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.
Mainsail is free, open-source and fully local, and it's one of the best hands-on web interfaces for a single Klipper printer. If you run one (or a few) Klipper machines, love full local control, and don't need to reach them from outside your network, Mainsail is a brilliant choice, and you can keep it.
SimplyPrint is the layer above that, for when one printer becomes many. Instead of switching between printers one at a time, you get your whole fleet in one dashboard, reachable from any device, with an auto-assigning print queue and continuous printing (AutoPrint), AI failure detection and bed-check, built-in filament inventory and maintenance, central users, roles and SSO, and a schools plan. It runs Klipper (via Moonraker), Bambu Lab, Prusa, Marlin and Duet machines side by side, and it connects through Moonraker's built-in component, so it sits happily next to Mainsail. Mainsail for one Klipper printer; SimplyPrint for a fleet, a classroom or a farm.
Mainsail connects to one Klipper printer at a time. You can register several and switch between them (and Mainsail even has a "farm overview"), but that's a status hub and a switcher, not a single screen that runs the whole fleet. SimplyPrint was built for the opposite.
Mainsail is a local interface for a Klipper printer. Reaching it from outside your network, and running printers that aren't Klipper, is where the two part ways.
[simplyprint] component - nothing to install, and because Moonraker allows several clients, your Mainsail keeps working untouched.We mean this: for a lot of Klipper owners, Mainsail is the right answer, and SimplyPrint can't match it on these. Credit where it's due.
Nothing is black-and-white, and there are always pros and cons to consider when choosing a 3D printing cloud solution!
And we're not here to simply tell you, that SimplyPrint is the best - we want you to make an informed decision, and of course there are pros of using Mainsail as well!
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| General | ||
| Has free plan | ||
| Free printers | Unlimited | 2 |
| Max cost | Free (self-hosted) | Free, or from $9.99/mo (Pro) |
| Free cloud storage | 1GB | |
| Usage based cost | ||
| Unlimited printing | ||
| Supports all printers | Klipper printers only | |
| Features | ||
| Remote access | LAN only (VPN/relay to go remote) | |
| Filament management | Via Spoolman | |
| Filament NFC tags (read & write) | ||
| Filament label printing (Dymo / Zebra) | ||
| Knows your printer | ||
| Cloud files | ||
| Print queue | Per printer (Moonraker) | |
| Livestream | LAN webcam | |
| Gcode analysis | ||
| A.I failure detection | ||
| AI Bed Check (is the bed clear?) | ||
| AutoPrint / continuous printing | ||
| Maintenance & servicing system | ||
| 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 | ||
| Organization | ||
| 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 | ||
| Email notifications | Via Moonraker | |
| Push (mobile / app) notifications | Via apps | |
| SMS / text message notifications | ||
| Apps | ||
| Android app | Mobileraker (3rd-party) | |
| iOS app | Mobileraker (3rd-party) | |
| "PWA" (installable web-application) | ||
| Security & privacy | ||
| Account 2-factor authentication | ||
| Privacy-minded analytics & data-gathering ? | ||
| Support | ||
| Live-chat support | ||
| Phone support | ||
| Email support | ||
| Firmware & gateway support | ||
| 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 | ||
| OEM | ||
| Partner program (reseller / distributor) | ||
| Affiliate program | ||
| On-prem / self-hosting ? | Yes, open-source & local | Contact us |
| Compare | See pricing | See pricing |
Contact us if you think we made a mistake in our comparison!
[simplyprint] component (no plugin to install), and because Moonraker allows multiple clients, your Mainsail keeps working exactly as before. Most people who switch to SimplyPrint do so because they've outgrown a single-printer interface and want their whole fleet, remote access, a queue and automation - not because anything's wrong with Mainsail.[simplyprint] to your Moonraker config.We made SimplyPrint due to the fact, that nothing else on the market quite fit our needs. We wanted a platform that was easy to use, but still had all the features we needed. We wanted a feature-rich platform, intuitive and easy to use, with a great user experience and actual innovation within the 3D print management software space.
In summary, we - humble and unbiased as we are 😉 - believe that the SimplyPrint platform is a great Mainsail alternative!
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