3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Creality K2 Plus vs UltiMaker S5
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Creality K2 Plus comparisonsMore UltiMaker S5 comparisons
| Property | Creality K2 PlusCOREXY | UltiMaker S5INDUSTRIAL |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Creality | UltiMaker |
| Class | COREXY | INDUSTRIAL |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Creality K2 Plus[1] | UltiMaker S5 3D Printer[2] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $999.00 on store.creality.com, Aug 2026[3] | Starting at $6,950 at MatterHackers, in stock, checked Aug 2026[2] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Largest and only fully specified K2. It is the only one with a 350 C nozzle, a 120 C bed, 30000 mm/s2 acceleration, step-servo motors on Z as well as X/Y, automatically adjusted belt tension, two auxiliary cooling fans, two air filters, a 1080p chamber camera, dual-band Wi-Fi and a 4.3-inch screen. Its "smart auto levelling" is listed as arriving via firmware update rather than shipping enabled, unlike the K2 and K2 Pro. A separate K2 SE model also exists[1] | Three generations share the same 330 x 240 x 300 mm envelope and are easy to confuse: S5 (280 °C nozzle, glass bed to 140 °C, 4.7-inch screen), S7 (PEI-coated flexible plate, Wi-Fi 5 GHz added, $5,999) and S8 (340 °C, 500 mm/s, 50,000 mm/s2, PEI plate to 120 °C). Build-volume figures alone will not tell them apart[2][4][5] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Not documented | Superseded by the S7 and then the S8, but still sold[2][4][5] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 350 x 350 x 350 mm[1] | 330 x 240 x 300 mm[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 495 x 515 x 640 mm[1] | 495 x 585 x 780 mm assembled with the spool holder[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 35 kg[1] | 20.6 kg[2] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Fully assembled professional chassis[2] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed with chamber temperature control up to 60 C and two air filters[1] | Not documented |
| Passive chamber temperature reached (if enclosed; measured values preferred) | 60 C max chamber temperature (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY - Creality groups the K2 series with its CoreXY flagships and quotes 600 mm/s with step-servo motors on the X and Y axes[1] | Dual-extrusion gantry with an articulating nozzle-lifting print head. UltiMaker does not publish the kinematic layout in this spec table[2] |
| Belts (type, width, e.g. Gates?) | Automatically adjusted belt tension - the K2 and K2 Pro are tensioned by hand[1] | Not documented |
| Stepper motors (frame size, step angle, brand if known) | Step-servo motors on the X, Y and Z axes and the extruder[1] | Not documented |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 600 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim)[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 30000 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim) - 50% above the rest of the K2 family[1] | Not documented |
| Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s) | Not documented | Build speed under 24 mm3/s (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct drive with a 0.4 mm hardened "unicorn" quick-swap nozzle[6] | Dual-geared feeder rated for advanced composites; dual extrusion with swappable print cores[2] |
| Filament diameter | Not documented | 2.85 mm[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 350 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1] | 180-280 °C nozzle temperature range; heat-up under 2 minutes[2] |
| Heater cartridge power (W) | 100 W rated hotend power[1] | Not documented |
| Stock nozzle size & sizes included in box | Not documented | 0.4 mm standard; 0.25, 0.6 and 0.8 mm available[2] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 120 C max heatbed temperature[1] | Heated glass bed, 20-140 °C[2] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Coated steel flex plate, heated, removable[6] | Heated glass build plate[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Smart auto levelling listed as "Available via Firmware Update" rather than shipping enabled; automatic flow-rate calibration via the nozzle AI camera[1] | Automatic advanced levelling; probe technology not stated in this table[2] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament run-out sensor fitted[6] | Not documented |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Two auxiliary cooling fans and two air filters[1] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Total rated power draw | Not documented | 500 W maximum power output[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Creality OS, a Klipper derivative. Creality publishes the K2 firmware source as CrealityOfficial/K2_Series_Klipper on GitHub under GPL-3.0, last pushed March 2026[7][8][1] | Not published; print preparation is UltiMaker Cura and UltiMaker Essentials[2] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch touchscreen[1] | 4.7-inch colour touchscreen[2] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Touch UI with a built-in RFID reader; Creality notes the K2 Plus has no alarm sounds, which the K2 and K2 Pro do have[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz), RJ45 Ethernet, USB drive and a Creality 485 port; 32 GB eMMC[1] | Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB[2] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | One chamber camera at 1080p 30 fps plus the nozzle AI camera[1] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, PETG, PET, ABS, ASA, PLA-CF, PA-CF, PPA-CF[1] | Not documented |
| Safety | ||
| Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible) | Not verified directly. Creality publishes the K2-series firmware as CrealityOfficial/K2_Series_Klipper (GPL-3.0); upstream Klipper ships the verify_heater thermal-runaway check, but whether the stock configuration enables it was not checked here[7][8] | Not documented |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | Not documented | Under 50 dBA operating sound, manufacturer figure. No independent measurement; distance and method not 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] | Not documented |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | Not documented | XYZ resolution 6.9 / 6.9 / 2.5 micron (manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement)[2] |
| Benchmark print times (source + settings) | Benchy in 15 minutes 56 seconds - independently measured by Tom's Hardware, which noted visible layer lines and slightly droopy overhangs at that speed[6] | 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[6] | 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 K2 series product page, including the Compare K2 Series table (K2 / K2 Pro / K2 Plus) creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- UltiMaker S5 3D Printer listing matterhackers.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - K2 Plus 3D Printer product page (live price) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- UltiMaker S7 product listing shop3duniverse.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- UltiMaker S8 3D Printer listing matterhackers.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Tom's Hardware - Creality K2 Plus Review (spec box and measured Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- GitHub API - CrealityOfficial/K2_Series_Klipper repository metadata (GPL-3.0, last push Mar 2026) 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