Klipper Vs Marlin: Which Is Better?

In the modern world, there are so many options to consider when choosing the best firmware for 3D printing. Klipper and Marlin are two famous names in firmware. But if we have to compare Klipper vs Marlin, the former uses a more polished motion processing. That is one of the reasons it works at a finer level of detail.

However, while Marlin is undoubtedly the favorite in the 3D printing world, we cannot completely disregard Klipper. It has certainly emerged with an array of unique features.

We have prepared for you a comprehensive article that will give you detailed information about both two firmware. It will eventually lend you clarity on a variety of points related to their architecture, configuration, and functionality. 

Overview Of Klipper

Klipper is a 3D printer firmware that is written in Python and delivered under the General Public License (GNU). It provides users with several cutting-edge calibration options, the most important of which are custom G-mode macros.

It also can run multiple printers from a single controller, which speaks volumes about its efficiency.

History

Klipper was first released in the year 2016 and is an open-source firmware for 3D printers. The credit for its creation goes to Kevin O’Connor of GitHub, who was tired of the complex and hard-to-configure firmware.

It must be remembered that the firmware used in 3D printing during that time was difficult to arrange for the purpose. For this reason, Kevin set out to create firmware that would be easy to use and highly customizable at the same time.

The whole idea was to fine-tune the 3D printer’s performance to ultimately meet their exact specifications. As a result, Klipper came into existence.

Gradually, it became quite popular amongst 3D printing enthusiasts and professionals. The user-friendly interface and robust customization options it offered made things easier for these people.

Primary Features

As we all know, Klipper is a 3D printing firmware aimed at improving the efficiency, consistency, and customization of the printing process. To point out, G-code macros are one of its primary features which facilitate the execution of complex and repetitive tasks.

This is done by using hardly any commands other than conventional firmware. It makes the whole printing process more efficient, saves time, and is extremely user-friendly.

Another important thing about Klipper is that it lets you change the layer height of a print. It allows users to print different parts of a model at disparate resolutions and thicknesses. This further ensures greater control over the final print that is eventually delivered.

On the other hand, Klipper has professional-grade bed leveling routines that give you better accuracy and print quality. It’s also a great thing that users can change printer settings like acceleration, jerk, and z-axis height. It makes sure that optimal results are achieved by each print job providing a superior final experience for the users.

To emphasize, the package includes standard firmware features such as PID tuning. It won’t at all be wrong to say that Klipper’s advanced features ultimately make 3D printing efficient, customizable, as well as amusing for users.

Releases

Klipper has been taking the steps it needs to take to improve its own abilities up to this point. Initially, it released version 0.2.0 and with time has disseminated its several major releases.

For illustration, the latest version is 0.11.0, which was released in November 2022. One of the major changes was the Trinamic stepper motor driver “steps on both edges” optimization supporting Python 3. This enhanced the CAN bus support, along with improving error handling for the temperature sensors.

In the same way, LED templates that work with microcontrollers were made better, and many more modules were added. The Klipper team follows a regular release schedule, releasing a new version every few months.

The reasoning behind this is to fix bugs, add new features, and refine the existing ones making improvements to the current codebase. After all, each new release adds a lot of functionality and stability to the firmware.

All these factors make it one of the most celebrated 3D printer firmware releases available on the market.

Klipper And 3D Printing

Klipper has certainly transformed the way 3D printing was done!

Fasting stepping rates, easy setup and the overall configuration. Supporting multiple MCUs, pressure advance feature for finer print quality, input quality for faster print speeds, easy python programming, PT 100 probes along with common bed probes, its ability to run on cheap Raspberry Pi Zero and controller boards support makes it a perfect choice for 3D printing.

Klipper indeed makes 3D printing easier and a lot more efficient than before.

Overview Of Marlin

Marlin firmware is well-known for 3D printers due to its dependability, stability, and powerful features. It’s essential to know about its origins and how it has grown over the years.

So let’s not waste any time and know the history and various features it offers together with its role in the 3D printing industry

History

Marlin firmware for 3D printers has been available for nearly a decade. It was released in 2011 by Erik Zalm as an open-source alternative to all the existing commercial solutions.

At present, a team of developers led by Scott Lahteine is responsible for the project. Since it was first made, it has gotten a lot of attention from 3D printing companies and professionals.

Given these points, Marlin has evolved and gotten remarkably better over the years. This has all been a result of adding new features to support a wider range of 3D printers.

It’s very much in demand because of its reliability, stability, and other distinctive features. All these components make it a great option to consider for 3D printer users.

Primary Features

Marlin firmware consists of Automatic Bed Leveling, Autostart, PID autotune, EEPROM, Firmware Retract, Linear Advance, LCD Menu Tree, Linear Advance, Model Predictive Temperature Control, Probe Temperature Compensation, Trinamic Drivers, and Unified Bed Leveling.

All these features help users easily calibrate their 3D printers for flawless performance and accuracy. Additionally, Marlin also offers some advanced features like temperature control and nozzle pressure control for better print quality.

With its comprehensive set of features and user-friendly interface, Marlin firmware is a perfect choice for 3D printer users.

Releases

The Marlin Firmware Project began in 2011 and has seen a steady stream of releases since then. Finally, in December 2014, the first version of Marlin 1.0.1 was released. Since then, the project witnessed a number of bug fixes along with some feature updates with each of its releases.

The major one was 2.0, which was later followed by 2.0.1, which helped in some minor bug-fix releases.

It’s important to realize that this pattern allows users to take benefit from new features and still have access to stable versions of the firmware for their 3D printers. On the whole, the latest version of Marlin firmware, i.e. 2.1.1, has a lot of new and interesting features.

For example, custom theristors, configurable Switching Nozzle dwell, Bed Distance Sensor, and the Encoder Noise Filter. On top of that, there are various new boards supporting this release.

Marlin and 3D Printing

Marlin is a good firmware that has been made so that 3D printers can be changed. It has many features, such as an auto-leveling bed, protection against thermal runaway, stepper motor current control, and so on.

At the same time, Marlin supports all the different types of controllers as well. These include the Arduino Mega2560/RAMPS 1.4/RAMPS 1.5/RAMPS 1.6/Sanguinololu/Anet V1.0/Anet V2.0/RUMBA, among others.

To say nothing of the wide range of features it offers, Marlin is a perfect choice for users. Moreover, it’s also compatible with controllers or printed circuit boards attached to 3D printers.

Klipper vs Marlin: 6 Main Differences

If you’re a 3D printing enthusiast, you’ve probably heard of Klipper and Marlin firmware. We will try to compare them and see how they distinguish themselves from each other. Given that, let’s take six important factors into consideration, which are as follows:

1. Installation

To get Klipper up and running, you must first obtain the printer’s configuration file. In fact, in most of the cases this file would be in its configuration directory along with a “printer” prefix.

However, if there is no configuration file, the printer uses a “generic” configuration file. After getting the file and changing it, the next step is to send it to the Raspberry Pi computer and flash it into the microcontroller.

Besides that, setting up the OctoPrint in order to talk to Klipper is equally important so that the new configuration file can take effect. This will ultimately make Klipper all ready for the action.

Similarly, Marlin’s installation is also quite simple. At the time of customization, the first step is to get the Marlin source code.

After that, you’ll need to utilize the integrated development environment (IDE). Perhaps this will generate a binary version of the Marlin Project which you can correspondingly upload to the board. Remember that most of the configurations can be modified to store them in EEPROM using G-codes.

When it’s regarding the installation difficulty of Klipper vs Marlin, rating Klipper higher would be acceptable. That’s because Marlin’s compiling process may seem quite challenging for someone who’s using it for the first time.

2. Customizability

When we compare Klipper to Marlin, it’s clear that Klipper has more ways to change things than Marlin. It thus allows its users an opportunity to fine-tune their prints and garner better results as its files are written in Python.

There are a number of community-created plugins and modifications you can use to customize your overall setup.

On the other hand, Marlin has a lot of ways to customize it, but not as many as Klipper.  The configuration files are in C++ which can be potentially difficult to edit for some users.  

It does let you change how your printer works without having to edit and set up the files directly. But, without a doubt, Klipper has greater customization potential, making it an excellent choice for printing enthusiasts.

However, Marlin is a good option if you want reliable firmware that is updated frequently.

3. Extra Features

One has to understand that both these firmwares offer a set of advanced features for better performance and print quality. Klipper offers an API server that’s built in, supports multiple extruders and temperature sensors, LCD displays having custom menus, constant acceleration and a lot more.

Provided that, you can use it with the existing “RepRap” printers and it won’t require you to make any hardware changes.

