3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus vs Original Prusa i3 MK3S+
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus comparisonsMore Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ comparisons
| Property | ELEGOO Neptune 4 PlusBEDSLINGER | Original Prusa i3 MK3S+BEDSLINGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | ELEGOO | Prusa Research |
| Class | BEDSLINGER | BEDSLINGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus[1] | Original Prusa i3 MK3S+. The only version still listed in Aug 2026 is the "Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ 10th Anniversary Edition"[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the ELEGOO US store from 20 September 2023 (Shopify publish date), the same date as the Neptune 4 Max[3][4] | Not documented |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $309.00 on us.elegoo.com, Aug 2026, against a compare-at price of $425.00. Only a Ribbon-Cable printhead variant is listed for the Plus, unlike the Neptune 4 and 4 Max which also offer a Type-C version[3][5][4] | $1,199.00 assembled, $899.00 as a kit, for the 10th Anniversary Edition on prusa3d.com, Aug 2026. This is above the price the standard MK3S+ sold at, so do not read it as the MK3S+ street price[2] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Middle model of the Neptune 4 family. Against the base Neptune 4: bigger (320 x 320 x 385 mm), but a lower bed ceiling (100 C rather than 110 C) and much lower acceleration (12000 rather than 20000 mm/s2). Against the Max: smaller and lighter (14.4 kg against 18.1 kg) but with a higher bed ceiling (100 C against 85 C) and higher acceleration (12000 against 8000). Its Z drive is 2 lead screws with 2 tie rods, where the Centauri machines use 3 lead screws[1][6][7][8] | Only the 10th Anniversary Edition remains on sale; the standard MK3S+ is gone from Prusa's printer listing. Two official upgrade paths change the machine substantially and are frequently confused with it: MK3.5 (xBuddy board and new LCD, keeps the MK3 extruder) and MK3.9 (adds the Nextruder). A caution on Prusa's own pages: the "Awards & Press Reviews" paragraph about the MK3S is reproduced verbatim on the MINI+ product page, so award text found on a Prusa page does not necessarily belong to the printer on that page[2][9][10][11] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Not documented | Superseded by the MK4/MK4S line. Prusa cut MK3S+ prices at the MK4 launch in March 2023 and said it would keep selling the MK3S+ at a lower price and hold spare parts in stock[10][11] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 320 x 320 x 385 mm; printing platform 330 x 330 mm[1] | 25 x 21 x 21 cm = 250 x 210 x 210 mm (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 533 x 517 x 638 mm; ELEGOO also publishes a maximum size for machine activity of 578 x 750 x 860 mm including rack and tray, so allow 750 mm of depth[1] | 500 x 550 x 400 mm (X x Y x Z), without the spool holder[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 14.4 kg net, 16.65 kg gross[1] | 7 kg (without spool)[2] |
| Frame construction & material | CNC-machined aluminium extrusion frame (Neptune 4 family)[6] | Cut aluminium frame - Prusa's MK4 announcement contrasts "the cut aluminum frame we used so far" with the MK4's new die-cast frame[10] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame, no enclosure[1] | Open frame; the Original Prusa Enclosure is an optional separate product[10] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Cartesian i3 bed-slinger[1] | Cartesian i3 bed-slinger. Prusa's MK4 announcement notes the MK3S+ Y-axis profiles and heatbed were among the few parts carried into the MK4[10] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Two lead screws with two tie rods[1] | Not documented |
| Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?) | "Silent Drive (All Axes)" is all ELEGOO publishes; the driver part number is not given on the product page[1] | Trinamic 2130 drivers at 256 microstepping on the EINSY RAMBo 8-bit board, co-developed with UltiMachine; sensorless homing on X and Y[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 30-500 mm/s printing speed, with 250 mm/s given by ELEGOO as the recommended figure - the 500 mm/s number is a ceiling, not a working speed[1] | Not documented |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 250 mm/s recommended printing speed (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Max travel speed | Not documented | "200+ mm/s" max travel speed (manufacturer figure, no measurement basis given)[2] |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 12000 mm/s2 maximum acceleration; default acceleration 5000 mm/s2[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Dual-gear direct extruder with 2 fans (the Centauri machines use a 1-fan version)[1][8] | Direct drive with Bondtech gears and an E3D V6 hotend[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Brass nozzle, 0.4 mm, with a titanium-alloy heat break[1] | Not documented |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1] | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[2] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 100 C max heated bed temperature at 25 C ambient[1] | 120 C max heatbed temperature[2] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | PEI spring steel sheet; ELEGOO notes it is now upgraded to a dual-sided textured PEI + PLA-specific surface[1] | Removable magnetic spring-steel sheets in several finishes; heatbed with cold-corner compensation[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Manual levelling combined with 121-point auto-levelling[1] | SuperPINDA inductive probe (Prusa's temperature-drift-free replacement for the original PINDA), driving automatic mesh bed levelling and a self-test routine[2] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament run-out sensor and power-loss recovery; no camera, no clog detection, no auto filament unloading[1] | IR filament sensor built in, supporting filament auto-loading; the print pauses when filament runs out[2] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | ELEGOO describes it only as a "Klipper High-Speed Quiet Motherboard" - no board model or MCU is published[1] | EINSY RAMBo 8-bit board, co-developed with UltiMachine[2] |
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | Not documented | Custom Delta PSU with hardware-based power panic[2] |
| Total rated power draw | 320 W rated power; 24 V output; 110-120 V / 220-240 V input[1] | Power consumption 80 W on PLA settings, 120 W on ABS settings[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Klipper (ELEGOO names the system "Klipper" outright for the Neptune 4 Plus, rather than the ELEGOO OS branding used on the Centauri machines)[1][8] | prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware on GitHub, GPL-3.0, whose README states it is "proudly based on Marlin 1.0.x" and covers the MK3S/MK3/MK2.5S/MK2.5 line; last pushed August 2025. Updated over USB from a PC[12] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch colour capacitive touch screen[1] | Not documented |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Colour capacitive touch UI; ElegooSlicer is recommended, with Orca and Cura also supported[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | USB, LAN and Wi-Fi[1] | SD card (16 GB card included); Ethernet and Wi-Fi only via an optional Raspberry Pi[2] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, TPU, PETG, ABS, ASA, Nylon[1] | PLA, PETG, ASA, ABS, PC, CPE, PVA/BVOH, PVB, HIPS, PP, Flex, nGen, Nylon, carbon-filled, woodfill and other filled materials[2] |
| Safety | ||
| Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible) | Not documented | Prusa shipped Thermal Model protection to the MK3 line as a firmware update shortly before the MK4 launch; the firmware is open-source and auditable[10][12] |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | Operating sound is published as 65 dB or less - a manufacturer figure with no measuring distance or method given, so it is not comparable with a reviewer's dB reading[1] | 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[13] | 2-year warranty for consumers in the EU, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland; 1 year for EU enterprises and 1 year for the rest of the world, which includes the United States. A printer bought from a reseller or privately carries 1 year from the original delivery date and is handled by the reseller. Prusa advertises 24/7 chat and e-mail support in seven languages[14][15] |
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 Neptune 4 Plus product page (full specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ 10th Anniversary Edition product page (Technical Parameters + Full Features List) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 product page (Specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max product page (Specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Centauri Carbon product page (full specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Original Prusa MINI+ Semi-assembled 3D Printer product page (Technical Parameters + Full Features List, January 2025 Edition) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa blog - Original Prusa MK4 is here (published 29 March 2023), including the MK4 specification table and launch prices blog.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Prusa 3D printers category listing with live e-shop prices, Aug 2026 prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- GitHub - prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware (MK3 line, GPL-3.0, based on Marlin 1.0.x) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- ELEGOO Refund & Warranty policy (warranty period table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa Knowledge Base - Warranty help.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Original Prusa MK4S 3D Printer product page (Technical Parameters + CORE One+/MK4S/XL comparison table) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor