Filament comparison
PETG vs PP-GF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PETGPETG | Glass-fibre PP (PP-GF)POLYOLEFIN |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $19.99/kg median; $8.99–$69.99/kg across 21 dated product listings | $49.09/kg median; $46.27–$86.01/kg across 3 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyethylene terephthalate glycol copolymer — PET with a glycol comonomer that suppresses crystallisation[1][2] | Polypropylene reinforced with chopped glass fibre[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.24–1.30 (ISO 1183)[1][2][5][6] | 1.12 (Prusament PP Glass Fiber, ISO 1183) — the glass lifts it above water[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg spools cluster near 20[7][8][9] | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 49[10][11][12] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 12–70 across brands; IEMAI 12, ELEGOO 14, CHCKX 14, Bambu Lab 18–20, Hatchbox 26, Prusament 38, Prusament PETG V0 70[7][8][13][9][14][15] | 46-86 across brands; BCN3D PP GF30 46 at 700 g, BASF Ultrafuse PP GF30 49 at 2.2 kg, Prusament PP Glass Fiber 86 at 850 g[10][11][12] |
| Market availability1–5 | Ubiquitous, every brand and retailer[7][8][16][9] | Available from several mainstream brands[10][11][12] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.75, 0.8 and 1 kg spools plus spool-less refills[8][9] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 700 g, 850 g and 2.2 kg spools[10][11][12] |
| Typical applications | Functional parts, enclosures and outdoor fittings that need more toughness and heat tolerance than PLA[1][2] | Stiff, chemically resistant parts where PP-CF's cost or conductivity is unwanted[4] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | ±0.02 (Prusament)[1] | ±0.04 (Prusament)[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 230–260 across brands; Prusament 250 ± 10, Polymaker 240–260[1][2][6] | 245 ± 10 (Prusament) — 25 °C below the carbon-fibre grade[3][17] |
| Bed temperature°C | 60–90; Prusament 80 ± 10, Polymaker 60–70[1][6] | 95 ± 10 (Prusament)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[6] | Enclosure recommended — Simplify3D lists an enclosure as a hardware requirement and Polymaker advises one below 70 °C ambient to stop warping and cracking[18][19] |
| Part cooling fan | Around 50 %; Polymaker specifies 20–60 %, less than PLA to protect layer bonding[1][6] | Off — Prusa runs 0 % except 100 % on bridges[3] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Textured PEI, satin or powder-coated sheets. On smooth PEI a glue stick is used as a release agent, not an adhesive — PETG bonds to bare PEI hard enough to tear the sheet[1][6] | Not documented |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | 8–15 (PrusaSlicer guidance); My Tech Fun ran Bambu Lab PETG Basic at 13 mm³/s[20][21] | 4 at Prusa's 50 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[3][20] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Slight — corner lift on large flat parts[1][6] | High — enclosure needed for reliable large parts; Prusa recommends a brim[3] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs the right surface or a thin adhesive — the problem is releasing the part, not sticking it[1] | Very difficult — special plates or slurry required[3] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[1][6] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Easy — minor profile tuning[6] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; hardened nozzle mandatory[3] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Prusa states a hardened nozzle is necessary and recommends a brim[3] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[20] | Hardened steel required[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[6] | Highly abrasive — standard GF composite[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Low — no special hot-end required and clogging is not among the listed drawbacks; Prusa lists no drybox and no hardened nozzle[22][23] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Prusa lists higher risk of nozzle clogging for glass-filled composites[24] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Slightly sensitive[22] | Not documented |
| Hotend requirement | No special hot-end required[22] | Not documented |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Moderate (0.3–0.8 %) — Bambu Lab reports 0.40 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH; Prusa measures only 0.07 % in 24 h and 0.10 % in 7 days at the drier 22 % RH[1][25] | Low (0.1–0.3 %) — 0.11 % at both 24 h and 7 days, higher than the carbon-fibre grade's 0.04 % but still very low[3][17] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 0.10 after 7 days at 24 °C / 22 % RH (Prusa Polymers); 0.40 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)[1][25] | 0.11 after 24 h and 0.11 after 7 days at 24 °C / 22 % RH (Prusa Polymers)[3] |
| Drying temperature & time | 60–65 °C for 6–8 h[6][25] | Not documented |
