Every 3D printing material on one page: what it's good at, what it costs, and how hard it is to print. Bookmark this — it's the comparison you'll come back to.
Full comparison matrix
| Material | Ease | Strength | Heat | Toughness | UV | Flex | Price/kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | ●●●●● | ●●●○○ | ●●○○○ | ●●○○○ | ●●○○○ | ●○○○○ | from $19.99 |
| PLA+ | ●●●●● | ●●●●○ | ●●○○○ | ●●●●○ | ●●○○○ | ●○○○○ | from $21.99 |
| PETG | ●●●●○ | ●●●●○ | ●●●○○ | ●●●●○ | ●●●○○ | ●●○○○ | from $21.99 |
| ABS | ●●●○○ | ●●●●○ | ●●●●○ | ●●●●● | ●●●○○ | ●●○○○ | from $20.99 |
| ASA | ●●●○○ | ●●●●○ | ●●●●○ | ●●●●○ | ●●●●● | ●●○○○ | from $24.99 |
| PA | ●●○○○ | ●●●●● | ●●●●○ | ●●●●● | ●●●○○ | ●●●●○ | from $32.99 |
| PA-CF | ●●○○○ | ●●●●● | ●●●●○ | ●●●●○ | ●●●●○ | ●●●○○ | from $39.99 |
| PC | ●●○○○ | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●●● | ●●●○○ | ●●●○○ | from $34.99 |
| TPU | ●●●○○ | ●●●○○ | ●●●○○ | ●●●●● | ●●○○○ | ●●●●● | from $26.99 |
Ratings: 1–5 dots, measured on VOXFIL's test bench. Price = 1 kg list price.
How to read the matrix
- Ease: 5 dots = beginner friendly, no enclosure
- Strength: tensile performance
- Heat: HDT / heat resistance
- Toughness: impact resistance
- UV: outdoor durability
- Flex: elongation / flexibility
Quick picks
Beginner → PLA · Functional all-rounder → PETG · Outdoor → ASA · Moving parts → PA · Stiffest → PA-CF · Hottest/toughest → PC · Flexible → TPU
Interactive version with live filtering: the compare tool.