Overdue for a refresh — no successor announced yet. Prices should be at their lowest
Best for: Budget-conscious beginners who want CoreXY speed without the Bambu ecosystem or Prusa premium — and are comfortable with a more hands-on setup experience.
Full details →First-generation product — recently released, still early days
Best for: Budget-conscious makers who want multicolor printing at the lowest possible entry price and don't need a large build volume or premium features.
Full details →| Creality Ender 3 V3 KE | Anycubic Kobra X | |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Entry | Entry |
| Motion | CoreXY | BedSlinger |
| Build Volume | 220 × 220 × 240 mm | 260 × 260 × 260 mm |
| Max Speed | 500 mm/s | 500 mm/s |
| Multicolor | ❌ No | ✅ 4 slots |
| Enclosure | ❌ | ❌ |
| Auto Calibration | ✅ | ✅ |
| Open Source | ❌ | ❌ |
| Upgrade Kit | — | — |
| Materials | PLA, PETG, TPU | PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU |
| Released | Sep 15, 2023 | Mar 1, 2026 |
| Cycle length | ~854 days | — |
| Cycle advice | Wait | Buy |
| Deals advice | Buy | Caution |
| Next model | — | — |
The KE brings CoreXY motion to the Ender 3 family — historically a bed-slinger platform — delivering 500 mm/s without the Bambu premium.
The Ender 3 series has one of the largest 3D printer communities in the world, with thousands of documented modifications and upgrades.
If you outgrow the KE, the Creality K1C and K2 Plus are natural next steps within the same brand ecosystem.
At $279–299 with ACE 2 Pro included, the Kobra X is one of the most affordable ways to get into multicolor FDM printing.
A slightly larger cube-format build volume than the Kobra 3 V2's 255×255×260 mm bed — practical for most everyday prints.
The second-generation ACE 2 Pro offers improved filament switching reliability over the original ACE Pro, with support for up to 4 colors per print.