| Symptoms when wet | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[1] | Not documented |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Polymaker groups PETG with nylon, PVA and TPU as highly hygroscopic and shows a before-and-after-drying comparison; the loss appears as poor layer adhesion and weak, brittle layers rather than a published dry-versus-conditioned figure[26] | Not applicable in practice at 0.11 % equilibrium uptake[3] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed with desiccant; Polymaker groups PETG with the highly hygroscopic materials[26][27] | No special storage needed[3] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 38–51 (printed XY, ISO 527); Prusament 47 ± 2 at yield; 62 on My Tech Fun 4×4 mm bars[1][2][5][28] | 46.6 ± 1.3 filament tensile yield (Prusament, ISO 527) — more than double the carbon-fibre grade's 21[3][17] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 1500–2311 (printed XY, ISO 527)[1][2][5][6] | Not documented |
| Elongation at break% | 5.2–9.3 at break (printed XY, ISO 527); Prusament 5.1 at yield[2][5][6][1] | Not documented |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 58–80 (printed XY, ISO 178); Prusament 66 ± 2[1][2][5][6] | Not documented |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 1068–2277 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1][2][5][6] | Not documented |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 2.6 (PolyLite) to 11.6 (PolyMax) printed XY, ISO 179, notched; Prusament 6 ± 1[2][5][1] | 7.9 ± 0.4 printed horizontal and 9.9 ± 0.8 printed vertical XZ (ISO 179-1, notched)[3] |
| Other impact data | Charpy unnotched does not break on Prusa's 4 J pendulum (ISO 179-1); Izod 3.37 kJ/m² on My Tech Fun printed bars[1][28] | Not documented |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 18 ± 4 (Prusa interlayer adhesion test); 42.8 printed Z for PolyLite PETG; 33 on My Tech Fun bars[1][2][28] | Not documented |
| Brittleness1–5 | Moderate[1][2] | Moderate[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | 74 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method); measured on printed bars at 68.2 for Extrudr PETG, 72 for Fiberlogy PETG and 72.8 for Prusament PETG[1][28][29][30] | Rockwell R102 (and M95) on extruded unfilled PP stock (ASTM D785); no figure is published for a glass-fibre PP filament[31] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Below average — a 12 mm bar sagged to 18.2 mm (Fiberlogy) and 19.4 mm (Bambu Lab Basic) over 5 days at 1.25 kg[28][21] | Not documented |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Moderate — 79 000–193 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength, about three times printed PLA (R = 0.2, 7 Hz)[32] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Slightly flexible in thin sections[1] | Rigid[3] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 84 (PolyLite, printed Z against XY tensile)[2] | Not documented |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 68 (Prusament) to 78 (PolyLite), ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa[1][2][6] | 138.3 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 65 (Polymaker) to 75 (PolyLite), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa; Prusament 68[1][2][6] | 112.6 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[3] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 71–81 (DSC)[2][5][6] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Amorphous — no melting point; Vicat 75–84 (ISO 306)[2][5][6] | Not documented |
| Continuous service temperature°C | 61–66 — loaded bars begin to move at this temperature across six grades from four brands; Prusa publishes 68 for Prusament PETG[28][29][30][21][33] | Not documented |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | 65 at 30 °C (neat PETG, large-format printed bead, TMA)[34] | Not documented |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for standard PETG, though flame-retardant V0 grades exist[35][27] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Moderate — a season or two[1] | Not documented |
| Chemical resistance | Withstands acids, alkalis, oils and UV exposure — Polymaker names outdoor use as a result[27] | Excellent against acids, alkalis and most solvents[19] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Good — minor absorption[1] | Excellent — essentially unaffected[3] |
| Food contact | PET is the polymer of drinks bottles, but printed layer grooves harbour bacteria and no filament here carries a food-contact certification[27] | Not documented |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[27] | Not documented |
| Recyclability | PET is widely recycled as bottle stock, but printed PETG waste is not accepted in household collection[27] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[36] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission. Inferred: no polyolefin was among the nine filaments in the Azimi chamber study, so this is a family-level judgement rather than a measurement[36] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈5 × 10⁹ median for the PET-based T-Glase filament in the same chamber study, against ≈1 × 10⁸ for PLA[36] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[36] | Open a window / occasional ventilation. Inferred — no polyolefin was measured in the chamber study[36] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | Glass fibre is bound in the matrix; avoid inhaling sanding dust[3] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Sands poorly — the material is tough and gums rather than powders[22] | Not documented |
