Choosing a material usually starts with what the part needs to do: survive sunlight, flex, resist heat or show fine detail. Cost comes second — but it is worth knowing, especially if you sell prints or run many of them. Here is how the common materials compare on the same part.
Price per kilogram vs price per part
Filament is sold by weight, but you print by volume. A denser material puts fewer cubic centimetres on each spool, so the same part costs more. ABS is about 1.04 g/cm³ while PETG is about 1.27 g/cm³: at the same price per kilogram, an ABS part is roughly 18% cheaper than the same part in PETG.
| Material | Density (g/cm³) | Typical price per kg | Meters per kg (1.75 mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | 1.24 | $15–28 | 335 m |
| PETG | 1.27 | $16–30 | 327 m |
| ABS | 1.04 | $16–30 | 400 m |
| ASA | 1.07 | $20–35 | 389 m |
| TPU | 1.21 | $24–45 | 344 m |
| Nylon | 1.14 | $30–70 | 365 m |
| PC | 1.20 | $30–60 | 346 m |
| Standard resin | ≈ 1.15 (cured) | $22–45 | — |
Prices are typical street prices for name-brand material in 2026; budget brands and bulk buys can be much cheaper, and specialty blends (silk, glow, carbon fibre) more expensive. Always plug in what you actually pay.
The same part in every material
For the planter, ABS comes out cheapest thanks to its low density, PLA and PETG are close behind, and TPU, nylon, PC and resin cost roughly 70–100% more. The reasons differ: nylon and PC are expensive per kilogram, TPU prints slowly, and resin is printed solid with extra support material.
Hidden costs by material
PLA
The cheapest material to print in practice: low bed temperature, high speeds, very few failures. Its weakness is heat — PLA softens around 55–60 °C — so a PLA part that deforms in a hot car has to be printed again in something else.
PETG
Costs about the same as PLA per part and is much tougher. It prints slightly hotter and slower, strings more, and can bond so strongly to smooth build plates that it damages them; use a textured plate or glue stick as a release layer.
ABS and ASA
Cheap per part, but they need a hot bed and ideally an enclosure, which raises electricity use and failure rates while you learn. Fume management (ventilation or a filtered enclosure) is a real cost too. ASA adds UV resistance for outdoor parts at a modest premium.
TPU
Flexible filament must be printed slowly — often at 40% of PLA speed or less — so machine time and electricity weigh heavily. A TPU phone case may cost more in printer hours than in filament.
Nylon and polycarbonate
Expensive per kilogram and demanding to print. Nylon must be dried before use; PC needs very high temperatures and an enclosure. Include drying electricity, higher failure buffers and possibly hardware upgrades in your hourly rate.
Resin
Parts are usually printed solid, supports add 10–30%, and every print consumes isopropyl alcohol, gloves and paper towels, while FEP films and LCD screens wear out. On the other hand, print time depends only on height, so a full plate of miniatures can be very cheap per piece.
Spool size and buying in bulk
The price per kilogram falls with spool size. Many brands sell 2–3 kg spools or multi-spool bundles at 15–30% less per kilogram than single 1 kg rolls, and refill spools without a plastic core avoid paying for the spool itself. For materials you print every week — usually PLA or PETG — buying in bulk is the easiest way to cut material cost. For moisture-sensitive materials such as nylon, TPU and PETG, buy only what you will use in a few months or store it sealed with desiccant: a wet spool that prints badly costs far more than the bulk discount saved.
Which material is cheapest?
For most everyday parts, PLA remains the cheapest overall once failures and time are counted, with PETG a close second and a better choice for functional parts. ABS is cheapest on material alone and makes sense if you already have an enclosure and a reliable profile. For small, highly detailed pieces made in batches, resin can beat FDM per part despite its higher material cost.
How to compare for your own part
- Drop your STL into the cost calculator.
- Switch the material and note the grams, print time and cost — densities, speeds and default prices update automatically.
- Replace the default price per kilogram with what you pay, and adjust the failure buffer for materials you find difficult.
- For resin, try a 2 mm hollow wall on large models to see how much hollowing saves.
Want the reasoning behind each line of the estimate? Read how to calculate 3D printing cost and how much filament a print uses.