3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Creality Ender-3 V3 SE vs ELEGOO Mars 5 Ultra
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Creality Ender-3 V3 SE comparisonsMore ELEGOO Mars 5 Ultra comparisons
| Property | Creality Ender-3 V3 SEBEDSLINGER | ELEGOO Mars 5 UltraRESIN |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Creality | ELEGOO |
| Class | BEDSLINGER | RESIN |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Creality Ender-3 V3 SE[1] | ELEGOO Mars 5 Ultra. Elegoo's product handle is mars-5-ultra-9k-7inch-monochrome-lcd-resin-3d-printer[2][3][4] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $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[5][1] | $269.00 in Elegoo's live US product feed, in stock, checked Aug 2026. The Mars 5 Series collection page rendered $259.00 against a $338.00 compare-at price on the same day, so the two Elegoo surfaces disagree by $10[4][3] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | 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[1][6][7][8][9] | Not a trim of the Mars 5 — a different imaging stack and a different release mechanism: 7-inch 9K LCD and 18 um pixels vs 6.6-inch 4K and 35 um, 150 vs 70 mm/h, tilt-release vs straight lift, an AI camera, and Wi-Fi added. Seven bundle SKUs pair it with Mercury Plus V2.0/V3.0 or Mercury XS at $363-$432[10][2][3][4] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 220 x 220 x 250 mm[8] | 153.36 x 77.76 x 165 mm[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 349 x 364 x 490 mm (Tom's Hardware measurement of the machine footprint)[8] | 260 x 268 x 451.5 mm[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 7.12 kg[8] | Approximately 8.8 kg[2] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame, no enclosure[1] | Open-frame MSLA with a removable UV-blocking cover[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | 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[1] | MSLA with tilt-release: the resin tank tilts after each layer to peel the part rather than pulling straight up. Single Z axis[2] |
| Y-axis guide type | Y axis runs on a pair of 8 mm steel linear shafts carrying the build platform[1] | Not documented |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Rigid dual Z-axis, which Creality says reduces Z wobble[1] | Not documented |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 250 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim, Creality Lab figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 2500 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim). Tom's Hardware attributes the modest Benchy time directly to this acceleration cap[1][8] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | 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[1] | Not documented |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | 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[8] | Not documented |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 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[8][7] | Not documented |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | PC-coated spring steel sheet, heated, removable[8] | Not documented |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | 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[1] | Automatic levelling, one click, via an intelligent mechanical sensor. One-Click Self-Check routine. Alarms for resin shortage, residue detection and levelling failure[2] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament run-out sensor fitted[8] | Not documented |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | 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)[8] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | Not documented | 100-240 V, 50/60 Hz, 24 V 3 A[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | 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[11][12][6] | Not named by Elegoo. Supported slicer is CHITUBOX[2] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 3.2-inch colour screen with a control knob - not a touchscreen, unlike the KE and V3[8] | 4.0-inch capacitive touchscreen (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[2] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Knob-driven colour UI using motion graphics to show levelling progress and print parameters; auto filament load/unload from the menu[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | SD card only - no Wi-Fi and no USB host, in contrast to the Wi-Fi-equipped KE and V3[8] | USB and Wi-Fi[2] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Not documented | AI camera fitted; Elegoo does not publish its resolution for this model[2] |
| Camera features: live monitor, timelapse, AI failure detection (spaghetti detection) — how real is it? | Not documented | AI camera detects empty build plates and print errors[2] |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Kit-style assembly from a small number of pre-built sections; Creality claims printing within 20 minutes of unboxing[1] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, PETG and TPU (Tom's Hardware); Creality's own copy names PLA, PETG and flexible TPU for the Sprite extruder[8] | 405 nm photopolymer resin. No compatibility list published on this listing[2] |
| Safety | ||
| Firmware safety limits (max temp cutoffs — exact values) | Not documented | Overheating protection activates above 80 °C[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[13] | Not documented |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Benchmark print times (source + settings) | 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[8] | 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[8] | Not documented |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | Not documented | 7-inch 9K monochrome masking LCD, 8520 x 4320 px, XY pixel pitch 18 x 18 um (manufacturer specification)[2][4] |
| Light source | Not documented | 25-LED COB light source emitting a 405 nm UV beam (manufacturer specification)[2] |
| Light uniformity & intensity | Not documented | 92% light uniformity claimed by Elegoo. No intensity figure published, and no independent measurement[2] |
| Vertical print speedmm/h | Not documented | 150 mm/h maximum, which Elegoo attributes to the tilt-release mechanism (manufacturer claim). Elegoo also offers switchable slow and fast print modes but does not state the layer height the figure assumes[2] |
| Layer exposure times | Not documented | 1.5-3 s layer cure time (manufacturer figure; layer height not stated). Sortable value is the midpoint[2] |
| LCD life & replaceability | Not documented | Masking LCD protected by a scratch-resistant tempered 9H glass cover that also guards against resin leakage. Elegoo publishes no rated screen life in hours and does not state whether the user can replace the LCD[2] |
| Resin vat & feeding | Not documented | Resin tank supplied with the machine; resin-shortage and residue-detection alarms fitted. Capacity not published; no auto-refill[2] |
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
- Creality Ender-3 V3 SE product page creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra product page (technical data and description) 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Mars 5 Series collection (live US prices) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Mars 5 Series live product feed us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - Ender-3 V3 SE 3D Printer product page (live price) store.creality.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
- Elegoo Mars 5 product page (technical data and description) 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- 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
- Creality US store - K1 3D Printer product page (live price, warranty and returns banner) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor