The right question: where the part will live
"What's the best filament?" has no answer. "Which filament can handle this part, in this use?" does. Before choosing, answer four questions about the product:
- Will it face heat? A car, near a stove, next to a lamp, a window with afternoon sun.
- Will it live outdoors? Sun and rain punish plastic.
- Will it be under stress? A snap-fit that bends, a hook that holds weight, a part that gets dropped.
- Is it sold on looks? Decor and miniatures sell on detail and color.
If every answer is "no" and the last one is "yes", you already know: PLA. The rest of this article is for when one of the others is "yes".
PLA: the sellers' default
PLA is the easiest filament to print: nozzle around 190 to 220 °C, a warm bed, almost no warping and little stringing. It comes out rigid, with crisp detail and a huge range of colors, including silk, marble and wood. For sellers, that means low failure rates and a moving queue.
Its limit is heat. PLA starts to soften at around 55 to 60 °C (131 to 140 °F), and a part stuck to a car dashboard or on a holder near the stove will deform. It's also more brittle than PETG: it bends very little before it snaps.
Use it for: decor, drawer and desk organizers, card holders, deck boxes, miniatures, indoor planters, keychains, giveaways.
PETG: when the part has to work
PETG handles more heat than PLA, is tougher (it bends before it breaks) and copes better with moisture and sun. It prints with the nozzle between 230 and 250 °C and a hotter bed, without needing an enclosed printer.
The price is a slightly fussier print: it strings easily, sticks too well to some smooth beds (some people have torn pieces off the surface when removing the part) and usually needs lower speeds to look good. It also absorbs moisture from the air, so a spool that's been open for weeks needs drying.
The finish is glossy, which hides layer lines less than a matte PLA, but it looks good on functional parts.
Use it for: wall and shelf brackets, hooks, car parts, outdoor planters, clips and snap-fits that flex, bathroom and laundry room parts.
ABS and ASA: heat and sun, with an enclosed machine
ABS handles higher temperatures than the other two and takes sanding and finishing well, including acetone vapor smoothing, which makes layer lines disappear. ASA is ABS's cousin, made to resist sunlight, which makes it the natural choice for outdoor parts.
Both have the same requirement: an enclosed printer. They shrink as they cool, and a draft is enough to warp the base or open a crack between layers. They need a very hot bed, a nozzle between 230 and 260 °C and a ventilated room, because the smell bothers people and the fumes are not something to breathe all day.
If your machine is open, don't start selling in ABS. For most parts that need heat resistance, PETG does the job without the headache.
Use it for: parts that sit near a motor or a heat source, car parts in direct sun (ASA), parts that will be sanded and painted.
The three side by side
| PLA | PETG | ABS / ASA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of printing | high | medium | low without a chamber |
| Heat | softens early | handles more | handles even more |
| Stress and impact | rigid, brittle | tough, bends | tough |
| Sun and outdoors | weak | good | ASA is the best of the three |
| Finish | crisp detail, many colors | glossy | matte, takes sanding and acetone |
| Enclosed printer | not needed | not needed | needed |
The temperature ranges in this article are typical market values. The one that counts is the one printed on the spool: each manufacturer formulates its own material, and two brands of PETG may call for different temperatures.
What each one really costs
The price per kilo varies by brand, color and store (check yours), and the difference between the three is usually smaller than it looks on a part of a few dozen grams. What changes the cost is machine time and failures.
Assumptions for this calculation (example)
Round numbers, just for comparison. Swap in your own in the cost calculator.
- A 60 g bracket. PLA at $20/kg (≈ €20), PETG at $22/kg (≈ €22), ABS at $24/kg (≈ €24).
- Machine-hour at $0.30 (the reference value we use across the site).
- PETG printed more slowly: 3 h 30 min against 3 h for the others.
- A 10% failure rate for PLA and PETG; 20% for ABS, for someone still dialing in the enclosure.
| Item | PLA | PETG | ABS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material (60 g) | $1.20 | $1.32 | $1.44 |
| Machine-hour | $0.90 | $1.05 | $0.90 |
| Failures | $0.21 | $0.24 | $0.47 |
| Machine cost | $2.31 | $2.61 | $2.81 |
Between the cheapest and the most expensive filament in the example (PLA and ABS), the material difference is $0.24. The difference in final cost is about twice that, $0.50, and the extra comes from lost parts; with PETG, it comes from the slower print. In euros, at the prices above, the result is practically the same. Energy, finishing and packaging come on top, as we show in how much it costs to 3D print, and ABS's hotter bed also weighs a little more on the electricity bill.
The lesson for sellers: don't switch materials to save on the price per kilo. Switch when the part's use calls for it, and charge for it.
Filament by type of part
| Part | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Decor, miniatures, indoor planters | PLA | Detail and color; no heat or stress. |
| Organizers, deck boxes, card holders | PLA | Rigid, dimensionally accurate, fails rarely. |
| Hooks, wall or shelf brackets | PETG | Holds weight for months without cracking. |
| Snap-fits, clips, latches | PETG | Bends instead of snapping. |
| Car parts | PETG or ASA | A car parked in the sun goes past PLA's limit. |
| Outdoor planters and parts | PETG or ASA | Sun and rain; ASA if it gets strong sun all day. |
| Parts to be sanded and painted | ABS or PLA | ABS sands well; PLA works if there's no heat. |
A separate caution: food contact. Layer lines trap residue and are hard to clean, and the composition changes from brand to brand. Don't list a part as food-safe unless you're sure of what you're promising: a decorative cookie jar is one thing, a mug is another.
And before printing to sell, check two things about the file: whether the model was designed for the material you chose (a snap-fit with PLA clearance can come out tight in PETG) and whether the license allows selling. With STL Prime files, every model is printed and checked on our farm before it's published, and every plan includes a commercial license to sell the printed part; the file itself can't be passed on.
What to say in the listing
Buyers don't know the difference between PLA and PETG, but they know what they'll do with the part. Translate it for them:
- Put the material in the title or the item details, and what it means in the description: "PETG, resistant to moderate heat and moisture".
- Say where the part should not go. "Don't leave inside a car in the sun" on a PLA part prevents complaints.
- If you sell the same part in two materials, create a variation and charge the cost difference.
- Show the part in use, in the right place. See how to photograph a 3D printed part.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best filament to start selling?
PLA, for most decor, organization and tabletop gaming parts. Move to PETG when the part faces heat, sun, moisture or stress.
Can a PLA part stay inside a car?
It's not a good idea. A car parked in the sun easily goes past the temperature at which PLA softens. Use PETG or ASA.
Is PETG more expensive than PLA?
The spool is usually a little more expensive, but what weighs on the part is print time and failures. Put both into the calculation.
Do I need an enclosed printer for ABS?
To print in batches, yes. Without a chamber, the base warps and the layers crack.
The right filament is the one the part can take, and that your machine prints without losses.