States. A printer bought from a reseller or privately carries 1 year from the original delivery date and is handled by the reseller. Prusa advertises 24/7 chat and e-mail support in seven languages[14][15] |
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 P1S store page - 'Parameters Comparison' table giving P1P and P1S in separate columns us.store.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ 10th Anniversary Edition product page (Technical Parameters + Full Features List) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab US Store - 3D Printers collection listing (base prices, Aug 2026) us.store.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab P2S Spec Sheet (PDF) store.bblcdn.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Original Prusa MINI+ Semi-assembled 3D Printer product page (Technical Parameters + Full Features List, January 2025 Edition) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa blog - Original Prusa MK4 is here (published 29 March 2023), including the MK4 specification table and launch prices blog.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Prusa 3D printers category listing with live e-shop prices, Aug 2026 prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab P2S store page us.store.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab Wiki - Introduction to P1 series wiki.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Lab Wiki - Replace the Heatbed Sensor Unit / Heatbed Piezo Interface Board wiki.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · doc
- GitHub - bambulab organisation repository list (11 repos, checked Aug 2026) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- GitHub - prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware (MK3 line, GPL-3.0, based on Marlin 1.0.x) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Lab Warranty Policy bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa Knowledge Base - Warranty help.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Original Prusa MK4S 3D Printer product page (Technical Parameters + CORE One+/MK4S/XL comparison table) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor