3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ vs Rat Rig V-Core 4.1
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ comparisonsMore Rat Rig V-Core 4.1 comparisons
| Property | Original Prusa i3 MK3S+BEDSLINGER | Rat Rig V-Core 4.1COREXY |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Prusa Research | Rat Rig |
| Class | BEDSLINGER | COREXY |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Original Prusa i3 MK3S+. The only version still listed in Aug 2026 is the "Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ 10th Anniversary Edition"[1] | Rat Rig V-Core 4.1, described by Rat Rig as a large-format open CoreXY 3D printer kit[2] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $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[1] | Not documented |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | 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[1][3][4][5] | Three sizes, all at the same base-kit price. Acceleration is the size-dependent figure and the one most often mis-quoted: 15,000 mm/s2 at 300 mm, 12,000 at 400 mm, 8,000 at 500 mm. IDEX is a configuration option and changes the usable area per toolhead (copy mode 150x150x300 at the 300 size, mirror mode 95x95x300). Base kit excludes electronics. Rat Rig prices the base kit only in EUR (EUR 873.90 on sale from EUR 971.00, Aug 2026); no USD list price is published, so no USD street price is recorded here[2] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Superseded by the MK4/MK4S line.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[4][5] | Current revision, replacing the V-Core 4; Rat Rig sells a 4.1 upgrade kit for existing V-Core 4 machines[2] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 25 x 21 x 21 cm = 250 x 210 x 210 mm (manufacturer figure)[1] | 300 x 300 x 300, 400 x 400 x 400 or 500 x 500 x 500 mm. Sortable value is the 300 mm kit[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 500 x 550 x 400 mm (X x Y x Z), without the spool holder[1] | 623.2 x 583 x 785 mm (300); 723.2 x 683 x 885 mm (400); 823.2 x 783 x 985 mm (500). Sortable value is the 300 mm kit[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 7 kg (without spool)[1] | Kit weight 35 kg (300), 45 kg (400), 55 kg (500)[2] |
| Frame construction & material | Cut aluminium frame - Prusa's MK4 announcement contrasts "the cut aluminum frame we used so far" with the MK4's new die-cast frame[4] | 30-series aluminium extrusion; the 4.1 adds a steel X-axis gantry for rigidity[2] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame; the Original Prusa Enclosure is an optional separate product[4] | Open frame in the base kit[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | 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[4] | CoreXY; Hybrid CoreXY and IDEX are configuration options[2] |
| Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?) | Trinamic 2130 drivers at 256 microstepping on the EINSY RAMBo 8-bit board, co-developed with UltiMachine; sensorless homing on X and Y[1] | Not documented |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max travel speed | "200+ mm/s" max travel speed (manufacturer figure, no measurement basis given)[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | Not documented | Size-dependent: 15,000 mm/s2 at 300 mm, 12,000 at 400 mm, 8,000 at 500 mm (manufacturer claims)[2] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct drive with Bondtech gears and an E3D V6 hotend[1] | Full-metal skeleton toolhead, new in the 4.1[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1] | 350 °C maximum nozzle temperature (manufacturer claim)[2] |
| Stock nozzle size & sizes included in box | Not documented | 0.4 mm hardened steel and 0.6 mm included[2] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 120 C max heatbed temperature[1] | 120 °C maximum heatbed temperature (manufacturer claim). The 400 and 500 sizes get 8 mm thick beds in the 4.1[2] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Removable magnetic spring-steel sheets in several finishes; heatbed with cold-corner compensation[1] | Not documented |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | SuperPINDA inductive probe (Prusa's temperature-drift-free replacement for the original PINDA), driving automatic mesh bed levelling and a self-test routine[1] | Not documented |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | IR filament sensor built in, supporting filament auto-loading; the print pauses when filament runs out[1] | Not documented |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | Improved part cooling, listed by Rat Rig as one of the 4.1 changes[2] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | EINSY RAMBo 8-bit board, co-developed with UltiMachine[1] | Not documented |
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | Custom Delta PSU with hardware-based power panic[1] | Not documented |
| Total rated power draw | Power consumption 80 W on PLA settings, 120 W on ABS settings[1] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | 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[6] | RatOS 2.1 (Rat Rig's Klipper distribution)[2] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | SD card (16 GB card included); Ethernet and Wi-Fi only via an optional Raspberry Pi[1] | Not documented |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Not documented | Self-assembly kit; the 4.1 ships pre-made cables that need no crimping, with rewritten step-by-step build documentation[2] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, PETG, ASA, ABS, PC, CPE, PVA/BVOH, PVB, HIPS, PP, Flex, nGen, Nylon, carbon-filled, woodfill and other filled materials[1] | PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU, PET, PA, PC, PVA, PLA-CF, PETG-CF, ABS-GF, ASA-CF, PA6-CF, PA6-GF, PAHT-CF, PPA-CF, PET-CF[2] |
| Safety | ||
| Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible) | 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[4][6] | 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[7][8] | 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
- Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ 10th Anniversary Edition product page (Technical Parameters + Full Features List) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Rat Rig V-Core 4.1 product page ratrig.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
- 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