3D Printing Info

Printer comparison

ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max vs QIDI X-Smart 3

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

ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max guideQIDI X-Smart 3 guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max comparisonsMore QIDI X-Smart 3 comparisons
ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max vs QIDI X-Smart 3 — documented properties and sources
PropertyELEGOO Neptune 4 MaxBEDSLINGERQIDI X-Smart 3COREXY
Identity
BrandELEGOOQIDI
ClassBEDSLINGERCOREXY
Identity & Market
Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first)ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max[1]QIDI X-Smart 3, listed in QIDI navigation as X-Smart3[2][3]
Release date (announcement and actual shipping)Listed on the ELEGOO US store from 20 September 2023 (Shopify publish date)[4]Not published by QIDI on the pages checked (Aug 2026)[2][3]
Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry)$389.00 on us.elegoo.com, Aug 2026, against a compare-at price of $559.99; Ribbon-Cable and Type-C printhead variants are the same price[4]$399 on QIDI's official US page, which routes purchases to its AliExpress and Amazon stores; checked Aug 2026[3]
Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk)Largest Neptune 4. The trade-off against the smaller models is easy to miss: the bed only reaches 85 C (against 100 C on the Plus and 110 C on the base Neptune 4) and acceleration is capped at 8000 mm/s2 (against 12000 and 20000), because of the mass of a 430 x 430 mm moving bed. Two printhead variants, Ribbon-Cable and Type-C, are sold under one SKU[1][5][6][4]Entry model of the 3-series. Unlike the X-Plus 3 and X-Max 3 it has no heated chamber, a 300 °C rather than 350 °C hotend, a brass rather than copper-alloy/hardened-steel nozzle head, and no Ethernet. It shares the Cortex-A53 board with them, so control-board specs must not be read as shared print specs[2][7][8]
Physical & Frame
Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable420 x 420 x 480 mm; printing platform 430 x 430 mm[1]175 x 180 x 170 mm advertised[2][3]
Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang)658 x 632 x 740 mm; ELEGOO's maximum size for machine activity is 658 x 950 x 960 mm including rack and tray - allow nearly a metre of depth and height[1]370 x 362 x 397 mm[2]
Net weight (kg)18.1 kg net, 21.8 kg gross[1]10.5 kg[2]
Frame construction & materialCNC-machined aluminium extrusion frame[1]QIDI publishes no frame-material breakdown for this model[2]
Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lidOpen frame, no enclosure[1]No heated chamber. 3DJake's table records "Heated chamber: No"; QIDI does not describe an enclosure for this model[2]
Kinematics & Motion Hardware
Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other)Cartesian i3 bed-slinger[1]CoreXY[2][3]
Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlashTwo lead screws with two tie rods[9]Not documented
Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?)"Silent Drive (All Axes)"; no driver part number published[9]Not documented
Speed & Acceleration
Max print speed (claimed, mm/s)500 mm/s max toolhead speed (manufacturer claim)[1]<=500 mm/s (manufacturer claim)[2][3]
Recommended/typical print speed250 mm/s recommended printing speed against the 500 mm/s ceiling (ELEGOO's own figure); default acceleration is 4000 mm/s2[9]Not documented
Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²)8000 mm/s2 max toolhead acceleration (manufacturer claim) - the lowest in the Neptune 4 family[1]20,000 mm/s2 (manufacturer claim)[3]
Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s)Not documented30 mm3/s extruder flow (manufacturer claim)[2][3]
Extruder
Type (direct drive / bowden) & design nameDual-gear direct extruder with 2 fans[9]Direct-drive extruder, single, 1.75 mm filament[2][3]
Hotend & Nozzle
Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?)Brass nozzle, 0.4 mm, with a titanium-alloy heat break[9]Brass nozzle head. 0.4 mm stock, 0.2/0.6/0.8 mm optional[2][3]
Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values)300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1]<=300 °C claimed[2][3]
Stock nozzle material (brass / hardened steel / plated copper / composite tip)Not documentedBrass[2]
Heated Bed & Surface
Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit85 C max heated bed temperature at 25 C ambient - well below the 100-110 C of the smaller Neptunes, which limits ABS/ASA work despite them being on the compatibility list[1]<=120 °C claimed[2][3]
Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sidedPEI spring steel sheet, now upgraded to a dual-sided textured PEI + PLA-specific surface; platform 430 x 430 mm[9]Double-sided flexible magnetic RF plate[2]
Leveling & Z-Offset
Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe)Manual levelling combined with 121-point auto-levelling[9]16-point automatic bed levelling per QIDI's US page; probe technology not named[3]
Mesh grid size (probe point count — firmware evidence)Not documented16 points (QIDI's US page). Not verified against firmware[3]
Filament Handling & Detection
Filament runout sensor (type, location)Filament detection and power-loss resume printing[1]Filament detection fitted; type and location not published[2]
Electronics & Power
Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist)"Klipper High-Speed Quiet Motherboard" is all ELEGOO publishes[9]Not documented
Host computer (SoC, RAM, storage) if firmware runs on embedded LinuxNot documentedCortex-A53 64-bit at 1.5 GHz, 1 GB DDR3, 8 GB eMMC[2]
Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto)100-120 V / 220-240 V, 50/60 Hz[1][9]100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz[2]
Total rated power draw320 W rated power, 24 V output[9]350 W rated[2]
Firmware & Openness
Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary)Klipper[9]Klipper[3]
Connectivity, UI & Camera
Display: size, type, touch?4.3-inch colour capacitive touch screen[9]4.3-inch touchscreen[3]
On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.)Colour capacitive touch UI; ElegooSlicer recommended, Orca and Cura supported[9]Not documented
WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-driveWi-Fi, USB and WLAN file transfer[1]Wi-Fi and USB. No Ethernet listed for this model[2][3]
Materials Support
Officially supported filament listPLA, TPU, PETG, ABS, ASA, Nylon - but note the 85 C bed ceiling against ABS and ASA[1]Not documented
Noise & Power Consumption
Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method)Operating sound published as 65 dB or less - a manufacturer figure with no distance or method stated[9]Not documented
Reliability, Support & Ecosystem
Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes)12 months on brand-new machines and parts, but ELEGOO's own table excludes a long list of parts from that: PEI plate / build plate / nozzle kit / PTFE tube / heater / thermistor / hot end / packaging / manual / tools carry no warranty at all, and the extruder, extruder kit and printhead kit get 6 months. Certified pre-owned machines carry no warranty[10]1-year coverage (QIDI standard store terms)[11]

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. ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max product page (Specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  2. QIDI Tech X-Smart 3 technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  3. QIDI X-Smart 3 official US page qidiusa.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  4. ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  5. ELEGOO Neptune 4 product page (Specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus product page (full specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. QIDI Tech X-Plus 3 technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. QIDI Tech X-Max 3 technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. ELEGOO compare-products page, which embeds the full per-model specification JSON for every Neptune, Centauri and OrangeStorm machine us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. ELEGOO Refund & Warranty policy (warranty period table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. QIDI Max4 product page (US store) us.qidi3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor