Printer comparison
Prusa CORE One L+ vs QIDI Max4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Prusa CORE One L+ comparisonsMore QIDI Max4 comparisons
| Property | Prusa CORE One L+COREXY | QIDI Max4COREXY |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Prusa Research | QIDI |
| Class | COREXY | COREXY |
| 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| Market position: superseded?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 documented | Current 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 usable | 300 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 & material | Not documented | Enclosed CoreXY chassis; QIDI does not publish a frame-material breakdown[2] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Fully 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-backlash | Not documented | 2 mm lead Z screw with an anti-backlash nut[2] |
| Stepper motors (frame size, step angle, brand if known) | Not documented | FOC 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 documented | 800 mm/s (manufacturer claim, maximum)[3] |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | Not documented | 30,000 mm/s2 (manufacturer claim, maximum)[3] |
| Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s) | Not documented | 40 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 name | Nextruder 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 material | 10:1 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 limit | 120 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-sided | Magnetic 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 path | Not documented | QIDI Box multi-colour unit supported; sold bundled as the Max4 Combo[2][3] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | Toolhead, 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 documented | 3-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 documented | 110 V / 220-240 V AC, 50/60 Hz[3] |
| Total rated power draw | Standby 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-drive | Ethernet, 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 documented | AI 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 documented | Power-loss recovery listed; mechanism not published[3] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, 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
- Prusa CORE One L+ product page (CORE One L+ Technical Specifications) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- QIDI Max4 product page (US store) us.qidi3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- QIDI Tech Max4 technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- 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
- QIDI X-Max 3 product page (US store) us.qidi3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa 3D printers category listing with live e-shop prices, Aug 2026 prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2) product page (Technical Parameters + CORE One+/MK4S/CORE One L comparison) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- GitHub - prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy (firmware for MINI, MK4, XL and CORE One) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Original Prusa MK4S 3D Printer product page (Technical Parameters + CORE One+/MK4S/XL comparison table) 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 Knowledge Base - Warranty help.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc