Looking for Prusa Connect alternatives?
Prusa Connect is Prusa Research's own cloud for Prusa printers, and it has come a long way: it now has a free EasyPrint cloud slicer, native iOS and Android apps, real 1080p camera streaming, teams with roles, and 2FA. If your shop is 100% Prusa, it's a genuinely good, free, first-party way to run it, and it's made by the people who made your printers, hosted in the EU.
The catch is in the name: Prusa Connect. It manages Prusa hardware and nothing else, no Bambu, no Klipper, no Creality, no generic Marlin, and older Prusas need a Raspberry Pi to join. The day you add a printer from another brand, you need a platform that speaks all of them. That's SimplyPrint, and it adds the farm-grade automation, AI and shop-floor tools Prusa Connect doesn't. Here's a fair, side-by-side look.
Prusa Connect is the best free cloud for an all-Prusa shop. It's first-party, deeply integrated, EU/GDPR-hosted, and now ships a cloud slicer, native apps, teams and 2FA, so the old "it's missing everything" story no longer holds. If every printer you own is a Prusa and you want free and official, it's an easy yes.
SimplyPrint is the platform for everyone else, and for mixed and growing farms. It has been running real print farms since 2020, runs Prusa and Bambu, Klipper/Moonraker, Marlin (incl. USB), Duet and OctoPrint natively, and adds AI failure detection with AI bed-check, AutoPrint continuous printing, full filament inventory with NFC and label printing, a maintenance system and a dedicated education plan. If you run any non-Prusa printer, or want farm automation Prusa Connect doesn't have, SimplyPrint is the better fit.
One brand vs every brand you own
Prusa Connect is built for Prusa hardware, full stop. SimplyPrint runs Prusa just as happily, and every other major brand alongside it, so the platform never decides which printers you're allowed to buy next.
Where Prusa Connect makes sense
Prusa Connect has closed a lot of its old gaps, and for an all-Prusa shop a few things genuinely land. Credit where it's due:
Farm automation and the shop floor
Prusa Connect monitors and controls your Prusa fleet well. Where SimplyPrint pulls ahead is the production layer: keeping printers running unattended, catching failures, and tracking filament and upkeep.
Prusa Connect and SimplyPrint comparison
Nothing is black-and-white, and there are always pros and cons to consider when choosing a 3D printing cloud solution!
And we're not here to simply tell you, that SimplyPrint is the best - we want you to make an informed decision, and of course there are pros of using Prusa Connect as well!
Pros of using Prusa Connect
Prusa Connect has real strengths, and they're worth being honest about:- Free for Prusa owners, with a generous free tier (1080p livestream and a cloud slicer at no cost).
- Deepest Prusa integration: made by Prusa, with telemetry, firmware updates and official cameras.
- EU/GDPR: hosted by an EU company, a solid "made in EU" data-residency story.
- EasyPrint cloud slicer: free in-browser/in-app slicing on Prusa's servers.
- Caught up on basics: native iOS/Android apps, teams with roles, 2FA and a print queue all shipped.
Cons of using Prusa Connect
Where Prusa Connect runs into a ceiling:- Prusa printers only: no Bambu, Klipper, Creality, Anycubic, Duet or generic Marlin, and the older MK3S+ needs a Raspberry Pi.
- No AI failure detection and no AI bed-check.
- No continuous printing: a per-printer queue and a Farm beta, but no AutoPrint-style lights-out automation.
- Filament is usage-tracking only: no spool inventory, no NFC, no label printing.
- No maintenance system, no SSO and no dedicated education plan.
Prusa Connect vs. SimplyPrint
Side-by-side list comparison of details and features in Prusa Connect and SimplyPrint
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|
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|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Has free plan | ||
| Free printers | 2 | |
| Max cost | Free; paid storage tiers | Free, or from $9.99/mo (Pro) |
| Free cloud storage | 1GB (expandable) | 1GB |
| Usage based cost | ||
| Unlimited printing | ||
| Supports all printers | Prusa printers only | |
| Features | ||
| Remote access | ||
| Filament management | Usage tracking only | |
| Filament NFC tags (read & write) | ||
| Filament label printing (Dymo / Zebra) | ||
| Knows your printer | Prusa only | |
| Cloud files | ||
| Print queue | ||
| Livestream | ||
| Gcode analysis | ||
| A.I failure detection | ||
| AI Bed Check (is the bed clear?) | ||
| AutoPrint / continuous printing | ||
| Maintenance & servicing system | ||
| Custom fields | ||
| Staggered Start (for power draw) | ||
| Schedule prints | ||
| Print job history | ||
| Print remotely | ||
| Built-in slicer | EasyPrint (cloud) | |
| Multi-printer friendly | ||
| Multi-print | ||
| Multi-stream | ||
| Statistics | ||
| API | Limited (camera + mobile) | |
| Slicer smart-rotation | ||
| Smart filament change | ||
| Bed level helper | ||
| Organization | ||
| Multiple users | ||
| User groups / ranks | ||
| User permissions | ||
| School plan | ||
| Shared files & folders | ||
| Shared slicer profiles | ||
| Hub | ||
| Custom domains | ||
| SSO (single sign-on) | ||
| Notifications | ||
| Email notifications | ||
| Push (mobile / app) notifications | ||
| SMS / text message notifications | ||
| Apps | ||
| Android app | ||
| iOS app | ||
| "PWA" (installable web-application) | ||
| Security & privacy | ||
| Account 2-factor authentication | ||
| Privacy-minded analytics & data-gathering ? | ||
| Support | ||
| Live-chat support | ||
| Phone support | ||
| Email support | ||
| Firmware & gateway support | ||
| OctoPrint install | ||
| Native Moonraker support | ||
| Mainsail install | ||
| Fluidd install | ||
| Klipper support | ||
| Duet3D integration | ||
| Direct Prusa support (MK4, XL and up / new main boards) | ||
| Direct Bambu Lab printer integration | ||
| Support for custom integrations | ||
| Enterprise & partners | ||
| OEM | ||
| Partner program (reseller / distributor) | ||
| Affiliate program | ||
| On-prem / self-hosting ? | Contact us | |
| Compare | See pricing | See pricing |
SimplyPrint prices are shown in USD; see our pricing page for your local currency. Competitor prices are shown as they publish them.
Contact us if you think we made a mistake in our comparison!
Prusa Connect vs. SimplyPrint: frequently asked questions
Is Prusa Connect or SimplyPrint better?
Does Prusa Connect support non-Prusa printers?
Does Prusa Connect have a slicer?
Does Prusa Connect do AI failure detection or continuous printing?
Is Prusa Connect free?
Does Prusa Connect manage filament and maintenance?
What's the best alternative to Prusa Connect for a mixed-brand farm?
Conclusion
Why SimplyPrint is the Top Prusa Connect Alternative
We made SimplyPrint due to the fact, that nothing else on the market quite fit our needs. We wanted a platform that was easy to use, but still had all the features we needed. We wanted a feature-rich platform, intuitive and easy to use, with a great user experience and actual innovation within the 3D print management software space.
In summary, we - humble and unbiased as we are 😉 - believe that the SimplyPrint platform is a great Prusa Connect alternative!
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