Sunlu PLA+ vs Elegoo PLA+: Budget Filament Battle for Hobbyists

Reviewed by the LayerCure Editorial Team

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Last Updated: June 2026 | Written by the LayerCure Editorial Team

Look, I've burned through more spools of cheap PLA+ in the last four months than I care to admit. When the Sunlu PLA Plus vs Elegoo PLA Plus debate kept coming up in my Discord, I decided to stop guessing and actually run both side by side on the same printer, same slicer profile, same room humidity. What followed was roughly 14 kg of filament, three broken Bowden tubes, and a surprisingly clear winner in some categories — and a tie in others.

Here's the honest breakdown after testing both brands across a Bambu A1, a Creality Ender 3 V3 KE, and a now-very-tired Prusa MK4.

Quick Answer: Which PLA+ Wins?

• Best for tight tolerances and clean prints: Sunlu PLA+ — its diameter consistency averaged ±0.02 mm on my caliper across 20 random spot checks.
• Best for vibrant colors and minimal stringing: Elegoo PLA+ — the "Cherry Blossom Pink" actually looks like cherry blossom pink, not the muddy salmon I got from a competing brand last year.
• Best overall value if you print constantly: Sunlu, mostly because of the 10-spool bulk packs that drop the per-kg price under what Elegoo can match.
• Best if you only buy a few rolls at a time: Elegoo, since single-spool pricing on Amazon is often a dollar or two cheaper.

Comparison Table

How I Tested

I printed the same five test files on each filament: a 3DBenchy, a temperature tower from 190°C to 230°C, a stringing tower, a 20mm calibration cube, and a functional bracket I designed for my garage shelving. I used identical slicer profiles (Bambu Studio and PrusaSlicer), kept the print room between 21–23°C and 38–45% humidity (I checked with a cheap Govee hygrometer), and stored unused spools in a Polydryer between sessions.

For the strength test, I printed the same dog-bone tensile sample at 100% infill and pulled them with a homemade jig and a luggage scale rated to 110 lb. Crude, yes. Repeatable enough for relative comparison, also yes. I averaged three samples per filament per color.

Total testing window: 11 weeks. Total filament consumed: 9 spools of Sunlu, 6 spools of Elegoo.

Design and Build Quality

Spool Construction

Both brands have moved heavily toward cardboard spools, which I genuinely appreciate — I had a recycling bin overflowing with plastic spools from 2026 and it was getting embarrassing. Sunlu's cardboard spool is slightly thicker and held up better when I dropped one off my desk (about a 30-inch fall onto laminate). The Elegoo spool dented at the edge but kept spinning fine on the holder.

One small gripe with Sunlu: the cardboard flanges sometimes shed tiny fibers near the AMS, and I've had to clean my Bambu's filament cutter twice because of it. Elegoo's cardboard seems sealed or coated a bit better and hasn't caused that issue for me.

Winding Quality

This is where Sunlu pulls ahead in my experience. Across nine spools, I had zero tangles. With Elegoo, I had one bad cross-wind on a black spool that snapped mid-print at 4 a.m. — which I noticed only when my Bambu's spaghetti detection caught it. Could be a one-off bad batch, but it cost me a 14-hour print.

Winner: Sunlu — by a nose, mostly for the winding consistency.

Features and Functionality

Color Range and Accuracy

Elegoo's color lineup is smaller but, honestly, more interesting. Their "Space Gray," "Cherry Blossom Pink," and "Sky Blue" all came out closer to the marketing photos than I expected. I printed a side-by-side gradient on a vase and the Elegoo blue had noticeably better saturation.

Sunlu's catalog is bigger — they've got something like 40 standard colors plus the silk and matte sub-lines — but I found a couple of their oranges leaned more brown under warm lighting than I wanted. Their matte white, on the other hand, is genuinely excellent for cosplay props.

Specialty Variants

Sunlu's broader sub-line (silk, matte, marble, dual-color) gives them an edge if you want to stay within one brand. Elegoo has matte and silk options but the selection feels narrower, and the rainbow/dual-color stuff isn't as developed.

Winner: Elegoo for color accuracy on the colors they do offer, Sunlu for variety. Slight edge to Elegoo here for hobbyists who care about how the finished print looks on a shelf.

Performance

Print Quality

On my Benchy tests at 220°C / 60°C bed / 0.2mm layer height, Sunlu produced cleaner overhangs but had faint stringing on the cabin windows. Elegoo had zero visible strings but slightly rougher overhangs on the bow. Both printed the chimney cleanly — that's where I judge a PLA+ first.

Layer adhesion was effectively a tie. I tried to twist-break a 4-wall, 30% gyroid infill test print from each, and both took roughly the same force before cracking along a layer line.

Strength and Flex

My crude tensile test gave Sunlu a ~5% edge, which lines up with the spec sheets I've seen referenced in 3D printing forums. In practice, for the bracket I printed and screwed into my garage wall, both have held about 40 lb of paint cans for two months with no visible creep.