This is probably something that makes it a versatile option for a wide range of users. It also works with OctoPrint and lets you use a web browser to control your printer. Perhaps you don’t have to worry about OctoPrint vs Klipper not being able to work in tandem with each other.

Surprisingly, Marlin too offers a comprehensive range of impressive features for its users. For example, it’s compatible with 3D printers, touch screens and bed leveling sensors as well.

Another feather in its cap is that it offers a better thermal control and temperature measurement calibration. We can’t forget that it has a unified bed leveling system and a homing back-off system as well.

Additionally, Marlin offers some safety and electric features as well. For example, power loss recovery, automatic power supply control, external closed loop controller support and an optimized SD binary file transfer.

Marlin 2.0 and its later versions undoubtedly lend people a superior user experience.

4. Community  

Klipper and Marlin both are renowned for their community of users that is full of vim and vigor. It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or an experienced user as you won’t feel any dearth of online resources of help and support.

Generally speaking, Klipper’s community largely focuses on helping beginners whereas Marlin’s is more concerned with its seasoned users. However, if we have to rate Marlin vs Klipper on community support, there won’t be much difference.

Klipper and Marlin are quite sufficient in providing outstanding community support for their respective users.

5. Update Frequency

Both of these firmware projects are always forging ahead with regular updates and new features. Klipper is quite popular for its responsiveness to customers’ feedback and bug fixes.

Marlin on the other hand is credited with a larger development team and a strong user base. It brings forth more frequent updates and is surely a much more stable platform. We can vouch for the fact that Marlin does score higher than Klipper when it comes to updating frequency.

6. User Experience

User experience is obviously something that is conducive to the success of any business. Klipper and Marlin both offer a remarkable user experience.

In fact, Klipper has the potential to support multiple user-friendly interfaces. Together with that, it comes with an installation process that is quite simple and straightforward. Thus ultimately making it a perfect choice for beginners.

Marlin comes with a slightly more complicated but stable and reliable setup. Hence, rating Klipper on a higher scale would not be wrong at all when we compare both of these on the grounds of user-friendliness.

Marlin is easy to use but Klipper definitely has wider options to choose from its user interface. Fluidd and Mainsail are two typical examples and you can run both of them in your web browser.

Final Thoughts

To conclude, we can say that, as we compare Klipper vs Marlin, the former uses better motion processing. This eventually results in a finer level of detail along with a greater print speed. Both of these are excellent choices for 3D printing enthusiasts and come with amazing features.

But the most important thing to realize is that personal preference holds a great deal of importance whenever someone chooses one for you.

It’s indeed all about what you need and expect in a 3D printer firmware. So if your priority is firmware that offers great features and customization potential, Klipper would be a perfect choice.

But if you are looking for firmware that is reliable and offers frequent updates with great print quality, go for Marlin. Both of these will unequivocally offer you a sublime user experience.

Guides on Klipper vs Marlin

Which is better Marlin or Klipper?

Klipper works to a higher level of detail and employs more advanced motion processing. It can drive much faster than Marlin, which can enhance both print quality and speed in particular.

Does Klipper improve quality?

Klipper supports “Smooth Pressure Advance” to adjust for extruder pressure. Reduces extruder “ooze” and enhances print corners. Klipper’s solution avoids instantaneous extruder speed changes, improving stability and robustness.

Can you use Klipper with Marlin?

A lot of slicers let you change the “G-Code flavor.” Most of the time, “Marlin” is the default, and that works well with Klipper. Klipper also works well with the “Smoothieware” setting.

Does Klipper replace OctoPrint?

OctoPrint has nothing to do with the Klipper software. You can send commands to Klipper using other software, but you need to know how to be a Linux administrator to do this. Klipper emulates a classic 3D-printer serial interface by using the “/tmp/printer” file to make a “virtual serial port.” This file is used to create a “virtual serial port.”

How fast can Ender 3 print with Klipper?

With the Ender 3, it takes about two hours to print a 3DBenchy. Klipper can print it in 28 minutes, and the quality won’t change.

Can you use Cura with Klipper?

Cura and Klipper are a good pair that can work together, but there are some things to watch out for compared to a “classic” Cura/Marlin implementation.

Does Klipper support BLTouch?

With Klipper, BLTouch probes can be used to automatically level a mesh bed.

How much RAM is needed for Klipper?

An SBC with at least 512 MB of RAM, although 1 GB is recommended. It is best to use an ARM64 CPU