As of July 2026, the unit cost of an additive manufacturing material breaks down into three moving parts: bulk feedstock price, process-specific scrap/yield loss, and post-processing labour — and on most production parts the feedstock is only 5–25 % of the landed cost.
The comparison below covers metal powder (SLM/DMLS, EBM, DED), polymer filament and pellet (FDM/FFF, FGF), photopolymer resin (SLA, DLP), and the engineering-grade thermoplastic composites used in aerospace tooling.
Metal Powder: Ti-6Al-4V, AlSi10Mg, 316L and Inconel 718 Bands
Ti-6Al-4V ELI powder (ASTM B348 Grade 23 / F3001) trades in a wide band: $250–$400/kg for virgin gas-atomised powder, $120–$200/kg for recycled/reused powder (typical reuse 10–20 cycles with sieving + APS checks), and as low as $80–$120/kg for off-spec or non-aerospace lots. Particle size 15–45 µm is the SLM sweet spot; 45–105 µm is used for EBM and DED [S3].
AlSi10Mg sits at $40–$80/kg virgin, $25–$50/kg reused — the spread is narrow because atomisation yields are high and demand is dominated by automotive and consumer electronics. 316L stainless runs $30–$60/kg virgin and drops to $20–$40/kg after one or two reuse cycles. Inconel 718 powder is the premium nickel band at $80–$150/kg virgin, reflecting argon-atomisation cost and tighter chemistry control (Ni 50–55 %, Cr 17–21 %, Nb 4.75–5.5 %).
Reuse is the single largest cost lever a buyer can pull: a 30 % reuse rate on Ti-6Al-4V cuts effective feedstock cost from ~$320/kg to ~$225/kg before considering sieving, APS distribution checks and oxygen pickup. Anything above 250 ppm O on titanium is a hard stop for aerospace [S3].
Polymer Filament, Pellet and Resin Bands
FDM-grade PLA filament is the floor of the market at $18–$30/kg spool, PETG at $22–$35/kg, ABS at $20–$32/kg, and engineering nylons (PA6, PA12, PA-CF) at $60–$120/kg. Pellets for screw-extrusion FGF / Arburg Plastic Freeforming systems are cheaper per kg: $8–$15/kg for PLA, $20–$35/kg for PA6, $50–$80/kg for PA-CF and PPS-CF — but buyers pay for drying equipment and hopper integration [S1].
Carbon-filled and silicone-like formulations can exceed $300/kg.
For powder-bed fusion of polymers (SLS, MJF), PA12 powder trades at $60–$100/kg virgin, $40–$70/kg refreshed (typical 50/50 fresh-to-refresh blend, refreshed 4–6 cycles). TPU powder is roughly 1.6–2.0× the PA12 number. Compared with magnetic material of similar purity discipline, the cost is set by sieving cut and BET surface area rather than alloy content.
Process Cost Levers: Build Rate, Atmosphere and Post-Processing
For a 400 W single-laser SLM platform, the realistic titanium deposition rate is 4–8 cm³/h, which on 100 % dense Ti-6Al-4V (4.43 g/cm³) translates to 18–35 g/h of finished part mass. At a $320/kg virgin powder, raw material content per hour is only $6–$11 — the machine's hourly operating cost (€60–€150/h loaded) dominates [S3].
Vacuum-rated EBM systems avoid argon cost but pay for tungsten filament lifetime and 10⁻⁴ mbar pumps.
Post-processing is where most forecasts under-count: support removal, stress-relief (typically 700–800 °C for Ti-6Al-4V in vacuum or argon), HIP at 100–200 MPa / 900–950 °C, and surface finishing (bead blasting, chemical milling, electropolishing) routinely add 30–80 % to the as-built part cost on aerospace work. Buyers that skip HIP on non-critical brackets save 15–25 % but accept 2–5 % residual porosity [S2].
Comparison Table: Main Feedstock Families on Four Decision Criteria
Lining the four main options up against the criteria that drive purchasing decisions: [S1]
Metal powder (Ti/Al/Ni/Fe): $30–$400/kg feedstock, high mechanical performance, post-processing labour heavy, lead time 4–12 weeks for virgin lots. Polymer filament/pellet: $8–$120/kg, moderate mechanical performance, post-processing light (deburr, sand), lead time 1–4 weeks ex-stock. Photopolymer resin: $80–$300/kg, fine surface finish (Ra 0.01–0.05 mm achievable), post-processing is wash + UV-cure, lead time 2–6 weeks. Polymer powder (SLS/MJF PA12/TPU): $40–$100/kg, isotropic mechanical performance with no support, refresh blending required, lead time 2–6 weeks.
On cost per cm³ of finished part, the ranking flips. SLA resin at $150/kg and density 1.10 g/cm³ lands at $0.17/cm³ raw; SLS PA12 at $70/kg and density 0.95 g/cm³ lands at $0.07/cm³; SLM Ti-6Al-4V at $320/kg and density 4.43 g/cm³ lands at $1.42/cm³ — but the titanium part replaces a machined forging costing $3–$8/cm³ in low-volume aerospace, which is why the case still closes [S2][S3].
Who AM Material Sourcing Is For — And Who Should Look Elsewhere
AM feedstock is the right call when geometry complexity is high (lattice, conformal cooling, internal channels), when low-volume production runs below 200–500 parts, when lead time must beat 4 weeks, and when qualification has already been paid (typically $50k–$500k per part per OEM process). Aerospace brackets, medical implants (Ti-6Al-4V ELI per ASTM F3001), and low-volume injection-mould inserts are the canonical use cases [S2][S3].
AM is the wrong call when the part is a 100 mm turned shaft, when annual volume exceeds 5,000 identical parts (CNC or injection moulding wins on cost), when the buyer cannot absorb a 6–12 month qualification cycle, or when the production environment is dirty (oil, glass fibre) and powder contamination cannot be controlled. For those cases, a copper material billet on a CNC lathe or a quartz material tube in a standard size is faster and cheaper.
Standards, Sourcing Signals and 2026 Watch Items
Buyers should anchor specs to the relevant standards rather than brand names: ASTM F3001 for Ti-6Al-4V ELI medical, ASTM F3055 for Inconel 718 SLM parts, ISO/ASTM 52900 for AM terminology, ISO/ASTM 52904 for process performance, and Nadcap AC7110/12 for supplier heat-treatment and HIP accreditation. Powder chemistry should ship with a lot-certified analysis: O, N, H below 200/100/15 ppm for titanium, and full ICP-OES for the alloy base [S3].
Trackable signals for the next two quarters: 2026 H2 Ti-6Al-4V spot price (Chinese GB/T 3620.1 lots, EU ASTM F3001 lots), argon and helium index for SLM/EBM shielding gas, and any new ASTM F42 committee output on recycled-powder qualification. Buyers evaluating budget quotes for adjacent capital equipment can benchmark the cost logic in our [TIG welder 2026 price & cost guide](/news/tig-welder-price-and-cost-guide-2026-power-class-waveform-and-cooling-levers.html) and our plasma cutter 2026 cost guide — both share the same raw-material-plus-machine-time decomposition that drives AM economics.