# SimplyPrint vs Mainsail

## About Mainsail

- **Website:** [Mainsail](https://docs.mainsail.xyz/)

## Overview

Mainsail is one of the two web interfaces most Klipper owners reach for (Fluidd is the other), and it's genuinely excellent: a fast, clean, fully local dashboard for a Klipper printer, built on the Moonraker API. If OctoPrint is the classic interface for Marlin machines, Mainsail is its Klipper counterpart, and a really well-made one.**
SimplyPrint isn't a rival to that, and we don't pretend to be. We connect to Klipper printers through Moonraker's built-in [simplyprint] component, with no plugin to install, and we run happily alongside** Mainsail (Moonraker allows several clients at once), so your Mainsail UI keeps working exactly as it does now. We've also collaborated with the Mainsail team and chipped in to support the project a few times. The honest difference is simple: Mainsail is built to run **one** Klipper printer beautifully. When one printer becomes a fleet, a classroom or a farm, that's the job SimplyPrint was built for.

## Pros of Mainsail

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

- Free & open-source:** GPLv3, self-hosted on your own hardware - you own the whole stack, no subscription and no cloud required.
- **One of the best Klipper UIs:** a fast, polished, fully local interface with config editing, G-code preview, bed-mesh visualisation, macros and theming.
- **MainsailOS:** a prebuilt Raspberry Pi (and other SBC) image that ships Klipper + Moonraker + Mainsail ready to flash.
- **Print history & Spoolman:** shows per-printer print history and statistics (via Moonraker) and integrates Spoolman for filament-spool inventory.
- **Installable PWA & big community:** runs as an add-to-home-screen web app, with a large, active Klipper community behind it.

## Cons of Mainsail

Where Mainsail runs into a ceiling once you're past a single printer:**

- One printer at a time:** you switch between registered printers (the "farm overview" is a status hub and switcher), with no unified fleet dashboard and no cross-printer queue, auto-assignment or automation.
- **Klipper only:** needs Klipper firmware + Moonraker; it doesn't run generic Marlin-over-serial printers or Bambu Lab machines.
- **No built-in remote access:** local-only by design, and the docs warn against exposing it to the internet, so remote use means a VPN, relay or reverse proxy.
- **No roles or SSO:** it relies on Moonraker's optional login, which has no permission groups, roles, SSO or schools/education features.
- **No plugin system, slicer or AI:** you extend it with Klipper macros and themes (no OctoPrint-style plugins), slice in a desktop slicer, and AI failure detection comes from a separate service like Obico.

## Feature Comparison: SimplyPrint vs Mainsail

### General

| Feature | Mainsail | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Has free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Max cost | Free (self-hosted) | Free, or from $4/printer/mo |
| Free cloud storage | ✗ | 1GB |
| Usage based cost | ✗ | ✗ |
| Unlimited printing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Supports all printers | Klipper printers only | ✓ |

### Features

| Feature | Mainsail | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Remote access | LAN only (VPN/relay to go remote) | ✓ |
| Filament management | Via Spoolman | ✓ |
| Knows your printer | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cloud files | ✗ | ✓ |
| Print queue | Per printer (Moonraker) | ✓ |
| Livestream | LAN webcam | ✓ |
| 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 | Switch + farm overview | ✓ |
| Multi-print | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi-stream | ✗ | ✓ |
| Statistics | Per printer | ✓ |
| API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Slicer smart-rotation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Smart filament change | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bed level helper | ✗ | ✓ |

### Organizations

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

### Notifications

| Feature | Mainsail | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Email notifications | Via Moonraker | ✓ |
| Push (mobile / app) notifications | Via apps | ✓ |
| SMS / text message notifications | ✗ | ✓ |

### Apps

| Feature | Mainsail | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Android app | Mobileraker (3rd-party) | ✓ |
| iOS app | Mobileraker (3rd-party) | ✓ |
| "PWA" (installable web-application) | ✓ | ✓ |

### Security & Privacy

| Feature | Mainsail | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Account 2-factor authentication | ✗ | ✓ |
| EU servers | Self-hosted (local) | ✓ |
| Privacy-minded analytics & data-gathering | ✗ | ✓ |

### Support

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

### Firmware & Gateway Support

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