Elegoo Centauri Carbon vs Bambu Lab P1S

TL;DR

Both are enclosed CoreXY machines with 256 mm build volumes — and the Centauri Carbon costs half as much. Buy the Centauri if you want enclosed-machine materials (PETG, TPU, early ASA experiments) at the lowest sane price. Buy the P1S if you want the more mature ecosystem end-to-end: slicer profiles, multi-material (AMS), firmware polish, and a two-year track record of reliability. The honest summary: Elegoo closed the hardware gap faster than the ecosystem gap.

Product	Rating	Build Volume	Max Speed	Enclosure		Buy
Elegoo Centauri Carbon	★★★★⯨ 4.4 (community est.)	256 × 256 × 256 mm	500 mm/s	true	View →
Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2	—	256 × 256 × 256 mm	500 mm/s	true	View →
Bambu Lab P1S	★★★★⯨ 4.6 (community est.)	256 × 256 × 256 mm	600 mm/s	true	View →

What’s the same

Enclosed chamber, CoreXY motion, 256 mm class build volume, ~500–600 mm/s claimed speeds. For PETG and everyday printing, both produce genuinely good results — this is not a case where the cheaper machine is a compromise in print quality. CNET and All3DP both rate the Centauri as the best budget enclosed pick this year, and the community experience broadly agrees.

What about the Centauri Carbon 2?

Since we published, Elegoo released the Centauri Carbon 2 (~$349 base, $449 Combo with multicolor): 500 mm/s printing, a 350 °C hotend, and an optional multi-material system of their own. Two honest implications:

1. The original at ~$299 is now a clearance-style value play — still enclosed CoreXY, still the cheapest sane entry to this class, but it’s the outgoing generation (launched at $419.99, now discounted)
2. At $349, the CC2 squeezes the P1S’s value case harder — Bambu’s premium is now $250 for ecosystem maturity rather than $300 for hardware that’s clearly ahead. If you don’t need AMS today, the CC2 is the aggressive pick; if you want the safest long-term platform, the P1S still earns its premium

Our protocol run will cover both Elegoo generations — see how we test.

What $300 more buys with the P1S

1. AMS multi-material — the P1S upgrades into Bambu’s AMS for multi-color/dedicated supports; the Centauri’s multi-material story is weaker today
2. Profile depth — Bambu Studio’s material and third-party filament profiles are the most mature in the industry; fewer surprises with new filaments
3. Track record — two years of firmware refinement and a huge user base means your specific problem is usually already solved in a forum post
4. Resale and parts ecosystem — denser availability of parts, mods, and buyers

What the Centauri wins on

Price, obviously — but also that it forced this entire market segment to exist. Its enclosed chamber at $299 is the reason “enclosed CoreXY under $300” is a category at all. For a second printer, a materials-experiment machine, or a budget that can’t stretch to $599, it’s the right call — with the expectation that you’ll do a bit more community-research per filament.

Who should buy which

• Centauri Carbon: budget-capped, wants enclosure for PETG/TPU, comfortable consulting forums, second machine
• P1S: wants multi-material eventually, values turnkey reliability over savings, prints ASA seriously
• Neither: PLA-only beginners should look at the A1 first — enclosure is a solution to problems PLA doesn’t have

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