Data as of 20 September 2026. The photo above is a stock image, not either printer.
Buy the A1 if your filament list is PLA, PETG and TPU and is going to stay that way. Buy the P1S if ABS, ASA or nylon is anywhere on the horizon, because the $60 buys the one thing you cannot add to an A1 with a setting: walls.
The figures are Bambu Lab’s own, from the A1 specification page and the P1S product page and its specification table. This is a comparison on paper. We have not printed on either machine.
Where they differ
| A1 | P1S | |
|---|---|---|
| Frame | Open, bed moves front to back | Enclosed, plastic and glass, CoreXY |
| Max acceleration | 10,000 mm/s² | 20,000 mm/s² |
| ABS and ASA, per Bambu | Not Recommended | Ideal |
| PA and PC, per Bambu | Not Recommended | Capable |
| Air filter | none listed | Activated carbon |
| Camera | up to 1080p, low rate | 1280 x 720 at 0.5 fps |
| Multi-material unit in our database | AMS lite | AMS or AMS 2 Pro |
| Outside dimensions | 465 x 410 x 430 mm | 389 x 389 x 458 mm |
| Net weight | 8.3 kg | 12.95 kg |
| US list price, checked 2026-09-20 | $299 | $359 |
Our database records the $359 as a sale price, with a $399 reference price on the same page that day. At $399 the gap is $100, so check the day’s number.
Where they are the same
Both have a 256 x 256 x 256 mm build volume, a 300 °C all-metal hotend, a 100 °C bed, a top toolhead speed of 500 mm/s, a 0.4 mm stainless steel nozzle with 0.2, 0.6 and 0.8 mm as options, and 1.75 mm filament.
So the P1S is not the bigger printer, and it is not the hotter one. What changes is the box around the print.
What the enclosure does to the material list
Our compatibility check compares three things: the printer’s maximum nozzle temperature, its maximum bed temperature, and whether the maker says it is enclosed, against the ranges on filament makers’ data sheets. With identical nozzle and bed figures, every difference between these two comes from the third test.
| Material | A1 | P1S |
|---|---|---|
| PLA, PETG, TPU | Yes | Yes |
| ABS | With care: enclosure recommended, printer is open | Yes |
| ASA | No: enclosure required | With care: bed reaches 100 °C, some brands ask for up to 115 °C |
| Nylon, PA6 blends | No: enclosure required | Yes |
| Carbon-fiber nylon | With care: enclosure recommended | Yes on temperature, but read the nozzle note below |
| PC | No: enclosure required | With care: bed reaches 100 °C, range runs to 110 °C |
That lines up with what Bambu says about its own machines. The A1 page marks ABS, ASA, PC, PA, PET and fiber-reinforced filaments “Not Recommended”. The P1S table lists PLA, PETG, TPU, PVA, PET, ABS and ASA as “Ideal” and PA and PC as “Capable”.
Two qualifications. First, the P1S bed. At 100 °C it covers the ASA bed range on the Bambu and Overture data sheets we hold (80 to 100 °C and 70 to 95 °C) and cannot reach Prusament’s 105 to 115 °C. For PC it sits inside both Bambu’s 90 to 110 °C and Polymaker’s 90 to 105 °C without reaching the top of either.
Second, the nozzle. Both printers ship with stainless steel. Carbon and glass fiber filaments are abrasive, so budget for a hardened nozzle before you feed either machine anything with “CF” in the name.
Neither printer states an actively heated chamber. The P1S warms its chamber with waste heat from the bed. That is enough for Bambu to call ABS and ASA “Ideal”, and it is the reason PA and PC only rate “Capable”. If PC or nylon is the main job, not the occasional one, our check of 25 printers against ABS, ASA, nylon and PC shows which machines state a heated chamber.
If you only want weatherproof parts, you may not need any of this. PETG against ABS and ASA for outdoor parts covers when PETG on an open printer is good enough.
Acceleration: double on paper, smaller in practice
The P1S quotes 20,000 mm/s² against the A1’s 10,000, with the same 500 mm/s top speed. On the A1 the bed and the print on it move back and forth. On a CoreXY machine like the P1S the bed only moves down, and the toolhead does all the fast work, so the moving mass does not grow with the part.
Do not expect prints in half the time. Acceleration matters most on small, fiddly parts with many short moves. On long walls and infill the limit is how fast the hotend can melt plastic. The A1 page gives 28 mm³/s for that; the P1S table I read gives no flow figure, so I will not compare them. The volumetric flow calculator shows what a flow ceiling allows at your layer height.
Footprint, weight and where it lives
The P1S occupies 389 x 389 mm, about 0.15 m², against 465 x 410 mm and 0.19 m² for the A1, which is 21 percent less desk. The A1 also needs clearance front and back for its moving bed, which its spec page does not quantify. The P1S is 28 mm taller and 4.65 kg heavier.
The enclosure also changes where the printer can sensibly go. The P1S lists an activated carbon filter and a closed door between the hot parts and anything curious. The A1 lists neither. A filter is not a ventilation plan: for ABS and ASA, read the filament maker’s safety data sheet and follow its ventilation guidance.
One point goes to the A1. Its camera is listed as up to 1080p. The P1S camera is 1280 x 720 at 0.5 fps, which is one frame every two seconds.
Who each one suits
Buy the A1 if you print PLA, PETG and TPU, you like being able to see and reach the whole print, and $60 is better spent on filament. If desk space is tight and your parts are small, the A1 against A1 mini comparison is the more useful read.
Buy the P1S if you want ABS or ASA now or expect to within the life of the printer, if the printer shares a room with children, pets or dust, or if you want the smaller footprint. For 20 percent more money you add ABS and nylon outright, ASA and PC with care, and get a machine Bambu itself rates for those materials. I would take that trade, even at $399.
Skip both if PC or carbon-fiber nylon is the point of the purchase. The 100 °C bed and unheated chamber are the wrong starting position, and the printer database has enclosed machines with 120 °C beds and heated chambers.
