Overdue for a refresh — no successor announced yet. Prices should be at their lowest
📅 Add launch to calendarWell past its release cycle with no successor announced — prices at historic lows
The Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro is a budget CoreXY FDM printer released July 2023, delivering 500 mm/s print speed at an entry-friendly price. Auto bed leveling, a robust frame, and Klipper-based firmware make it a popular choice for users wanting to learn open firmware without paying Prusa prices.
The Neptune 4 Pro ships with Klipper pre-installed — enabling advanced input shaping, pressure advance, and configuration flexibility without modding.
Competitive CoreXY speed at a price significantly below Bambu and Prusa alternatives.
Full automatic bed leveling reduces setup time and calibration friction.
Budget-conscious makers who want a capable CoreXY with Klipper firmware for customization — without Bambu's closed ecosystem or Prusa's premium pricing.
The Bambu A1 Mini is significantly more user-friendly and supports multicolor. The Neptune 4 Pro offers Klipper firmware for advanced users who want configuration control. If you're a beginner who wants things to just work, Bambu. If you want to learn and configure your printer deeply, the Neptune 4 Pro is a rewarding choice.
Klipper is an open-source firmware that offloads the printer's motion calculations to a connected host computer (a Raspberry Pi or similar). This enables advanced features like input shaping (which reduces ringing artefacts on fast prints) and pressure advance (which improves extrusion consistency at corners). Configuration is done via readable text files rather than menus. The Neptune 4 Pro ships with Klipper pre-installed, making these capabilities accessible without modding — a genuine differentiator at this price point.
It depends on what kind of learner you are. The Neptune 4 Pro requires more manual setup and configuration than a Bambu printer — Klipper's web interface is powerful but has a learning curve. For a complete beginner who wants things working out of the box, the Bambu A1 Mini is the better choice. For someone who wants to understand their printer deeply and enjoys tinkering, the Neptune 4 Pro is an excellent and rewarding first machine.
Both are budget CoreXY printers at similar price points. The Neptune 4 Pro ships with Klipper firmware giving it better input shaping and more configuration flexibility. The Ender 3 V3 KE has a larger community, more documented mods, and a well-established upgrade path within the Creality ecosystem. If you want Klipper flexibility, Neptune. If you want community breadth and a familiar brand, Ender 3.