P1S or X1C for a print farm, and where P2S fits

For a new farm printer on 31 October 2026, the real choice is P1S or P2S, because the X1C left production on 31 March 2026 and gets bug and feature updates only until 31 May 2027. At 3DJake a P1S Combo costs CHF 445.72 and a P2S Combo CHF 569.27, which adds about CHF 0.23 to a nine-hour plate at the values in cost per plate.

We run three P1S and one X1C. We have no comparative failure, uptime or reliability data for them, so nothing here says one fails less or lasts longer. The specs below come from Bambu and from 3DJake, and the feature claims are Bambu's own.

The three side by side

Prices include 8.1% Swiss VAT and were read on 31 October 2026. Specs come from Bambu's pages for the P1S, X1C and P2S, and from the 3DJake pages linked in the table.

The X1C keeps spare parts and support until 31 March 2031. Bambu warns some parts may sell out earlier and suggests buying them in advance. On the P1S, Bambu said in February 2026 it had "no plans to phase it out in the foreseeable future". That statement is eight months old.

What the price gap does to a plate

We use the cost per plate formula, the same 9.264-hour plate, CHF 350 of spares and a 5,000-hour life.

The spares and life figures were worked out for a P1S and their solidity is low, so we are assuming they carry over. Bambu's own 200 W steady-state figure for the P2S is not comparable with the owners' meter readings we use for the P1S. We have no meter reading for a P2S.

The useful number is what the gap has to earn. The extra CHF 124 is about three hours of labour at CHF 42 an hour. On this plate the P2S pays for itself if it saves about 20 seconds of hands-on time per plate, or cuts the failure rate from 5% to about 3.5%. We have no data showing that it does either.

Watch the list prices. The P1S Combo is 53% below a list price of CHF 949.42, while the P2S Combo's list price is CHF 711.83. If that discount ends, the price argument for the P1S goes with it.

What matters in a farm

Support dates. Bambu says its products keep working with the same features after the support period, so an X1C does not stop on 31 May 2027. It only stops getting fixes. In a fleet, you also need a plan for a firmware change that one model gets and another doesn't.

One control method. All three appear in Bambu Farm Manager's compatible list, and all three can use Developer Mode for third-party control. Differences still appear. Writing our driver, we found that a P1S camera sends JPEG frames and the X1 series H.264. Farm Manager only offers printers with a compatible model for a sliced file, so check whether a mixed fleet means slicing twice.

The materials you need. If you print fibre-filled filament, the P1S needs that upgrade first. If your parts need a hotter bed, compare the 100, 110 and 120 °C limits against the filament's data sheet.

Failure checks, if they work in your setup. A failed print that runs on unnoticed wastes filament and printer hours. The P2S and X1C list checks that a P1S doesn't. We found no independent measure of how many failures they catch. We also have no test of which of them still work with LAN-only and Developer Mode on, so check that before paying for them.

Filament drying. The P1S has no built-in drying function, so you set the bed and a timer by hand. An AMS 2 Pro on a P2S can dry from printer power for one unit, while on an X1 or P1 every unit needs its own adapter. See filament storage and drying.

Heat-up power. Two P2S at 1,200 W exceed a 10 A socket, and two P1S do not. See power in how to start.

What matters less than it looks

Top speed. Bambu and 3DJake list the same 500 mm/s and 20,000 mm/s² for all three, so the spec sheet gives no reason to choose between them on speed. Print time on a real plate depends on your profile. We have no timed comparison of the same plate across models.

The bigger screen. The P2S has a 5-inch touchscreen. Once software starts your jobs, you use the screen less. That is our opinion.

Build volume. The P1S and P2S both list 256 x 256 x 256 mm, so it decides nothing between them.

How we would choose

This is our judgement from the numbers above, not a test result.

• Repeat plates, no fibre, tight budget: a P1S at today's price, accepting that its discount may be a clearance.
• Fibre-filled filament, or a machine you will keep for years: a P2S, for the hardened steel nozzle and extruder gear and the published update dates.
• An X1C: only second-hand and cheap, and only if you accept the dates above. A search excerpt showed a used X1C Combo at Digitec at CHF 1,203.80. We could not open that page, so treat it as a lead, not a price.
• You already own an X1C: nothing above says replace it now. Plan for the update dates.

Bambu's end-of-life post names no successor. 3DJake sells the dual-nozzle X2D Combo at CHF 711.83, and we have not used one.

What we can't tell you

We can't tell you which of these is more reliable. Our four Bambu printers are not a controlled test, and we have no comparative failure data. Be careful with any article that ranks them on reliability without saying how many machines, which material and over how many hours.

For connecting these printers to our software, the manual is Bambu Lab setup for Rackrew.