The Anycubic Kobra 2 Pro is the printer for makers who want real speed without paying premium prices. It sits between the bargain Enders and the polished Bambu machines, offering quick printing and dependable automatic levelling for a fair price. Here is what that speed buys you, and what it asks in return.
Speed has become the headline feature in budget 3D printing, and the Kobra 2 Pro is one of the machines that brought genuinely fast printing down to a sensible price. It is not quite as effortless as a Bambu, but it costs less and prints quickly, which is exactly the trade many value-minded makers want. That balance is why it is our best value pick.
| Model | Price | Type | Build volume | Auto bed levelling | Rating | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ★ Top pick Anycubic Kobra 2 Pro 3D Printer | £239.00 | FDM (filament) | 220 x 220 x 250 mm | Yes, LeviQ 2.0 | ★ 4.2 | View → |
£239.00
FDM (filament) · 220 x 220 x 250 mm · Yes, LeviQ 2.0
The verdict from Joseph Lim, 3D printing tester
Our best value pick. The Anycubic Kobra 2 Pro sits between the bargain Ender and the premium machines, offering genuinely fast printing and reliable automatic levelling for a fair price. Once you have spent an afternoon tuning a profile it produces clean, detailed parts at speed. The software is a step behind Bambu and the cooling benefits from a tweak, but if you want the most printer-per-pound and do not mind a little setup, it is the rational buy.
Quick and capable, and noticeably faster than older budget machines once profiled.
The Kobra 2 Pro is the right printer if you want the most speed and build area per pound, and you do not mind spending an afternoon tuning a profile to get the best from it. It suits people on their second printer, hobbyists who print a lot and value quicker turnaround, and anyone who finds the budget Enders a touch slow but is not ready to pay Bambu money. With a generous standard build area and high quoted speeds, it gets through work fast.
It is less suited to an absolute beginner who wants everything to just work with zero fuss. The software and out-of-the-box experience are a step behind the Bambu Lab A1, so a complete newcomer who wants the smoothest possible start is better served there. For a slightly more confident user chasing value and speed, though, the Kobra 2 Pro is hard to beat at the price.
This is the machine's calling card. With high quoted speeds and a sensible recommended pace well above older budget printers, the Kobra 2 Pro gets models off the bed noticeably quicker. A print that took several hours on an older Ender comes off this machine appreciably faster once you have a tuned profile, which makes a real difference if you print often or have a queue of projects waiting.
The LeviQ 2.0 automatic levelling routine is quick and reliable, so getting a good first layer is straightforward. Setup is simple and you can be printing soon after unboxing. The fundamentals here are sound; the rough edges are in the software polish rather than the hardware basics.
Once dialled in, the Kobra 2 Pro produces clean, detailed parts at speed. The catch is in that phrase, dialled in: out of the box it prints well, but to get the crispest fine detail at high speed you will usually want to adjust the part cooling and fine-tune a filament profile. Put that afternoon in and the results are excellent for the money.
The slicer and companion app are functional but less refined than Bambu's seamless ecosystem. They do the job and will be familiar to anyone who has used a mainstream slicer, but you feel the difference in polish. For a value-focused buyer that is an acceptable trade; for someone who wants everything to feel finished, it is a mark against.
The Kobra 2 Pro's drawbacks are the flip side of its strengths. The speed and price come with software that is a notch behind the best, and getting the finest results rewards a bit of profiling and a cooling tweak. None of this is unusual at the price, and none of it stops the machine being excellent value, but it is honest to say you are trading a little convenience for a lot of speed. If you would rather not tune at all, the Bambu Lab A1 is the easier machine.
It is one of the faster printers at its price, quoting speeds up to around 500 mm/s, with a sensible recommended speed well above older budget machines. In practice a model that took several hours on an older Ender comes off the Kobra 2 Pro noticeably quicker, once you have a tuned profile. Speed is its headline strength.
Not quite, and that is reflected in the price. The Kobra 2 Pro is faster on paper and a little cheaper, but the Bambu A1's software, calibration and out-of-the-box reliability are more polished. If you want the smoothest beginner experience, choose the A1; if you want the most speed and build area per pound and do not mind a little setup, the Kobra 2 Pro is the value pick.
A little. Out of the box it levels itself and prints well, but to get the cleanest fine detail at high speed you will usually want to adjust the cooling and dial in a profile for your filament. That afternoon of tuning is the trade-off for the price and speed; if you would rather skip it entirely, the Bambu A1 is more plug-and-play.
The Anycubic Kobra 2 Pro is our best value pick because it delivers genuinely fast printing and a generous build area for a fair price, with reliable automatic levelling underpinning it. It rewards a little tuning and its software is a step behind the very best, so it suits a slightly more confident user rather than a nervous beginner. If you want the easiest possible experience, the Bambu Lab A1 is the safer choice; if you want to spend even less, the Creality Ender-3 V3 SE is the budget option. To work out which suits you, see our which 3D printer to buy guide and our buying guide.