Once you understand the differences between silicone and plastic, you can choose the more suitable materials for your production line, helping you better control procurement costs. This article will explore multiple aspects of the comparison between silicone and plastic to help you avoid the risks caused by choosing the wrong materials for your business.
What Is Silicone?
The silicone you know is a synthetic elastomer primarily composed of siloxane polymers containing silicon, oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. It possesses both elasticity and strength, is flexible, durable and resistant to high and low temperatures. Silicone also offers good resistance to many chemicals and environmental conditions.
Unlike ordinary plastics, due to its stable and reliable performance, it can adapt to harsh working conditions. Therefore, it is widely used in high-end fields such as aerospace, medical, and industrial applications and is often used to manufacture practical accessories like seals.
What Is Plastic?
Plastics are synthetic polymers made from petroleum-based compounds. Most common plastics used in consumer and industrial products are thermoplastics and can be reheated and remolded. There are many types, such as PVC, PET, and HDPE, which are common varieties, each with its own unique performance advantages.
Plastic is low-cost and lightweight, with a lightweight texture. It is widely used in industries such as packaging, auto parts and building materials. Some low-quality plastics may contain additives that raise safety concerns under certain conditions.
The Differences Between Silicone vs Plastic
Performance
| Property | Silicone | Common Plastics (PP/PC etc.) |
| Temperature Resistance Range | -40°C to +200°C (up to 230°C for platinum-cured type) | -20°C to +140°C |
| Softness | Excellent, adjustable (Shore A 30-80) | Typically rigid or semi-rigid |
| Elasticity and Resilience | Outstanding, elongation 300-600% | Limited, prone to permanent deformation |
| UV and Ozone Resistance | Excellent, anti-aging | Poor to moderate, prone to yellowing and becoming brittle |
| Chemical Resistance | Excellent | Moderate to good |
| Electrical Insulation | Excellent | Good to excellent |
| Biocompatibility | Excellent (food/medical grade) | Some contain BPA and phthalates |
| Recyclability | Difficult, requires dedicated recycling process | Easy, mainstream plastics for mechanical recycling |
| Biodegradability | Non-biodegradable | Non-biodegradable |
Silicone
From the above table, you can see that the comprehensive performance of silicone is outstanding. It has a wider temperature tolerance range and can be formulated across a wide hardness range. Its main drawback is recyclability due to thermoset nature.
Moreover, the silicone has low strength, average tear resistance (especially for thin-walled parts), and is prone to dust adhesion.If your product requires high temperature resistance, you can choose silicone.
Plastic
Ordinary plastics have relatively poor heat resistance, and their elasticity tends to undergo permanent deformation. After long-term use by your customers, they may turn yellow and become brittle. Moreover, some types may have potential hazards of harmful substances.
However, many plastics are recyclable.Moreover, plastic has high rigidity and good dimensional stability, and its transparency is superior to that of silicone. This makes them more suitable for your products that focus on high cost-effectiveness and mass production.
Cost
The various costs of silicone and plastic determine the MOQ differences in your choice of materials, as well as the pricing and profitability of your products.
Raw Material Cost
Among the raw materials, silicone has a relatively high price because the synthesis process of its basic raw materials is complex, and the cost of platinum-cured silicone is even higher. However, plastic benefits from the mature petrochemical industry, has a large production scale and lower costs, and can also reduce expenses by combining recycled materials.
You can refer to the following table for the main price differences:
| Grade / Type | Price Range (USD per kg) |
| General-grade Silicone | $2-3 |
| Food-grade / Medical-grade Silicone | $3-6 |
| Platinum-cured Silicone | $4-10 |
| Additives (Color masterbatch, auxiliaries, etc.) | +$1-2 |
| General-purpose Plastics (PP, PE) | $0.5-1.5 |
| Engineering Plastics (PC, ABS) | $1.5-3.0 |
Mold Cost
The cost of your silicone and plastic products will also be affected by the price of the molds. This is your input cost. To effectively avoid overruns in production costs, you can refer to the following table to match the production scale as needed and reasonably calculate the overall procurement budget.
| Type | Cost Range | Description |
| Single-cavity Silicone Mold | $500-1,000 | Ideal for small-batch production |
| Multi-cavity Silicone Mold | Higher | Suitable for mass production |
| Plastic Injection Mold | Generally higher | Cost rises sharply for complex multi-cavity molds |
Production Yield
Production yield refers to the ratio of the number of qualified and good products to the total output quantity. Understanding the production yield of silicone and plastic products can help you accurately calculate the actual cost, control the quality of the goods.
High-quality silicone production can achieve relatively high yield rates under stable process
conditions. After molding, there are fewer burrs, and it is less likely to have problems such as shrinking or warping. Although the raw material of silicone is more expensive, its high yield rate means that the cost of waste products is lower.
Plastic injection molding can also achieve high production yields, but defects such as warping sink marks, or flash may occur depending on mold design and process control. However, plastics are thermoplastics, and defective products can be recycled for reuse.
Applications
Silicone and plastic are indispensable materials in numerous industries. Due to their respective unique advantages, they perform well in various application fields.
Silicone Applications and Certifications
Silicone is highly valued in industries that require high precision, safety and durability. In applications for baby products and kitchenware, it is preferred due to its advantages of being safe and non-toxic, heat-resistant and easy to disinfect. It is also highly applicable in the fields of aerospace, healthcare and electronics.
For instance, silicone gaskets and O-rings are widely used in aircraft and industrial settings because these environments require excellent sealing performance.
If you are engaged in the production of medical components, due to the excellent elasticity and biocompatibility of silicone, it is your best choice. For electronic and automotive products, its insulating, weather-resistant and anti-aging properties make it suitable for various harsh usage environments.
Plastic Applications and Certifications
Plastics are the preferred materials in the packaging, construction and automotive industries, such as lightweight containers, durable pipes, vehicle interiors, and so on.
If you are looking for high cost-effectiveness and practicality, you can choose plastic materials to manufacture various hard structural components and disposable daily items. The adaptability of plastic can not only reduce procurement costs but also be suitable for automated mass production.
At the same time, due to its excellent light transmission properties, plastic can also be used to make transparent accessories, meeting the production needs of basic practical products.
Application Certifications
Understanding the necessary certifications for your product-related applications can help you precisely match different market entry standards, facilitate customs clearance, and avoid unnecessary losses. You can refer to the following table:
| Certification Standard | Applicable Market | Scope of Application | Test Contents |
| FDA | USA | Food contact materials | FDA 21 CFR 177.2600 |
| LFGB | Germany/EU | Food contact materials | Sensory test, overall migration, volatile organic compounds, peroxide residue, organotin |
| RoHS | EU | Electrical and electronic equipment | Lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBB, PBDE, four phthalates |
| REACH | EU | Chemical registration and evaluation | SVHC candidate list |
| ISO 10993 | Global | Medical devices | Series standards for biological evaluation |
| UL94 | Global | Flame retardant rating | V-0, V-1, V-2, HB etc. |
FAQ
Which is More Durable, Silicone or Plastic?
This depends on the usage environment of your customers. If it is used in outdoor exposure, repeated deformation and high-temperature conditions, silicone is more suitable. If it is used in an environment that requires impact resistance, plastic is more appropriate. Some engineering plastics (such as PA, POM) have better wear resistance than ordinary silicone.
Which is More Eco-friendly, Silicone or Plastic?
This depends on the metric you use for measurement. From the perspective of recyclability, the difficulty of recycling silicone is much higher than that of plastic. However, if we consider the environmental cost per unit of usage, silicone has more usage times than plastic, and the carbon emissions per use are lower.
Are There Any Lead Time Differences Between Silicone and Plastic?
Lead time depends on the molding process, tooling complexity, and production volume. In some cases, silicone tooling can be simpler during early-stage development, while plastic injection molding is more efficient for high-volume production.
Why Are Silicone Molds Usually Cheaper Than Plastic Molds?
In many low- to medium-volume projects, silicone molds can be simpler and less expensive than complex plastic injection molds.
For example, the injection pressure of LSR (liquid silicone rubber) is much lower than that of plastic injection. Therefore, the requirements for the mold steel are relatively lower. In terms of demolding design, the elasticity of silicone rubber allows for simpler ejection mechanisms or manual demolding.
Why Do Quotes Vary Greatly Among Different Silicone and Plastic Suppliers?
The different curing systems, certification levels and post-processing of silicone rubber will result in variations in its performance and application, thus leading to price differences. Moreover, plastics already have multiple categories and their performances are different, which also causes price variations.
Final Thoughts
Legensilico is a professional manufacturer of silicone. We have a variety of professional equipment and hundreds of staff members, which enables us to provide you with diverse silicone products and one-stop services. If you are interested in our factory, please feel free to contact us and we will cooperate further.
