3D Printing Info

Printer comparison

ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus vs Original Prusa XL+ Dual-Head

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

2 selected · all documented properties

ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus vs Original Prusa XL+ Dual-Head — documented properties and sources
PropertyELEGOO Neptune 4 PlusBEDSLINGEROriginal Prusa XL+ Dual-HeadTOOLCHANGER
Identity
BrandELEGOOPrusa Research
ClassBEDSLINGERTOOLCHANGER
Identity & Market
Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first)ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus[1]Original Prusa XL+, Dual-Head variant ("Prusa XL+ Dual-Head" in the e-shop variant data)[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]The XL+ refresh was announced on 13 August 2026, on sale immediately in all toolhead configurations, with assembled printers shipping later in August 2026 and upgrade kits for existing XL owners from around the end of August. The original Original Prusa XL predates it[5]
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][6][4]$2,768.52 on prusa3d.com, Aug 2026 (lowest listed price for the Dual-Head variant; the 2-toolhead Enclosure bundle starts at $3,128.70)[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][7][8][9]One of three XL+ configurations - Single-Tool $2,128.70, Dual-Head $2,768.52, Five-Head $3,610.18 (Aug 2026). The frame, bed, electronics and 360 mm cube build volume are identical across all three; only the toolhead count, the price and the achievable multi-material workflow change. Toolheads can be added later[2][10]
Physical & Frame
Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable320 x 320 x 385 mm; printing platform 330 x 330 mm[1]360 x 360 x 360 mm, which Prusa states as 46.7 litres[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]About 700 x 900 x 720 mm (Prusa's own figure is approximate)[2]
Net weight (kg)14.4 kg net, 16.65 kg gross[1]About 30 kg[2]
Frame construction & materialCNC-machined aluminium extrusion frame (Neptune 4 family)[7]Aluminium extrusions and steel sheets (Prusa's comparison table for the XL)[11]
Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lidOpen frame, no enclosure[1]Open frame. The Enclosure for Prusa XL+ is an optional add-on; Prusa says the printer is ready for chamber temperatures up to 60 C, that the new better-sealed enclosure reaches around 50 C on the printer's own waste heat, and that 60 C needs an upcoming chamber heater for which no shipping date has been given[2][5]
Kinematics & Motion Hardware
Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other)Cartesian i3 bed-slinger[1]CoreXY with 1.5 mm GT belts, Input Shaper and Phase Stepping[2]
Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlashTwo lead screws with two tie rods[1]Not documented
Belts (type, width, e.g. Gates?)Not documented1.5 mm GT belts[2]
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]Not documented
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 speed250 mm/s recommended printing speed (manufacturer figure)[1]Not documented
Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²)12000 mm/s2 maximum acceleration; default acceleration 5000 mm/s2[1]Not documented
Vibration Compensation / Input Shaping
Input shaping supported? Implementation (Klipper IS / Marlin ZV / proprietary)Not documentedInput Shaper and Phase Stepping[2]
Extruder
Type (direct drive / bowden) & design nameDual-gear direct extruder with 2 fans (the Centauri machines use a 1-fan version)[1][9]Nextruder direct drive; each toolhead carries its own extruder, hotend, nozzle and filament[2]
Hotend & Nozzle
Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?)Brass nozzle, 0.4 mm, with a titanium-alloy heat break[1]Quick-swap nozzles - 0.25 mm for detail, 0.6/0.8 mm for speed, hardened steel for abrasives, high-flow CHT for throughput; toolheads ship with high-flow nozzles[2]
Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values)300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1]290 C claimed max nozzle temperature[2]
Heated Bed & Surface
Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit100 C max heated bed temperature at 25 C ambient[1]120 C max heatbed temperature[2]
Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sidedPEI spring steel sheet; ELEGOO notes it is now upgraded to a dual-sided textured PEI + PLA-specific surface[1]Segmented heatbed of 16 individually controlled tiles across the 360 x 360 mm surface, so only the tiles under the part are powered; removable double-sided satin print sheet supplied[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]Load-cell sensor - the nozzle is the probe, which Prusa says automatically accounts for nozzle changes, surface textures and thermal expansion and removes manual Z-offsets. Toolhead-to-toolhead alignment on the XL+ uses a separate permanently mounted eddy-current Tool Offset Sensor, replacing the removable mechanical pin used on the original XL[2][5]
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]Filament sensors fitted; Prusa's comparison table lists two filament sensors for the XL[11]
Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade pathNot documentedTwo independent toolheads with automatic tool changing - two materials or two nozzle sizes in one job, with no purge tower waste between materials because each head keeps its own nozzle[2]
Cooling & Air Handling
Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting designNot documented360-degree part cooling on each toolhead, new on the XL+ and matching the MK4S and CORE One arrangement; Prusa states it delivers more airflow and distributes it more evenly around the nozzle. Additional fans and heatsinks cool the electronics. Fan sizes are not published[2][5]
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]Custom 32-bit xBuddy electronics with STM32 (Prusa's comparison table for the XL)[11]
Total rated power draw320 W rated power; 24 V output; 110-120 V / 220-240 V input[1]Not documented
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][9]Open-source firmware - Prusa states "Firmware: Open-source; ships with the full current Prusa feature set", and the XL is covered by the prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy source tree[2][12]
Connectivity, UI & Camera
Display: size, type, touch?4.3-inch colour capacitive touch screen[1]3.5-inch 65k-colour screen with touch control (Prusa's comparison table for the XL)[11]
On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.)Colour capacitive touch UI; ElegooSlicer is recommended, with Orca and Cura also supported[1]On-device touch UI; Prusa Connect and the Prusa mobile app are optional - Prusa states the machine is fully offline capable[11][2]
WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-driveUSB, LAN and Wi-Fi[1]Ethernet, optional Wi-Fi; USB drive for print files. Prusa Connect optional and fully offline operation supported[2][11]
Materials Support
Officially supported filament listPLA, TPU, PETG, ABS, ASA, Nylon[1]PLA, PETG, ASA, ABS, PC, PA (nylon), TPU, PVA, HIPS, PP, CPE, PVB and carbon-fibre composites. Prusa states an open material policy - any brand of 1.75 mm filament, no chips and no subscriptions[2]
Safety
Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible)Not documentedOpen-source firmware on the xBuddy platform, which carries hardware overcurrent protection cutting heater and heatbed power above 15 A[13][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[14]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[15][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 Plus product page (full specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  2. Original Prusa XL+ product page (spec block and variant price data) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  3. ELEGOO Neptune 4 Plus Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) us.elegoo.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. Prusa blog - Better Prints, Easier Use: Prusa XL+, CORE One L+ and CORE One+ (Gen 2), Our Big Product Update (published 13 August 2026) blog.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc
  6. ELEGOO Neptune 4 Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. ELEGOO Neptune 4 product page (Specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max product page (Specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. ELEGOO Centauri Carbon product page (full specification table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. Prusa 3D printers category listing with live e-shop prices, Aug 2026 prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. Original Prusa MK4S 3D Printer product page (Technical Parameters + CORE One+/MK4S/XL comparison table) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  12. GitHub - prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy (firmware for MINI, MK4, XL and CORE One) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
  13. 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
  14. ELEGOO Refund & Warranty policy (warranty period table) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  15. Prusa Knowledge Base - Warranty help.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc