Both PETG and acrylic are clear, both are tough and both get used for a lot of the same applications. So when someone lands on our site looking at sneeze screens, display panels or glazing sheets, the obvious question is: which one do I actually need?
The short answer is that acrylic wins on clarity and scratch resistance. PETG wins on impact strength and food safety. The longer answer depends entirely on what you’re making and where it’s going.
Where Acrylic Is the Better Choice
If your project demands the clearest possible material, acrylic is the one. At 92% light transmission with zero colour tint, it’s as close to glass as plastic gets. PETG sits at around 88-90% and can carry a faint blue-green cast, especially in thicker sheets. For picture framing, high-end retail displays, aquariums or anything where absolute optical clarity is the priority, acrylic looks noticeably better.
Scratch resistance also favours acrylic. It has a harder surface that holds up better to regular handling and cleaning without picking up marks. PETG’s softer surface scratches more readily, which matters for display pieces, furniture protectors and anything that people will touch or brush against daily.
For permanent outdoor installations, acrylic has the edge in UV stability. Quality acrylic with UV stabilisers will stay clear and colour-stable for 10 years or more in direct sunlight. PETG handles outdoor use well in the medium term but may show some degradation over extended periods of intense UV exposure.
Where PETG Is the Better Choice
Impact resistance is PETG’s standout advantage. It’s roughly five to seven times stronger than acrylic under impact. If someone drops it, kicks it or drives a trolley into it, PETG flexes rather than shattering. This makes it the obvious pick for machine guards, safety barriers, sneeze screens in busy commercial environments and any installation where breakage is a genuine risk.
Food safety is straightforward with PETG. It’s FDA and EU compliant for direct food contact, so you can use it for food display covers, packaging trays and anything in a commercial kitchen or food service environment. Acrylic isn’t rated for food contact as standard, which limits its use in these settings.
If you’re fabricating parts through thermoforming, vacuum forming or heat bending, PETG is significantly easier to work with. It forms at lower temperatures, doesn’t need pre-drying and holds its strength after forming. Acrylic can become brittle during thermoforming if the process isn’t carefully controlled.
Shipping and handling also favour PETG. Because it doesn’t shatter, it survives transit far better than acrylic. If you’re sending finished products or display units through a courier, PETG dramatically reduces the risk of arrival damage.
Quick Decision Guide
Choose acrylic for: premium displays, picture framing, aquariums, permanent outdoor glazing, furniture protectors, any application where optical clarity is the selling point.
Choose PETG for: machine guards, food displays, safety barriers, sneeze screens in high-traffic areas, vacuum-formed parts, packaging, any application where impact resistance or food safety matters most.
If you’re genuinely torn, ask yourself two questions. Will it get hit or knocked? Go PETG. Does it need to look absolutely pristine? Go acrylic.