Cheap ABS filaments are everywhere. All across the internet, from Ebay to Amazon, filament resellers are advertising ABS at rock bottom prices. They all claim to sell the cheapest ABS filament that is still high enough quality that you can use it.
Looking for PLA? Check out our list of the cheapest PLA filaments.
But we know from experience that many ABS brands are low quality and a waste of money. So how do you know which one to choose?
We decided to put together this list of cheap, usable ABS filaments to help clear up the confusion. You can try these ABS filaments instead of taking a risk on a random filament reseller.
In selecting filaments for this list, we looked at overall price, quality and performance. These are all extremely cheap ABS filaments, do not cause clogs, and are strong the way you expect ABS to be.
Cheapest ABS Filament That Is Actually Usable
1. SUNLU
SUNLU offers rock bottom prices for ABS 3D filament and the quality is good. That’s a winning combination in the 3D printing world. SUNLU filament is at the top of the list mostly because it is the cheapest ABS filament we could find from a reputable source.
Here are the key point to know about SUNLU ABS:
- Lowest priced ABS filament that we can recommend
- Fantastic Tolerance: +/- 0.02 mm
- Decent quality and much better quality than other low cost ABS filaments
- Colors are sometimes not quite as expected
- Works with 3D pens as well
Just to clarify a little bit about the quality of this filament: most of the time this is a fantastic filament. Sometimes, regular print settings for ABS not working or the printed parts coming out a bit more brittle that would otherwise be expected from ABS filaments. But the majority of the time, the quality is good.
Also, SUNLU has good customer support. So if you have a problem with the spool, just contact customer support and they will help you get a replacement.
A little about SUNLU: it is a Chinese manufacturer of 3D filament and 3D pens. The company is based out of Shanghai and competes directly with other Chinese filament manufacturers in that area such as eSUN and Hatchbox.
So far, SUNLU is winning the price/quality ratio game.
2. 3D Solutech
If you want to steer clear of cheap Chinese manufacturers, then 3D Solutech is the right company for you. Based out of the Seattle, Washington, 3D Solutech has been selling %100 USA made filament to the 3D printing industry for years.
Check out our in-depth review of 3D Solutech filaments here.
While this isn’t the cheapest ABS filament on the list, 3D Solutech is the highest quality filament. They take great care with the production standards in their manufacturing facilities, and as result, the quality of 3D Solutech ABS is on par with other big names in the filament industry, such as eSUN and Hatchbox.
Here are the basic features of this ABS filament:
- Source: USA
- Return Policy: Full refund of any product that is unsatisfying
- ABS is high quality
- Deals and Perks: Free shipping on orders over $25, except for Black PLA
- Most Popular Product: Silver Metal PLA
Not all 3D Solutech filaments have the same low price: that price is reserved for a specific set of colors including the Teal Blue ABS pictured above.
But the the quality of these colors is no different than the rest of the filaments they offer. The color of teal blue is also really cool looking and unique among other low cost ABS filament brands.
3. Hatchbox
Hatchbox ABS filaments combine quality and ease of use with spectacular perks, and is one of the highest rated filaments ever. At an unbeatably low price, it’s no wonder that Hatchbox ABS filament gets high reviews from customers.
Hatchbox offers the perfect ratio of price and quality, which makes this an ideal budget friendly ABS filament. The value for money can’t be beat.
Here are some highlights:
- High quality
- No bubbles, clogs, or tangles
- Very low priced ABS
- Very strong and not brittle
- Well packaged and vacuum sealed
Once you find the right settings for your machine, this filament prints like a dream.
It requires slightly different print temperatures for every printer, ranging from around 260 degrees Celsius on the Wanhao clones to 220-255 degrees Celsius on Prusia clones. The heated printer bed temp can also vary from 80 to 100 degrees Celsius depending on print conditions.
Probably the best thing about Hatchbox ABS is that it rarely clogs. There is no bubbling and no tangling on the spool. It just prints.
And the prints come out very strong. Other cheap filaments skimp on the strength of the prints and cut other corners in order to lower their prices, but Hatchbox ABS is strong and not brittle at all.
The ease of use and high quality results are what make Hatchbox stand out from other cheap ABS filaments. Just check out the ecstatic reviews from satisfied customers and you will see that Hatchbox delivers an incredible product for the price they charge.
Check out our full review of Hatchbox filaments here.
Final Thoughts: Cheapest ABS Filament That Is Actually Usable
To sum it all up, the above filaments are the cheapest ABS filaments out there that you can be sure will not clog up your extruder. They are each worth trying, and all of them will be cheap and still deliver good quality prints. But we do have our favorite…
Out of these, what would we recommend trying?
If we had to choose one ABS filament to try on this list, we would recommend giving the Hatchbox ABS filaments a shot. Dazzle Light is a relatively new filament brand, but they offer such a good quality product at such low price that they can easily compete with other cheaper ABS filament brands that have been around for a long time, such as 3D Solutech.
We hope this review of cheap ABS filaments helped you find the filament you were looking for. Leave us a comment if you have any questions, and thanks for reading!
Happy Printing!