# SimplyPrint vs FilaMeter

## About FilaMeter

- **Website:** [FilaMeter](https://filameter.com)

## Overview

FilaMeter is a free, local-first filament inventory: a tidy browser app that replaces the spreadsheet you keep your spools in, with your data living right in your browser. It's genuinely pleasant, no login, no ads, and if you just want a private place to write down what filament you own, it does that well.

But FilaMeter is a *manual log*. You hand-enter every spool, and you tell it what you used after each print; it doesn't connect to your printers and it has no filament database to pull from yet. SimplyPrint's filament manager works the other way around: it's connected to your printers, reads the G-code of every print, and deducts filament on its own, with a real open filament database, NFC, AMS and mobile apps. Here's a fair, side-by-side look, first purely as a filament manager, then as the whole platform.

## Pros of FilaMeter

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

- Genuinely free, ad-free and no-login:** the full single-device inventory isn't paywalled, there are no ads, and you don't even make an account.
- **Local-first and private:** your data lives in your browser (PouchDB), works offline on one device and never has to leave your machine, a real plus if privacy or offline use matters.
- **Open source and self-hostable:** the app is open (CC-BY-SA-4.0) and you can self-host it from the public repo as a static export.
- **A cheap one-time sync key, not a subscription:** cross-device real-time sync is a single $39.99 lifetime purchase, with no recurring fees.
- **Simple, fast and complete enough:** a zero-onboarding spreadsheet replacement with a manual usage-history log, per-spool price, and import/export for backup and migration, by a small team shipping conventional releases.

## Cons of FilaMeter

Where FilaMeter falls short if you want tracking that just happens:**

- It isn't connected to your printers:** FilaMeter never measures usage itself. It auto-calculates remaining weight from the figures you type, but you log every print by hand; its SpoolSense optical sensor is unshipped and syncs to FilaMeter, not to a printer, and reads no G-code.
- **No filament database yet:** there's no brand or material catalogue to pull from, so every spool is hand-entered. Adopting one (the Open Filament Database) is an open plan, issue #120, not a shipped feature.
- **No NFC, AMS or direct label printing:** native NFC read/write, Bambu and Creality AMS auto-import and direct Dymo/Zebra thermal labels aren't built in. Labels are bought QR stickers or a single on-screen QR per spool.
- **No app to install and a flat data model:** there's no native iOS or Android app on the App Store or Google Play (it's a responsive website that ships a web manifest but no service worker), location is a single free-text field with no nesting, and notes are one free-text comments field with no custom fields.

## Feature Comparison: SimplyPrint vs FilaMeter

### General

| Feature | FilaMeter | SimplyPrint |
|---------|---------|-------------|
| Has free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Max cost | Free | Free, or from $4/printer/mo |
| Free cloud storage | ✗ | 1GB |
| Usage based cost | ✗ | ✗ |
| Unlimited printing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Supports all printers | ✗ | ✓ |

### Features

| Feature | FilaMeter | SimplyPrint |
|---------|---------|-------------|
| Remote access | ✗ | ✓ |
| Filament management | ✗ | ✓ |
| 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 | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi-printer friendly | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi-print | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi-stream | ✗ | ✓ |
| Statistics | ✗ | ✓ |
| API | ✗ | ✓ |
| Slicer smart-rotation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Smart filament change | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bed level helper | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self-hosting option | ✓ | Contact us |

### Organizations

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

### Notifications

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

### Apps

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

### Security & Privacy

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

### Support

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

### Firmware & Gateway Support

| Feature | FilaMeter | SimplyPrint |
|---------|---------|-------------|
| 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

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