PLA or PETG
PLA versus PETG
The most common upgrade decision. What changes when you switch, and the two costs nobody mentions.
Top pick: SUNLU PLA+
3D printing filament types compared
One table with every common material's published printing parameters, sourced to the manufacturer rather than assembled from forum posts. Every row links to the material it describes.
Printed test parts in several different filament materials.
How to use this table
The ranges above are Prusa Research's published figures for each material class Prusa Research. They are envelopes, not recommendations: your specific spool will have a narrower window inside them, published by its own manufacturer.
Three columns do most of the work.
- Enclosure. The single biggest practical divider. A material marked as recommending one is a material that will warp on an open printer in a drafty room.
- Bed temperature. A proxy for how demanding the material is. Anything wanting 95 C or more is asking for hardware some older printers do not have.
- Noted for. The property that material exists to provide. This is usually what you should be choosing on.
The decision, shortened
- Default: PLA, in a toughened grade. Easiest, cheapest, no requirements.
- It broke: PETG. Impact resistance, no new hardware.
- It lives outside: ASA. UV resistance, needs an enclosure.
- It needs to bend: TPU. Needs direct drive, needs patience.
- It has to survive real mechanical duty: nylon. Needs a dryer that reaches its published temperature.
- It has to be small and detailed: resin. A different printer and a workflow.
Drying, which the material table does not cover
Moisture sensitivity is not in the printing-parameters table and it decides more outcomes than most of the columns that are. Prusa and Overture publish per-material drying figures and disagree on several of them Prusa Research Overture; both sets are below.
The important reading: the temperatures rise steeply for engineering materials, and several popular consumer dryers cannot reach the top of the range. If nylon is in your plans, that number decides which dryer to buy — see filament dryers.
Nozzle wear, which decides your hardware
The third table is the one people find out about too late. Filled filaments abrade brass nozzles, and E3D document substantial wear within a few hundred grams E3D. The failure is invisible: the bore widens, prints drift dimensionally, and every symptom looks like a calibration problem — see the nozzle wear guide.
The individual comparisons
A table shows you where materials sit. A head-to-head answers the question you actually have. The ones people ask most:
- PLA versus PETG — the most common upgrade decision in the hobby.
- Filament versus resin — two different machines, not two settings.
- ABS versus ASA — nearly the same requirements, one clear winner outdoors.
- PETG versus ABS — whether the enclosure is worth it.
- PLA versus PLA+ — what the plus actually means.
Everything in this section
Filament or resin
Filament versus resin
Different machines, not different settings. What each is genuinely better at.
Top pick: ELEGOO ABS-Like Resin
PETG or ABS
PETG versus ABS
The comparison is really about the enclosure. What ABS gives you for it, and why ASA usually wins instead.
Top pick: Overture PETG
PLA or ABS
PLA versus ABS
The classic comparison, and why PETG or ASA is usually the real answer now.
Top pick: SUNLU PLA+
ABS or ASA
ABS versus ASA
Nearly identical requirements, one clear winner outdoors, and the single case where ABS still wins.
Top pick: Polymaker PolyLite ASA
PLA or TPU
PLA versus TPU
Rigid versus flexible, and the one hardware question that decides whether TPU is even possible.
Top pick: Polymaker PolyFlex TPU95
PLA or ASA
PLA versus ASA
Indoor easy versus outdoor durable. Almost no overlap, and one clear rule.
Top pick: Polymaker PolyLite ASA
PLA or PLA+
PLA versus PLA+
No standard behind the name, one consistent real benefit, and two things it does not change.
Top pick: SUNLU PLA+
PETG or PCTG
PETG versus PCTG
A close relative sold at a premium. What is verifiable about the difference and what is not.
Top pick: Overture PETG
Common questions
What are the main types of 3D printing filament?
PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU, nylon and polycarbonate cover almost all consumer printing, with carbon and glass filled variants of several of them. The table above gives each one's published printing parameters and what it is noted for.
Which filament is easiest to print?
PLA, by a wide margin. It has the lowest published temperature range, needs no enclosure, warps very little and tolerates moisture better than anything else here.
Which filaments need an enclosure?
Prusa Research mark ABS, ASA, polycarbonate and polyamide as enclosure recommended. PLA, PETG, PP and flexible materials are not marked as requiring one.
Which filaments need a hardened nozzle?
Anything with a filler: carbon fiber, glass fiber, metal-filled and glow-in-the-dark. E3D document substantial brass wear from abrasives within a few hundred grams. Unfilled PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA and TPU are fine on brass.
Sources
- Prusa Research — Filament Material Guide · retrieved 2026-09-01
- Prusa Research — Filament drying temperatures and times · retrieved 2026-09-01
- Overture — How to dry 3D printer filament · retrieved 2026-09-01
- E3D — Are abrasives killing your nozzle? · retrieved 2026-09-01
- Prusa Research — Polyamide (Nylon) material page · retrieved 2026-09-01
Scooter M. · Enthusiast
I'm Scooter, an enthusiast who's genuinely into this. I read the manuals, compile the published specs, and do the math. No lab coat.
About · How we choose · Last reviewed