Bambu Lab P1S vs X1 Carbon: why the P1S is the pick
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This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Our recommendations are independent and research-driven, and we say when a pick is not hands-on.
The Bambu Lab P1S is the pick. I have run one on my desk for over a year, and the X1 Carbon's extras (lidar, a touchscreen, a hardened steel nozzle) do not change what comes off the bed for most prints, while the P1S handles the same enclosed PLA, PETG, ABS, and ASA work at $579 list against a discontinued X1 Carbon that Bambu now sells only refurbished at $649 (its last new-unit reference price was $1,249). Prices checked October 2026.
It is for anyone who wants a reliable enclosed printer that takes the AMS and would rather put the difference toward filament or a second machine. The X1 Carbon only earns its price if you print abrasive carbon-fiber nylons daily or want automated first-layer inspection. The P1S verdict is hands-on from my own unit; the X1 Carbon take is research-driven from spec sheets, owner reports, and teardown reviews.
| Role | Product | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pick | Bambu Lab P1S | Same frame, speed, and enclosure for hundreds less |
| Runner-up | Bambu Lab X1 Carbon | Discontinued and sold refurbished only ($649); lidar, touchscreen, and hardened extruder out of the box |
| Also consider | Bambu Lab P2S | Newer P-series refresh that narrows the gap further |
The short answer
The Bambu Lab P1S is the pick for most people reading this. Prices checked October 2026: the P1S sells for $579 and the X1 Carbon is no longer sold new by Bambu (discontinued March 31, 2026); refurbished units are $649 on Bambu's US store against a $1,249 new-unit reference price. The gap buys conveniences, not print quality.
The parts that decide what a printer can make are the same on both: a CoreXY motion system rated for 500 mm/s and 20,000 mm/s² acceleration, a 256 mm cube build volume, a 300°C hotend, a heated bed, and a full enclosure. My P1S prints ABS, ASA, and PETG-CF without the warping or layer splitting I would expect from an open frame, and the parts come off dimensionally where I modeled them. The X1 Carbon, based on Bambu's spec sheets and owner reports rather than our own testing, does not raise that ceiling. Its lidar first-layer scan, 5-inch touchscreen, and 1080p camera make the printer nicer to live with. The P1S's small LCD and 720p low-frame-rate camera are the two things I would change if I could.
Get this if you want X1 Carbon output and would rather spend the difference on filament or an AMS.
Skip this if you need lidar flow calibration for unusual filaments, or a sharp camera for remote monitoring.
Bambu Lab P1S: what I get from the cheaper machine
The P1S is the one on my desk, and after a year of use the gap between it and the X1 Carbon is smaller than the price gap suggests. At $579 list, I get the same 256 mm cube build volume, the same enclosed frame, and the same CoreXY motion that runs default profiles at 300 mm/s with 20 minute benchies that look fine without tuning.
PETG and ABS are where the enclosure earns its keep. PETG stringing is mostly a drying problem, not a printer problem. ABS parts a full build plate wide have not warped for me once the chamber has had ten minutes to warm, and the rear exhaust with the carbon filter keeps the smell tolerable in a closed room.
The monochrome screen is a scroll wheel and a text menu. I rarely touch it; Bambu Studio sends the job and the app handles monitoring. The camera is low frame rate, enough to confirm a first layer, not enough to catch a mid-print failure the way the X1C's camera can.
Noise is the honest complaint. The auxiliary part cooling fan and chamber fan are loud at full tilt; I run it in a separate room.
Maintenance so far: lubricating the carbon rods, one hotend swap, and a replacement PTFE tube. I would buy it again.
Get this if you want X1C speed and materials for less money and can live with a basic screen. Skip this if you need lidar first-layer inspection or a camera good enough to trust for failure detection.
Bambu Lab X1 Carbon: what the extra money buys
The X1 Carbon is the P1S with the corners filled in, and I say that as someone who paid $699 list for the P1S and lives with the gaps. Our read on the X1 Carbon comes from spec sheets, owner reports, and teardown reviews, not hands-on time, so treat it as research.
