The best UV-resistant filament for outdoor prints, backed by real-time price tracking across 5,000+ products. Updated daily.
Last updated: May 2026
ASA is what you print when the part lives outside. It's basically ABS with UV stabilizers baked in, so it won't yellow, crack, or become brittle from sun exposure. Same print requirements as ABS (enclosed printer, high bed temp), same acetone smoothing capability, but with the durability to survive years outdoors without degrading.
ASA is a niche material compared to PLA or PETG, so you won't find as many brands competing on price. That said, budget ASA options have gotten significantly more affordable over the past year, and the quality gap between budget and premium has narrowed. The main differentiator at the premium end is long-term UV stability - if your part needs to last 5+ years in direct sun, that matters.
SpoolHound tracks live ASA prices across these retailers:
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ASA at a glance
Print temperature
240-260°C hotend. Same range as ABS. Run the upper end (255°C) for layer adhesion on tall outdoor parts; lower end is fine for small detail work.
Bed temperature
100-110°C. Below 95°C and corners lift before the print finishes. Glass with glue-stick or textured PEI both work fine; smooth PEI alone is fussy on ASA, same as ABS.
Glass transition (Tg)
~100-105°C. Survives hot cars, summer roof temps, and outdoor electronics enclosures. Same heat resistance as ABS, with the bonus of UV stability ABS lacks.
Print speed
40-80mm/s. Same ceiling as ABS: push past 100mm/s and layer adhesion drops sharply. 60mm/s is the safe daily-driver speed for outdoor parts that have to hold up under load.
UV / outdoor
Excellent. This is the headline feature. Properly stabilised ASA holds color and mechanical properties for 5-10+ years in direct sun. Versus ABS yellowing in 6-12 months, the upgrade is dramatic.
Drying
Hygroscopic but slow. Dry at 80°C for 4-6h when prints start popping or surfaces look fuzzy. Wet ASA prints worse than wet ABS, since the acrylate component bubbles more visibly. Storage: vacuum bag with desiccant.
Acetone smoothing
Yes, but slower than ABS. Allow 30-50% longer exposure for the same surface effect. Finish tends toward satin rather than ABS's high gloss. ABS still wins for pure smoothing performance.
Layer adhesion
Strong in a warm enclosure (35-45°C ambient). Cold drafts cause layer splitting halfway up tall parts. It's the same failure mode as ABS, with the same fix (close the enclosure, drop the part fan).
Editor's picks for ASA, ranked
Six picks for outdoor 3D printing. Live prices below each ranking come from the same retailer feeds the rest of the site uses, refreshed daily.
1. Best overall: Polymaker PolyLite ASA (~$22/kg)
Polymaker's ASA is the most-recommended starting point on r/3Dprinting and r/FixMyPrint. Documented UV stabiliser package, low-warp formulation, prints with the Bambu Generic ASA profile out of the box. Sits between budget and premium on price, edges premium on print reliability.
2. Best budget: Elegoo ASA / SUNLU ASA (~$16/kg)
Fine for shaded outdoor parts, garage installations, anything that's not in direct sun all day. UV stabiliser content is lower than premium brands but still 5-10× ABS's effective lifetime outdoors. Vacuum-sealed, ships from Elegoo's regional warehouses with desiccant. Elegoo's full lineup.
3. Best for harsh sun: FormFutura ApolloX (~$32/kg)
Industrial-grade ASA designed for permanent outdoor installations. Multi-year field data from European industrial 3D printing users shows color shift staying under JIS class 4 after 5 years of southern-Europe direct sun. Pick this for Arizona / Australian / Mediterranean climate parts.
4. Best European premium: Extrudr GreenTEC ASA (~$30/kg)
Austrian-made, ±0.02mm diameter tolerance, well-documented UV package. Better local stocking for European customers than US brands. Slightly easier to print than ApolloX (warps less). Good pick for Voron build kit parts intended for outdoor printer enclosures.
5. Best for stiffness: ASA-CF (carbon-fibre filled) (~$40-55/kg)
Carbon-fibre-reinforced ASA for outdoor structural parts: drone arms, antenna mounts, RC car body panels. Stiffer than standard ASA, stays UV-stable, but wears brass nozzles fast (use hardened steel). Polymaker, Bambu, and Prusa all sell ASA-CF in this range.
6. Best for matched batches: Prusament ASA (~$30/kg)
Prusa's house brand, batch-tracked with public spool reports. Pick this when you're producing multiple matched parts (a series of garden brackets, a fleet of drone bodies) and need color and dimensions to stay identical across spools. ±0.02mm tolerance, batch-traceable.
01 / Budget ASA
Affordable ASA for outdoor projects
~$15-20/kg
For garden brackets, outdoor sensor housings, or anything that needs UV resistance without overspending, budget ASA from Elegoo and SUNLU does the job. Both brands print similarly to their ABS at the same temperatures (240-260°C hotend, 100-110°C bed), and the community reports good results for 3-5 year outdoor exposure on shaded or partially-shaded parts.
The trade-off versus premium ASA is UV stabiliser package consistency. Budget ASA uses a baseline UV additive that prevents most yellowing for the first few years, but premium brands (FormFutura ApolloX, Polymaker PolyLite ASA) use higher-loading or more-durable UV systems that hold color longer in direct sun. For garage and patio parts, budget is fine. For permanent direct-sun installations in hot climates, the premium upcharge is worth paying.
3DJake's ASA fills the same role for European customers: local stock, vacuum-sealed, similar pricing once duties are factored in. ABS vs ASA walks through when the upgrade from ABS is actually worth the cost.
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Community tip: ASA prints with the same settings as ABS. If you already have a working ABS profile, just load ASA and go - no tuning needed in most cases.
Extrudr, FormFutura, and Polymaker are the most-named premium ASA brands. All three are European or US manufacturers with tight quality control and documented UV stabiliser formulations. If your outdoor parts need to survive harsh sun for years without color shift or embrittlement, these are the go-to picks. FormFutura ApolloX in particular has multi-year field reports backing it up for industrial outdoor use.
Premium ASA also wins on consistency batch-to-batch. Diameter tolerance is tighter (±0.02mm versus ±0.05mm on budget), color matches across spools, and the chemistry is documented enough that you can tune slicer profiles confidently. For matched outdoor installations (a series of garden lights, a fleet of mailbox flags) that consistency is the deciding factor.
For maximum UV durability in extreme climates (Mediterranean / Australian / desert sun), FormFutura ApolloX is the named pick. For European customers who want consistent local stock, Extrudr GreenTEC ASA wins on availability. Prusament ASA hits the same tier with batch-traceable QC certificates.
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Worth knowing: Premium ASA is one of those materials where the brand genuinely matters for long-term performance. The UV stabilizer package differs between manufacturers, and budget brands sometimes skimp on it. For a mailbox that sits in Arizona sun, spend the extra money.
Built to survive sun, rain, and temperature swings
~$15-35/kg
Every ASA filament is designed for outdoor use, but applications vary widely in how harsh the environment actually is. For parts that face constant direct sunlight in hot climates (Arizona, southern Spain, northern Australia), maximise your chances: use a premium brand (FormFutura ApolloX or Polymaker PolyLite ASA), print at the upper temperature range for layer adhesion (255-260°C hotend), slow the print to 50-60mm/s, and use 4+ perimeters and 30%+ infill. The combination is what survives years of UV plus daily thermal cycling.
For moderate outdoor use (covered patios, under-eave mounting, north-facing walls, garage exteriors) budget ASA is fine and will outlast any PLA or PETG by years. PETG yellows and gets brittle within 12-18 months of direct sun; PLA warps in summer heat (Tg ~60°C) and embrittles within months. ASA is the only commodity material below polycarbonate that actually holds up outdoors.
For waterproofing outdoor enclosures, the geometry matters more than the material. Print 4+ perimeters, 40%+ infill, and design with a labyrinth seal or use a silicone gasket at any joint. Water doesn't damage ASA, but it will seep through layer-line gaps if walls are thin or perimeter count is low.
