Lots of differences… Metal frame is generally better than acrylic for one. Unfortunately it’s pretty difficult to judge the quality of other parts like extruders and hotends so you kind of have to rely on 3rd party reviews for that.

The other thing is support- the kits mostly use fairly universal parts for steppers etc and they’re incredibly tweakable so the community support is really important. That’s the main reason the Tarantula took off so much, it got a really good modder/fixer scene almost immediately

I know it’s early days of these things and potential is huge

No different to any other form of CNC manufacturing. Home use is limited. The media have just gotten too excited.

Sorry.. I missed out a fairly important part of my question! I’m looking specifically at the tera tarantula which seems to range from anywhere between 120 and 240 quid. So I was referring specifically to diffences in that regard

Oh right! Well, it’s the same kit from everywhere but there’s a load of spec differences- dual extruders, e3d hotends, bigger print areas, auto levelling… Mine is the big print area but tbh I’ve never actually used the extra room! Auto levelling is just a convenience thing and can be added later, I’ve never bothered- takes about 2 minutes to manually level. Hotend upgrade is worth it, the stock one can be a little dribbly with PLA. Extruder upgrade I’m not sure.

Dual extruder is interesting because it can be used to print 2 colours… But equally you can have it loaded with 2 different filaments and just not have to go through the hassle of reloading.

But it’s all just upgrades, none of it’s critical. I reckon I’d go for an e3d hotend and leave everything else standard tbh but that’s just me.