Nylon vs PC
Nylon is the choice for wear: gears, hinges and bushings. Polycarbonate (PC) is the choice for heat and impact, staying usable well above 110°C. Both must be dried, and both are among the hardest filaments to print.
| Nylon | PC | |
|---|---|---|
| Listings tracked | 59 | 40 |
| Cheapest per kg today | £16.59 | £20.98 |
| Median per kg today 1 kg spools, 100+ reviews |
£27.22 | — |
| Ease of printing | Demanding: must be dried before printing, and is reluctant to stick to the bed | Hardest: needs a 260 to 300°C hot end, an enclosure and thorough drying |
| Heat resistance | High: above PETG, varying with the grade | Very high: stays usable well above 110°C |
| Enclosure needed | Strongly preferred, to limit warping | Yes |
| Typical uses | Gears, hinges, bushings and hard-wearing mechanical parts | Heat-resistant, impact-tough engineering parts |
| Main drawback | Absorbs moisture from the air, so drying is not optional | Warps aggressively, and needs an all-metal hot end |
Prices are per kilogram of filament, with multi-spool bundles counted at their full weight, and are read from Amazon UK several times a day. The median is the middle listing among established 1 kg spools (new, with 100 or more reviews): half cost less per kg, half cost more. Little-known listings are left out of it because they are priced far higher and rarely bought; the listing counts and the cheapest figures cover everything we track.
Which should you buy: Nylon or PC?
Buy nylon for parts that slide, mesh or flex repeatedly. Buy polycarbonate for parts that must stay rigid when hot or take hard impacts, and only if your printer has an all-metal hot end that reaches 260 to 300°C and an enclosure. Neither is a sensible first material: if you have not yet printed PETG or ABS successfully, start there.
The five cheapest Nylon listings today
| Product | Material | Weight | Rating | Price | Per kg | Deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 CC3D Hard 72D TPU Filament Black 1.75 mm 1KG 3D Printer Filament High Hardness |
Nylon | 1 kg | 4.3 out of 5 (244 Amazon ratings) | £16.59 | £16.59 | — |
 CC3D Hard TPU Filament 72D Transparent 1.75mm 1KG 3D Printer Filament High Har |
Nylon | 1 kg | 4.3 out of 5 (121 Amazon ratings) | £16.59 | £16.59 | — |
 CC3D 72D Hard TPU Filament White 1.75mm 1KG 3D Printer Filament High Hardness |
Nylon | 1 kg | 4.5 out of 5 (90 Amazon ratings) | £16.59 | £16.59 | — |
 ERYONE Engineering Filament, 1.75mm 3D Printing Filament, Dimensional Accuracy |
Nylon | 1 kg | 4.1 out of 5 (90 Amazon ratings) | £18.69 | £18.69 | 15% below |
 eSUN Nylon Filament 1.75mm 1KG, 3D Printer Filament PA, Natural |
Nylon | 1 kg | 4.4 out of 5 (2,161 Amazon ratings) | £21.97 | £21.97 | 9% below |
All 59 Nylon listings, ranked by £/kg
The five cheapest PC listings today
| Product | Material | Weight | Rating | Price | Per kg | Deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 SUNLU PC Filament 1KG, 1.75mm Polycarbonate 3D Printer Filament, High Temperat |
PC | 1 kg | 4.6 out of 5 (99 Amazon ratings) | £20.98 | £20.98 | 16% below |
 ANYCUBIC PC 3D Printer Filament 1.75mm, Tough and Long-Lasting, 1KG White |
PC | 1 kg | 5.0 out of 5 (6 Amazon ratings) | £20.99 | £20.99 | 16% below |
 eSUN PC Filament 1.75mm 0.5KG, PC-HT High Temperature Resistant,Grey |
PC | 0.5 kg | 4.1 out of 5 (44 Amazon ratings) | £10.99 | £21.98 | 28% below |
 IEMAI PC CF 5KG, Polycarbonate Filament Filled with 20% Carbon Fibre, PC 3D Pr |
PC | 5 kg | 3.6 out of 5 (3 Amazon ratings) | £111.81 | £22.36 | 28% below |
 Polymaker PC01001 PolyLite Filament PC (Polycarbonat) Hohe Steifigkeit, hitzeb |
PC | 1 kg | 4.5 out of 5 (252 Amazon ratings) | £23.45 | £23.45 | 7% below |
All 40 PC listings, ranked by £/kg
Questions people ask
Is Nylon easier to print than PC?
Yes, Nylon is easier to print than PC. Nylon is demanding: the spool must be dried before printing and it is reluctant to stick to the bed. Polycarbonate (PC) is the hardest common filament to print, needing a hot end of 260 to 300°C, an enclosure and thorough drying.
Which copes better with heat, Nylon or PC filament?
PC copes better with heat than Nylon. Nylon copes with more heat than PETG, by an amount that varies with the grade. Polycarbonate (PC) stays usable well above 110°C.
Do you need an enclosed 3D printer for Nylon or PC?
Yes, both Nylon and PC are best printed in an enclosed 3D printer. Nylon strongly prefers an enclosure, to limit warping. Polycarbonate (PC) needs an enclosure, because it warps aggressively and delaminates in a draught.
Guides
-
Strongest 3D printer filament: types compared
Polycarbonate and nylon are the strongest common 3D printer filaments, but strong means four different things. Which filament type to pick for stiffness, impact, heat and layer bonding.
-
Filament dryers: do you need one, and what to buy instead
Wet filament is real and ruins prints, but a dedicated dryer is not the only answer. How to tell if moisture is your problem, and what to do about it.
-
Enclosed vs open-frame 3D printers: do you need an enclosure?
An enclosure matters enormously for ABS and ASA and barely at all for PLA. What a printer box really does for warping, fumes, noise and safety, and when an open frame is the better choice.