How we rate
Every chip on the matrix traces to a spec database, documented verdict rules, and documented weights. This page is the documentation.
The MatchScore
MatchScore is a 0–100 editorial score across five weighted axes, applied identically to all 9 printers in the database:
- Capability30%
- Print quality, motion system, reliability of first layers, and how well the machine does its core job relative to its class.
- Material range25%
- How much of the materials matrix the machine covers: temperature ceilings, enclosure, and hardened-nozzle path. A printer you can only feed PLA scores accordingly.
- Value20%
- Capability and coverage per street dollar — judged against what the machine actually prints, never the spec-sheet bullet count.
- Ecosystem15%
- Slicer quality, profiles, multi-color systems, parts availability, and how much of the experience works out of the box.
- Serviceability10%
- Repairability, documentation, spare-part pricing, and whether you can fix the machine yourself when (not if) something wears out.
The compatibility verdict rules
Every cell on the match matrix is computed from the printer's spec sheet and the material's requirements — never hand-assigned. The rules, in order:
- ✕ Not recommended when the hardware can't reach the material's floor: the material is abrasive and no hardened nozzle exists for the machine, the hotend can't reach the material's minimum nozzle temperature, or the bed can't reach its minimum bed temperature. No amount of tuning fixes these.
- △ With mods when exactly one fixable gap remains: the material needs an enclosure and the printer is open ("needs enclosure or draft shield"), or the material is abrasive and the hardened nozzle is an available swap rather than stock ("needs hardened nozzle swap").
- ✓ Prints clean otherwise — stock hardware covers everything the material asks for.
Materials whose enclosure need is strongly recommended rather than mandatory (nylon) are treated as needing one — we would rather flag a mod you can skip than hide one you can't.
Settings tables
Temperature ranges on material pages are manufacturer-typical slicer ranges across major brands, not one vendor's numbers. Brands vary: start mid-range and tune with a temperature tower. Drying grades (low / medium / critical) reflect how quickly a material degrades in open air, not whether drying ever helps — it always does.
Where the numbers come from
Manufacturer spec sheets and slicer profiles, checked against major-retailer street prices. Prices are typical street pricing, not live quotes — they drift with sales, and we correct them when they drift materially. Spot a stale number? Tell us — a correction recomputes every verdict, ranking, and matrix cell automatically.
Commissions and the firewall
FilamentMatch earns affiliate commissions — including from Amazon — when you buy through our links. Scores and verdicts are computed from the database before any link is attached; no brand sees, sponsors, or edits a rating. A printer that can't print ABS keeps its ✕ no matter how well its links convert.
Corrections
Spec and temperature corrections get priority over everything else — the database is the product. Contact us.