Printer comparison
Creality K2 vs QIDI Plus4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Creality K2COREXY | QIDI Plus4COREXY |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Creality | QIDI |
| Class | COREXY | COREXY |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Creality K2[1] | QIDI Plus4, sold as "Plus4 3D Printer". QIDI's own wiki files it under X-Plus4[2][3] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Not documented | Announced September 2024; QIDI ran launch promotional pricing in the week of 20-27 September 2024 (secondary reporting, not a QIDI press release)[4] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | Not documented | $649.00 on us.qidi3d.com for the Plus4 + 1 filament variant against a $799.00 compare-at price; $699.00 on qidi3d.com against $799.00. Checked Aug 2026[2][3] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Smallest of three K2 machines that share a product page. K2: 260 mm cube, no chamber heating, 100 C bed, 300 C nozzle, 8 GB storage, one air filter, one auxiliary cooling fan, 720p camera, no RFID reader, no Ethernet. K2 Pro: 300 mm cube, 60 C chamber, 110 C bed, RFID, Ethernet, 32 GB. K2 Plus: 350 mm cube, 350 C nozzle, 120 C bed, 30000 mm/s2, dual air filters, auto belt tensioning, 1080p camera, dual-band Wi-Fi. A K2 SE also exists as a separate model[1] | Two purchasable variants: Plus4 + Filament x1 at $649 and Plus4 Combo + Filament x1 at $799 (Combo adds the QIDI Box multi-material unit). Distinct from the older X-Plus 3 (280x280x270, 350 °C) and from the newer Plus5 (320x320x300)[3][2] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Not documented | Superseded at the top of the large-format line by the Plus5, launched 5 August 2026 with 18% more build volume; Plus4 still listed and in stock Aug 2026[5][6] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 260 x 260 x 260 mm[1] | 305 x 305 x 280 mm advertised. No independently measured usable envelope found[2][4] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 404 x 436 x 545 mm[1] | 505 x 487 x 550 mm[4] |
| Net weight (kg) | 18.3 kg[1] | 32 kg gross (3DJake). QIDI does not publish a net weight on the product page[4] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Enclosed CoreXY chassis with double-layer chamber insulation; QIDI does not publish a frame material breakdown[2] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed, but with no chamber temperature control - Creality's table gives a max chamber temperature for the K2 Pro and K2 Plus and a dash for the K2. One air filter fitted[1] | Fully enclosed, double-layer insulated chamber with second-generation active heating to 65 °C[2][4] |
| Passive chamber temperature reached (if enclosed; measured values preferred) | Not documented | 65 °C, actively heated by a 400 W heater which QIDI says reaches setpoint in about 8 minutes (manufacturer claim)[2][4] |
| 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] | CoreXY[4] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Not documented | Dual independent Z motors on 10 mm linear shafts and screws[2] |
| Belts (type, width, e.g. Gates?) | Manual belt tensioning (the K2 Plus is auto-adjusted)[1] | Not documented |
| Stepper motors (frame size, step angle, brand if known) | Step-servo motors on the X and Y axes and the extruder (the K2 Plus adds them on Z)[1] | Not documented |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 600 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim)[1] | 600 mm/s (manufacturer claim, tool-head maximum)[4] |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20000 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim)[1] | <=20,000 mm/s2 (manufacturer claim)[4] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Not documented | Direct drive with hardened steel dual gears, 1.75 mm filament[2][4] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Not documented | Second-generation 80 W bimetal hotend with a multi-metal composite hardened-tip nozzle; 0.4 mm standard, 0.2/0.5/0.8 mm optional[2][4] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1] | <=370 °C claimed. No firmware max_temp verified for this model[2][4] |
| Heater cartridge power (W) | 70 W rated hotend power[1] | 80 W hotend heater (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 100 C max heatbed temperature - the lowest in the K2 family[1] | Conflicting manufacturer figures: QIDI's own Plus4 page states a 100 °C bed temperature, 3DJake's spec table states <=120 °C. Not resolved; the lower vendor-published figure is used as the sortable value[2][4] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | 6 mm aluminium-substrate heated bed with a double-sided textured PEI plate[2][4] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Smart auto levelling fitted; unlike the K2 Pro and Plus there is no nozzle AI camera, so there is no automatic flow-rate calibration[1] | Full-auto calibration; QIDI markets "hands-free automatic" levelling and does not name the probe technology on the product page[2][4] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Not documented | Filament run-out sensor, plus a filament cutter and filament tangle detection (tangle mechanism not described)[4] |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | Not documented | QIDI Box multi-material unit supported; sold bundled as the Plus4 Combo[2][3] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | One auxiliary cooling fan and one air filter[1] | Auxiliary part-cooling fan plus a chamber circulation fan; fan sizes and duct design not published[4] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | Not documented | 100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz[4] |
| Total rated power draw | Not documented | 450 W plus 400 W for chamber heating (rated)[4] |
| 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] | Klipper v0.12, described by QIDI as open source. Fork details and current release not published on the product page[2] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4-inch touchscreen[1] | 5-inch touchscreen, 800 x 480[2][4] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Touch UI with alarm sounds; no built-in RFID reader[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz, USB drive and a Creality 485 port; no Ethernet. 8 GB eMMC storage[1] | Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz, Ethernet, USB[2][4] |
| Cloud service & phone app; LAN-only mode possible? | Not documented | Mobile and computer control, remote cloud or LAN-only operation[2] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | One chamber camera, 720p at 30 fps[1] | Built-in low-frame-rate camera, up to 1080p, timelapse supported[2][4] |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Not documented | QIDI claims about 10 minutes from unbox to printing[2] |
| Power-Loss & Interruption Recovery | ||
| Power-loss recovery: mechanism (how is state saved? capacitor / eeprom / file on shutdown?) | Not documented | Power-loss recovery listed; mechanism not published[4] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, PETG, PET, ABS, PLA-CF - a shorter list than the K2 Pro and Plus, which add ASA, PA-CF and PPA-CF[1] | PLA, ABS, ASA, PETG, TPU, PA, PC, PA-CF/GF, PET-CF/GF, PPA-CF/GF, PPS-CF and other CF/GF-filled polymers[2][4] |
| 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 |
| 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] | 1-year coverage, 14-day no-reason return, 30-day price protection[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
- Creality K2 series product page, including the Compare K2 Series table (K2 / K2 Pro / K2 Plus) creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- QIDI Plus4 product page (global store) qidi3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- QIDI Plus4 product page (US store) us.qidi3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- QIDI Tech Plus4 technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- QIDI Plus5 product page (US store) us.qidi3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- QIDI Plus5 launch write-up 3dprintbeginner.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