3D Printing Info

Printer comparison

Creality Hi vs ELEGOO Saturn 4 Ultra 16K

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

2 selected · all documented properties

Creality Hi vs ELEGOO Saturn 4 Ultra 16K — documented properties and sources
PropertyCreality HiBEDSLINGERELEGOO Saturn 4 Ultra 16KRESIN
Identity
BrandCrealityELEGOO
ClassBEDSLINGERRESIN
Identity & Market
Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first)Creality Hi, sold as the "Creality Hi Combo" with one CFS unit[1]Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K. Elegoo's product handle is saturn-4-ultra-16k-10inch-monochrome-lcd-resin-3d-printer. 3DJake item number ELG-50.101.038300[2][3]
Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry)The Creality US store Hi Combo page lists three variant prices - $299.00, $399.00 and $539.00 - on the same page, Aug 2026; the lowest is recorded here and the combo includes one CFS unit[4]$649.99 in us.elegoo.com's live Shopify product JSON, in stock, with compare_at_price also $649.99 — no discount active at the time of checking (Aug 2026)[3]
Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk)Sold as a combo bundled with one CFS multi-material unit; up to four CFS units can be stacked for 16 colours, and the extra three are bought separately. Three price variants exist on the store page, so a single "Creality Hi" price is ambiguous[1]Distinct from the earlier Saturn 4 Ultra (12K); the 16K carries a 15120 x 6230 masking LCD with 14 x 19 um pixels. Elegoo also sells it bundled with a Mercury Plus V2.0 wash/cure station and as a pre-owned SKU, neither of which is the printer-only price[2][3]
Physical & Frame
Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable260 x 260 x 300 mm[1]211.68 x 118.37 x 220 mm[2]
Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang)409 x 392 x 477 mm (Tom's Hardware measurement of the printer's footprint)[5]327.4 x 329.2 x 548 mm[2]
Net weight (kg)11.58 kg (Tom's Hardware measurement)[5]Not documented
Frame construction & materialFull metal body with frame parts die-cast from aluminium alloy[1]Metal housing with a flip-up cover and a drip guard[2]
Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lidOpen frame, no enclosure[1]Flip-up lid (Elegoo's own naming) over an open frame; UV-blocking cover[2]
Kinematics & Motion Hardware
Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other)Not documentedMSLA with tilt-release: the vat tilts to peel each layer rather than pulling straight up. Elegoo claims the mechanism cuts curing time by 25%. Single Z axis, Z precision 0.02 mm[2]
Speed & Acceleration
Max print speed (claimed, mm/s)500 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim)[1]Not documented
Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²)12000 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim)[1]Not documented
Extruder
Type (direct drive / bowden) & design nameModular direct-drive extruder, which Creality markets as clog-free and designed for repairability[1]Not documented
Hotend & Nozzle
Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?)0.4 mm high-flow hardened steel "unicorn" quick-swap nozzle[5]Not documented
Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values)300 C maximum nozzle temperature (Tom's Hardware)[5]Not documented
Heated Bed & Surface
Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sidedTwo-sided epoxy-resin flexible build plate, heated[5]Not documented
Leveling & Z-Offset
Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe)Auto levelling, plus automatic filament load and unload[1]Automatic levelling, plus intelligent mechanical sensor alarms[2]
Filament Handling & Detection
Filament runout sensor (type, location)Filament run-out sensor fitted[5]Not documented
Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade pathPairs with up to four CFS units for up to 16 colours; the combo ships with one CFS. Multi-material also enables snap-away support material[1]Not documented
Electronics & Power
Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto)Not documented100-240 V, 50/60 Hz, 24 V 6 A[2]
Firmware & Openness
Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary)Klipper-derived firmware - Creality publishes the source as CrealityOfficial/Hi_Klipper on GitHub, GPL-3.0, last pushed March 2026[6][7]Elegoo EL3D-4.0 system. Slicer is CHITUBOX[2]
Connectivity, UI & Camera
Display: size, type, touch?3.2-inch touchscreen, pre-assembled and foldable to shrink the footprint[1]4-inch capacitive touchscreen (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[2]
On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.)Touch UI with input shaping, alarm sounds and auto filament identification via the built-in RFID reader (needs Creality RFID filament)[1]Not documented
WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-driveUSB, LAN, cloud and app[5]USB and Wi-Fi, with WLAN file transfer[2]
Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps)Not documentedAI camera, 1920 x 1080[2]
Camera features: live monitor, timelapse, AI failure detection (spaghetti detection) — how real is it?Not documentedAI camera with print-failure detection[2]
Calibration Routines & QoL
Assembly level & time from unbox to first print95% pre-assembled[1]Not documented
Materials Support
Officially supported filament listPLA and PETG (Tom's Hardware's materials line for the Hi Combo)[5]405 nm photopolymer resin; the heated tank is aimed at high-viscosity and high-speed resins. No closed compatibility list published[2]
Safety
Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible)Not verified directly. Creality publishes CrealityOfficial/Hi_Klipper (GPL-3.0) for this model; upstream Klipper ships the verify_heater thermal-runaway check, but the stock configuration was not checked here[6][7]Not documented
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[8]Not documented
Independently Measured Performance
Benchmark print times (source + settings)Benchy in 32 minutes 33 seconds under Speed Boat Rules in ordinary grey PLA - independently measured by Tom's Hardware[5]Not documented
Review scores from major outlets (list outlet + score + date)Tom's Hardware rating 3.5 out of 5 in the page's structured data - the lowest score of any Creality machine recorded here[5]Not documented
Resin & MSLA
Masking LCDNot documented10-inch 16K monochrome masking LCD, 15120 x 6230 px, XY pixel pitch 14 x 19 um (manufacturer specification)[2][3]
Light sourceNot documentedCOB light source with a Fresnel collimating lens[2]
Light uniformity & intensityNot documentedLight energy at the plate quoted as 5 mW/cm2, i.e. 5000 uW/cm2 (manufacturer claim, attributed to the tilt-release and Fresnel optics). No uniformity percentage published and no independent measurement[2]
Vertical print speedmm/hNot documentedUp to 150 mm/h (manufacturer claim). Elegoo does not state the layer height or resin type the figure assumes[2]
Release filmNot documentedPFA release film. No rated life published[2]
LCD life & replaceabilityNot documentedMasking LCD shielded by tempered 9H protective glass. Elegoo publishes no rated screen life in hours and does not state user replaceability[2]
Resin vat & feedingNot documentedReplaceable resin vat with a dual pour spout and a drip guard. Heated tank with automatic temperature measurement: Elegoo states resin reaches 25 C in 26 minutes from a 5 C ambient at 50% humidity (manufacturer figure). 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

  1. Creality Hi Combo product page creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  2. Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K product page (technical data and description) 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  3. Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16K live Shopify product JSON us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  4. Creality US store - Creality Hi Combo 3D Printer product page (live prices for the variants) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  5. Tom's Hardware - Creality Hi Combo review (spec box and Speed Boat Rules Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
  6. GitHub API - CrealityOfficial/Hi_Klipper repository metadata (GPL-3.0, last push Mar 2026) api.github.com · 2026-08 · doc
  7. GitHub - CrealityOfficial organisation repositories (per-model firmware sources) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
  8. Creality US store - K1 3D Printer product page (live price, warranty and returns banner) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor