If you are sourcing filament for a retail shelf, a print farm, or an OEM production line, the first question is always the same: what should a kilogram actually cost?
The honest answer: it depends on material, volume, and who you buy from. But “it depends” is not useful when you are comparing quotes. So below are the real 2026 factory-direct price ranges for PLA, PETG and ABS, what a sensible MOQ looks like, and the levers that move a quote up or down.
(The ranges below reflect current factory-direct quotes on major B2B platforms as of 2026, rounded for readability. Use them as a sanity check — not as a target to squeeze a supplier toward.)
Quick Answer: Price Ranges per KG
| Material | Factory-direct range (USD/kg) | What this tier usually means |
|---|---|---|
| PLA | $4 – 8 | Commodity grades at volume; basic colors, standard packaging |
| PLA+ (toughened) | $6 – 9 | Impact-modified formulas, tighter QC, better color consistency |
| PETG | $4 – 8.5 | Standard functional grades; specialty (high-speed, transparent) sits higher |
| ABS | $4 – 8 | Standard injection-grade formulas; industrial specialties reach $15–25 |
| PLA Silk / dual-color | $7 – 12 | Two-tone and silk effects need multi-extrusion lines, hence the premium |
Two things jump out immediately: PETG costs about the same as PLA at the factory gate (its premium appears at retail, not at wholesale), and ABS is cheap unless you need a certified industrial grade.
What Actually Moves a Quote
1. Volume — but not linearly. Going from 50 kg to 500 kg might cut 15–25% off the unit price. Going from 500 kg to 5,000 kg rarely halves it again: raw plastic pellets are the floor, and pellets don’t get cheaper with your order size. Be suspicious of any quote dramatically below the pellet cost plus processing — something is being cut, and it is usually diameter tolerance or drying.
2. Diameter tolerance. This is the biggest hidden price driver. A ±0.05 mm spool is cheaper to make than a ±0.02 mm spool, because the latter demands laser measurement and more scrap. If your quote seems too good, ask one question: “What is your diameter tolerance, and how do you measure it?” A factory that answers with equipment names (laser micrometers, closed-loop control) is a different animal from one that answers “high quality”.
3. Packaging. Vacuum-sealed spools with desiccant add real cost over shrink-wrap, and they matter: filament that arrives wet prints badly and generates returns. For B2B, always spec vacuum packing — it is a few cents per spool that protects your margin.
4. Color and formulation. Standard colors from an existing masterbatch run are the cheapest. Custom Pantone matching, glow/silk/metallic effects, and carbon-fiber blends all add setup cost, usually reflected in a higher MOQ or a one-time color-matching fee.
What a Sensible MOQ Looks Like
| Order type | Typical MOQ | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Sample order (mixed spools) | 1 – 10 kg | Testing print quality before any commitment |
| Stock order (standard colors) | 50 – 200 kg | Retail restocking, print farm consumption |
| Custom color / private label | 100 – 500 kg per color | Your own brand on the spool |
A factory that refuses sample orders is telling you it doesn’t want small buyers — fine, move on. A factory confident in its QC welcomes the sample order, because it knows what the spools will show.
Planning to sell under your own brand rather than resell ours? Our private label and OEM filament guide breaks down the four levels of customisation, real MOQs, setup costs and a 30-60-90 day launch sequence.
Not sure how big a first order has to be? Our guide to filament MOQs explains what the minimum actually pays for, the 2026 benchmarks by material, and five tactics that lower it without damaging the relationship.
Where the Wholesale Margin Is in 2026
Three observations for anyone deciding what to stock:
- PETG is the quiet opportunity. Its wholesale price sits close to PLA, but at retail it commands a functional-material premium and drives fewer quality complaints than commodity PLA. Browse our PETG range to see what a full functional line looks like.
- PLA+ defends itself against price wars. Commodity PLA is a red ocean of identical spools; toughened PLA+ gives customers a reason to pay more. See our PLA+ line.
- Dual-color silk is a shelf-attention product. Margins per kg are the highest in the consumer segment precisely because the effect is hard to fake cheaply. Our PLA-SILK dual-color line covers the popular two-tone combinations.
How to Read a Quote Like a Buyer
When a factory quote lands in your inbox, check these five lines before comparing numbers:
- Diameter tolerance — anything wider than ±0.03 mm will fight you on print quality
- Packing — vacuum-sealed + desiccant, or just shrink-wrap?
- Net weight honesty — 1,000 g or “1 kg nominal” (which can mean 950 g)?
- Batch consistency — will the next order match this one’s color and MFI?
- Incoterms — FOB, CIF, or DDP? The per-kg price means nothing until freight terms are identical — our guide to shipping filament from China explains how each one shifts cost and risk
If a supplier volunteers all five answers, that is a good sign — transparency is cheaper for them than an unhappy bulk buyer.
Next Step
Prices are only half the equation — the other half is whether the factory can hold them across batches. If you are planning a bulk or OEM order, request a quote and tell us your target volume; we will send current per-kg pricing with tolerance and packing specs spelled out, so you can compare it against any other quote line by line.
One more thing before you commit to any supplier: run them through our 9-point filament manufacturer vetting checklist — nine checks that separate a real factory from a middleman.
Digging into PETG specifically? Our wholesale perspective on why retailers are stocking PETG covers the shelf economics behind the 2026 shift — price parity at the factory gate, fewer returns, and a buyer base that restocks.
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