# SimplyPrint vs Watchtower 3D

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

## About Watchtower 3D

- **Website:** [Watchtower 3D](https://watchtower3d.com/)
- **Pricing:** [Watchtower 3D Pricing](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/watchtower3d/watchtower-3d-printer-dashboard-and-farm-management)

## Overview

Watchtower is a new print-farm dashboard that runs entirely on your own computer or Raspberry Pi. It's sold as a one-time "lifetime" licence instead of a subscription, and it's crowdfunding on Kickstarter until 31 October 2026. The pitch lands with a lot of farm owners, and it's easy to see why: no cloud, no monthly bill, everything on your own network.

SimplyPrint has run print farms since 2020, and nearly everything on Watchtower's feature list (camera wall, smart queue, filament tracking, AI failure detection, automatic part ejection, Etsy-style order handling) is something farms already run on SimplyPrint, or, in the case of storefronts, already pilot. So the real questions are less about features and more about what you're buying: who keeps the software working as printer firmware changes, what "lifetime" covers, and how much of the platform has been proven at scale. Here's a fair look at both.

## Pros of Watchtower 3D

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

- Fully local:** runs on your own Mac, Windows, Linux or Raspberry Pi machine, with no vendor account and no cloud dependency after a one-time licence activation.
- **One-time licence:** pay once by printer count; further updates after the first year are optional.
- **Slicer "virtual printer":** Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer and PrusaSlicer can send jobs straight into its queue.
- **Smart plugs and texting:** native Kasa and Matter plugs with live power draw, and a farm agent you can text from SMS, iMessage, Discord or Slack.

## Cons of Watchtower 3D

Where Watchtower falls short today:**

- Not launched yet:** still on Kickstarter, with licence keys due about 30 days after the campaign closes on 31 October 2026.
- **"Lifetime" means a limited update period:** one year (two for backers if a stretch goal is reached), then 50% of a retail price that hasn't been published, renewed yearly.
- **A two-person team:** in the founders' own words, so keeping up with every printer firmware change rests on very few people.
- **Four connection methods:** Bambu Lab, Klipper, PrusaLink and OctoPrint; Duet isn't among them. Elegoo, Anycubic and more are promised for launch or later.
- **No slicer or native apps yet:** integrated slicing is a stretch goal, and phones use the browser.
- **Features by tier and printer cap:** AI detection and ejection start at Basic (10 printers), storefronts and the farm agent at Pro (15); every licence has a printer limit.
- **You run the server:** 4-8 GB of RAM to start (a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 works), but Watchtower recommends 16 GB for around 10 printers and 32 GB for 30 or more with cameras, and you handle backups and updates.

## Feature Comparison: SimplyPrint vs Watchtower 3D

### General

| Feature | Watchtower 3D | SimplyPrint |
|---------|-------------|-------------|
| Has free plan | ✗ | ✓ |
| Max cost | ✗ | Free, or from $4/printer/mo |
| Free cloud storage | Local storage only | 1GB |
| Usage based cost | ✗ | ✗ |
| Unlimited printing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Supports all printers | Bambu, Klipper, PrusaLink, OctoPrint | ✓ |

### Features

| Feature | Watchtower 3D | SimplyPrint |
|---------|-------------|-------------|
| Remote access | Via a VPN or tunnel it sets up | ✓ |
| Filament management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Knows your printer | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cloud files | Local library (G-code) | ✓ |
| Print queue | ✓ | ✓ |
| Livestream | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gcode analysis | ✗ | ✓ |
| A.I failure detection | Spaghetti only (Basic licence+) | ✓ |
| AutoPrint / continuous printing | Ejection templates (Basic+) | ✓ |
| 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 | Watchtower 3D | SimplyPrint |
|---------|-------------|-------------|
| Multiple users | ✓ | ✓ |
| User groups / ranks | 3 roles, 85 permissions | ✓ |
| User permissions | ✓ | ✓ |
| School plan | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shared files & folders | ✓ | ✓ |
| Shared slicer profiles | ✗ | ✓ |
| Hub | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom domains | Via Cloudflare Tunnel | ✓ |
| SSO (single sign-on) | ✗ | ✓ |

### Notifications

| Feature | Watchtower 3D | SimplyPrint |
|---------|-------------|-------------|
| Email notifications | ✓ | ✓ |
| Push (mobile / app) notifications | Browser push | ✓ |
| SMS / text message notifications | ✓ | ✓ |

### Apps

| Feature | Watchtower 3D | SimplyPrint |
|---------|-------------|-------------|
| Android app | Browser only | ✓ |
| iOS app | Browser only | ✓ |
| "PWA" (installable web-application) | ✗ | ✓ |

### Security & Privacy

| Feature | Watchtower 3D | SimplyPrint |
|---------|-------------|-------------|
| Account 2-factor authentication | ✗ | ✓ |
| EU servers | N/A (runs locally) | ✓ |
| Privacy-minded analytics & data-gathering | ✗ | ✓ |

### Support

| Feature | Watchtower 3D | SimplyPrint |
|---------|-------------|-------------|
| Email support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live-chat support | Discord community | ✓ |
| Phone support | ✗ | ✓ |

### Firmware & Gateway Support

| Feature | Watchtower 3D | SimplyPrint |
|---------|-------------|-------------|
| OctoPrint install | Connects to OctoPrint | ✓ |
| Native Moonraker support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mainsail install | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fluidd install | ✗ | ✓ |
| Klipper support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Duet3D integration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Direct Prusa support (MK4, XL and up / new main boards) | Via PrusaLink | ✓ |
| Direct Bambu Lab printer integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Support for custom integrations | ✗ | ✓ |

### Enterprise & Partners

| Feature | Watchtower 3D | SimplyPrint |
|---------|-------------|-------------|
| OEM | On request | ✓ |
| Partner program (reseller / distributor) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Affiliate program | ✗ | ✓ |