3D Printing Info

Printer comparison

Original Prusa MK4 vs Sovol Zero

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

2 selected · all documented properties

Original Prusa MK4 vs Sovol Zero — documented properties and sources
PropertyOriginal Prusa MK4BEDSLINGERSovol ZeroCOREXY
Identity
BrandPrusa ResearchSovol
ClassBEDSLINGERCOREXY
Identity & Market
Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first)Original Prusa MK4[1]Sovol Zero 3D Printer[2][3]
Release date (announcement and actual shipping)Announced 29 March 2023 with assembled printers shipping immediately from stock; kits opened for ordering about two weeks later[1]Not documented
Launch MSRP (USD)1099 USD assembled, 799 USD as a kit, VAT included, at launch[1]Not documented
Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry)Not documented$389.00 on sovol3d.com against a $499.00 compare-at price, but marked Sold out, checked Aug 2026. Sovol's own announcement article quotes from $359.00[2][3][4]
Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk)Superseded by the MK4S, which is the same machine plus a 360-degree turbine part-cooling fan, a high-flow CHT nozzle and firmware/profile work; Prusa sold a 99 USD MK4-to-MK4S upgrade kit and automatically converted unshipped MK4 orders to the S version. The MK3.5 and MK3.9 upgrades convert an MK3S+ to part of the MK4 electronics stack but are not an MK4[5][1]No sibling variants at the time of checking. Sovol positions it against the Voron 0 and Bambu Lab P1P. Note the bed and nozzle limits are higher than the larger SV08 (120 vs 100 °C bed, 350 vs 300 °C nozzle), so SV08 figures must not be carried across[2][4][6]
Market position: superseded? successor announced?Discontinued. No MK4 appears in Prusa's Aug 2026 3D-printer listing, and the MK4 product-page slugs redirect to the MK4S page, so no live first-party price could be recorded[7][5]Not documented
Physical & Frame
Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable250 x 210 x 220 mm (manufacturer figure)[1]152.4 x 152.4 x 152.5 mm advertised[2][4]
Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang)Not documented345 x 420 x 475 mm[2]
Frame construction & materialDie-cast aluminium frame - Prusa replaced the MK3S+'s cut-aluminium frame for the MK4, keeping only the Y-axis profiles, some bearings, the heatbed and the power supply[1]Full linear rails on all axes; CoreXY with two motors sharing the moving mass[4]
Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lidOpen frame; the Original Prusa Enclosure is an optional add-on[1]Fully enclosed[4]
Kinematics & Motion Hardware
Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other)Cartesian bed-slinger of the Prusa i3 family - Prusa's MK4 announcement records that the MK3S+ Y-axis profiles and heatbed were carried over[1]CoreXY[4]
X-axis guide type (rods / linear rails / V-wheels; size)Not documentedLinear rails on all axes[4]
Stepper motors (frame size, step angle, brand if known)400-step (0.9 degree) stepper motors, stated by Prusa to prevent vertical fine artefacts[1]Not documented
Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?)Trinamic TMC2130-LA silent stepper drivers on the xBuddy board[1]Not documented
Speed & Acceleration
Max print speed (claimed, mm/s)Not documented1200 mm/s maximum (manufacturer claim). Sovol's own material acknowledges 700 mm/s as the realistic figure for detailed prints[2][4]
Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²)Not documented40,000 mm/s2 maximum (manufacturer claim)[2][4]
Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s)Not documented<=50 mm3/s (manufacturer claim)[2]
Extruder
Type (direct drive / bowden) & design nameNextruder direct drive with a planetary gear system, 1:10 gearbox ratio; aluminium heatsink, all-metal hotend, no PTFE tube in the filament path[1]Planetary-gear direct-drive extruder[2]
Gear ratio & drive gear material1:10 planetary gearbox[1]Not documented
Hotend & Nozzle
Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?)Quick-swap nozzle system, 0.4 mm default, other diameters supported[1]Ceramic heating plate. Brass or hardened-steel nozzles in 0.2/0.4/0.6/0.8/1.0 mm[2]
Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values)300 C claimed max hotend temperature in Prusa's MK4 announcement table - note the MK4S product page publishes 290 C for the same hotend family[1][8]<=350 °C claimed[2][4]
Stock nozzle material (brass / hardened steel / plated copper / composite tip)Not documentedBrass or hardened steel, buyer's choice[2]
