# SimplyPrint vs BuildBee

*SimplyPrint prices are shown in USD; see the pricing page for other currencies. Competitor prices are shown as they publish them.*

## About BuildBee

- **Website:** [BuildBee](https://buildbee.com/)
- **Pricing:** [BuildBee Pricing](https://buildbee.com/pricing)

## Overview

BuildBee is an easy, all-in-one 3D printing app built for the beginner classroom, and for a single teacher with a couple of older USB or OctoPrint printers its guided, jargon-free on-ramp is genuinely pleasant. The workflow is jargon-free and guided, there are built-in design tools for STEM (image-to-3D, lithophanes, BuildBee MakeCode), and it's simple enough for a teacher to run without involving IT. For a school with a handful of older USB or OctoPrint printers, that on-ramp is hard to beat.

But that simplicity comes with a ceiling. BuildBee's printer list is legacy FDM and resin machines, no Bambu Lab and no Klipper, it's single-user unless you pay per printer, there's no AI failure detection and no continuous-printing automation, and its iOS "app" is a home-screen web shortcut. For a print farm, or a modern fleet, SimplyPrint runs the printers BuildBee can't and automates the work it leaves manual. Here's a fair, side-by-side look.

## Pros of BuildBee

BuildBee has real strengths, and they're worth being honest about:**

- Ease of use:** genuinely simple, jargon-free, guided, built for teachers and students.
- **STEM design tools:** image-to-3D, lithophane/cookie-cutter generators and BuildBee MakeCode.
- **Legacy-printer onboarding:** community-tested profiles get older USB/OctoPrint printers online cheaply.
- **Cheap entry:** a real free tier and a low-cost single-user plan, an easy start for one teacher.

## Cons of BuildBee

Where BuildBee runs into a ceiling for a farm or modern fleet:**

- No Bambu Lab and no Klipper** (and no Duet), its list is legacy FDM/resin printers wrapped over USB/OctoPrint/Pi.
- **Single-user personal plan:** multiple users, groups and permissions require a paid Enterprise or Education tier.
- **No AI failure detection** (its "AI" picks print settings) and no continuous-printing automation.
- **Android-only:** the iOS "app" is a home-screen web shortcut, not a native App Store app.
- **No NFC filament, label printing or maintenance system,** and slicing is capped on the free tier.

## Feature Comparison: SimplyPrint vs BuildBee

### General

| Feature | BuildBee | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Has free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Max cost | $15/printer/mo (Education) | Free, or from $4/printer/mo |
| Free cloud storage | 5 models | 1GB |
| Usage based cost | ✗ | ✗ |
| Unlimited printing | Paid plans (free = 5 slices/mo) | ✓ |
| Supports all printers | Legacy USB/OctoPrint printers | ✓ |

### Features

| Feature | BuildBee | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Remote access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Filament management | Usage/cost dashboards | ✓ |
| Knows your printer | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cloud files | ✓ | ✓ |
| Print queue | ✓ | ✓ |
| Livestream | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gcode analysis | ✗ | ✓ |
| A.I failure detection | ✗ | ✓ |
| AutoPrint / continuous printing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom fields | ✗ | ✓ |
| Staggered Start (for power draw) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Print job history | ✗ | ✓ |
| Print remotely | ✓ | ✓ |
| Built-in slicer | Free: 5 slices/mo | ✓ |
| Multi-printer friendly | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-print | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-stream | ✗ | ✓ |
| Statistics | ✓ | ✓ |
| API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Slicer smart-rotation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Smart filament change | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bed level helper | ✗ | ✓ |

### Organizations

| Feature | BuildBee | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Multiple users | Paid tier | ✓ |
| User groups / ranks | Paid tier | ✓ |
| User permissions | Paid tier | ✓ |
| School plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Shared files & folders | ✓ | ✓ |
| Shared slicer profiles | ✗ | ✓ |
| Hub | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom domains | ✗ | ✓ |
| SSO (single sign-on) | ✗ | ✓ |

### Notifications

| Feature | BuildBee | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Email notifications | ✗ | ✓ |
| Push (mobile / app) notifications | ✗ | ✓ |
| SMS / text message notifications | ✗ | ✓ |

### Apps

| Feature | BuildBee | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Android app | ✓ | ✓ |
| iOS app | ✗ | ✓ |
| "PWA" (installable web-application) | ✓ | ✓ |

### Security & Privacy

| Feature | BuildBee | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Account 2-factor authentication | ✗ | ✓ |
| EU servers | ✗ | ✓ |
| Privacy-minded analytics & data-gathering | ✗ | ✓ |

### Support

| Feature | BuildBee | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Email support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live-chat support | ✗ | ✓ |
| Phone support | ✗ | ✓ |

### Firmware & Gateway Support

| Feature | BuildBee | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| OctoPrint install | Connect via plugin | ✓ |
| 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

| Feature | BuildBee | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| OEM | ✗ | ✓ |
| Partner program (reseller / distributor) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Affiliate program | ✗ | ✓ |