3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
ELEGOO Mars 5 vs Formlabs Form 4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore ELEGOO Mars 5 comparisonsMore Formlabs Form 4 comparisons
| Property | ELEGOO Mars 5RESIN | Formlabs Form 4RESIN |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | ELEGOO | Formlabs |
| Class | RESIN | RESIN |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | ELEGOO Mars 5. Elegoo's own product handle spells the configuration out: mars-5-4k-6-6inch-monochrome-lcd-resin-3d-printer[1][2][3] | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[4][5] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $179.00 on us.elegoo.com against a $225.00 compare-at price (20% off), in stock, checked Aug 2026. The live product feed shows the same $179.00[2][3] | Starting at $2,625.00 at GoEngineer, in stock, checked Aug 2026. Formlabs sells the printer as part of packages (Form 4 Complete Package etc.), so package prices are much higher than the printer-only figure[5] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Sold beside the Mars 5 Ultra, which is a materially different machine: 7-inch 9K masking LCD vs 6.6-inch 4K, 18 um vs 35 um pixels, 150 vs 70 mm/h, a 4.0-inch capacitive control screen vs 3.5-inch resistive, and Wi-Fi (the plain Mars 5 is USB only). Elegoo lists ten further Mars 5 / Mars 5 Ultra bundle SKUs pairing the printers with Mercury wash-and-cure stations at $302-$432; those are not printer prices[1][6][2][3] | Three machines share this platform and are constantly conflated. Form 4: 200 x 125 x 210 mm, 50 um pixels, 18.3 kg, 480 W, one resin cartridge, NOT biocompatible. Form 4B: identical hardware but validated for 38 Formlabs materials including 15 biocompatible. Form 4L: 353 x 196 x 350 mm, 46 um pixels, 58.5 kg, 900 W, two cartridges[4] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 143.43 x 89.6 x 150 mm[1] | 200 x 125 x 210 mm (Formlabs quotes 5.25 litres)[4][5] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 230 x 230 x 433.5 mm[1] | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[4][5] |
| Net weight (kg) | Approximately 6.6 kg[1] | 18.3 kg[4][5] |
| Frame construction & material | Metal frame with adjustable foot pads[1] | Not documented |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open-frame MSLA with a removable UV-blocking cover[1] | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[4] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | MSLA — UV LCD masked stereolithography. Single Z axis, build plate lifting straight out of the vat (no tilt-release on this model, unlike the Mars 5 Ultra)[1][6] | Masked stereolithography (MSLA). Formlabs brands the engine Low Force Display; straight-lift peel[4][5] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Laser-engraved build plate with a quick-release design[1] | Not documented |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Automatic levelling, one click. An intelligent mechanical sensor detects resin residue to prevent LCD damage[1] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | 100-240 V, 50/60 Hz, 24 V 3 A[1] | 100-240 VAC, 4.8 A, 50/60 Hz, 480 W[4] |
| Total rated power draw | Not documented | 480 W[4] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Not named by Elegoo. Supported slicers are Voxeldance Tango and CHITUBOX; STL and OBJ accepted[1] | Proprietary. Print preparation is PreForm; fleet management is Formlabs Dashboard[5] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 3.5-inch resistive touchscreen (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[1] | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[4] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | USB only — no Wi-Fi on this model[1] | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[4][5] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | 405 nm photopolymer resin. Elegoo does not publish a resin compatibility list on this listing[1] | Formlabs resins across rigid, tough, general purpose, flame retardant, silicone, elastic, ceramic and castable families. Biocompatible resins require the Form 4B, not the Form 4[4] |
| Safety | ||
| Firmware safety limits (max temp cutoffs — exact values) | Intelligent overheating protection stops printing above 80 °C[1] | Not documented |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | Not documented | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement[4][5] |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | 6.6-inch 4K monochrome masking LCD, 4098 x 2560 px, XY pixel pitch 35 x 35 um (manufacturer specification)[1][3] | Low Force Display masking LCD with a 50 um pixel size and pre-tuned anti-aliasing. Formlabs does not publish the screen diagonal or pixel count[4][5] |
| Light source | COB LED at 405 nm. Elegoo does not publish an LED count or collimating optics for this model[1] | Backlight unit with 60 uniform-wavelength high-power LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[4][5] |
| Vertical print speedmm/h | 70 mm/h maximum (manufacturer claim). Elegoo does not state the layer height or resin type the figure assumes[1] | Maximum 100 mm/h; average 40 mm/h at a 100 um layer height (manufacturer figures — GoEngineer publishes both, which is unusually explicit about the basis). Formlabs separately claims most prints finish in under 2 hours[5][4] |
| Layer height range | Not documented | 25-200 um per Formlabs' own tech-spec page; GoEngineer's listing for the same machine says 25-300 um. Unresolved[4][5] |
| Release film | PFA film with a non-stick surface. No rated life published[1] | Not documented |
| Resin vat & feeding | Replaceable resin tank with two pouring openings and screw caps. An intelligent mechanical sensor detects resin residue in the vat. Capacity not published; no auto-refill[1] | Single next-generation resin cartridge; Formlabs claims 5-10x faster filling and 63% less waste. Resin tank rated for 75,000+ layers with any Formlabs material. No vat capacity published[4][5] |
| Fume extraction | None fitted. Elegoo states compatibility with the separately sold MARS MATE air purifier for odour reduction[1] | 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
- Elegoo Mars 5 product page (technical data and description) 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Mars 5 Series collection (live US prices) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Mars 5 Series live product feed us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs resin printer technical specifications (Form 4 / 4B / 4L) formlabs.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs Form 4 3D printer listing store.goengineer.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra product page (technical data and description) 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor