3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Creality K1 vs UltiMaker Factor 4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Creality K1 comparisonsMore UltiMaker Factor 4 comparisons
| Property | Creality K1COREXY | UltiMaker Factor 4INDUSTRIAL |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Creality | UltiMaker |
| Class | COREXY | INDUSTRIAL |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Creality K1 (store title "Creality K1 Speedy 3D Printer")[1][2] | UltiMaker Factor 4[3] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Not documented | Announced 22 April 2024, shown at HANNOVER MESSE 2024 (22-26 April) and TCT Asia (7-9 May 2024)[3] |
| Launch MSRP (USD) | Not documented | Starting at approximately $20,000[3] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $299.00 on store.creality.com, Aug 2026. Creality's own K1-series comparison page shows $389 against a struck-through $599 on the same day[2][1] | Not documented |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Base model of the K1 family. The differences that matter are in the hotend: the K1 uses a metal + PTFE-tube hotend with a copper nozzle, while the K1C is all-metal with a steel-tipped nozzle integrated with the heatbreak and adds an air filter and a 1080p AI camera. Creality's own comparison table annotates the K1 hotend "Changing to All-metal Soon", so the hotend on a given unit depends on when it was built - check before buying. The K1 Max is the 300 mm version with 1000 W rated power and Ethernet; the K1 SE has a PA+30%GF hotend and an epoxy plate[1][4] | Shares the 330 x 240 x 300 mm envelope with the UltiMaker S5, S7 and S8, which is the single most contaminated figure in UltiMaker's range. What separates the Factor 4 is the actively controlled 70 °C build volume, the climate-controlled 6-spool material station holding humidity below 15%, and HEPA filtration. UltiMaker also sells a Factor 4 Plus[3] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 220 x 220 x 250 mm[1] | 330 x 240 x 300 mm[3] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 355 x 355 x 480 mm[1] | Not documented |
| Net weight (kg) | 12.5 kg (Tom's Hardware measurement)[5] | Not documented |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed with passive chamber heating only - Creality's comparison table lists "Passive Heating" for the K1, K1C and K1 Max and no chamber heating for the K1 SE[1] | Enclosed with actively controlled chamber airflow and a HEPA filter[3] |
| Passive chamber temperature reached (if enclosed; measured values preferred) | Not documented | Build volume temperature controlled up to 70 °C with actively controlled chamber airflow (manufacturer specification)[3] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY (Creality's own K1-series comparison table)[1] | Direct-drive dual extrusion; kinematic layout not stated in the source checked[3] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 600 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim). Creality's own footnote says the 600 mm/s figure was achieved in Creality Lab and that the typical speed is 300 mm/s[1][4] | Not documented |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 300 mm/s typical printing speed with 12000 mm/s2 typical acceleration, stated by Creality alongside the 600 mm/s headline[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20000 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim)[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Dual-gear direct-drive extruder[1] | Direct-drive dual extrusion[3] |
| Filament diameter | Not documented | 2.85 mm[3] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Metal hotend with a PTFE (Teflon) tube in the filament path and a copper nozzle. Creality's own comparison table adds "(Changing to All-metal Soon)", so this is a moving target across production runs[1] | Not documented |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1] | 340 °C maximum with the high-temperature print core (manufacturer claim)[3] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 100 C max heatbed temperature[1] | Not documented |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Coated steel flex plate, heated, removable[5] | Not documented |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Automatic bed levelling (Tom's Hardware); unlike the K1 Max there is no lidar[5][6] | Not documented |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament run-out sensor fitted[5] | Not documented |
| Spool holder location & max spool size; drybox compatibility | Not documented | Automatic climate-controlled material handling and storage station holding humidity below 15%, storing up to six spools[3] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Closed-loop part-cooling fan; PWM hotend cooling fan[1] | Not documented |
| Chamber/exhaust fan & filtration (activated carbon / HEPA) | Not documented | HEPA filter[3] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Total rated power draw | 350 W rated power[1] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Creality OS, a Klipper derivative. Creality publishes the source as CrealityOfficial/K1_Series_Klipper on GitHub, whose own description is "clone from https://github.com/Klipper3d/klipper/", GPL-3.0, last pushed December 2025[7][8][1] | Not documented |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch 800x480 colour touchscreen[1] | Not documented |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Colour touch UI; remote monitoring, time-lapse, failure detection and build-surface detection are all optional on the K1 because they depend on the optional AI camera[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Wi-Fi only - no Ethernet (the K1 Max adds RJ45); 8 GB of on-board storage[1] | Not documented |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | AI camera optional, not fitted as standard - unlike the K1C and K1 Max, which include a 1080p camera[1] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | Hyper PLA, PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS - a notably shorter list than the K1C, because of the PTFE-lined hotend[1] | UltiMaker-branded PPS CF, PLA, Tough PLA, Nylon, PETG, PET CF and PVA, plus validated third-party materials from BASF Forward AM, Kimya, Polymaker, LEHVOSS and Jabil[3] |
| Safety | ||
| Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible) | Not verified directly. Creality's published firmware for the K1 series (CrealityOfficial/K1_Series_Klipper, GPL-3.0) is described by Creality itself as a clone of upstream Klipper, and upstream Klipper ships the verify_heater thermal-runaway check; whether Creality's stock printer.cfg enables it, and with what thresholds, was not checked here[7][8] | 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[2] | Not documented |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | Not documented | Dimensional accuracy within +/-0.2 mm or +/-0.2% of feature nominal length; UltiMaker states it tested over 95% print-completion success. Manufacturer figures, not independent measurements[3] |
| Review scores from major outlets (list outlet + score + date) | Tom's Hardware rating 4 out of 5 in the page's structured data - the lowest of the K1 family, where the K1C and K1 Max both score 4.5[5][6][9] | 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
- Creality - Compare K1 Flagship Series (K1 / K1C / K1 Max / K1 SE side-by-side spec table) creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - K1 3D Printer product page (live price, warranty and returns banner) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- UltiMaker Factor 4: technical specifications and pricing 3dprintingindustry.com · 2026-08 · review
- Creality K1C product page (full specification table) creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Tom's Hardware - Creality K1 Review (spec box) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- Tom's Hardware - Creality K1 Max Review (spec box) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- GitHub API - CrealityOfficial/K1_Series_Klipper repository metadata ("clone from https://github.com/Klipper3d/klipper/", GPL-3.0, last push Dec 2025) api.github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- GitHub - CrealityOfficial organisation repositories (per-model firmware sources) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Tom's Hardware - Creality K1C Review (spec box and measured print time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review