In a classroom the best filament is the one nobody has to think about: it prints at a low temperature, sticks to the bed and comes in the colours students ask for. This guide ranks PLA and PETG on what schools and universities on SimplyPrint actually use, counted together across schools, with how easily each prints.
Our picks: the best filament for schools in 2026
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Overture PLA
Overture PLA is PLA filament by Overture, a brand from USA. Print it with the nozzle at 190-220 °C and the bed at 25-61 °C. It comes in 37 colours, on 1 kg spools.
- Stocked or printed by 100+ accounts on SimplyPrint
- Ready-made profiles in PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer, ElegooSlicer, BambuStudio, CrealityPrint
- 37 colours
Bambu Lab PLA Basic
Bambu Lab PLA Basic is PLA filament by Bambu Lab, a brand from China. Print it with the nozzle at 190-230 °C and the bed at 35-45 °C. It comes in 31 colours, on 1 kg spools.
- Stocked or printed by 1,000+ accounts on SimplyPrint
- Ready-made profiles in OrcaSlicer, BambuStudio, ElegooSlicer, CrealityPrint
- Tagged spools: Bambu Lab
- 31 colours
eSUN 3D PLA+
eSUN 3D PLA+ is PLA filament by eSUN 3D, a brand from China. Print it with the nozzle at 190-230 °C and the bed at 50-70 °C. It comes in 51 colours, on 1 kg and 3 kg spools.
- Stocked or printed by 100+ accounts on SimplyPrint
- Ready-made profiles in OrcaSlicer, BambuStudio, ElegooSlicer, CrealityPrint
- 51 colours
Prusament PLA
Prusament PLA is PLA filament by Prusament, a brand from Czechia. Print it with the nozzle at 205-225 °C and the bed at 40-60 °C. It comes in 44 colours, on 970 g, 1 kg and 2 kg spools.
- Ready-made profiles in PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer, ElegooSlicer, CrealityPrint
- Tagged spools: OpenPrintTag
- 44 colours
SUNLU PLA
SUNLU PLA is PLA filament by SUNLU, a brand from China. Print it with the nozzle at 190-230 °C and the bed at 50-70 °C. It comes in 57 colours, on 250 g, 500 g, 1 kg, 2 kg, 3 kg and 5 kg spools.
- Stocked or printed by 500+ accounts on SimplyPrint
- Ready-made profiles in PrusaSlicer
- 57 colours
School filament, ranked
| # | Filament | Score | Material | Nozzle | On SimplyPrint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Overture PLA | 93 | PLA | 190-220 °C | 100+ accounts |
| 2 | Bambu Lab PLA Basic | 93 | PLA | 190-230 °C | 1,000+ accounts |
| 3 | Bambu Lab PLA Matte | 92 | PLA | 190-230 °C | 500+ accounts |
| 4 | eSUN 3D PLA+ | 89 | PLA | 190-230 °C | 100+ accounts |
| 5 | Prusament PLA | 86 | PLA | 205-225 °C | - |
| 6 | SUNLU PLA | 80 | PLA | 190-230 °C | 500+ accounts |
| 7 | Bambu Lab PLA Silk+ | 78 | PLA | 210-240 °C | 100+ accounts |
| 8 | Bambu Lab PETG Basic | 78 | PETG | 230-260 °C | 100+ accounts |
| 9 | Bambu Lab PLA Translucent | 77 | PLA | 200-240 °C | 100+ accounts |
| 10 | Bambu Lab PETG Translucent | 76 | PETG | 230-270 °C | 100+ accounts |
| 11 | Bambu Lab PLA Wood | 75 | PLA | 190-240 °C | 100+ accounts |
| 12 | Bambu Lab PETG HF | 74 | PETG | 230-260 °C | 100+ accounts |
| 13 | SUNLU PLA+ 2.0 | 50 | PLA | 2-240 °C | 100+ accounts |
| 14 | PolyLite PLA | 50 | PLA | 190-230 °C | - |
| 15 | SUNLU PETG | 47 | PETG | 220-250 °C | 100+ accounts |
917 filaments in the running. Compare the top four side by side
Running filament for a classroom
Fewer kinds, kept in stock
One PLA in a few colours covers most lessons. Fewer kinds means fewer settings for students to get wrong and simpler reordering.
Know who used what
SimplyPrint tracks every spool, deducts what each student's print uses and shows it per class. See 3D printing in schools.
How we choose
| What we weigh | Points |
|---|---|
| How many schools and universities on SimplyPrint use it | 35 |
| Prints at a low temperature | 15 |
| Sold by a shop we link to | 15 |
| Slicer profiles of its own | 15 |
| How many SimplyPrint accounts stock and print it | 10 |
| Colours to choose from | 10 |
What SimplyPrint accounts stock and print is counted together across accounts, as of 22 Oct 2026, and only shown from a few accounts up: no account can be told apart. Every other fact is the Open Filament Database's: a filament it has no temperatures for, or no colours, isn't in the running.
The score picks the filaments, one per brand, with one exception: our editor can put a filament first from hands-on experience, and that pick says so.
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