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Community tip: For outdoor enclosures and housings, print ASA with 4+ perimeters and 40%+ infill. Water doesn't damage ASA, but it can seep through thin walls via layer line gaps. More perimeters = better weather sealing.
SpoolHound aggregates filament prices from multiple retailers daily. We don't test filament or make subjective quality claims. We track what things cost and surface what the community says about them.
Prices shown are pulled directly from retailer feeds and updated every 24 hours. Market comparison percentages show how each product compares to the median price for its material type. This helps you spot genuinely good deals versus inflated "sale" pricing.
Picking ASA by what you're actually printing
ASA is a single-purpose material: outdoor parts. The right brand depends on how much sun and how many years you need it to survive.
Outdoor electronics enclosures
Pick Polymaker PolyLite ASA or FormFutura ApolloX. Print at 255°C with 4+ perimeters, 40%+ infill, and design in a silicone gasket groove at any seam. Avoid screw-thread inserts that leave thin walls; heat-set brass inserts in chunky bosses are the standard pattern. For weather sealing on cable entries, a printed labyrinth plus dab of silicone outperforms any glue-on grommet.
Garden, patio, and exterior fixtures
Pick Elegoo or SUNLU budget ASA. These parts get replaced every few years anyway as styles change, and budget ASA will outlast that cycle easily. Black or grey hides UV-induced color shift better than white or yellow. Print at 60mm/s with a brim, since partial-shade exposure means less thermal cycling stress than direct sun parts.
Drone and RC body parts
Pick ASA-CF (carbon-fibre filled) or PolyLite ASA. Drones see UV every flight, plus crash impacts and high-speed airflow. Carbon-fibre fill stiffens body panels and antenna mounts without weight; standard ASA is fine for shells and canopies. Use a hardened steel nozzle for ASA-CF to avoid wearing out brass within a few hundred hours.
Car interior and exterior parts
Pick Polymaker, Extrudr, or Prusament ASA. Car parts see brutal heat (interiors hit 70-80°C in summer) plus daily UV through windshields and roof glass. ASA's 100°C+ Tg handles cabin heat where PLA softens. For exterior trim or vent surrounds, premium brands hold color better than budget ASA in the 5-10 year timeframe these parts typically need to last.
Printer-specific ASA tips
ASA shares ABS's printer compatibility profile exactly: enclosed printers work, open-frame printers don't. Specifics for the common platforms below.
Bambu Lab X1C / P1S / H2D
The natural fit. Door closed, top glass on, Generic ASA profile, AMS loaded with a 1kg ASA spool: works first try for most users. Aux fan stays at 0% on the Bambu ASA profile; leave it. Built-in carbon filtration handles fume management for occasional prints. The Bambu filament guide covers AMS-compatible spool sizes. Only 1kg fits the AMS, and 3kg+ spools need an external rack.
Bambu Lab A1 / A1 Mini
Open-frame printers. Don't run ASA on these; Bambu's print profiles don't include it for that reason. The first layer might lay down fine but tall parts will warp or layer-split. If you need outdoor durability on an A1, your options are limited: PETG-HF survives a couple of years outdoors before yellowing badly, but for permanent installations you need an enclosed printer for ASA. There's no good open-frame outdoor material.
Prusa MK4S / MK3S+
Open-frame stock, but with Prusa's official enclosure ASA prints reliably. Use Prusament ASA with the bundled PrusaSlicer profile for best first-try results. The MK4S in particular handles ASA at higher speeds than older Prusa printers thanks to its tuned input shaping; 80-100mm/s is realistic for non-stress-bearing parts.
Voron and DIY enclosed printers
Voron printer parts themselves are commonly printed in ASA, since the printer's chamber stays warm enough during operation to risk softening PLA or PETG mounts on long jobs. Run chamber at 40-50°C ambient. PolyLite ASA, Bambu Generic ASA, and Prusament ASA all work fine with stock Voron print profiles. Keep the aux part-cooling fan low (10-30%); high cooling causes layer splitting in a hot chamber.
