The Qidi Tech Plus4 and Snapmaker U1 are cross-brand rivals: both are prosumer-tier printers, listed $200 apart. Note that the Plus4 has been replaced by the Plus5 and is no longer sold new. Both are CoreXY printers with 4-slot multicolor and automatic calibration. The U1 costs $200 more and gets you an open-source design and support for PCTG and PVA; the Plus4 answers with an enclosed chamber (with ABS, ASA, PA, PA-CF, PC and PPS-CF on its materials list) and 32% more build volume.
This printer is no longer sold new. It has been replaced by the Qidi Tech Plus5.
Best for: Makers and small businesses who need a large enclosed build volume for engineering materials at a prosumer price — particularly those printing PA-CF, ABS, and PC at scale. Look for clearance deals — the Plus5 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 →| Qidi Tech Plus4 | Snapmaker U1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Starting Price | ★ $699 | $899 |
| Print Specs | ||
| Tier | Prosumer | Prosumer |
| Motion | CoreXY | CoreXY |
| Build Volume | ★ 305 × 305 × 280 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 | Sep 20, 2024 | Apr 10, 2026 |
| Cycle length | ~408 days | — |
| Cycle advice | Superseded | Buy |
| Deals advice | Clearance | Buy |
| Next model | — | — |
The Plus4 has been replaced by the Plus5 and is no longer sold new, so there is no release cycle left to time — any unit you find now is leftover or second-hand stock.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On timing alone, the U1 is the safer buy right now — it launched only 216 days ago, while the Plus4 has already been replaced by the Plus5.
Cycle and deal status as of November 12, 2026. See the launch calendar →
The Plus4 lists at $699 and the U1 at $899 — $200 apart, so the U1 costs 29% more.
Per litre of build volume, that works out to $27 for the Plus4 versus $46 for the U1 — the Plus4 is both cheaper and roomier, so it wins on value outright.
Buy the U1. The Plus4 has already been replaced by the Plus5 and is no longer sold new, so it is only worth considering at a clearance price. If the Plus4 appealed to you, the fair comparison today is the U1 against the Plus5.
Compare Qidi Tech Plus5 vs Snapmaker U1 →
How we judge timing and deals: read our methodology →
One of the largest build volumes in the prosumer enclosed category — 40% more printable area than the Bambu X1C at a lower price point.
The second-generation active heating delivers consistent chamber temperatures for PA, PA-CF, ABS, ASA, and PC with minimal warping across the full build plate.
Handles high-performance engineering composites including PA-CF, PET-CF, and PPS-CF without requiring a separate hotend upgrade.
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.