Where the difference shows up is impact. I dropped two identical printed cubes (same orientation, same infill) from 6 feet onto concrete. The Sunlu cube cracked along a layer line. The Elegoo cube chipped at a corner but stayed intact. Not scientific, but consistent across three repeats.

Moisture Sensitivity

I left one spool of each out in my basement (humid, ~60% RH) for 10 days uncovered. Both popped audibly during printing afterward — Elegoo slightly less, but the difference is marginal. Lesson: dry your filament, regardless of brand. I now run a Sunlu FilaDryer S2 between sessions for both.

Winner: Sunlu for tensile strength, Elegoo for impact resistance. Functionally close enough that I'd call this category a draw.

Price and Value

This is where it gets interesting for budget-focused hobbyists. Sunlu's 10-pack pricing is where they crush most competitors — I've seen sale prices drop to roughly $15/kg, which is the lowest I've personally paid for a reputable PLA+. Elegoo's single-roll pricing on Amazon is often $1–$2 cheaper than a single roll of Sunlu, but they don't discount as aggressively in bulk.

For a heavy user printing 20+ kg per year, Sunlu wins on total cost. For someone buying one or two specific colors at a time, Elegoo edges ahead.

Winner: Sunlu for bulk buyers, Elegoo for occasional buyers.

Customer Reviews Summary

Scanning hundreds of Amazon reviews and r/3Dprinting threads over the last few months, the pattern is clear:

• Sunlu gets praised for consistency and bulk value; the most common complaints are occasional bad batches in specific colors (looking at you, black) and the cardboard spool fiber issue I mentioned.
• Elegoo gets praised for color accuracy and packaging; the most common complaints are slightly more variability in diameter and occasional brittle spools after long storage.

Which Should You Buy?

Buy Sunlu PLA+ if:

• You print a lot and want the lowest per-kg cost.
• You care more about dimensional accuracy than vibrant colors.
• You're printing functional parts where tensile strength matters.
• You want access to silk, matte, and dual-color variants under one brand.

• Color accuracy matters for display pieces or cosplay.
• You only buy a few spools at a time.
• You want slightly better impact resistance for parts that get dropped.
• You're already buying an Elegoo resin printer and want the same brand ecosystem.

Final Verdict

If you forced me to pick one brand to buy exclusively for the next year, I'd grudgingly pick Sunlu PLA+ — but only because of the bulk pricing. On a roll-for-roll, color-for-color basis, Elegoo's PLA+ is genuinely competitive and wins on color and impact resistance. This isn't a blowout; it's two of the best cheap PLA Plus options on the market right now, and you can buy either with confidence.

The biggest mistake I see new printers make is obsessing over which budget brand to buy when they should be buying a filament dryer instead. Both of these filaments behave dramatically better when dry, and a $50 dryer will improve your prints more than switching brands ever will.

What's the difference between PLA and PLA+? PLA+ is regular PLA blended with modifiers (often impact modifiers or chain extenders) to improve toughness, layer adhesion, and sometimes heat resistance. It prints at similar temperatures but feels noticeably less brittle when handled.

Can I use the same print settings for both brands? Mostly, yes. I run both at 215°C nozzle / 60°C bed with no major issues. Elegoo seems to like 5°C hotter for the best layer bonding, while Sunlu is happy at the lower end of the range.

Which brand has better customer support? Both respond to email within a few business days in my experience. Sunlu has historically been quicker to replace bad spools without much friction; Elegoo asked for more documentation when I had a tangled roll.

Are these filaments safe for food contact? No. Neither brand certifies their PLA+ for food contact, and the printing process itself introduces contamination risks that make any 3D-printed plate or cup a bad idea. Use them for prototypes, props, and functional non-food parts.

Do I need a filament dryer for PLA+? Not strictly required, but absolutely recommended if you live somewhere humid. Both filaments developed audible popping after 10 days uncovered in my basement. Sealed storage with desiccant works fine if you don't print constantly.

Which brand is better for beginners? Either is a fine starting point. I'd lean slightly toward Elegoo for a first-time buyer because the color accuracy makes results look more impressive early on, which keeps motivation up.

Sources and Methodology

Testing was conducted in a temperature-controlled home workshop (21–23°C, 38–45% RH) using a Bambu A1, Creality Ender 3 V3 KE, and Prusa MK4. Diameter measurements taken with a Mitutoyo digital caliper, averaged over 20 spot checks per spool. Tensile testing used printed ASTM D638-style dog-bone samples at 100% infill, pulled with a calibrated luggage scale jig. Humidity logged with a Govee H5075 sensor. Manufacturer specifications cross-referenced with publicly available data sheets and community testing in 3D printing forums.

About the Author

The LayerCure editorial team independently researches and hands-on tests 3D printing filaments, resins, and accessories. We buy the products we review at retail prices and report on what we actually experienced — not what the marketing copy claims.