{
  "question": "What is the best cheap/budget filament?",
  "slug": "cheap",
  "useCase": "troubleshooting",
  "useCaseLabel": "Troubleshooting",
  "updated": "2026-10-16",
  "shortAnswer": "The budget names in this consensus are Elegoo, Sunlu, Jayo, and Inland, with Kingroon and Bambu on sale also named, and consistency still varies by batch.",
  "recommendedMaterials": [
    "pla"
  ],
  "printerConsiderations": [
    "These PLA beds are not identical. Elegoo, Sunlu, Jayo, and Inland PLA each list 50–70 °C (122–158 °F). Bambu PLA Basic lists 35–45 °C (95–113 °F).",
    "Batch variation is the summary's caveat in prose. The bank's caveats field is empty. A bad batch still shows up as the defects on the quality page.",
    "Kingroon is named in the summary and is not in the recommended array. Kingroon PLA lists the same 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) and 50–70 °C (122–158 °F) Open Filament Database range. It is not ranked as a winner."
  ],
  "pros": [
    "The brands are the ones the consensus names, and each ranked row exists in the catalog.",
    "Nozzle and bed come from those rows. This page does not invent a street price."
  ],
  "cons": [
    "The supplied top comments are jokes about country-of-origin labels and about how many printers someone owns. They are not a brand ranking.",
    "Price per kilogram is empty on these rows. Calling one of them the cheapest would be a number this catalog does not have."
  ],
  "community": "The editorial summary names Elegoo, Sunlu, Jayo, Kingroon, Inland, and Bambu on sale, and it says consistency varies batch to batch. The recommended list in the bank is Elegoo, Sunlu, Jayo, and Inland. Supplied comments on r/3Dprinting 1trwxjs are jokes about a made-in-USA label. Supplied comments on r/ender3 11cvamb are jokes about buying more printers. Those threads are also cited on the filament-quality page for the defect question. They are not quoted here as a budget winner.",
  "related": [
    "filament_quality",
    "brand_esun",
    "pla_print",
    "beginners"
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Which budget spool is cheapest?",
      "a": "This catalog does not say. Elegoo PLA, SUNLU PLA, JAYO PLA, Inland PLA, and Bambu PLA Basic all have an empty price per kilogram. The names are the consensus list, not a price sort."
    },
    {
      "q": "Do the supplied comments rank Elegoo, Sunlu, Jayo, or Inland?",
      "a": "No. The ranking in the first sentence is the editorial summary. The top comments supplied for r/3Dprinting 1trwxjs and r/ender3 11cvamb are jokes. Judge a spool with the filament-quality signs: diameter, bubbles, brittleness out of the bag, and tangles."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Bambu PLA Basic technical data sheet V3.0",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0584/7236/6216/files/Bambu_PLA_Basic_Technical_Data_Sheet_bf3411ce-be39-4db7-9669-1b4671d2196b.pdf?v=1734060943",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "Open Filament Database, ELEGOO PLA",
      "url": "https://api.openfilamentdatabase.org/api/v1/brands/elegoo/materials/PLA/filaments/pla/index.json",
      "kind": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Open Filament Database, SUNLU PLA",
      "url": "https://api.openfilamentdatabase.org/api/v1/brands/sunlu/materials/PLA/filaments/pla/index.json",
      "kind": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Open Filament Database, JAYO PLA",
      "url": "https://api.openfilamentdatabase.org/api/v1/brands/jayo/materials/PLA/filaments/pla/index.json",
      "kind": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Open Filament Database, Inland PLA",
      "url": "https://api.openfilamentdatabase.org/api/v1/brands/inland/materials/PLA/filaments/pla/index.json",
      "kind": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Open Filament Database, Kingroon PLA",
      "url": "https://api.openfilamentdatabase.org/api/v1/brands/kingroon/materials/PLA/filaments/pla/index.json",
      "kind": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/3Dprinting 1trwxjs",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1trwxjs/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/ender3 11cvamb",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3/comments/11cvamb/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/prusa3d 1b4qo56",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/prusa3d/comments/1b4qo56/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/3Dprinting 1gt9s76",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1gt9s76/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/BambuLab 1b9r3zz",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/1b9r3zz/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    }
  ],
  "recommendations": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "note": "ELEGOO PLA from the Open Filament Database. Nozzle 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) and bed 50–70 °C (122–158 °F). Drying is not stored. No price per kilogram is stored, so this row is not a bargain score.",
      "brand": "ELEGOO",
      "product": "PLA",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/elegoo/pla",
      "nozzle": "190–230 °C (374–446 °F)",
      "bed": "50–70 °C (122–158 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": null,
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "note": "SUNLU PLA from the Open Filament Database. Nozzle 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) and bed 50–70 °C (122–158 °F). Drying is not stored.",
      "brand": "SUNLU",
      "product": "PLA",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/sunlu/pla",
      "nozzle": "190–230 °C (374–446 °F)",
      "bed": "50–70 °C (122–158 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": null,
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "note": "JAYO PLA from the Open Filament Database. Nozzle 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) and bed 50–70 °C (122–158 °F). A drying temperature of 60 °C (140 °F) is stored and the hours are not.",
      "brand": "JAYO",
      "product": "PLA",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/jayo/pla",
      "nozzle": "190–230 °C (374–446 °F)",
      "bed": "50–70 °C (122–158 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": null,
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "note": "Inland PLA from the Open Filament Database. Nozzle 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) and bed 50–70 °C (122–158 °F). Drying is not stored.",
      "brand": "Inland",
      "product": "PLA",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/inland/pla",
      "nozzle": "190–230 °C (374–446 °F)",
      "bed": "50–70 °C (122–158 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": null,
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "note": "The Bambu name in the summary is Bambu on sale. PLA Basic lists 190–230 °C (374–446 °F), a bed of 35–45 °C (95–113 °F), and drying at 50 °C (122 °F) for 8 h on the technical data sheet. The sale price is not in the catalog.",
      "brand": "Bambu Lab",
      "product": "PLA Basic",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/bambu-lab/pla-basic",
      "nozzle": "190–230 °C (374–446 °F)",
      "bed": "35–45 °C (95–113 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0584/7236/6216/files/Bambu_PLA_Basic_Technical_Data_Sheet_bf3411ce-be39-4db7-9669-1b4671d2196b.pdf?v=1734060943",
      "affiliateUrl": null
    }
  ]
}