Filament Density & Price Cheat Sheet

Density, grams per metre, length per kilogram for 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm, and indicative 2026 price bands for the common FDM materials. Print it or save as PDF for the workshop wall.

Density, length and price by material

Material	Density (g/cm³)	g per m (1.75)	m per kg (1.75)	m per kg (2.85)	EUR / kg
PLA	1.24	2.98	335	126	18 to 28
PETG	1.27	3.05	328	123	20 to 30
ABS	1.05	2.53	397	149	20 to 32
ASA	1.07	2.57	390	147	30 to 45
TPU (95A)	1.20	2.89	347	131	35 to 55
Nylon (PA12)	1.02	2.45	408	154	45 to 70

Length figures assume nominal diameter and a solid cross section. Real spools vary by a few percent with diameter tolerance and additives. Prices are indicative 2026 EU retail for standard 1 kg spools including VAT; premium, composite and engineering grades cost more.

How much filament does a print use?

A slicer reports 9.4 m of 1.75 mm PLA for a model.
Weight = 9.4 m ÷ 335 m per kg = 0.028 kg = 28 g.
Cost at 22 EUR/kg = 0.028 × 22 = 0.62 EUR.
Quick version: grams = metres × (grams per metre). 9.4 × 2.98 = 28 g.

Length and weight formulas

A is the cross-section area in mm². With density in g/cm³ the unit conversion works out to 1, so density × A gives grams per metre directly.

Cross-section area: A = π × radius²
1.75 mm → A = 2.405 mm² · 2.85 mm → A = 6.379 mm²
Grams per metre: g/m = density × A
Metres per kg: m/kg = 1000 / (density × A)
Length for a target weight: L (m) = grams / (density × A)

Spool weight reference

Item	Typical weight	Notes
Net filament	250 / 500 / 750 / 1000 g	What you pay for; printed on the label
Empty cardboard spool	130 to 180 g	Lighter, often recyclable
Empty plastic spool	180 to 260 g	Reusable; weigh yours once and note it
Gross (boxed) 1 kg	1.15 to 1.30 kg	Filament + spool + packaging

To estimate filament left on a part-used spool: weigh it, subtract the empty-spool weight, then divide the net grams by the grams-per-metre for that material.

Practical notes

Density rises with fillers. Wood, carbon-fibre, glow and metal-filled blends can run 10 to 40 percent heavier per metre, so they give fewer metres per kg than the base polymer.
PLA and PETG are the cheapest and most predictable. ASA, TPU and Nylon cost more and absorb moisture, which adds apparent weight and ruins prints if the filament is stored badly.
A diameter tolerance of plus or minus 0.02 mm shifts the cross-section by about 2 percent, so treat every length figure here as a close approximation, not an exact count.
Convert the other way when buying: divide the metres a project needs by the metres-per-kg above to see how many spools to order.

CovertItAll.com · Filament density and price reference. Prices are indicative and change with brand and supplier. covertitall.com/printables/filament-density.html Interactive filament weight calculator →