The 10 Best 3D Printer Filaments
Updated by · How we research
PLA, PLA+, PETG, ASA, TPU, silk and wood filaments compared on strength, heat resistance and printability. Polymaker PolyLite PLA leads for everyday prints. When users buy our independently chosen editorial choices, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
Pick the plastic for the job before you pick the brand. Plain PLA prints cleanly but softens around 60 degrees Celsius, a temperature a parked car reaches in summer, and tougher plastics ask more of the printer in return. A dry spool matters as much as the label. This list is for home printer owners choosing their next roll.
Editor's Notes
October 26, 2026, by Ezvid Wiki Editors:
Polymaker PolyLite PLA now leads this list. In CNC Kitchen's pull tests, plain PolyLite out-held the tougher PLA+ blend from the same maker, and it costs less, which makes it the safest first spool for most people. We also rebuilt the page around materials rather than brands, because the right plastic for a part matters more than the label: Polymaker ASA for sun, Overture TPU 95A for rubbery parts, Polymaker PolyLite PLA Pro for parts that get knocked around.
Overture PETG, Amolen Silk Dual Color and 3D Best-Q Rosewood stay. Hatchbox ABS, eSun Elastic and the Amolen Glow in the Dark spool are no longer available, so they're gone. The eSun PLA+ costs more than equally tough options, the Yoyi TPU comes on a half-size spool, the CC3D Silk had too little track record, and the Priline Polycarbonate needs a hardened nozzle and an enclosure that most home printers lack.
The evidence behind the order was CNC Kitchen's published strength and heat tests, the makers' print and drying settings, NIOSH's work on printer fumes, and recurring owner reports about tangled winding and damp spools.
Earlier notes
April 7, 2021, by Christopher Thomas:
We haven't changed any of our recommendations here recently, and in a way, that illustrates the quality and sticking power of each item on our Wiki. In truth, the most important part to choosing your filament is what you'll be using it for and what materials your 3D printer can safely use. Practically speaking, you'll need to consider things like density, tensile strength, flexibility, and elasticity, and no single material can excel in all areas. Most, in fact, are pretty specialized.
In terms of looks, for many choices we've offered, there are usually alternative colors to choose from, with options like CC3D Silk and Amolen Glow in the Dark providing even more novel and memorable appearances. On the other hand, when you see something like the Yoyi TPU and eSun Elastic, which don't come in attractive colors or any alternate colors at all, it's a good sign that you're looking at a functional filament type rather than a decorative variety.
February 27, 2020, by Christopher Thomas:
There are a ton of different varieties of 3D printer filament to choose from, and they have quite a lot of differences aside from just color. The most common and easiest to use is represented here by eSun PLA+, which doesn't take a whole lot experience to use and is a highly versatile choice. If you're new to 3D printing -- or, for that matter, if you're concerned about harmful fumes -- this is the one to start with. Once you have a better plan of what you're building, you might want to move on to CC3D Silk or Amolen Colors Pack, although the Amolen can be a bit finicky. Like all three of those, 3D Best-Q Rosewood is also based on PLA, and despite its elegant appearance is actually pretty easy to use. Amolen Glow in the Dark is also based on PLA, and it's one of the few UV-reactive options that comes in blue, but it's not terribly bright on its own and it is, unfortunately, very expensive.
If you're looking for something with a little more structural strength, consider Hatchbox ABS. It smells terrible (and those noxious fumes aren't very healthy to breathe, either) but it's relatively easy to use and some people far prefer its results as compared to PLA. Overture PETG is another functional and versatile option, and it's one of the best food-safe choices out there; in fact, it's FDA-approved for use with culinary gadgets, as it's made from essentially the same material as single-use plastic bottles, but it's much more durable. As you might expect, though, it's not biodegradable, but it is recyclable in most places.
Then there are 3 we wanted to highlight because of their practical applications. Priline Polycarbonate is infused with carbon fibers and promises some of the best impact resistance out of everything we've outlined here. Overall, polycarbonate and carbon-fiber varieties tend to offer that. The main drawback to it is that it will destroy many nozzles, especially if they're made of brass. So it may require you to invest a little more in your equipment.
The last two we wanted to mention are in the TPE family. eSun Elastic is, as the name implies, highly elastic, and one of the most flexible overall. Yoyi TPU, on the other hand, is nearly as flexible but doesn't stretch, so it's suitable for things like R/C car tires and phone cases that need cushioning but can't be allowed to expand too much.
Special Honors
Prusament Prusa Research makes Prusament filament in Prague and sells it direct rather than through big marketplaces. Each spool carries a code that links to measurements of that spool's diameter, and its PLA, PETG and ASA are common reference materials in independent strength tests. prusa3d.com
Choose The Material Before The Brand
PLA is the easy default: it prints at low temperatures, barely warps and shows fine detail.
