Printer comparison
Creality Ender-5 Max vs ELEGOO Neptune 3 Pro
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Creality Ender-5 Max comparisonsMore ELEGOO Neptune 3 Pro comparisons
| Property | Creality Ender-5 MaxCOREXY | ELEGOO Neptune 3 ProBEDSLINGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Creality | ELEGOO |
| Class | COREXY | BEDSLINGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Creality Ender-5 Max[1] | ELEGOO Neptune 3 Pro[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Not documented | Listed on the ELEGOO US store from 11 November 2022 (Shopify publish date)[3] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $749.00 on store.creality.com, Aug 2026[4] | $259.99 on us.elegoo.com, Aug 2026, with the compare-at price also $259.99 - notably more than the newer and far faster Neptune 4 at $219[3][5] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | A cube-frame CoreXY machine where the bed drops in Z - Creality itself calls the class "bed droppers". Do not read Ender-3 V3 figures across: this is a 400 mm cube at 700 mm/s claimed, on a different frame entirely. An optional enclosure is sold for engineering filaments[1] | The last Neptune 3 still listed; the 3 Plus and 3 Max are gone from the store's Neptune section. Do not read Neptune 4 figures onto it: the 3 Pro runs Marlin, not Klipper, tops out at 180 mm/s rather than 500, uses a 36-point mesh rather than 121-point, and its nozzle stops at 260 C rather than 300 C. Its machine size, 475 x 445 x 515 mm, is identical to the Neptune 4's, so body dimensions will not tell them apart[2][6][7] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Not documented | Superseded by the Neptune 4 series and, in ELEGOO's current marketing, by the Centauri line[7] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 400 x 400 x 400 mm[1] | 225 x 225 x 280 mm; printing platform 235 x 235 mm[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | Not documented | 475 x 445 x 515 mm - the same body as the Neptune 4. ELEGOO's maximum size for machine activity is 475 x 580 x 725 mm[2][6] |
| Net weight (kg) | Not documented | 8.1 kg net, 10.15 kg gross[2] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | CNC-machined aluminium extrusion frame (Neptune family)[6] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame as sold; Creality offers an optional enclosure to raise ambient temperature for engineering filaments[1] | Open frame, no enclosure[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY on a rigid all-metal frame, with the bed moving in Z (Creality's own term is a "bed dropper")[1] | Cartesian i3 bed-slinger[2] |
| X-axis guide type (rods / linear rails / V-wheels; size) | Precise linear rail on the X axis[1] | Not documented |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Z axis assisted by two linear rods[1] | Two lead screws[2] |
| Stepper motors (frame size, step angle, brand if known) | 42-76 stepper motors on both the X and Y axes[1] | Not documented |
| Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?) | Not documented | "Silent Drive (All Axes)"; no driver part number published[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 700 mm/s max printing speed (Creality Lab claim, with Hyper Series filament recommended for quality at speed); the page also quotes 500 mm/s in the same block, so the two figures need care[1] | 30-180 mm/s, with 60 mm/s given by ELEGOO as the recommended speed - a pre-Klipper machine, and the slowest in this file apart from the OrangeStorm Giga[2] |
| Recommended/typical print speed | Not documented | 60 mm/s recommended printing speed (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20000 mm/s2 max acceleration (Creality Lab claim)[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct-drive extruder with dual tempered gears, which Creality says passed 500 hours of continuous-extrusion durability testing[1] | Dual-gear direct extruder with 2 fans[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Not documented | Brass nozzle, 0.4 mm, titanium-alloy heat break[2] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | Not documented | 260 C claimed max nozzle temperature - 40 C below the Neptune 4 series[2][6] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | Not documented | 100 C max heated bed temperature at 25 C ambient[2] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | PEI spring steel sheet[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | 64-point fully automatic bed levelling[1] | 36-point auto-levelling (the Neptune 4 family moved to 121 points)[2][8] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Not documented | Filament run-out sensor and power-loss recovery[2] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Total rated power draw | Not documented | 300 W rated power, 24 V output[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Not documented | Marlin - ELEGOO names the system "Marlin" for the Neptune 3 Pro, against "Klipper" for the whole Neptune 4 family[2][8] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | Not documented | 4.3-inch colour capacitive touch screen[2] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Not documented | Colour capacitive touch UI; ElegooSlicer recommended, Orca and Cura supported[2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | WLAN multi-printer management for print farms, with a tri-colour indicator light[1] | TF (microSD) card and USB cable only - no LAN and no Wi-Fi[2] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | Not documented | PLA, TPU, PETG, ABS, ASA - no Nylon, unlike the Neptune 4 family[2][6] |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | Not documented | Operating sound published as 48 dB or less - a manufacturer figure with no distance or method stated[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[9] | 12 months on brand-new machines and parts, but ELEGOO's own table excludes a long list of parts from that: PEI plate / build plate / nozzle kit / PTFE tube / heater / thermistor / hot end / packaging / manual / tools carry no warranty at all, and the extruder, extruder kit and printhead kit get 6 months. Certified pre-owned machines carry no warranty[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
- Creality Ender-5 Max product page creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO compare-products page, which embeds the full per-model specification JSON for every Neptune, Centauri and OrangeStorm machine us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 3 Pro Shopify product JSON (price and store publish date) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - Ender-5 Max 3D Printer product page (live price) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 product page (Specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO US store 3D printers collection (current line-up, Aug 2026) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus product page (full specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - K1 3D Printer product page (live price, warranty and returns banner) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Refund & Warranty policy (warranty period table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor