# SimplyPrint vs OctoFarm

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

## About OctoFarm

- **Website:** [OctoFarm](https://github.com/OctoFarm/OctoFarm)

## Overview

OctoFarm was the open-source way to run a print farm built on OctoPrint: one dashboard pulling many OctoPrint instances into a single view, with filament tracking, job history and multi-camera monitoring. It was a genuinely useful, much-loved community tool, and if you self-host it on an all-OctoPrint fleet, it still works.

The catch is that it has wound down. Its last stable release was October 2022, and in 2023 the lead maintainer opened an issue asking for new maintainers. SimplyPrint has been running print farms since 2020 and is the maintained, cloud-native platform farms move to: every major printer brand connects directly (no OctoPrint required), with a print queue, AutoPrint, AI failure detection, a full cloud slicer, filament and maintenance tools, native apps and SSO. Here's a fair, side-by-side look.

## Pros of OctoFarm

OctoFarm earned a loyal following, and its strengths are worth being honest about:**

- Free & open-source:** AGPL-licensed and completely free to use; the only cost is self-hosting.
- **Fully self-hosted & local:** it runs entirely on your own server (Node.js + MongoDB) on your LAN, with no cloud and no third party in the loop, ideal if local-only is a hard requirement.
- **Great for an all-OctoPrint fleet:** if every printer already runs OctoPrint, it gives you one dashboard for the lot, with filament tracking, job history and multi-camera monitoring.

## Cons of OctoFarm

Where OctoFarm falls short for a working farm today:**

- No longer actively maintained:** its last stable release was October 2022 and the project asked for new maintainers in 2023, so you're depending on unmaintained software.
- **OctoPrint-only:** every printer must run its own OctoPrint instance; there's no native Bambu, Klipper, Prusa, Duet or Marlin-over-USB support.
- **Self-host everything yourself:** you run and patch the server and an OctoPrint per printer; nothing is managed for you.
- **LAN-only:** no built-in cloud or remote access (you'd run your own VPN/port-forward), and no native mobile apps.
- **Monitoring, not automation:** no print queue, no staggered start, no continuous-printing automation and no AI.
- **No slicer, SSO, maintenance system or filament NFC/label printing.**

## Feature Comparison: SimplyPrint vs OctoFarm

### General

| Feature | OctoFarm | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Has free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Max cost | Cost of self-hosting | Free, or from $4/printer/mo |
| Free cloud storage | Local storage | 1GB |
| Usage based cost | ✗ | ✗ |
| Unlimited printing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Active development | ✗ | ✓ |
| Supports all printers | OctoPrint instances only | ✓ |

### Features

| Feature | OctoFarm | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Remote access | VPN / port forward | ✓ |
| 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 | VPN / port forward | ✓ |
| 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 | OctoFarm | 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 | OctoFarm | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Email notifications | ✗ | ✓ |
| Push (mobile / app) notifications | ✗ | ✓ |
| SMS / text message notifications | ✗ | ✓ |

### Apps

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

### Security & Privacy

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

### Support

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

### Firmware & Gateway Support

| Feature | OctoFarm | SimplyPrint |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| OctoPrint install | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native Moonraker support | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mainsail install | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fluidd install | ✗ | ✓ |
| Klipper support | Only via OctoPrint | ✓ |
| Duet3D integration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Direct Prusa support (MK4, XL and up / new main boards) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Direct Bambu Lab printer integration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Support for custom integrations | ✗ | ✓ |

### Enterprise & Partners

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