Common ASA pitfalls (and what actually fixes them)
The fixes below are the ones that actually work, not the ones that sound thorough on r/3Dprinting.
Corners lifting off the bed (warping)
Same fix as ABS, in the same priority order: (1) close the enclosure and let it heat-soak for 15 minutes; (2) bed at 105-110°C; (3) part fan at 0% for the first 5 layers. A brim helps the corners. ASA actually warps slightly less than ABS in identical setups; if you're warping with ASA, you'd be warping worse with ABS. The difference is small enough that bed/enclosure/fan tuning matters more than material choice.
Layer separation halfway up tall parts
Enclosure ambient too cool, or part fan too aggressive. ASA layer adhesion drops sharply when the previous layer cools below ~60°C before the next layer lands. Fix: chamber ambient at 35-45°C (close the top, kill drafts), part fan at 0-30% maximum. If you're already there, raise hotend temp 5°C, since under-extrusion at low temps looks identical to layer separation.
Yellowing after a few months outdoors
Either you bought low-stabiliser budget ASA for a high-UV environment, or you're actually looking at ABS that was sold as ASA. Check the spool. If it came from a no-name AliExpress listing, the chemistry might not be what the label says. Premium ASA from Polymaker, FormFutura, Prusa, or Extrudr won't yellow noticeably in the first year of direct sun. If a name-brand ASA yellows fast, contact the supplier, because UV stability is a chemistry guarantee.
Stronger smell than expected
ASA emits styrene plus acrylate-related VOCs during printing, with a slightly different smell profile from ABS but similar overall intensity. Some users find ASA more pleasant; others find it sharper. Same fix: enclosed printer with carbon filtration (X1C/P1S/H2D have it built in), or vent the enclosure exhaust outside. Don't sleep in the same room as a long ASA print.
When ASA isn't the right answer
ASA is the right pick for permanent outdoor parts. Indoor or special-case use, four other materials handle the job better.
If your part lives indoors, ABS does everything ASA does for less money. Same temps, same enclosure requirement, easier acetone smoothing, ~25% lower per-kg price. The only reason to pay the ASA premium is UV exposure; without it, ASA is just expensive ABS. ABS vs ASA walks through the comparison in detail.
If you don't have an enclosed printer, ASA isn't an option. PETG-HF gets close to ABS-grade heat resistance (Tg ~80°C versus 100°C) and prints open-frame. PETG outdoors lasts 12-24 months before yellowing, much shorter than ASA but acceptable for short-term outdoor projects. For permanent outdoor parts you'll need to upgrade to an enclosed printer first.
When 100°C softening isn't enough (engine-bay parts, oven mounts, anything near continuous heat) polycarbonate (Tg ~145°C) or PA-CF are the next steps up. PC blends like Polymaker PolyMax PC also have decent UV resistance. Both cost 3-5× more than ASA and need higher chamber temperatures.
Carbon-fibre-filled ASA is the right pick when you need outdoor durability plus extra stiffness: drone arms, antenna mounts, RC body panels. PA-CF is stiffer but absorbs water faster and is harder to print. For most outdoor structural parts, ASA-CF is the simpler choice.
Gaskets, weather seals, vibration dampers, flexible drone bumpers: ASA is too rigid for these jobs. TPU prints similarly to PETG (no enclosure needed for 95A), survives outdoor exposure for a few years before degrading, and absorbs impact in ways ASA can't. Mixed assemblies (rigid ASA housing with TPU gaskets) are the standard pattern for outdoor enclosures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I find the cheapest ASA filament right now?
This page tracks ASA across every retailer we follow and sorts it live by real cost per kg, so the cheapest in-stock option is always at the top. Prices refresh daily and are region-aware, so switch your region in the nav for local pricing. Because we rank by value per kg, a larger spool or a current sale often works out cheaper than a standard 1kg roll.
What is ASA filament used for?