Most spools in a given class print much alike, so start with what the part has to survive. PLA is the easy default: it prints at low temperatures, barely warps and shows fine detail. It's stiff but brittle, and it softens at about 60 degrees Celsius. When CNC Kitchen compared PLA and PLA+ from Polymaker, the plain PLA held about 57 megapascals in tension against about 43 for the PLA+ blend, but the PLA+ absorbed roughly four times as much energy on impact. So PLA+ isn't stronger, just tougher.
PETG handles more heat and bends before it breaks. In a CNC Kitchen comparison of PLA, PETG and ASA, PLA softened near 60 C, PETG near 80 C and ASA near 110 C. ASA also resists sunlight, which is why it's the pick for outdoor parts, but it had the weakest layer bonds of the three when printed in open air. An enclosure that kept the air around 30 C raised its layer strength by about 20 percent.
TPU is the flexible option. The 95A grade is firm enough to feed through most direct-drive printers if you print slowly, around 20 to 40 millimeters per second, with little retraction (Overture's TPU settings guide). Silk, matte and wood blends are for looks: they print like PLA but give up some strength.
Dry Filament Beats A Better Brand
Filament pulls moisture from the air, and a wet spool causes more failed prints than a cheap one. Signs include popping or hissing at the nozzle, fuzzy surfaces, stringing and weak layers. PETG and TPU are the most sensitive, but PLA turns brittle and can snap in the feed path when it's been left out for months.
A filament dryer or a food dehydrator fixes most of this. Typical settings from Printpal's drying guide are 40 to 50 C for four to six hours for PLA (stay under about 55 C or the spool can deform), 60 to 70 C for PETG, 65 to 80 C for ABS and ASA, and 55 to 70 C for TPU. Overture suggests about five hours at 60 C for its PETG. Follow the spool maker's numbers when they differ.
Between jobs, keep open spools in a sealed bag or box with desiccant, ideally under 20 percent humidity. Winding matters too: a spool with crossed loops can lock up mid-print, which is one place premium brands earn their price.
Fumes, Nozzles And Safety
Printing melts plastic at 190 to 260 C, and the nozzle and bed stay hot after a job ends, so keep fingers and children clear. ABS and ASA give off far more ultrafine particles and styrene vapor than PLA. A NIOSH health hazard evaluation of printer use found that enclosures with exhaust or filtration cut particle levels, but a plain enclosure doesn't remove gases, and a HEPA filter alone doesn't catch them either. Print ABS and ASA in a vented room, ideally with the enclosure ducted outdoors.
Some filaments wear out the standard brass nozzle. Glow-in-the-dark, carbon-fiber and many metal-filled types are abrasive, so they call for a hardened steel nozzle (3DPrinterly's glow filament guide). Wood-filled PLA isn't as hard on the nozzle, but its fibers can clog a fine tip.
Printed parts aren't food safe by default: tiny gaps between layers trap bacteria, and colorants vary. We found no U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls for any filament brand on this list. The one recent recall in the space was a printer, not a filament.
How we researched this
We compared 26 filaments from 13 brands, read the makers' spec sheets and print guides for the 10 picks, drew on CNC Kitchen's published strength and heat tests, analyzed owner feedback on winding, moisture and printability, and checked every brand for recalls with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Sources (12)
- CNC Kitchen: The difference of PLA and PLA+ (Polymaker)
- CNC Kitchen: Comparing PLA, PETG and ASA (Prusament)
- Overture: High Speed PETG
- Overture: New PETG filament
- Overture: TPU print settings guide
- Polymaker: PolyLite ASA
- Polymaker: PolyLite PLA Pro
- Printpal: Filament drying guide
- NIOSH: Health hazard evaluation of 3D printer emissions (2017-0059-3291)
- 3DPrinterly: Glow-in-the-dark filament guide
- CPSC: Bambu Lab A1 printer recall
- fdmdesk: Best PLA filament brand review
Frequently asked questions
What is the best 3D printer filament for beginners?
PLA. It prints at low temperatures, barely warps, works without an enclosure and costs the least. Polymaker PolyLite PLA is a reliable first spool.
Is PLA+ stronger than PLA?
Not in a straight pull. In CNC Kitchen's tests, plain PLA held more load, while the PLA+ blend absorbed far more energy on impact. Pick PLA+ for parts that get dropped or flexed.
Does the filament brand matter?
Less than the material and how dry it is. Brands differ most in winding, diameter consistency and color accuracy, which affect tangles, clogs and surface quality.
Which filament is best for outdoor use?
ASA. It resists sunlight and holds its shape near 100 C, though it needs a hot bed, an enclosure for larger parts and good ventilation.
Why does my PETG string so much?
Usually moisture or too high a nozzle temperature. Dry the spool, lower the temperature a few degrees and tune retraction.
Is 3D printer filament food safe?
Don't assume it is. Even when the plastic itself is rated for food contact, printed layers leave gaps that trap bacteria and are hard to clean.