Heated Bed & Surface
Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit120 C max heatbed temperature[1]<=120 °C claimed; Sovol states the bed is AC-heated[2][4]
Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sidedMagnetic heatbed with removable PEI spring-steel sheets; compatible with the MK3 sheets (smooth PEI, satin, textured PEI, PA nylon)[1]Double-sided PEI steel plate[2]
Leveling & Z-Offset
Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe)Load-cell sensor: fully automatic first-layer calibration with the nozzle as the probe, plus automatic mesh bed levelling over the print area[1]Eddy-current scanning combined with pressure (force) sensing — Sovol describes it as an inductive sensor plus force sensor[2][4]
Filament Handling & Detection
Filament runout sensor (type, location)Built-in Hall-effect filament sensor supporting automatic filament loading[1]Filament sensor fitted; type and location not published[2][4]
Electronics & Power
Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist)Custom 32-bit xBuddy board with STM32, designed and built in-house, with a separate extruder breakout board[1]Not documented
Host computer (SoC, RAM, storage) if firmware runs on embedded LinuxNot documentedAllwinner H616, 1 GB RAM, 8 GB eMMC, 64-bit[2]
PSU (brand, wattage, rail voltage)240 W Delta PSU with hardware power panic[1]150 W / 24 V (this is the DC supply; the bed is separately AC-heated per Sovol)[2][4]
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[9][8]Not named on the product page beyond OTA updates and OrcaSlicer support; Sovol markets the machine as open source[2][4]
Connectivity, UI & Camera
Display: size, type, touch?3.5-inch 65k-colour graphic screen[1]Not documented
On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.)On-device colour UI with one-click printing and status LEDs; Prusa Link is integrated and Prusa Connect adds remote printing[1]Not documented
WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-driveEthernet built in, optional ESP Wi-Fi module delivered with the printer, USB drive; print files can also arrive over LAN or the internet via Prusa Connect[1]Ethernet and Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz, WPA2 only (WPA3 not supported)[2][4]
Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps)Not documentedBuilt-in camera for monitoring; resolution not published[2][4]
Calibration Routines & QoL
Assembly level & time from unbox to first printNot documentedArrives preassembled[4]
Power-Loss & Interruption Recovery
Power-loss recovery: mechanism (how is state saved? capacitor / eeprom / file on shutdown?)Not documentedPower-loss recovery supported; mechanism not published[2][4]
Materials Support
Officially supported filament listPrusa's launch table says "any thermoplastic including Nylon and Polycarbonate"; the enclosure is still needed in practice for ABS/ASA-class materials[1]PLA, PETG, TPU, PETG-CF, ABS, ASA, PA, PC[2]
Safety
Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible)xBuddy hardware overcurrent protection disconnects heater and heatbed power when total current exceeds 15 A; firmware is open-source and auditable[1][9]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[10][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

  1. 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
  2. Sovol Zero 3D Printer product page sovol3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  3. Sovol 3D-printer collection product feed (live prices and stock) sovol3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  4. Sovol Zero announcement article (Sovol blog) sovol3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  5. Prusa blog - The Original Prusa MK4S is Here! (published 12 August 2024) blog.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc
  6. Sovol SV08 3D Printer product page sovol3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Prusa 3D printers category listing with live e-shop prices, Aug 2026 prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. Original Prusa MK4S 3D Printer product page (Technical Parameters + CORE One+/MK4S/XL comparison table) prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. GitHub - prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy (firmware for MINI, MK4, XL and CORE One) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
  10. Prusa Knowledge Base - Warranty help.prusa3d.com · 2026-08 · doc