| Painting & finishing | Paint adheres poorly without abrasion and a primer[1] | Not documented |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds PETG cleanly[22] | Not documented |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | No practical vapour smoothing[1] | Not documented |
| Support material pairing | Prints its own supports; Polymaker rates PolyDissolve S1 for PETG[22] | Not documented |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Stringing and blobbing are the usual accuracy limits, not shrinkage[1][6] | Not documented |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | No common workshop solvent; 1,2-dichloroethane destroys it inside a week and dichloromethane — a carcinogen — dissolves the surface.[37][38] | None at room temperature; chloroform dissolves the matrix at 60 °C and xylene at about 118 °C, leaving the fibre.[39][40] |
| Softened or crazed by | Acetone (+16 % weight over 1 year at 23 °C), ethyl acetate, toluene and DMF swell and soften it; methanol crazes it.[37] | Xylene, decalin, CCl4 and chlorobenzene are heavily absorbed at 20 °C; oleum, chlorosulphonic acid and bromine destroy it.[39] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | Dichloromethane brushed on is the only agent that smooths PETG — a controlled carcinogen, not workshop stock.[38] | None — nothing softens PP at room temperature, so joints have to be welded thermally rather than chemically.[39] |
Material entries describe families or representative grades, not an interchangeable specification for every spool. Test methods, orientations and conditions may differ. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.
Sources for this comparison
- Prusament PETG Technical Datasheet v1.1 Prusa Polymers · 2022-02 · tds
- PolyLite PETG Technical Data Sheet Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · tds
- Prusament PP Glass Fiber Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-11 · tds
- Prusament PP Glass Fiber — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyMax PETG Technical Data Sheet Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · tds
- Polymaker PETG Technical Data Sheet Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · tds
- PETG Basic — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 2026-08 · vendor
- BASF Ultrafuse PP GF30 Black 2.85 mm 2.200 g igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- BCN3D PP GF30 Black 2.85 mm 700 g igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa Prusament PP Glass Fiber Natural (NFC), 1.75 mm / 850 g 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- Black PETG Filament 1.75 mm 1 kg — product data Hatchbox · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI PETG 3D Printing Filament product page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- CHCKX PETG 3D Printer Filament 1.75 mm 1 kg, Black CHCKX (Amazon US) · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO product catalogue ELEGOO · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusament PP Carbon Fiber Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-11 · tds
- Polypropylene — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- PP — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- BambuLab PETG Basic vs Translucent vs PETG-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- PET and PETG — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Composite materials filled with carbon, kevlar or glass Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PETG HF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PETG — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PCTG vs PETG comparison — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Extrudr PETG vs PCTG vs XPETG-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Prusament PETG-CF vs PETG V0 vs PETG — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- TECAFINE PP natural — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
- Prusament PETG — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
- Effects of Fiber Orientation on the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion of Fiber-Filled Polymer Systems in Large Format Polymer Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing Materials 15(8):2764 · 2022-04 · paper
- Prusament PETG V0 Technical Datasheet Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · tds
- Emissions of Ultrafine Particles and Volatile Organic Compounds from Commercially Available Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers with Multiple Filaments (Azimi et al.) Environmental Science & Technology 50(3) 1260-1268 · 2016-01 · paper
- Eastman Spectar copolyester — Chemical resistance (unstressed bars, 1 year at 23 °C) Eastman Chemical Company · 2026-08 · tds
- Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
- Pro-fax and Moplen polypropylene — Chemical Resistance Guide (20, 60 and 100 °C) LyondellBasell · 2026-08 · tds
- US 5,278,282 Polymer recycling by selective dissolution — xylene dissolution temperatures Nauman & Lynch, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · 1994-01 · paper