The Anycubic Kobra 3 and Snapmaker U1 are both prosumer-tier printers, but the U1 costs 2.6× as much — so the question is what the extra money buys. Note that the Kobra 3 has been replaced by the Kobra 4 and is no longer sold new. Both are open-frame printers with 4-slot multicolor and automatic calibration. The U1 costs $550 more and gets you an open-source design and 16% more build volume; the Kobra 3 answers with a top speed of 600 mm/s (vs 500) and extra engineering materials (ABS).
This printer is no longer sold new. It has been replaced by the Anycubic Kobra 4.
Best for: Budget makers who want 4-color multicolor printing without committing to the Bambu or Prusa ecosystem — and are comfortable with a less mature software experience. Look for clearance deals — the Kobra 4 is the current model.
Full details →First-generation product — recently released, still early days
Best for: Multicolor and multi-material hobbyists who want a true tool changer (four separate hotends, soluble supports, TPU and PLA in one print) for well under $1,000, and tinkerers who value Klipper-based firmware they can inspect and modify.
Full details →| Anycubic Kobra 3 | Snapmaker U1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Starting Price | ★ $349 | $899 |
| Print Specs | ||
| Tier | Prosumer | Prosumer |
| Motion | BedSlinger | CoreXY |
| Build Volume | 255 × 255 × 260 mm | ★ 270 × 270 × 270 mm |
| Max Speed | ★ 600 mm/s | 500 mm/s |
| Multicolor | ✅ 4 slots | ✅ 4 slots |
| Enclosure | ❌ | ❌ |
| Auto Calibration | ✅ | ✅ |
| Open Source | ❌ | ★ ✅ |
| Upgrade Kit | — | — |
| Buy Timing | ||
| Released | May 15, 2025 | Apr 10, 2026 |
| Cycle length | ~212 days | — |
| Cycle advice | Superseded | Buy |
| Deals advice | Clearance | Buy |
| Next model | — | — |
The Kobra 3 has been replaced by the Kobra 4 and is no longer sold new, so there is no release cycle left to time — any unit you find now is leftover or second-hand stock.
The U1 was released on Apr 10, 2026, 216 days ago. It is a first-generation product, so there is no earlier cycle to predict its successor from.
On timing alone, the U1 is the safer buy right now — it launched only 216 days ago, while the Kobra 3 has already been replaced by the Kobra 4.
Cycle and deal status as of November 12, 2026. See the launch calendar →
The Kobra 3 lists at $349 and the U1 at $899 — $550 apart, so the U1 costs 158% more.
Per litre of build volume, that works out to $21 for the Kobra 3 versus $46 for the U1 — the Kobra 3 is the better value per litre as well.
Buy the U1. The Kobra 3 has already been replaced by the Kobra 4 and is no longer sold new, so it is only worth considering at a clearance price. If the Kobra 3 appealed to you, the fair comparison today is the U1 against the Kobra 4.
Compare Anycubic Kobra 4 vs Snapmaker U1 →
How we judge timing and deals: read our methodology →
The V2 expands to 255×255×260 mm — 34% more printable volume than the original Kobra 3 — for larger parts and more batch production.
The V2 includes a 720p camera for real-time print monitoring and AI spaghetti detection, adding reliability features previously absent from the Kobra 3 line.
The Kobra 3 V2 Combo with ACE Pro is one of the most affordable 4-color setups available — often underpricing Bambu's A1 Combo.
Each filament has its own preheated hotend, and swaps take about 5 seconds. Multicolor prints skip the purge tower and filament waste of single-nozzle switching systems.
Separate hotends mean PLA with PVA or breakaway supports, or rigid PLA with TPU, in one print. Single-nozzle multicolor systems handle these combinations poorly.
Snapmaker has published its Klipper, Moonraker and Fluidd forks on GitHub, and Snapmaker Orca is built on Orca Slicer. There is already an active community firmware project. RFID filament recognition stays proprietary.