3D Printing Info

Printer comparison

Prusa CORE One L+ vs QIDI Max4

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

2 selected · all documented properties

Prusa CORE One L+ vs QIDI Max4 — documented properties and sources
PropertyPrusa CORE One L+COREXYQIDI Max4COREXY
Identity
BrandPrusa ResearchQIDI
ClassCOREXYCOREXY
Identity & Market
Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first)Prusa CORE One L+[1]QIDI Max4, sold as "Max4 High-Temp 3D Printer"[2][3]
Release date (announcement and actual shipping)The CORE One L+ refresh was announced on 13 August 2026 and went on sale immediately, with the first assembled units shipping at once; it adds GT1.5 belts and an integrated nozzle wiper to the CORE One L[4]Not published on QIDI's product page; the machine is listed as the current replacement for the discontinued X-Max 3 (checked Aug 2026)[2][5]
Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry)$1,850.93 on prusa3d.com, Aug 2026; $1,925.00 with the Advanced Filtration bundle. Prusa's own comparison text on the CORE One+ page quotes "from $1,799", which does not match the live e-shop price[6][7]$1,099.00 standard on us.qidi3d.com against a $1,149.00 compare-at price, checked Aug 2026. Variants: Polar Cooler bundle $1,249.00 (was $1,348.00), Max4 Combo $1,249.00 (was $1,299.00), Combo + Polar Cooler $1,399.00[2]
Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk)Larger sibling of the CORE One+ (Gen 2): 300 x 300 x 330 mm against 250 x 220 x 270 mm, 60 C chamber against 55 C, 21.9 kg against 22.5 kg (the L is the lighter of the two despite being larger). A CORE One L to CORE One L+ upgrade kit exists, so "CORE One L" and "CORE One L+" are different revisions. A Critical Infrastructure Edition is also listed[1][7][6]Four variants at the US store: Standard, Polar Cooler bundle, Combo (adds QIDI Box), Combo + Polar Cooler. Direct replacement for the X-Max 3, which it differs from on every headline figure: 390x390x340 vs 325x325x315, 800 vs 600 mm/s, 370 vs 350 °C. Do not carry X-Max 3 specs across[2][5]
Market position: superseded? successor announced?Not documentedCurrent large-format flagship as of Aug 2026; QIDI's X-Max 3 page directs buyers here[2][5]
Physical & Frame
Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable300 x 300 x 330 mm, which Prusa states as 29.7 litres[1]390 x 390 x 340 mm advertised[2][3]
Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang)469 x 521 x 635 mm[1]558 x 578 x 612 mm[3]
Net weight (kg)21.9 kg (48.3 lb)[1]46.5 kg net[3]
Frame construction & materialNot documentedEnclosed CoreXY chassis; QIDI does not publish a frame-material breakdown[2]
Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lidFully enclosed with a chamber door-open sensor and an active convection heated chamber up to 60 C; advanced filtration is an optional add-on[1]Fully enclosed with a 3-in-1 air filter (G3 pre-filter + H12 HEPA + coconut-shell activated carbon)[3]
Passive chamber temperature reached (if enclosed; measured values preferred)Active convection chamber heating, maximum 60 C (manufacturer figure)[1]65 °C, independent active chamber heating (manufacturer claim), with a 4-pin PWM chamber fan with RPM feedback[3]
Kinematics & Motion Hardware
Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other)CoreXY - stated in Prusa's CORE One+ comparison table[7]CoreXY[3]
Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlashNot documented2 mm lead Z screw with an anti-backlash nut[2]
Stepper motors (frame size, step angle, brand if known)Not documentedFOC closed-loop stepper motors[3]
Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?)Trinamic drivers on the custom xBuddy mainboard (Prusa's CORE One L+ specification says "custom 32-bit xBuddy mainboard with STM32 processor & Trinamic drivers"; it does not give the driver part number)[1]Not documented
Speed & Acceleration
Max print speed (claimed, mm/s)Not documented800 mm/s (manufacturer claim, maximum)[3]
Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²)Not documented30,000 mm/s2 (manufacturer claim, maximum)[3]
Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s)Not documented40 mm3/s rated flow (manufacturer claim)[3]
Vibration Compensation / Input Shaping
Input shaping supported? Implementation (Klipper IS / Marlin ZV / proprietary)Input Shaper and Phase Stepping with an integrated accelerometer[1]Input shaper listed as a feature[3]
Extruder
Type (direct drive / bowden) & design nameNextruder direct drive with a 10:1 planetary gear system; all-metal hotend with an aluminium heatsink and a tool-free quick-swap nozzle system[1]Direct drive, dual hardened-steel gears, 8.9:1 reduction[3]
Gear ratio & drive gear material10:1 planetary gearbox[1]8.9:1; drive gears hardened steel[3]
Hotend & Nozzle
Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?)Tool-free quick-swap nozzle system; Prusa brass high-flow CHT 0.4 mm pre-mounted plus an abrasive-resistant 0.4 mm nozzle in the box[1]Multi-metal hotend with a ceramic heater and a 0.4 mm bimetal nozzle; ceramic throat[3]
Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values)290 C claimed max nozzle temperature. The optional HT hotend that raises this to 400 C was announced for September 2026 availability, so it is not a shipping specification as of Aug 2026[1][4]<=370 °C claimed[2][3]
Heated Bed & Surface
Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit120 C max heatbed temperature[1]<=120 °C claimed on a 390 x 390 mm bed QIDI markets as ultra-uniform (no thermal imaging published)[2][3]
Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sidedMagnetic heatbed with removable dual-sided PEI spring-steel sheets; a satin powder-coated sheet is supplied[1]Aluminium plate with silicone heater; double-sided magnetic PEI build plate[3]
Leveling & Z-Offset
Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe)High-precision load-cell sensor - fully automatic first-layer calibration and mesh bed levelling restricted to the print area[1]Automatic levelling; probe technology not named by QIDI[3]
Filament Handling & Detection
Filament runout sensor (type, location)Two filament sensors, plus a chamber door-open sensor and five Semitec thermistors[1]Filament run-out sensor and filament tangle detection (tangle mechanism not described), plus a filament cutter[3]
Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade pathNot documentedQIDI Box multi-colour unit supported; sold bundled as the Max4 Combo[2][3]
Cooling & Air Handling
Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting designNot documentedToolhead, model and auxiliary fans are all 4-pin PWM with RPM feedback; mainboard and chamber fans are closed-loop, chamber fan high-power turbo[3]
Chamber/exhaust fan & filtration (activated carbon / HEPA)Not documented3-in-1 filtration: G3 pre-filter, H12 HEPA, coconut-shell activated carbon[3]
Electronics & Power
Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist)Custom 32-bit xBuddy mainboard with an STM32 processor[1]Not documented
Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto)Not documented110 V / 220-240 V AC, 50/60 Hz[3]
Total rated power drawStandby 16 W, preheating about 630 W, average printing about 90 W on PLA and about 215 W on ASA (manufacturer figures)[1]Not documented
Firmware & Openness
Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary)Open-source Prusa Buddy firmware. The source tree (prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy on GitHub) explicitly covers the Original Prusa MINI/MINI+, MK4, XL and CORE One and was last pushed to in August 2026. Updates are applied from a USB drive, through Prusa Connect or through the Prusa mobile app[8][9]Not stated on the product page; QIDI Studio, PrusaSlicer and Orca are the supported slicers[3]
Connectivity, UI & Camera
Display: size, type, touch?3.5-inch 65k-colour touch screen (CORE One family)[7]5-inch touchscreen, 480 x 800[3]
On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.)On-device touch UI with Prusa Connect and Prusa mobile app remote control[7]Not documented
WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-driveEthernet, NFC receiver and Wi-Fi through a physically removable module, which Prusa offers for high-security offline installations[1]Wi-Fi, LAN, USB[3]
Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps)Not documentedAI camera with print-failure detection[2][3]
Power-Loss & Interruption Recovery
Power-loss recovery: mechanism (how is state saved? capacitor / eeprom / file on shutdown?)Not documentedPower-loss recovery listed; mechanism not published[3]
Materials Support
Officially supported filament listPLA, PETG, Flex, PVA, PC, PP, CPE, PVB, and with Advanced Filtration also ABS, ASA, HIPS and PA[1]PLA, ABS, ASA, PETG, TPU, PA, PC, and glass- and carbon-fibre-filled polymers[3]
Safety
Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible)Open-source firmware on the xBuddy platform, which carries hardware overcurrent protection cutting heater and heatbed power above 15 A[10][8]Not documented
Reliability, Support & Ecosystem
Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes)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[11][9]1-year coverage, lifetime tech guidance, 14-day no-reason return[2]

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. Prusa CORE One L+ product page (CORE One L+ Technical Specifications) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  2. QIDI Max4 product page (US store) us.qidi3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  3. QIDI Tech Max4 technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  4. 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
  5. QIDI X-Max 3 product page (US store) us.qidi3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. Prusa 3D printers category listing with live e-shop prices, Aug 2026 prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2) product page (Technical Parameters + CORE One+/MK4S/CORE One L comparison) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. GitHub - prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy (firmware for MINI, MK4, XL and CORE One) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
  9. Original Prusa MK4S 3D Printer product page (Technical Parameters + CORE One+/MK4S/XL comparison table) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. 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
  11. Prusa Knowledge Base - Warranty help.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc