Printers
Bambu Lab X1C vs P1S
Four real differences, and a price relationship that has changed completely since this comparison was first written everywhere else.
By Michael W. · Published October 5, 2026
Some links here are Amazon affiliate links, so a purchase may earn this site a commission at no cost to you. It does not change what gets recommended or the order it appears in — how that works.
The verdict
If you are buying used, the X1C is the better machine — lidar, an aluminum enclosure and a hardened nozzle for less than it once cost.
If you are buying new, the P1S is the sensible one, because the X1C at old flagship pricing is a 2022-generation machine with two newer models above it.
If you own either, do not switch between them. They are the same class of machine. The upgrades above both are size (H2S, H2D) and active chamber heat (X2D).
Side by side
| X1-Carbon | P1S | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | May 2022 (X1 series) | July 2023 |
| Bed leveling | Lidar-based, with first-layer inspection | No lidar |
| Enclosure | Aluminum | Panels |
| Nozzle as supplied | Hardened steel | Stainless |
| Screen | 5-inch touchscreen | None on machine |
| Auxiliary cooling | Yes | Yes |
| Chamber | Passive, better insulated | Passive |
| Third-party parts | Good | The deepest in the range |
What lidar actually does
Two things. It measures the bed to build a compensation map, and it inspects the first layer and can flag a failure before the print has committed twelve hours to it.
The second is the valuable one. First-layer failures are the most common print failure there is, and the cost of discovering one late is the whole print. On a P1S you catch it by looking, which works if you are in the room.
It is not magic. Lidar does not fix a contaminated plate, which is the actual cause of most adhesion failures — it just tells you sooner. Adhesion troubleshooting.
The aluminum enclosure, and why it shows up in ABS results
An aluminum enclosure holds chamber heat better than panels. Both chambers are passive — neither machine heats the air directly — but the one that loses heat more slowly settles warmer, and warmer is what ABS and ASA want.
It is a difference of degree rather than kind. Neither reaches what the X2D is reported to do with an actively heated chamber. Chamber temperature in detail.
The hardened nozzle, costed honestly
The X1C ships with hardened steel; the P1S does not. If you print carbon-filled or other abrasive filament, the P1S needs a hardened hotend before you start, and that is a modest and well-understood purchase rather than a serious disadvantage. Factor it into the price comparison and then stop worrying about it.
Choose the X1C if
- You are buying used and the price reflects its position
- First-layer inspection matters because you are not in the room
- You print abrasive filament and want it working out of the box
Choose the P1S if
- You are buying new
- You want the deepest upgrade catalog in the range
- You would rather spend the difference on an AMS 2 Pro and a dryer
The two machines, side by side
Stock photograph of this product class, not of this specific unit.
#ad We earn a commission · live price shown on Amazon
1. Best used value
Bambu Lab X1-Carbon
Lidar, an aluminum enclosure and a hardened nozzle as standard, at used-market prices.
The X1-Carbon brings four things a P1S does not have: lidar-based bed leveling with first-layer inspection, an aluminum enclosure, a hardened steel nozzle as standard, and a 5-inch touchscreen.
Lidar is the genuinely differentiating one. Catching a bad first layer early on a twelve-hour print saves real filament, and the P-series has no equivalent. The hardened nozzle means abrasive filament works on day one rather than after a purchase.
What it gets right
- Ships with a hardened steel nozzle, so abrasive filament is a day-one capability rather than a purchase
- Lidar bed leveling and first-layer inspection, which the P-series does not have
- An aluminum enclosure holds chamber heat better than the P1S's panels
What it does not
- It is not the current flagship and has not been since March 2025 — buying it new at flagship money is a mistake
- The H2D and X2D both exceed it, so resale value is on a downward path
- Single nozzle, where the current top of the range is dual
| Series | X1, released May 24, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Type | Enclosed CoreXY with lidar-based bed leveling |
| X1-Carbon spec | Aluminum enclosure, hardened steel nozzle, auxiliary cooling fan |
| Screen | 5-inch touchscreen |
| Superseded by | H2D (March 2025) and X2D (April 2026) |
Stock photograph of this product class, not of this specific unit.
#ad We earn a commission · live price shown on Amazon
2. Best new buy of the two
Bambu Lab P1S
Does the same core job with the deepest third-party support in the range, and a current support path.
The P1S is the enclosed CoreXY machine with the auxiliary fan and air filter. It does the same core job as an X1C: same build volume class, same AMS compatibility, same materials.
Its advantage is ecosystem and currency. Almost every third-party upgrade worth buying was designed for the P1S first, and it sits in the current product line rather than two generations back.
What it gets right
- The enclosure plus auxiliary fan is what makes ABS and ASA realistic rather than aspirational
- Still the best-supported machine in the range for third-party upgrades — screens, hotends, plates, ducts
- Fast enough that the P2S's speed gain is not the reason to replace it
What it does not
- No touchscreen as shipped, which is why the Panda Touch exists
- No quick-swap nozzle: a nozzle change is a hotend job, not a 30-second one
- Passive chamber only — it holds heat, it does not make heat
| Released | July 13, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Type | Enclosed CoreXY |
| Over the P1P | Enclosure, auxiliary cooling fan and air filter |
| Multi-color | AMS and AMS 2 Pro (4 spools, expandable) |
Questions people actually ask
Is the X1C better than the P1S?
In four specific ways: lidar bed leveling with first-layer inspection, an aluminum enclosure that holds chamber heat better, a hardened steel nozzle as standard, and a touchscreen. Build volume class, AMS compatibility and materials are the same. Whether those four justify the price difference depends almost entirely on whether you are buying used.
What does lidar do on the X1C?
It measures the bed to build a compensation map and inspects the first layer, so a failure can be flagged before the print commits hours to it. That second part is the valuable one. It does not prevent adhesion failures - a contaminated plate still fails - it just tells you sooner.
Should I upgrade from a P1S to an X1C?
No. They are the same class of machine and you would be moving sideways. The real upgrades above a P1S are build volume, which means the H-series, or an actively heated chamber, which means the X2D.
Does the P1S need a hardened nozzle to match the X1C?
Only if you print abrasive filament - carbon-filled, glass-filled, metal-filled, glow-in-the-dark. The X1C ships with hardened steel; the P1S ships stainless. A complete hardened hotend assembly for the P1S is a modest purchase, so factor it into the price comparison rather than treating it as a capability gap.
Sources
- Bambu Lab model list, release dates and model descriptions - Wikipedia
- Reported build volumes, chamber temperatures, nozzle hardness and positioning - third-party lineup roundups captured October 2026 (3dprinting.com, precwise.com, innoaddi.com)
Read this next
- Bambu Lab X1-CarbonWhat the X1C still does better than a P1S, why it is no longer the flagship, and why that makes it a good used buy and a poor new one.
- Bambu Lab P1SWhat the P1S already does well, the three things it genuinely cannot do, and which cheap part fixes each complaint instead of a new machine.
- Bambu Lab X1C vs X2DWhat four years changed between the X1C and the X2D, and why the X1C is still a reasonable buy at the right price.
- The Bambu Lab hardened steel nozzleWhat hardened steel at HRA 74 is for, which filaments require it, and why the complete-assembly format matters for fitting it.
- The best Bambu Lab printer to step up to in 2026One pick per upgrade situation, from the P1S owner who should keep their machine to the owner who genuinely needs the H2 build volume.