3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Formlabs Form 4 vs QIDI Plus4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Formlabs Form 4 comparisonsMore QIDI Plus4 comparisons
| Property | Formlabs Form 4RESIN | QIDI Plus4COREXY |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Formlabs | QIDI |
| Class | RESIN | COREXY |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[1][2] | QIDI Plus4, sold as "Plus4 3D Printer". QIDI's own wiki files it under X-Plus4[3][4] |
| 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)[5] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | 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[2] | $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[3][4] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | 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[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)[4][3] |
| Market position: superseded?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 | Not documented | Superseded at the top of the large-format line by the Plus5, launched 5 August 2026 with 18% more build volume; Plus4 still listed and in stock Aug 2026[6][7] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 200 x 125 x 210 mm (Formlabs quotes 5.25 litres)[1][2] | 305 x 305 x 280 mm advertised. No independently measured usable envelope found[3][5] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[1][2] | 505 x 487 x 550 mm[5] |
| Net weight (kg) | 18.3 kg[1][2] | 32 kg gross (3DJake). QIDI does not publish a net weight on the product page[5] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Enclosed CoreXY chassis with double-layer chamber insulation; QIDI does not publish a frame material breakdown[3] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[1] | Fully enclosed, double-layer insulated chamber with second-generation active heating to 65 °C[3][5] |
| 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)[3][5] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Masked stereolithography (MSLA). Formlabs brands the engine Low Force Display; straight-lift peel[1][2] | CoreXY[5] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Not documented | Dual independent Z motors on 10 mm linear shafts and screws[3] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | Not documented | 600 mm/s (manufacturer claim, tool-head maximum)[5] |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | Not documented | <=20,000 mm/s2 (manufacturer claim)[5] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Not documented | Direct drive with hardened steel dual gears, 1.75 mm filament[3][5] |
| 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[3][5] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | Not documented | <=370 °C claimed. No firmware max_temp verified for this model[3][5] |
| Heater cartridge power (W) | Not documented | 80 W hotend heater (manufacturer figure)[3] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | Not documented | 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[3][5] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | 6 mm aluminium-substrate heated bed with a double-sided textured PEI plate[3][5] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Not documented | Full-auto calibration; QIDI markets "hands-free automatic" levelling and does not name the probe technology on the product page[3][5] |
| 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)[5] |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | Not documented | QIDI Box multi-material unit supported; sold bundled as the Plus4 Combo[3][4] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | Auxiliary part-cooling fan plus a chamber circulation fan; fan sizes and duct design not published[5] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | 100-240 VAC, 4.8 A, 50/60 Hz, 480 W[1] | 100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz[5] |
| Total rated power draw | 480 W[1] | 450 W plus 400 W for chamber heating (rated)[5] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Proprietary. Print preparation is PreForm; fleet management is Formlabs Dashboard[2] | Klipper v0.12, described by QIDI as open source. Fork details and current release not published on the product page[3] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[1] | 5-inch touchscreen, 800 x 480[3][5] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[1][2] | Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz, Ethernet, USB[3][5] |
| Cloud service & phone app; LAN-only mode possible? | Not documented | Mobile and computer control, remote cloud or LAN-only operation[3] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Not documented | Built-in low-frame-rate camera, up to 1080p, timelapse supported[3][5] |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Not documented | QIDI claims about 10 minutes from unbox to printing[3] |
| 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[5] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | 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[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[3][5] |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | Not documented | 1-year coverage, 14-day no-reason return, 30-day price protection[3] |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement[1][2] | Not documented |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | 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[1][2] | Not documented |
| Light source | Backlight unit with 60 uniform-wavelength high-power LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[1][2] | Not documented |
| Vertical print speedmm/h | 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[2][1] | Not documented |
| Layer height range | 25-200 um per Formlabs' own tech-spec page; GoEngineer's listing for the same machine says 25-300 um. Unresolved[1][2] | Not documented |
| Resin vat & feeding | 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[1][2] | 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
- 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
- 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