# What is the best cheap/budget filament?

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.

Elegoo, Sunlu, Jayo, and Inland are the budget names this consensus recommends. Kingroon and Bambu on sale are also in the summary. None of those rows has a price, so this page does not crown a cheapest spool. [Filament quality](/answers/filament_quality) is how to spot a bad batch. [eSUN](/answers/brand_esun) is a separate brand question.

## Catalog rows

[ELEGOO PLA](/brand/elegoo/pla), [SUNLU PLA](/brand/sunlu/pla), [JAYO PLA](/brand/jayo/pla), and [Inland PLA](/brand/inland/pla) each list 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) and a bed of 50–70 °C (122–158 °F) in the Open Filament Database. JAYO PLA stores a drying temperature of 60 °C (140 °F) and does not store the hours. The others do not store drying. [Kingroon PLA](/brand/kingroon/pla) lists the same nozzle and bed and is not in the recommended array. [Bambu PLA Basic](/brand/bambu-lab/pla-basic) lists 190–230 °C (374–446 °F), 35–45 °C (95–113 °F), and drying at 50 °C (122 °F) for 8 h. The summary's "on sale" is not a price in this catalog.

## What the threads supplied

The comments we were given for r/3Dprinting 1trwxjs and r/ender3 11cvamb do not compare brands. They are left unquoted. The bank also lists r/prusa3d 1b4qo56, r/3Dprinting 1gt9s76, and r/BambuLab 1b9r3zz. No excerpt from those three was in the supplied set for this page, so this page does not invent a quote. r/3Dprinting 1trwxjs and 1gt9s76 are already cited on the quality page for defects, not for a budget trophy.

## Consistency

Batch-to-batch variation is the summary's warning. Diameter, bubbles, a spool that is brittle out of the bag, and a tangle are the signs. A known budget brand can still arrive that way. [Good PLA prints](/answers/pla_print) start with the first layer after the spool is actually usable. [PLA](/material/pla) is the material hub.

Updated 2026-10-16. Sources accessed 2026-10-16. Use case: Troubleshooting.

## Ranked filaments

| Rank | Filament | Nozzle | Bed | Price per kg |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | ELEGOO PLA | 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) | 50–70 °C (122–158 °F) | — |
| 2 | SUNLU PLA | 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) | 50–70 °C (122–158 °F) | — |
| 3 | JAYO PLA | 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) | 50–70 °C (122–158 °F) | — |
| 4 | Inland PLA | 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) | 50–70 °C (122–158 °F) | — |
| 5 | Bambu Lab PLA Basic | 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) | 35–45 °C (95–113 °F) | — |

## What the community says

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.

## Sources

- [Bambu PLA Basic technical data sheet V3.0](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) (datasheet)
- [Open Filament Database, ELEGOO PLA](https://api.openfilamentdatabase.org/api/v1/brands/elegoo/materials/PLA/filaments/pla/index.json) (other)
- [Open Filament Database, SUNLU PLA](https://api.openfilamentdatabase.org/api/v1/brands/sunlu/materials/PLA/filaments/pla/index.json) (other)
- [Open Filament Database, JAYO PLA](https://api.openfilamentdatabase.org/api/v1/brands/jayo/materials/PLA/filaments/pla/index.json) (other)
- [Open Filament Database, Inland PLA](https://api.openfilamentdatabase.org/api/v1/brands/inland/materials/PLA/filaments/pla/index.json) (other)
- [Open Filament Database, Kingroon PLA](https://api.openfilamentdatabase.org/api/v1/brands/kingroon/materials/PLA/filaments/pla/index.json) (other)
- [Community source, r/3Dprinting 1trwxjs](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1trwxjs/) (reddit)
- [Community source, r/ender3 11cvamb](https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3/comments/11cvamb/) (reddit)
- [Community source, r/prusa3d 1b4qo56](https://www.reddit.com/r/prusa3d/comments/1b4qo56/) (reddit)
- [Community source, r/3Dprinting 1gt9s76](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1gt9s76/) (reddit)
- [Community source, r/BambuLab 1b9r3zz](https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/1b9r3zz/) (reddit)

HTML: https://filamentfacts.com/answers/cheap