The X1 Carbon was discontinued on March 31, 2026; Bambu's US store now sells it only refurbished at $649, against a $1,249 new-unit reference price. That premium buys five things. A lidar sensor scans the first layer and runs flow calibration before each print; on my P1S I calibrate flow manually per filament and eyeball the first layer through the door. A 5-inch color touchscreen replaces the 2.7-inch monochrome panel and its click wheel, which I tolerate but never enjoy. The extruder gears and the stock 0.4 mm nozzle are hardened steel, so carbon- and glass-filled nylon runs without the gear-and-nozzle swap my P1S needs first. The chamber camera is 1080p at a usable frame rate; mine is 720p and updates slowly enough that remote monitoring is closer to a slideshow. The body uses aluminum and glass panels instead of plastic, which owners describe as stiffer and quieter and which teardowns show as the main source of the weight difference.
Motion system, 256 mm cube, enclosure, AMS compatibility, and top speed are the same on both. The extra money buys sensing, interface, and materials, not faster or bigger prints.
Get this if you run abrasive filament weekly or want a printer that self-checks first layers.
Skip this if PLA, PETG, and ABS are your materials; the P1S prints them the same.
Bambu Lab P2S: the newer middle option
We have not run a P2S; this take comes from Bambu's spec sheet, early owner reports, and teardown coverage, read against the P1S on my desk. The P2S is a refresh of the same enclosed CoreXY platform, same 256 mm cube build volume, with the parts that dated the P1S swapped out: a color touchscreen instead of the P1S's monochrome panel, a hotend rated to 300°C, the same as the P1S, but with a hardened steel nozzle and hardened steel extruder gears as stock, a passively managed chamber Bambu rates as '50°C chamber ready' (no active heater; it uses an automatic airflow flap to hold heat), a higher-resolution camera, and AMS 2 Pro support out of the box. Reported motion limits are higher than the P1S: 600 mm/s max toolhead speed and 20,000 mm/s² acceleration (the P1S is 500 mm/s and 20,000 mm/s²). List price is $549 for the P2S and $749 for the P2S Combo with AMS 2 Pro, against $579 list for the P1S and a discontinued X1 Carbon at $649 refurbished on Bambu's US store (new-unit reference price $1,249).
What it does not get is the X1 Carbon's lidar-based first-layer inspection and flow calibration, which is still the X1 Carbon's clearest hardware edge. For PLA and PETG, the stuff most of us print daily, the P2S additions are nice-to-haves. The enclosed, airflow-managed chamber (rated 50°C ready) helps if you print ABS, ASA, or nylon regularly; my P1S handles ASA, but warping on large flat parts is where it struggles.
Get this if you print engineering filaments weekly and want the 50°C-ready chamber and stock hardened parts without paying X1 Carbon money. Skip this if you mostly print PLA and PETG; the P1S does the same work for less.
Lidar, touchscreen, and hardened extruder: do they matter?
Lidar on the X1 Carbon does two things: it scans the first layer for defects and runs an automatic flow calibration before each print. By owner reports and teardown reviews, the flow step is the useful half, and a lot of X1C owners turn it off once they have profiles dialed in because it adds minutes per job. On my P1S I run a manual flow calibration from Bambu Studio once per new filament spool and have not missed the scan. First-layer problems on my machine have come from a dirty plate, not from anything a sensor would have caught.
The touchscreen gap is more about habit than capability. The X1C's 5-inch color screen lets you pick files, tune speed, and watch the camera at the printer. My P1S has a small monochrome panel and a four-way button; I start almost everything from Bambu Handy on my phone or from Studio on the desktop, and the panel is for pausing and loading filament. If your printer sits in another room, the difference nearly disappears.
The hardened extruder is where the price gap earns something. The X1C ships with a hardened steel extruder gear and nozzle for carbon- and glass-fiber filament. The P1S ($579 list) ships with standard parts, and the upgrade is a hardened gear assembly and hardened nozzle at $19.99 for the Hardened Steel Extruder Gear Assembly and from $14.99 for a hardened steel P1-series hotend, or $49.48 for Bambu's Hardened Steel Upgrade Combo (gear assembly plus 0.4 mm complete hotend; typical price $54.98), about thirty minutes of work.
Get this if you print PLA, PETG, and ABS and want the enclosure without the lidar tax. Skip this if you will print CF-nylon daily and want the abrasion-ready parts installed on day one.
Which one to buy
Buy the Bambu Lab P1S. Going by spec sheets, owner reports, and teardown reviews, we have not found a job that justified paying more for the X1 Carbon: $579 for the P1S against a discontinued X1 Carbon that Bambu now sells only refurbished at $649 (its last new-unit reference price was $1,249).
Hobbyist and functional parts: P1S. Same frame, same 256 mm cube, same heated enclosure, same 0.4 mm hotend. My brackets and jigs come off the plate indistinguishable from what owners post from the X1 Carbon.
Abrasive filament and composites: still the P1S, with a hardened steel nozzle and extruder gear ($19.99 hardened steel extruder gear assembly; hardened steel P1 hotend from $14.99, with the 0.4 mm complete hotend bundled with the gear as the $49.48 Hardened Steel Upgrade Combo). The X1 Carbon ships with those installed, which is real value, but it does not close the price gap. From teardown reviews, the two motion systems are otherwise alike.
Unattended farm printing: P1S. Spaghetti detection and the camera are weaker than the X1 Carbon's lidar-based first-layer inspection, going by owner reports. For a farm, the money buys another P1S instead.
Buyers who want a screen: the X1 Carbon's 5-inch touchscreen is its one plain advantage. My P1S has a small monochrome LCD and a click wheel, and I do everything in Bambu Studio and the Handy app anyway. I would still take the P1S and pocket the difference.
Get this if you want X1 Carbon output and do not care about the touchscreen. Skip this if you cannot stand phone-based control or want lidar first-layer checks out of the box.
How we chose
The P1S take is research-driven: we do not own one. The wear, noise, and failure notes in this guide come from owner reports covering long stretches of regular use, Bambu's own maintenance documentation, and teardown reviews, not from our own prints. The X1 Carbon is research-driven: we have not run one. That take is built from Bambu's spec sheets and firmware notes, owner reports on the Bambu forum and r/BambuLab, and teardown reviews that compare the two frames, hotends, and lidar modules part by part.
We weighed four things: what the extra money buys in practice (lidar, the touchscreen, the hardened extruder as stock), how often owners actually use those features, which parts fail or clog and what they cost to replace, and whether the P1S can be upgraded to close the gap later. Price alone did not decide it; a feature that most owners turn off counts less than one that keeps prints finishing.
Bottom line
Buy the Bambu Lab P1S ($579 list on Bambu's US store). Going by owner reports and Bambu's spec sheet, it prints PLA, PETG, and ABS reliably, and the enclosure, 500 mm/s speeds, and AMS compatibility match the X1 Carbon where it matters. The X1 Carbon (discontinued; $649 refurbished on Bambu's US store, against a $1,249 new-unit reference price) adds a lidar first-layer scanner, a 5-inch touchscreen, and hardened steel parts for abrasive filaments; owner reports and teardowns say those are real gains, but not worth the premium for most hobbyists. Main caveat: if you plan to print carbon-fiber nylon regularly, budget for a hardened steel nozzle and extruder gear on the P1S, or accept the X1 Carbon's premium.
Frequently asked questions
Does the X1 Carbon print better than the P1S?
Not in a way most owners can measure. Both use the same CoreXY motion system, enclosed chamber, and 300 C hotend, so speed and layer quality on PLA, PETG, and ABS are effectively the same. The X1 Carbon's lidar automates first-layer checks and flow calibration, which saves setup time but does not change the finished part when the P1S is tuned correctly.
Can the P1S print carbon fiber filament?
Yes, but not out of the box. The stock P1S ships with a stainless nozzle and standard extruder gear that abrasive filaments wear quickly. Bambu Lab sells a hardened steel nozzle and hardened extruder gear as upgrades, and installing both takes well under an hour. The X1 Carbon includes those hardened parts from the factory, which is the main reason it costs more.
Is the X1 Carbon worth the price gap over the P1S?
For a hobbyist or small shop printing standard materials, no. The upgrade buys a touchscreen, lidar, a chamber camera with better resolution, and hardened extruder parts. If you print abrasive composites daily, run unattended jobs, or want the screen instead of a phone app, the X1 Carbon earns its price. Otherwise the P1S plus a hardened nozzle covers the same jobs for less.
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This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Our recommendations are independent and research-driven, and we say when a pick is not hands-on.
Test Picked Editorial
Edited by Adam Ryan. Gear picks come from equipment running in his own homelab and workshop. Software picks are researched comparisons.
