3D Printing Info

Printer comparison

Creality Ender-3 V3 KE vs FlashForge Guider 3 Ultra

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

2 selected · all documented properties

Creality Ender-3 V3 KE vs FlashForge Guider 3 Ultra — documented properties and sources
PropertyCreality Ender-3 V3 KEBEDSLINGERFlashForge Guider 3 UltraINDUSTRIAL
Identity
BrandCrealityFlashForge
ClassBEDSLINGERINDUSTRIAL
Identity & Market
Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first)Creality Ender-3 V3 KE[1]Flashforge Guider 3 Ultra; the FlashForge spec table gives the machine name as "Guider 3 Ultra"[2]
Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry)$259.00 on store.creality.com, Aug 2026; Creality's own product page shows $279.00 on the same day[3][1]$2,399.00 against a $3,499.00 regular price on flashforge.com, but the listing checked is the refurbished SKU and is marked Sold out (Aug 2026)[2]
Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk)Sits 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[1][4][5][6]Top of the Guider 3 series. Build size depends on which head is used: 330 x 330 x 600 mm with one extruder, 300 x 330 x 600 mm with both. Siblings Guider 3 (300x250x340) and Guider 3 Plus (350x350x600) are both single-extruder. A refurbished SKU exists alongside the new machine, so check which one a price refers to[2][7][8]
Physical & Frame
Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable220 x 220 x 240 mm - 10 mm shorter than the SE and V3, a difference that is easy to miss[4]330 x 330 x 600 mm with a single extruder; 300 x 330 x 600 mm when both extruders are in use[2]
Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang)433 x 366 x 490 mm (Tom's Hardware)[4]635 x 550 x 1070 mm; packaging 775 x 690 x 1235 mm[2]
Net weight (kg)7.8 kg[4]70 kg net, 86 kg gross[2]
Frame construction & materialNot documentedEnclosed professional chassis; FlashForge describes a lightweight, stable structure for high-speed operation[2]
Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lidOpen frame, no enclosure[1]Closed design with an air filter fitted[2]
Kinematics & Motion Hardware
Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other)Cartesian bed-slinger with a linear rail on X[1]CoreXY with two extruders, per a third-party buyer's guide. FlashForge's own spec table does not state the kinematics[9][2]
X-axis guide type (rods / linear rails / V-wheels; size)Steel linear rail on the X axis with a ball-bearing carriage; Creality Lab quotes a 0.04 friction coefficient[1]Not documented
Speed & Acceleration
Max print speed (claimed, mm/s)500 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim, Creality Lab)[1]10-500 mm/s printing speed, 500 mm/s maximum travel speed (manufacturer figures)[2]
Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²)Not documented20,000 mm/s2 maximum (manufacturer claim)[2]
Vibration Compensation / Input Shaping
Input shaping supported? Implementation (Klipper IS / Marlin ZV / proprietary)Not documentedActive vibration compensation, which FlashForge says was enhanced for this model. Implementation not named[2]
Extruder
Type (direct drive / bowden) & design nameDirect-drive extruder paired with the ceramic-heated high-flow hotend[1]Two extruders[2]
Hotend & Nozzle
Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?)Hotend with a 60 W ceramic heater, a bi-metal copper/titanium-alloy heatbreak to resist thermal creep, and a copper nozzle[1]Not documented
Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values)300 C claimed max nozzle temperature (Creality Lab test at 25 C room temperature)[1]350 °C maximum extruder temperature (manufacturer claim)[2]
Heater cartridge power (W)60 W ceramic heater cartridge (manufacturer figure)[1]Not documented
Stock nozzle size & sizes included in boxNot documented0.4 mm default; 0.6 and 0.8 mm optional[2]
Heated Bed & Surface
Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limitNot documented120 °C bed setting supported (manufacturer figure)[2]
Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sidedPEI-coated spring steel sheet, heated, removable[4]Replaceable flexible steel-plate platform, magnetic. No glass bed[2]
Leveling & Z-Offset
Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe)One-tap self-test covering Z offset and auto levelling; Tom's Hardware records automatic levelling with automatic Z as well[1]Full-auto one-click levelling; probe technology not named[2]
Filament Handling & Detection
Filament runout sensor (type, location)Filament run-out sensor fitted[4]Filament run-out reminder[2]
Cooling & Air Handling
Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting designTwo part-cooling fans, one on each side of the printhead, cooling the freshly printed section from both sides[1]Not documented
Chamber/exhaust fan & filtration (activated carbon / HEPA)Not documentedAir filter fitted; filter media not specified in the FlashForge table[2]
Electronics & Power
Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto)Not documentedAC 100-240 V, 50/60 Hz[2]
Total rated power drawNot documented850 W maximum[2]
Firmware & Openness
Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary)Creality 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[1][10][11]Not named; slicers are Orca-Flashforge and FlashPrint 5, with OrcaSlicer listed as compatible[2]
Connectivity, UI & Camera
Display: size, type, touch?4.3-inch touchscreen[4]7-inch touch LCD[2]
On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.)Touch UI with a tab bar, real-time model preview, motion graphics for print parameters and a one-tap self-test[1]Not documented
WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-driveWi-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][1]USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, plus cloud[2]
Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps)Not documentedRemote camera monitoring and time-lapse video supported; resolution not published[2]
Power-Loss & Interruption Recovery
Power-loss recovery: mechanism (how is state saved? capacitor / eeprom / file on shutdown?)Not documentedPower-loss recovery supported; mechanism not published. Automatic shutdown also supported[2]
Materials Support
Officially supported filament listHyper PLA, PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU (95A) and ASA[1]PLA, ABS, HIPS, ASA, PETG, CoPA, PLA-CF, PETG-CF, PAHT-CF, PAHT-GF, PET-CF, PET-GF, PA12-CF, PA-CF, PA-GF, NexPA-CF25[2]
Safety
Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible)Not 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[10][11][1]Not documented
Certifications (UL/ETL/CE/FCC — verify, don't assume)Not documentedCE, FCC, RoHS (as printed in FlashForge's own spec table)[2]
Reliability, Support & Ecosystem
Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes)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[12]Not documented
Independently Measured Performance
Benchmark print times (source + settings)Benchy in 19 minutes 48 seconds under Speed Boat Rules in ordinary grey PLA - independently measured by Tom's Hardware[4]Not documented
Review scores from major outlets (list outlet + score + date)Tom's Hardware rating 4.5 out of 5 in the page's structured data[4]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. Creality Ender-3 V3 KE product page creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  2. Flashforge Guider 3 Ultra product page (refurbished listing) flashforge.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. FlashForge Guider 3 technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. FlashForge Guider 3 Plus technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. Flashforge printer buyer's guide, 5M to Creator 5 eolasprints.com · 2026-08 · review
  10. 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
  11. GitHub - CrealityOfficial organisation repositories (per-model firmware sources) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
  12. Creality US store - K1 3D Printer product page (live price, warranty and returns banner) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor