Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core  

RE:

I wanted 3d printer for many years. But always was afraid that it is hard, You need to build it Yourself, have to tinker with it. Print part of You own printer on Your own printer. So when every YouTuber and many users, and advertizement and so and so start to loud loudly from every counter that there exist a 3d printers  that don't need any tinkering and skills I decide to buy one. This is Bambulab A1 Mini, and on the moment of buying I was completely novice and didn't know what is slicer, what is nozzle what is difference between open- and closed-sourse.
But than I start drive deeper and understand that there are some dirty policies in Bambu company, business and advertisement:
- last two years elegoo, creality, sovols, anycubics is absolutely same don't require tinkering as BambuLab's printers. And Prusa is even more because You even don't need to lubricate it, it lubricate itself;
- it was on sale at black Friday as for 200$, and all bloggers advertise to buy it for that price while I can. But It is same 200 now, and was before Black Friday. So I considering this is normal price and "price before sale" is not a thing;
- screws and tools in bamboo - shit, every third tread on reddit and threads on Bambu forum about loosened screws confirm that
- even I (complite noob with 2 months of experience) prefer to use orca over studio, but now Bambu states that soon I will lost this opportunity or need to install other software that don't exist on linux yet.
So, thank, Bambu: now I know what is slicer, filament, nozzle, flow rate, volumetric speed, supports, tolerance and so.
I preordered Core One. 

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

Posted by: @tsamisa

I'm opening a topic that i always said i wouldn't touch. 😞 

First to clarify that i was and am until now a prusa customer. Mk3 to S to S+ - added bontech, mmu2, SL/CW1 to SLS1, XL5th first day preorder. I never owned or am affiliated in any way with bambu labs. And i spend a bit of money to similar stuff like xcarve, xtool, genmitsu so i do go around doing some market research about this stuff

Recently a friend of mine wanted an advice about his first 3d printer. The comparison was between Prusa Core one assembled (for 1350) and BLabs P1S AMS combo for 800E. Honestly i could find anything solid to justify buying a prusa.

Lets skip the speed and print quality since im fairly sure that he cant go wrong with either in that part

Features: BL comes , amongst others, with a camera and multicolor system thats proven to work extremely well. From what ive read anyway. My own opinion was limited to mmu2s which was .. terrible PITA and after a lot of mods went to OKish. But i clarified that mmu3 has positive opinions. And of course adds 400E to the budget. Also BL has a carbon filter to the enclosure while PC sais that is optional.

OpenSource and reprap. Lets be honest here. The reprap approach and the ability to print various parts of the printer it became very limited to prusa. Not a bad thing  but a fact. And even some parts you have to print them in nylon due to the enclosures. The opensource doesnt say much if what you actually want is a good tool and not to tinker with software.

Upgradability. He saw the price and asked that since it costs 640 E to go from the late MK3s+ to MK4 and 490 60 Core one how is any combination of the above or as standalones better that a brand new p1s WITH AMS for 800E. I smiled and said .. its an option. He replied ... is silly. I disagreed but could say more.

Parts. Come on Prusa. I took a look (first time) to how much it costs for a nozzle for a BL. BL puts a price of 17 E to a hardened steel hotend and 37E to the complete set including fan , thermistor and heater. Prusa is 22 for brass and 55E (again brass) respectively.

I live in Europe. BL gives Free shipping for purchases above 120E. Prusa just adds up with weight.

I don't care if they are made in china since prusa , "probably" imports electronic components from there too and before 2023 i dont know who their pcb and electronics manufacturer was. I have a japanese car. im not going to be picky about my printer. And im sure a lot of other people

Finally again the cost. Come on man 800 vs 1750. This is more than twice the price.

Im HONESTLY NOT trying to promote bambu labs. Im trully trying to find a SOLID reason to advice someone to buy prusa. I highlighted the "you can print parts of your printer" -as much as this is limited as i said before, the bed leveling which i love on my XL, the huge customer base, excellent slicer and workflow  etc. I was honest about the support and said that whenever the problem was solvable by the chat or a replacement was needed the approach was excellent but if you where redirected to email was rather patience tempering.I didnt answer about support on BL because i dont know.

I LOVE my XL. Even if at the start was frustrated with various , rather small problems. And still are about some things. But if multimaterial is not your thing im trully struggling to find a reason to advice someone pro-prusa.

AGAIN im not BL sales agent  or own anything else than prusa for 3d printing.

Any thoughts on the above?

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

I'll say that with the Prusa I get regular firmware updates and have for years. My one Asian printer that I started with (2017) never had a firmware update to fix any of the bugs I had to deal with. Prusa has also had updates on the parts that I've printed or purchased to get to the latest revision. The customer support is not just an email with a next day reply, I can chat live and they will walk me through a fix or any issue I have with the Prusa since I purchased it from them. They use their own printer to make the parts and log thousands of hours on them passing what they have learned and improved on to the consumer. I can print local, I can use Octoprint, I can use Prusalink or Prusa connect nothing in the clouds and no one stealing my designs if the cloud ever gets hacked. I can post or download from Printables if I so choose. The MMU3 works fine but they do need to package it up better to be more modern.

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

The main selling point is it's open source, and will remain open source. You can repair parts by printing them yourself, or using third party components. You can even tinker with operations using third party software and add-ons.

With BL you're locked into their ecosystem - if they were to go bust (unlikely, I know, but still) you'd be hard pressed to find parts etc. You do things their way, or you don't do them at all. 

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

Prusa is getting away from open source.  Just try getting the electronic information for the Core One, the MK4 or the XL.

Yes, you can print parts for SOME of the printers, but not all.

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

Hello everyone,

I'd like to join the discussion. I own an MK3S+, which I've gradually upgraded to the S+ version. Now, I'm starting to think it's time to move on to something better. After careful consideration, I've narrowed it down to two options: the Bambu Lab P1S or the Prusa Core One.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on my selection process and, most importantly, whether I might have made any mistakes in my reasoning.

My Requirements

I'm looking for a fast, reliable, and high-quality printer. My primary materials are PETG and PLA, but I also want the ability to print ASA and TPU, plus explore more advanced materials. I use my printer as a hobbyist, not for commercial purposes, so I need something that can print reliably with minimal maintenance—just set it up and let it run.

I've done extensive research on both options, watched numerous videos, and followed their development from the start.

Comparison

I'll highlight the winning option in green.

Price:

• P1S: €619 WIN
• Prusa Core One: €1,049
• (I'm from Slovakia, so these are my local prices.)

Build Volume:

• P1S: 256 × 256 × 256 mm WIN
• Prusa: 250 × 220 × 270 mm

Max Nozzle Temperature:

• P1S: 300°C WIN
• Prusa: 290°C

Max Bed Temperature:

• P1S: 100°C
• Prusa: 120°C WIN

Print Speed (Tested Example):

• P1S: 1h 12m WIN
• Prusa: 1h 28m
• (However, Prusa maxes out at 0.2mm layer height, while Bambu Lab allows 0.24mm draft mode.)

The only downside here is the temperature of the pad, which is not even on the x1c like on the prush, which is a shame, but from what I've read in the reviews, it holds up well on the pad at 100 C if you clean it.

P1S And especially upgrade to the steal hardness for 27€.

My Thoughts

I started with Prusa, and it was a great learning experience. It even motivated me to learn 3D modeling. However, I'm struggling to see how Prusa has innovated over the years.

When I originally bought my MK3S+, it was at the top of its class. But now, it feels like Prusa is playing catch-up rather than leading the industry. I waited a long time for the MK4, hoping for a major leap forward—ideally, a CoreXY design. Meanwhile, Bambu Lab released the P1P, X1 Carbon, and others, and I was expecting Prusa to respond with something revolutionary. Instead, they released the MK4, which is more of an incremental upgrade.

The Upgrade from my MK3S+ to MK4S costs €738, but in terms of features and performance, it doesn’t come close to the P1S. If I wanted to sell my MK3S+ now, I’d be lucky to get €300 for it on the used market.

Looking at Core One, I just don’t see compelling reasons to justify the higher price. Even the print head weight is significantly different:

• Prusa: ~300–350g
• Bambu P1S: ~160–180g
• I'm not sure about the values.

Physics is physics—less moving mass means better performance.

I don’t want to dismiss Prusa outright; it feels like my first car—a sentimental favorite. But from a practical perspective, I just don’t see the value in spending €430 more for nothing extra. Yes, I could upgrade it later, but at what cost?

For example, I watched this video today ( ), and it only confirmed my concerns.

People often praise Prusa for being open-source, but honestly, that hasn’t benefited me at all. Over the years, I’ve never needed to print replacement parts apart from official upgrades. I also don’t need OctoPrint or extra modifications—I just want a printer that works reliably with minimal hassle.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

@Avarax

As i said in my OP i never had a BL To be honest just like you i'm not so into the opensource hype as other users. I mean is really great and convenient to be able to print broken parts of you printers and even mod them. BUT... On my my mk3s,mmu2s days it was mostly modding to be able to make mmu2s remotely functional. AMS i heard was working from the beginning. Pooping a lot but still working.  I would NOT go back to a multiplexer mmu/ams since it really a waist o printing time except if you only print coasters. Also after a few mods i finally invested in a bondtech extruder on my mk3s to eliminate the problems with .25 nozzles and heat creep during hot summer days.

Coming back to present i dont see so many reprintable parts to my 5th XL or my prusa sls1. And even on the XL i'm going to reprint parts in pccf (when it becomes available) because they were a bit stingy and used PETG on a 4k machine THAT THEY KNEW that at some point it will have an enclosure. My  point is that what matters to me is an as much as possible hassle free appliance to do my work and not to work for my appliance. BL nozzles are way cheaper than PRusa alternatives , at least that was the case the last time i checked. On previous model prusa used standard e3d nozzles that was easily purchased from various places but now it uses their own proprietary , and by far better, design so it cannot claimed that it now uses components that are easily purchased from 3rd party sources. Not bad but a fact. 

I dont own a farm and i dont care about cloud and orcaslicer and stuff. For me is basically comparing one with another, as what you did, and picking the best machine for me. I dont care about chinese or whatever since that would mean is should through away 80% of my home appliances. Also i should through away my SLS1 since almost sure that the electrical component were not manufactured in EU.

For me at this point there is no alternative to a multitool printer,like the XL, (i dont want to start messing with vorons and such) and the benefit i get from this outshines what small frustrations i have with it. I had some issues, and new ones are popping sometimes but still... i like the damn behemoth. BUT Prusa is a company and im a customer. The first are looking at us as profit and we as a service/hw provider and want our moneys value. And Prusas name comes with a premium. No one is doing a favor to the other, Their XL launch approach and delays where unforgivable and disrespectful IMHO. Their delivery approach its something that need restructuring and a constant weakness of Prusa. I dont plan to move to BL since i dont have a reason but when i advised the person that asked me (OP) i said go for the best your budget can get. It went with the BL since it had everything a core one had (and a bit more) with a fraction of the price. He is happy with it, albeit not being able to print during night hours because he claims that its too noisy.

BL and Prusa are new both well established companies and there are a ton of user reviews out there. BL fanboys and Prusa fanboys are always the extremes. I think you cant go wrong with either. Personally when its time to change my printer i will compare all my options and not necessarily stay or leave prusa. If all thing are equal, price and quality wise,  yes probably i would not change the company. I have a very good opinion about their chat support and parts replacement. A bit annoyed when it escalades to email support but still overall im satisfied in this aspect. I really hope Prusa would up their game and not just their prices. With the XL and multihead the are playing in a field of their own. If they get lazy again as they did with the mk3s then BL or some other company will get there and get their customers.

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

Thank you for your opinion. Of course, the XL has its advantages over the competition. That’s exactly why I thought they would release a smaller sibling—a continuation of the MK3—back then. But in my opinion, it arrived ridiculously late. At that time, they could have easily priced it at €1,500, and no one would have complained.

Yes, their support is fantastic, and that’s precisely why it frustrates me. I see so many great things in Prusa, but for me, it’s no longer the obvious choice it once was. Back then, I knew it was the best option, and on top of that, it came with excellent support.

That said, everything I’ve mentioned here and in my previous post is just my personal opinion and perspective on the matter.

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

I'm honestly considering a P1S - only thing holding me back is the massive increase in filament wastage with multicolour prints, and the MMU3 system is MUCH faster then the AMS system when it comes two changing filaments etc too.....otherwise BambuLab certainly know how to make a nice package with great end user experience for those who want to 'just print'.

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

Don't really have an opinion on which you should choose.  Can't specifically speak to anything Bambu, but I can tell you that nothing Prusa makes is "limited" to any particular layer height.  There are specific ranges with specific nozzle sizes, but you are in no way prohibited from their use.  It's a setting in the slicer.  

I'd also suggest that as Bambu uses open source code to power it's slicer, same as Prusa, and a host of others.  Those slicers make your prints, and they do it better today than they did 10 or so years ago when I started out, largely the result of open source contribution.  I argue that is benefit to everyone, but doesn't give you a handy color coded win.

Choices are subjective, and different folks place different value in different things.  Happy there are choices to make, and I hope you are happy with whichever you choose.

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

Posted by: @avarax

Thank you for your opinion. Of course, the XL has its advantages over the competition. That’s exactly why I thought they would release a smaller sibling—a continuation of the MK3—back then. But in my opinion, it arrived ridiculously late. At that time, they could have easily priced it at €1,500, and no one would have complained.

i think they went into panic with BL success and they harried to release mk4 (thus delaying XL in the process) which actually , in IMHO , it was nothing much in comparison with what BL offered. I mean come on it was based on a stable platform with some addons (like first layer leveling) but still no enclosure, no cam no corexy . It was a buffed up mk3. Still as bit highly priced , since it was "Prusa" but you had to spend extra cash to get a standalone enclosure in order to properly print ASA or ABS. Even the XL was ridiculous in that aspect. 4k machine and i had to design mouse ears in HOPE that i can print ASA with significant warping. 2 f...ing years since presentation and they couldn't provide an enclosure option? Even with an added price? Hey they even released MK4S with input shaper but you had to wait for 6 months for that option to release  to the XL. And still waiting for the prerelease hint that at with multihead you could print with different nozzle sizes. Still waiting for that.  They understood at some point what they did wrong and released the core one. Still more expensive than the alternative of BL but at least what they should actually release instead of the MK4S. Of course now BL released their H2D which is a dual extruder and with a few silly options as addons (laser cutter inside a 3d printer enclosure... thats a recipe for headaches) but still you get a basic multi material option at 1900E. The only thing prusa offers similar to this is the two head XL which is 3150E assembled. Is BL better? I dont say that but is an option in a price tag that Prusa DOESNT offer. If i have a farm and need to print with different materials why investing on an XL? Especially if i want more tha 3heads the cost goes another 115oE up from the 2H , landing me in the 4k+ zone. Again the XL has the benefit of 5 material which i use now and then (TPU, PETG with PLA supports) but on a different price spectrum. 

As i said again and again (in order not to be shot down by fanatics) i dont have an affiliation with BL and never had one. Is my own personal opinion that reflects my needs and my experiences. I hope that Prusa finds its footing because im all in all on the satisfied customer site but now and then i get frustrated.

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

OK, this is it.  I tried to respond to the last post on this forum, and the forum required me to log in.  I logged in, and was taken to the start of the forums, not the last post of this particular discussion.  When I went to the last post of this discussion, it again required me to log in to post.  Never ending loop.  I am responding to a post in the middle of the discussion in order to respond to the last post.

Anyway, as I mentioned in my first post, I have an MK3/S, an MK4, and a 5 extruder XL.  I got the MK4 because I was tired of  doing a first layer calibration for each filament I used (I print with PLA, PETG, and CF+PC 3DXTech's version).  I do have an enclosure (an old Creality enclosure, which works well), and a custom Octopi box (with a built-in touch screen to control the printer).  The printer does what it is supposed to do, although I had major problems with it when I first got it.  I have  camera that I made a bracket for and mounted it in the top of the enclosure and plugged it into the Octopi box.  The MK4 is not simply an upgrade to the MK3/S.  It uses the same frame, but the Nextruder is completely different, and the stepping motors are a higher resolution then the MK3.  The XL is another story, however.  Prusa simply copied the E3D toolchanger and made it bigger.  They put the filament feed in an awkward place, the side filament sensors are silly, and the extruder cables get tangled when an extruder has to move to the opposite side of the bed.  The extruder cables should have come from the top, not the side.  Bad design.  I am still fighting it.  The printer does work, but with what I know, I would not purchase it again.  They quickly got it out, and even then, there were problems with it.  For simple printing with one filament type, the MK4 works better and faster.  I use a similar Octopi box for the XL because Prusa's remote printing sux.  Also, I had to go back to the previous firmware to get decent prints on both the XL and the MK4.  I am simply not impressed with Prusa, and would probably not get another one of their machines.  The only open source for these machines is the ability to print plastic parts for these machines, which I have reprinted several because they printed them with a 15% infill in PETG.  I reprinted them in 40% infill with the PC+CF stuff.  And yes, I use the Obxidian nozzle for printing the CF filament.  3DXtech's filaments are pretty good, but expensive.

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

Posted by: @steve-4

OK, this is it.  I tried to respond to the last post on this forum, and the forum required me to log in.  I logged in, and was taken to the start of the forums, not the last post of this particular discussion.  When I went to the last post of this discussion, it again required me to log in to post.  Never ending loop.  I am responding to a post in the middle of the discussion in order to respond to the last post.

Changing the langage on top of the page did the trick for me when I get this issue.

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

After you login if you backup to the page and hit refresh works too. 

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

While I agree with the majority of your points, my hot take on this topic is the following:
At least for me personally feature parity is more important than cost parity. Of course the prusa printers shouldn't cost twice as much and don't need all the small detail features of the Bambus'. Print quality is nearly on par right now with Prusa having a slight edge in my opinion. But when Prusa would offer a printer as the Core One with a working camera out of the box, a local monitoring app (maybe with some kind of failure detection) and the option of a "premium" MMU, i.e. MMU3 with AMS2 Pro like drybox with a neat enclosure/buffer, that would check nearly all boxes for me. In contrast right now when you buy the Core One you directly have to think of how you can clunkily integrate a camera and even if you want to go multi material with the MMU3 you still have to figure out a nice way for the buffer and drying your filament. The upgrade path from MK4S to Core One is nice but financially not feasible and ultimately limits the successor product. I love to support Prusa and european manufacturing. Also being able to get spare parts for 10 year old printers is a blessing. Their openness and PrusaSlicer are really appreciated. They simply really should up their game regarding technical innovations and not fear them. When there is near feature parity, for the user it simply boils down to the questions: Open or closed ecosystem? More costly or more cheaply produced product? As a Prusa fan I have preordered the Core One Kit and currently explore the other options, but in the current situation the average user (even myself) seems to slightly be pushed in Bambu's direction because of their polished product, the quality of life features and their price.

RE:

I’d like to share my experience and the reasoning behind my decision to go with the Prusa Core One, even though I was very close to ordering a Bambu P1S with AMS instead. I had pre-ordered the Core One kit, was frustrated with the long lead time, and seriously considered switching to Bambu for the convenience and feature set. But in the end, I upgraded to the assembled Core One – and now I’m certain it was the right choice. This will actually be my first Prusa printer. Here's why:

1. I'm in this for the hobby – not just the output

Many of my friends use Bambu printers. They want a reliable machine that prints out of the box, no tweaking, just results – and the Bambu machines deliver that, no question.But I personally enjoy the process: tuning, understanding my machine, modding. I already have a Voron 2.4 and a Voron 0.2 in progress. The Core One fits nicely into that mindset: reliable, well-engineered, yet open and transparent.

2. I want long-term control – and I don't trust Bambu's direction anymore

I was already skeptical after the controversy around the announced firmware update that would, for “securiy reasons”, require using Bambu Connect.

Bambu handled the situation in a way that completely destroyed my trust:

• They stealth-edited the original firmware announcement, downplaying the forced connectivity.
• They published a blog post that misrepresented user concerns and gaslighted the community.
• They went as far as to request Archive.org to remove the original version of their website, so their changes couldn’t be publicly verified.
• Users who criticized the situation on Reddit and Discord were muted or banned, and a large number of posts were dumped into a single megathread to make the backlash less visible.

The Terms of Use themselves include this:

Due to the importance of these updates, your product may block new print jobs before the update is installed...

Yes, there's a Developer Mode – for now – but it's already limited (e.g. no "Cancel Object"). And who can guarantee that future devices will include it? Or that new printers won’t ship with the firmware that already enforces these policies?

3. Even though I was already on edge, this specific Reddit post convinced me once and for all: https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/s/5HzY0uaNW0

A user’s print failed after 18 hours with this message:

“Uncertified AMS detected or AMS firmware not upgraded: the device cannot continue working.”

Let that sink in. This wasn’t a communication error, a warning, or a suggestion – the printer refused to continue because of a firmware mismatch with a peripheral.

Yes, it was likely a bug. But it shows us how the system is designed to behave when trust or certification isn’t given. The wording alone is alarming. I don't want a printer that decides when I'm “allowed” to print – especially when the hardware is otherwise functioning perfectly.

4. Yes, the Core One costs more – but I'm okay with that.

The P1S + AMS costs about half what I’ve now spent on the Core One + accessories. But I know where my money goes:

• European manufacturing
• Fair labor standards
• Open-source philosophy
• Long-term part availability
• Transparent and respectful community interaction

I’m not blind to the fact that I still buy components from China when needed. I’m not claiming moral purity. But when I have a real choice – as I did here – I’d rather support a company whose values align with mine.

I chose the Core One because it reflects what I value in a tool: trust, transparency, and control.

And in this case, I believe that’s worth paying for.

RE:

All very fair points @ByteChild is making (where I don't agree with "Transparent and respectful community interaction").
Myself being a MK4S owner I'm planning on adding a second printer.

And of course before buying a printer I look at the price where the Prusa Core ONE is 1349,- € right now in Germany and the Bambu Lab P1S is 499,-€. That's a massive difference and we all know that the P1S is beating the Core ONE in most cases.
And even if Bambu Lab stops providing spare parts for the P1S or stops supporting it or lock it down in four years and you can only print for a monthly fee or so (not suggesting any of it will happen) - still a big amount of money saved.

Still, going back to the points @ByteChild is making and also considering myself who bought a MK4S where for the same price I would have gotten better/cheaper printers I made the decision for Prusa trusting in their reputation.

Now that could mean going for the Core ONE would be a "no-brainer" but there is actually a single thing that changed my opinion about Prusa: I have the feeilng that they don't care about their customers and their issues/demands anymore.
Myself and many other users have first layer issues since ages. There is a 10 month old and long thread at Github with a ton of example from users and things they tried etc. and not only Prusa is keeping radio silence regarding this thread most of the time there actually have been very few replies by Prusa which were - in my opinion - completely unqualified. One for example called it "cosmetic imperfections".
This is why I think Prusa completely lost connection to their customers or they simply don't understand anymore, what cosmetic imperfections are and what you consider as problem, what you actually would call a successful 3D print.
Also, what people are writing in this thread if you contact customer service directly (not via Github issue) Prusa sends out this and that as replacement parts and at least for the ones who post at Github with no improvement afterwards. For me it seems like willingly wasting customer's time by replacing parts that will not fix anything.
Again, my opinion, not knowing anybody personally at Prusa, not knowing what happens in the background.

So let's imagine they only want to downplay the issue to keep end users from arranging a protest camp in from of their headquarters 😉 the reasonable reply would have been that they try to fix the issue with high priority (requiring that they understand it IS a problem) and at the same time provide an ETA for the fix.

So going back to the Bambu vs Prusa question:
Personally for me it will most likely not buy a Prusa anymore. The most important thing, Prusa is in my opinion no longer a geeky 3D printer company who understands customer's needs and therefore I can hardly justify to myself why I would pay so much more for mainly "European manufacturing" and "Fair labor standards" (quoting @ByteChild).

RE:

Read through this all. and what it boils down to is:
the "long-term costs" arguments are essentially fearmongering with no factual basis:

What people actually said:

• "What if Bambu goes out of business and parts aren't available?" (pure speculation) (Also same can be said about Prusa)
• "They might add subscription fees later" (based on nothing)
• "Cheaper printers might break more" (no evidence provided)
• "Chinese companies can't be trusted long-term" (prejudice, not data)

The reality:

• Bambu has been growing rapidly and is financially successful
• No evidence their printers are less reliable than PrusaThe €550+ price difference is real money today, not hypothetical future costs
• Prusa has had its own quality control issues mentioned in the thread

I'm seeing people justify Prusa's higher price by inventing future problems that don't exist yet - classic rationalization when you can't defend a purchase on actual merits. The comparison is straightforward: similar print quality and features for much less money with Bambu. Most of this discussion reads like people working backwards from wanting Prusa and then finding reasons to support that preference instead of honestly evaluating what you get for your money.

... Guys cmon, seriously. That's 5 pages of long discussion boils down to? Fearmongering, and making up future problems without data?

Thanks for sharing all your thoughts tough. Highly appreciated, that's some good data in itself.