ASA is the go-to filament for outdoor prints. It's essentially ABS with UV stabilisers built in, so it won't yellow or become brittle from sun exposure. Common uses: garden fixtures, car exterior parts, outdoor electronics enclosures, drone arms, mailboxes, outdoor signage, and anything that lives outside permanently. Indoors, ABS does the same job for less money.
Is ASA harder to print than ABS?
Almost identical. ASA needs an enclosure, hotend at 240-260°C, bed at 100-110°C. It's the same recipe as ABS. Some users report ASA warps slightly less, others report the same. If you can print ABS, you can print ASA with no profile changes. The Bambu Generic ASA profile in Studio is essentially the Generic ABS profile with the material name swapped.
How much does ASA filament cost?
Budget ASA from Elegoo or SUNLU runs $15-20/kg. Premium ASA from Extrudr, FormFutura, or Polymaker costs $25-35/kg. ASA is consistently 20-30% more expensive than equivalent ABS. That premium pays for the UV stabilisers and tighter QC. Check the live ASA prices for the current lowest landed cost in your region.
Can I use ASA instead of ABS?
Yes, ASA is a drop-in replacement for ABS. Same temps, same enclosure requirement, similar mechanical properties. ASA can be acetone smoothed (slightly less aggressively than ABS, since the acrylate component reacts more slowly). The only reason to choose ABS over ASA is price, and that's only justified for indoor parts where UV resistance is wasted.
Which ASA brand is best for outdoor use?
For long-term outdoor exposure, the community favours Polymaker PolyLite ASA, Extrudr GreenTEC ASA, and FormFutura ApolloX. All three use well-documented UV stabiliser packages and have multi-year field reports backing them up. Budget ASA from Elegoo and SUNLU works fine for shaded or covered outdoor parts; some users report slightly faster color fading on budget brands over 3+ years in direct sun.
Why is my ASA warping at the corners?
Same causes as ABS: enclosure ambient too cool (<35°C), bed temp too low (<100°C), or part fan too aggressive on the first layers. Fix by closing the enclosure, bumping bed to 105-110°C, and dropping fan to 0% for the bottom 5 layers. A brim helps the corners specifically. ASA actually warps slightly less than ABS in most setups, so if you're warping with ASA, you'd be warping worse with ABS.
Does ASA need an enclosure?
Yes, same requirement as ABS. ASA shrinks aggressively as it cools, and an open-frame printer can't hold the ambient temperature high enough to keep the part stable. Bambu A1, A1 Mini, and stock open-frame Enders shouldn't run ASA. With a printer enclosure (Bambu X1C / P1S / H2D, Prusa MK4S with enclosure, any Voron), ASA prints reliably first time.
Best ASA for Bambu Lab printers?
X1C / P1S / H2D handle ASA well, same setup as ABS: door closed, top glass on, Generic ASA profile. Bambu's own ASA filament prints with their tuned profile but costs ~$28/kg. For budget alternatives, Elegoo ASA and SUNLU ASA work with the Generic ASA profile out of the box. Avoid ASA on the A1 and A1 Mini entirely, because open-frame printers can't hold the chamber heat. See the Bambu filament guide for AMS-compatible spool sizes.
Can you acetone smooth ASA like ABS?
Yes, but more slowly. ASA's acrylate component reacts with acetone less aggressively than pure ABS. Expect 30-50% longer exposure times for the same surface effect. Some users report ASA smoothing produces a slightly less glossy finish than ABS, closer to satin. For maximum smoothing performance, ABS still wins; for outdoor parts that also need acetone smoothing, ASA is the right compromise.
How long does ASA last outdoors?
Properly-stabilised ASA holds up for 5-10+ years in direct sun without significant degradation. Color shift slows after the first year and stabilises. ABS in the same conditions yellows visibly within 6-12 months and becomes brittle within 2-3 years. PLA outdoors fails within months: warps in summer heat (Tg ~60°C) and embrittles from UV. For permanent outdoor installations, ASA is the only sensible commodity option below polycarbonate.