eSUN PLA+ (PLA PRO): problems, parts and running costs

Checked: 2026-10-17

Summary

A modified-PLA 3D-printing filament (1.75 mm, 1 kg spools, ±0.03 mm) that prints with PLA-like ease and is less brittle than standard PLA, sold by eSUN’s US store at $16.99–22.99 per spool. The recurring problems are moisture — wet spools, stringing, popping and brittle snapping that drying usually fixes — plus a minority of recent brittle spools that drying did not clearly fix. Filament is the only consumable; owners budget for a dryer or dry box with desiccant.

Common problems and fixes

• Wet filament out of the box — fresh spools arrive wet enough to cause stringing, popping and holes in extruded lines. Drying is the fix: eSUN recommends 50 °C for 8–12 h, and one Prusa owner cut issues by about 90% with 60 °C for ~4 h; a dry box helps between prints. [10][1][9]
• Brittle snapping — the filament snaps when respooled and turns brittle after 2–3 days open to air; owners recover it with 6 h at 55 °C or 18–24 h at lower settings. [9]
• Recent brittle spools with no drying fix — a minority report “insanely brittle” spools bought in the last six months, with blue and black specifically mentioned, that did not clearly improve with drying. [12][13]
• Overcooking while drying — drying too hot or too long makes PLA+ brittle in the same way moisture does, turning good filament into “e-waste”; follow the 50 °C for 8–12 h guidance. [9][1]
• Recommended temperature band is not universal — one Prusa owner got best results below the recommended 210–230 °C, around 195–210 °C, so treat the band as a starting point. [10]
• Spec sheets disagree — the product page lists tensile strength (XY) at 70.37 MPa, the July 2025 TDS at 53.34 MPa and the MatterHackers datasheet at 65 MPa; treat any single quoted number as one of several values. [1][2][7]
• Food-contact claims disputed — eSUN claims FDA, EN 71-3 and EU food-contact compliance for the material, while a 2026 retailer analysis answers “Is eSUN PLA+ food safe? No.”; the claims cover the raw material, not printed parts. [1][8]

Parts and consumables

• PLA+ filament, 1.75 mm, 1 kg — $16.99–22.99 per spool at the eSUN official US store (checked 2026-10-16); 2, 4 and 5 kg multi-packs reduce the per-kg cost. This is the only true consumable. [1][3]
• Dryer or dry box with desiccant — owners treat it as close to necessary; vacuum storage with desiccant is standard practice. [9][10]
• Cardboard spool / AMS adapter — current store spools are cardboard and may not fit Bambu Lab AMS units without the free adapter STL eSUN provides. [3]

Yearly running cost

Filament is the only consumable: at $16.99–22.99 per 1 kg spool (eSUN official US store, checked 2026-10-16), a year of printing costs roughly your annual spool count times that price, and the multi-packs bring the per-kg cost down. Add a dryer or dry box with desiccant, which owners treat as near-requisite. Not enough data for a single fixed yearly figure — it depends on print volume.

When it is a good buy

• $18/kg or less — strong value: ±0.03 mm tolerance, 26+ colors, US-warehouse shipping and a large owner base; the eSUN store lists spools “as low as $16.99” (checked 2026-10-16). [1]
• $19–23/kg — fair; this is the normal official-store range ($22.99 regular) and matches the ~$24/kg street price quoted in 2021–2023. [1][6][4]
• $23–28/kg — weak for PLA+ specifically; in that band consider Polymaker PolyLite PLA (~$25/kg per All3DP) or filaments with stronger independent test coverage. [6]
• Over $28/kg — poor value for this product class. The Bambu PLA Basic is the better choice here only for Bambu Lab printers where AMS integration matters, since owners rate eSUN PLA+ at least slightly more durable. [12]

Sources

• eSUN PLA+ official product page — specs, drying guidance, store pricing
• eSUN PLA+ Technical Data Sheet, July 2025 (PDF)
• eSUN PLA+ 1.75mm 1KG — eSUN Official Store — cardboard spool, AMS adapter, multi-packs
• Everyone Needs to Print With These PLA Filaments — All3DP
• eSun Filament Buyer’s Guide — All3DP — 2021 pricing, PolyLite comparison
• eSUN 3D Printing Material Datasheet — MatterHackers
• ESUN PLA+ vs Standard PLA: A Data-Backed 2026 — SigmaFilament
• eSUN filament snapping — how much to dry? (Bambu Lab forum)
• Can’t seem to get good prints on eSun PLA+ (Prusa forum)
• Is PLA eSUN filament good filament? — r/3Dprinting
• Elegoo pla+ or keep using Esun pla+ — r/BambuLab — brittle-spool reports
• i am very disappointed with the E-SUN PLA+ filament — r/3Dprinting