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

^ great post!

I've always been Prusa - since the MK3 - as a hobbyist.

However, I've had the Bambu A1, and no have the H2D, along with 2 AMS units (one on each nozzle) - so 8 materials/colours total. 

I'll sum it up like this:

My Core One is in the house. I enjoy the build so no issue there. However, it takes a fair bit of tinkering and tuning to get it to pass calibrations with decent results. Nevertheless, I send a print job to it over the network (even though its right next to my desk). Watch it going through its head banging and heat absorption etc, then watch the first layer. Make sure all is OK before I leave it to print. I periodically return to check all is printing OK without issue. I generally only print when I am around - close enough to keep an eye on it and during the day - overnight prints would disturb my family. There's no decent multimaterial option for it other then the MMU3, which is a great system with very low waste, but its cumbersome, feels like a tacked on afterthought at this stage, with nowhere to store spools etc. 

So I tried the H2D. Set up within the hour. Beautifully presented with a proper spool storage system. Yes it has a higher level of wastage (although 2 colour prints do not thanks to the dual nozzle), but putting all that aside, and bearing in mine how I use my Core One as detailed above, consider this.....

My H2D lives in my outbuilding - not even in the house at all. I power it up via a smartplug. I send a print job over the network. I can remotely watch and manage the entire print job from my computer or smartphone - even though it will notify me if anything goes wrong. When the is complete and printer has cooled I switch off remotely. I then collect the print job when convenient. 

That's it - for me, that simplicity is groundbreaking. The fact that I can send a print job while sitting at work one morning, and have the print ready for when I get home. The fact that I can leave prints running for days if I want, all because I completely trust the unit. I know I can throw a print job across, and it just works. I don't feel the need to watch the first layer, or periodically check to ensure all is OK - and that's how printing should be. Seamless. I'm happy to sacrifice some extra wastage for that. It's given me a whole completely new experience. One with no frustration. No tinkering. No VFA's, nothing. It just works - straight out of the box. Although I prefer, and very much enjoy the Prusa builds, when it comes to the actual usage, the printing, it's been refreshingly straightforward. 

Don't get me wrong. My Core One has been quite reliable - 9 times out of 10 it prints wonderfully well. It's just the small lingering feeling of not 100% trusting it at this stage that holds me back. You have to give Bambu credit for what they've achieved - as much as we hate the 'locked down' nature of it - for me, as a hobbyist, I don't feel its locked down at all. It just works, and does so refreshingly well. 

RE: Asked about opinion for bambu vs Prusa Core

Pretty much all of my experience has been with Prusa.  I had a great experience with the Mk4(s) as my first printer, and was thrilled when they offered the upgrade to a core-xy.  I'm still generally happy with it, but the core one has been far more fiddly than the Mk4 was.  

Over the last two weeks, our office has ordered and received a Qidi Q2 to evaluate the possibility of making some small, random repair parts in house.  Having run just a few prints on it, I'm getting a glimpse of how good these most recent printers really are.  Sure, the slicer isn't as good as Orca or PS, and the fit/finish isn't as quality looking or durable as the Core One, but my goodness are the prints coming out nicely.  The sharpness of corners with no ghosting, no VFA to speak of, and even significantly faster printing as well are all very impressive.  I'm not even seeing any PETG buildup on the nozzle (for now at least).

I suspect maintenance (when it is required) won't be nearly as straight forward, and who knows about parts availability 5 years down the road, but I'm so far very impressed.

I still believe my Core One will be longer lasting, and will improve with time and adjustments, but I still have a ticking sound coming from one of the idlers and I'm getting what might be extruder stepper motor buzzing when I print with the chamber hot.  I've had to temporarily abandon a clogged CHT nozzle (due to heat creep in a hot garage) and go back to my original one from the Mk4 nozzle.  For reference, this is my first instance ever of a clog, and it followed printing a mix of pure PC, ASA, and PETG on the Core one.

Print quality on the Core One has been quite good, but with the slight VFAs I still get, the finishes aren't as clean as I'm seeing with the same filament on the Q2.  At this point I think I would choose the Q2 over the Bambu X1C for my use case (no multicolor) due to the more open firmware and my general distrust of Bambu as a company.  If I was starting fresh with today's options, it would be a harder decision than it was when I first started with the Mk4.

-J