PLA vs. PETG vs. ABS: Cost Comparison by Material
The three most common FDM filaments differ in price, but not by as much as their different jobs would suggest.
| Material | Typical price/kg | Ease of printing | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | $15–$25 (up to $40+ premium) | Easiest, low warping, no enclosure needed | Display pieces, prototypes, most general prints |
| PETG | $18–$28 | Moderate, slightly more stringing-prone | Functional parts needing more durability and some flex |
| ABS | $16–$25 | Harder, needs enclosure/ventilation, warps without a heated bed and stable temperature | Parts needing heat resistance or post-processing (acetone smoothing) |
Price isn't the deciding factor
The per-kilogram spread between these three materials is smaller than most people expect, often just a few dollars. That means the material choice should come down to what the part needs to do, not which filament is cheapest. A part that lives in a hot car needs ABS or PETG regardless of price; a display piece rarely needs anything beyond PLA.
PLA
The default choice for a reason: it's dimensionally stable, doesn't need a heated enclosure, and produces clean results on nearly any printer straight out of the box. Its main weakness is heat resistance, PLA softens well below the temperature of a car's dashboard on a summer day.
PETG
A step up in toughness and heat resistance over PLA, and priced close enough to PLA these days that cost rarely decides between them, some brands even price PETG at or below their PLA line now. It's a common choice for functional parts, brackets, hooks, anything that needs to take a bit of abuse without the printing difficulty of ABS.
ABS
Better heat resistance than PLA or PETG and can be smoothed with acetone vapor for a polished finish, but it warps easily without a heated bed and an enclosure, and it releases fumes that call for ventilation while printing. Priced similarly to PLA, the real cost of ABS is the extra hardware and care it demands, not the spool itself.
Whichever material you use, the cost math in the price calculator is the same, just update the spool price if your chosen material costs more or less than the default.
Want your own numbers? Run your filament, print time, and labor through the 3D printing price calculator for a true cost and suggested price in seconds.