This paper presents the control of a magnetic levitation (Maglev) system using sliding mode control (SMC) and a Backstepping-based variant. The Maglev system considered in this paper has no sensor for measuring the velocity, which is necessary for the application of SMC. For that reason, a Kalman filter is derived to optimally estimate this state variable, effectively rendering this a speed-sensorless approach. Both controllers are evaluated and compared based on extensive simulation studies, with and without additive disturbances, in order to compare their robustness regarding this aspect.