Meet an alternative to Obico

How does SimplyPrint compare with Obico? What's the best 3D printing cloud platform? Discover why SimplyPrint might be what you and your printer never knew you were missing!

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Looking for Obico alternatives?

Obico (formerly The Spaghetti Detective) is an open-source platform that adds AI failure detection and remote access to OctoPrint and Klipper. It's one of the best at exactly that: the AI is good, the free cloud tier lets you try it at no cost, and because it's open-source you can self-host the whole thing for free, with your data staying on your own hardware. For a single maker on a Klipper or OctoPrint setup, it's a genuinely great, principled tool.

What it isn't is a fleet or team management platform, and it doesn't pretend to be. There's no print queue, no cloud slicer, no filament inventory, no maintenance system and no real multi-user teams, and it's native only to OctoPrint and Klipper (Bambu and Duet work through bridges/community plugins). That management layer, across every brand, is what SimplyPrint is. Here's a fair, side-by-side look.

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The bottom line

Obico is the best open-source AI failure detection and remote-monitoring tool, especially for self-hosters and the Klipper/OctoPrint maker crowd. Free to self-host, free AI to try on the cloud, and your data stays yours, that's a real, honest advantage we respect.

SimplyPrint is the management platform around the printing. It has AI failure detection too, and adds an AI bed-check, a print queue, AutoPrint continuous printing, a full cloud slicer, filament inventory with NFC and label printing, a maintenance system, multi-user roles with SSO and a school plan, and it runs Bambu, Klipper/Moonraker, Prusa, Marlin, Duet and OctoPrint natively. If you're running a farm or a classroom, that's the layer Obico doesn't try to be.

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Monitoring a printer vs running a farm

Both platforms watch your prints with AI. The difference is everything around the watching: dispatching jobs, slicing, tracking filament, keeping the fleet running.

Queue & automation
SimplyPrint
A multi-printer queue that auto-assigns and auto-starts jobs, plus AutoPrint continuous printing.
Obico
No print queue and no continuous-printing automation, you start and route each job yourself in your host.
Slicing & filament
SimplyPrint
A full interactive cloud slicer, plus filament inventory with NFC read/write and label printing.
Obico
No cloud slicer integrated into the platform (their JusPrin slicer is a separate desktop app), and filament is usage tracking only, no inventory or NFC.
AI failure detection
SimplyPrint
Catches spaghetti, warping and blobs, plus an AI bed-check that confirms the plate is clear before the next job - with auto-pause/cancel and a queue that rolls forward across the whole fleet.
Obico
Good spaghetti / first-layer detection (their original product, The Spaghetti Detective), but no AI bed-check, and it watches rather than acting: a catch is yours to handle.
Obico is excellent at watching a printer. SimplyPrint is the platform that runs the whole operation around it.

Where Obico is the better pick

Obico is open-source and principled, and for the right user that's exactly right. SimplyPrint is glad to be honest about it:

Open-source & self-hostable
SimplyPrint
A hosted cloud platform (EU/US data centres); on-prem is enterprise-only.
Obico
Fully open-source (AGPLv3) and self-hostable, free forever, unlimited printers, with your data on your own hardware. If self-hosting and total data ownership matter, this is hard to beat.
Free AI to try
SimplyPrint
Our free plan is a full management platform on 2 printers - queue, slicer and live monitoring included; AI failure detection sits on a paid tier.
Obico
Free cloud tier includes AI failure detection (with a monthly detection-hours allowance), a low-barrier way to try AI on one printer.
Native OctoPrint & Klipper
SimplyPrint
Runs OctoPrint and Klipper natively too, plus every other brand.
Obico
First-class on OctoPrint and Klipper/Moonraker, well-loved by the maker and self-host community.
If you want open-source, self-hosting and free AI on one (or a few) OctoPrint/Klipper printers, Obico is a fantastic, principled choice. SimplyPrint's case is the management layer around it, and running every brand, not "they're missing AI."

Bring-your-own-stack vs native everything, and teams

Obico sits on top of a host you already run, and centres on your account. A farm or a school needs broader hardware support and real users.

Printer support
SimplyPrint
Bambu, Klipper/Moonraker, Prusa, Marlin (incl. USB), Duet and OctoPrint are all native.
Obico
Native to OctoPrint and Klipper only, Bambu isn't native (their own docs note it needs an OctoPrint bridge), and Duet is a third-party community plugin.
Teams & schools
SimplyPrint
Multi-user roles, SSO, shared files and profiles, and a dedicated education plan.
Obico
Built around a single account, no real teams/roles, no SSO and no education plan.
Shop floor
SimplyPrint
A maintenance system, statistics and continuous printing across the fleet.
Obico
Remote view, history and stats for your own printers, but no maintenance system or fleet orchestration.
For a solo maker on Klipper or OctoPrint, Obico's stack is all you need. For a farm or a school running mixed hardware with a team, SimplyPrint brings native breadth, roles and the shop-floor tooling Obico leaves out.

Obico and SimplyPrint comparison

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 Obico as well!

Pros of using Obico

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

  • Open-source & self-hostable: AGPLv3, free forever to self-host, unlimited printers, your data on your own hardware.
  • Free AI to try: the free cloud tier includes AI failure detection (with a monthly detection-hours allowance).
  • Native OctoPrint & Klipper: first-class on both, well-loved by the maker and self-host community.
  • Privacy & control, plus a public OAuth2 REST API and native iOS/Android apps.

Cons of using Obico

Where Obico stops short of a management platform:

  • It's a monitoring layer: no print queue and no continuous-printing automation.
  • No cloud slicer in the platform (their JusPrin slicer is a separate desktop app), and filament is usage tracking only (no inventory, no NFC).
  • OctoPrint/Klipper only: Bambu isn't native (needs an OctoPrint bridge) and Duet is a community plugin.
  • No real teams: built around a single account, with no SSO and no education plan.
  • No maintenance system, NFC or label printing.

Obico vs. SimplyPrint

Side-by-side list comparison of details and features in Obico and SimplyPrint

Obico logo SimplyPrint logo
General
Has free plan
Free printers 1 cloud / unlimited self-host 2
Max cost $6.99+/mo (AI Premium) Free, or from $9.99/mo (Pro)
Free cloud storage 1GB 1GB
Usage based cost
Unlimited printing
Supports all printers OctoPrint & Klipper hosts
Features
Remote access
Filament management
Filament NFC tags (read & write)
Filament label printing (Dymo / Zebra)
Knows your printer
Cloud files
Print queue
Livestream
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
Multi-print
Multi-stream
Statistics
API
Slicer smart-rotation
Smart filament change
Bed level helper
OctoPrint / Mainsail / Fluidd tunnel
Organization
Multiple users
User groups / ranks
User permissions
School plan
Shared files & folders
Shared slicer profiles
Hub
Custom domains
SSO (single sign-on)
Notifications
Email notifications
Push (mobile / app) notifications
SMS / text message notifications Paid plans
Apps
Android app
iOS app
"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 Via community plugin
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 ? Contact us
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Contact us if you think we made a mistake in our comparison!

Obico vs. SimplyPrint: frequently asked questions

Is Obico or SimplyPrint better?

Obico is the better fit for a single maker who wants open-source, self-hostable AI failure detection and remote access on an OctoPrint or Klipper printer. SimplyPrint is the better fit for a farm or a school: it has AI failure detection too, plus an AI bed-check, a print queue, AutoPrint continuous printing, a full cloud slicer, filament inventory with NFC, a maintenance system, teams with SSO and a school plan, and it runs Bambu, Klipper, Prusa, Marlin, Duet and OctoPrint natively.

Can I self-host Obico for free?

Yes, that's one of its best features: Obico is open-source (AGPLv3) and fully self-hostable, free, with unlimited printers and your data on your own hardware. SimplyPrint is a hosted cloud platform (with EU and US data centres); it doesn't offer open-source self-hosting, but it removes the work of running and maintaining a server.

Does Obico support Bambu Lab printers?

Not natively, Obico's own documentation notes that Bambu Lab works only through an OctoPrint bridge, not a direct connection, and Duet support is a third-party community plugin. Obico is native to OctoPrint and Klipper/Moonraker. SimplyPrint connects Bambu directly, alongside Klipper, Prusa, Marlin, Duet and OctoPrint.

Does Obico have a print queue or a cloud slicer?

No. Obico is a monitoring and remote-access layer: there's no print queue and no cloud slicer in the platform (their JusPrin slicer is a separate desktop app). SimplyPrint includes a multi-printer queue, AutoPrint continuous printing, and a full interactive in-browser slicer.

Does Obico do AI failure detection like SimplyPrint?

Yes, AI failure detection is Obico's original product and it's good at catching spaghetti. SimplyPrint detects more - spaghetti, warping and blobs - and adds an AI bed-check that confirms the plate is clear before the next job, plus the queue and automation to act on a catch automatically across a whole fleet.

How much does Obico cost compared to SimplyPrint?

Obico is free to self-host (open-source, unlimited printers), and its cloud has a free tier plus an AI Premium plan from around $6.99/mo for new subscribers, with metered AI detection hours and $2/mo per extra printer. SimplyPrint is a hosted platform: free on 2 printers, a low entry plan for a few printers, and per-printer pricing that volume-discounts toward roughly $3/printer/mo at farm scale, with no metered AI hours to top up. At one or two printers the two are in the same ballpark; if you want zero hosting cost and will run the server yourself, Obico self-host wins on price; if you want the whole farm managed for you across every brand, SimplyPrint is the simpler bill.

Can Obico manage a team or a classroom?

No. Obico is built around a single account, with no real teams, roles, SSO or education plan. For a classroom or a shared shop, SimplyPrint adds multiple users, user groups, 150+ permissions, shared files and slicer profiles, SSO (including district SSO) and a dedicated Education plan.

Conclusion
Why SimplyPrint is the Top Obico Alternative

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 Obico alternative!

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