PLA vs. PET
Both PLA and PET are thermoplastics. There are 13 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (11, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is PLA and the bottom bar is PET.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 3.5 | |
| 3.5 to 11 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 6.0 | |
| 2.5 to 70 |
| Flexural Modulus, GPa | 4.0 | |
| 8.3 to 14 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 50 | |
| 60 to 140 |
Thermal Properties
| Glass Transition Temperature, °C | 60 | |
| 70 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 50 | |
| 80 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 160 | |
| 260 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 1800 | |
| 1000 to 1150 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.3 | |
| 1.4 to 1.6 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 1.6 | |
| 1.2 to 4.4 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 40 | |
| 32 to 54 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 11 | |
| 12 to 27 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 25 to 41 |