3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Creality Ender-3 V4 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 Creality Ender-3 V4 comparisonsMore Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ comparisons
| Property | Creality Ender-3 V4BEDSLINGER | Original Prusa i3 MK3S+BEDSLINGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Creality | Prusa Research |
| Class | BEDSLINGER | BEDSLINGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Creality Ender-3 V4[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) | $369.00 for the Ender-3 V4 Combo on store.creality.com, Aug 2026 - the combo includes the CFS filament system, so this is not a bare-printer price[3] | $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) | Sold as a combo with the CFS multi-material unit. Build volume is 220 x 220 x 235 mm, which is neither the SE/V3's 250 mm nor the KE's 240 mm Z height - three different Z heights across four Ender-3 V3/V4 machines. Several features (filament tangle detection, RFID filament identification) are conditional on the CFS being fitted[1][4][5] | 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][6][7][8] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Not documented | Superseded by the MK4/MK4S line.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[7][8] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 220 x 220 x 235 mm[1] | 25 x 21 x 21 cm = 250 x 210 x 210 mm (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 396 x 359 x 456 mm for the printer alone; 838 x 396 x 456 mm for the combo with the CFS beside it - the combo needs more than twice the bench width[1] | 500 x 550 x 400 mm (X x Y x Z), without the spool holder[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 6.8 kg (printer net weight)[1] | 7 kg (without spool)[2] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Cut aluminium frame - Prusa's MK4 announcement contrasts "the cut aluminum frame we used so far" with the MK4's new die-cast frame[7] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame, no enclosure[1] | Open frame; the Original Prusa Enclosure is an optional separate product[7] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Not documented | 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[7] |
| 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 printing speed (manufacturer claim)[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) | 12000 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim)[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Dual-gear direct-drive extruder[1] | Direct drive with Bondtech gears and an E3D V6 hotend[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1] | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[2] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 100 C max heatbed temperature[1] | 120 C max heatbed temperature[2] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | 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) | Not documented | 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) | Power-loss recovery, automatic filament relay and filament tangle detection (tangle detection only with the CFS fitted)[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 | CFS compatible - RFID filament identification and multi-filament printing with the Creality Filament System[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 | Rated power 900 W; input 100-240 V AC 50/60 Hz[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) | Not documented | 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[9] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 2.8-inch colour touchscreen[1] | Not documented |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Colour touch UI; input shaping and a lighting kit are listed as standard[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | USB drive, Wi-Fi and Creality Cloud file transfer[1] | SD card (16 GB card included); Ethernet and Wi-Fi only via an optional Raspberry Pi[2] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | Hyper-PLA, PLA, PETG, TPU 95A, ABS, ASA, PLA-CF, PA-CF[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[7][9] |
| 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[10] | 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[11][12] |
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 V4 product page (full specification table) creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ 10th Anniversary Edition product page (Technical Parameters + Full Features List) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - Ender-3 V4 Combo 3D Printer product page (live price) store.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 KE Review (spec box and Speed Boat Rules Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- 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
- GitHub - prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware (MK3 line, GPL-3.0, based on Marlin 1.0.x) 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
- 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