EPP and Beaded EPE, also searched as EPP vs EPE, are both closed-cell polyolefin bead foams molded in the same steam chest. The choice is whether the part holds a load or looks after a finish. EPP is stiffer, runs to 100 °C and recovers from repeated impact. Beaded EPE is softer, kinder to a finished surface, weathers better than any other polyolefin here, and stays serviceable to −70 °C.
The Beaded EPE on this page is molding-grade polyethylene bead foam, not extruded EPE sheet or pearl-cotton wrap. That distinction changes every number in the table. Figures are typical property ranges for molded parts, not guaranteed limits; we confirm final values in writing before tooling.
These two are closer than any other pair here: same polymer family, same chemical resistance, same machines, overlapping densities. EPP is stiffer, runs hotter and takes repeated hits; Beaded EPE is softer, goes far colder and is safe against a finish.
The EPP and Beaded EPE columns of the thirteen-material dataset behind our comparison tool. A wide range is usually a density range.
| Property | EPP | Beaded EPE | What the gap means for your part |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molded density (kg/m³) | 20–66 | 20–74 | Beaded EPE is published in more density steps than any other material we mold, seven against four for EPP, so the sizing steps are finer. |
| Compression stress at 10% strain (kPa) | 50–325 | 44.8–241.3 | EPP is stiffer at the top of each range. Beaded EPE at 74 kg/m³ still only reaches 241.3 kPa, where EPP at 66 kg/m³ reaches 325 kPa. |
| Energy return / rebound (%) | 30 | 50 | This row runs opposite to stiffness: Beaded EPE springs back harder, EPP damps the hit and stays put. For an energy absorber that is an advantage rather than a shortfall. |
| Long-term service temperature (°C) | 100 | 80 | A real 20 °C margin to EPP. Anything in an engine bay, a hot air path or a sealed container in the tropics defaults to EPP. |
| Minimum service temperature (°C) | −40 | −70 | The largest gap in the table, and the one that ends most cold-chain arguments. Deep-frozen and cryogenic-adjacent handling is Beaded EPE territory, not EPP. |
| Thermal conductivity, W/(m·K) | 0.036–0.042 | 0.0346–0.0433 | Effectively level, with Beaded EPE marginally better at its mid densities. Neither replaces EPS when insulation leads the specification. |
| Feel and rigidity | Semi-rigid: cushions under load, not under a finger | Medium-soft: flexible and scratch-safe but supportive | The most useful row for a designer. Beaded EPE flexes into place and forgives a surface; EPP holds a shape and resists a load. |
| Flame behaviour | GB 8410 ≤70–90 mm/min | FMVSS 302 | Both are published against a horizontal burn method, so both can answer an automotive interior requirement: EPP by grade with FR options, Beaded EPE at every density. |
| Chemical resistance | Polyolefin base: good with acid, alkali, alcohols; not aromatics or chlorinated solvents | Polyolefin base: good with acid, alkali, alcohols; not aromatics or chlorinated solvents | Identical, because the base chemistry is the same family. Chemistry is one axis this comparison cannot be decided on. |
| Weather resistance | PP tertiary hydrogen triggers photo-oxidation; chalks outdoors within months without additives | Saturated linear backbone, no tertiary hydrogen; best weathering among polyolefins | A structural difference, not a formulation one. If the part lives outdoors, Beaded EPE starts ahead and EPP has to be stabilised to catch up. |
| End of life | Thermoplastic, re-pelletisable, no cross-linking | Thermoplastic, re-pelletisable, no cross-linking | Identical again. Both are single-polymer thermoplastics that can be ground and re-pelletised with no cross-linking to work around. |
Same dataset, all thirteen materials
EPP reaches 325 kPa at 10% strain in its densest grade; Beaded EPE reaches 241.3 kPa and needs 74 kg/m³ to do it, against 66 for EPP. More load capacity, at lower mass. Energy return runs the other way, 30% against 50%: EPP damps the hit inside the foam instead of handing it back to the payload.
Beaded EPE is medium-soft, flexible and scratch-safe: it can be pressed against a painted panel without marking it, and flexed into position rather than fitted exactly. Tear strength is 2.45–5.95 kN/m and elongation 22–38%, far beyond EPP, so a liner survives being pulled, folded and re-seated during assembly. Most surface-critical packaging in consumer electronics is Beaded EPE.
EPP runs continuously to 100 °C. Beaded EPE is published at 80 °C maximum at every density, and no grade closes that 20 °C, so engine bays and hot-fill lines start from EPP. The cold end runs the other way and further: Beaded EPE is serviceable to −70 °C against −40 °C for EPP, which settles cold-chain work.
Polypropylene carries a tertiary hydrogen on every repeat unit and UV photo-oxidation attacks it, so unstabilised EPP chalks outdoors within months. Polyethylene has a saturated linear backbone with no tertiary hydrogen, which makes Beaded EPE the best-weathering polyolefin we mold. Both can be stabilised with UV absorbers or carbon black; Beaded EPE needs less of it.
Beaded EPE passes FMVSS 302 at every density we supply. EPP is published against GB 8410: ≤70 mm/min at 54–66 kg/m³, ≤80 at 40–50 kg/m³, ≤90 at 27–33 kg/m³, with flame-retardant grades available. Both are horizontal burn methods; neither is a vertical-burn classification. Tell us the standard you are audited against and we confirm what that grade holds.
Beaded EPE comes in seven standard densities from 20 to 74 kg/m³, against four EPP grades from 20 to 66. Compression at 10% strain steps 44.8, 55.2, 70.3, 91.0, 115.8, 202.7 and 241.3 kPa, so a design that is 15% too soft can move one step instead of one grade.
Both materials are molded in the same vented aluminium steam chest, so tooling is priced off the part rather than off the bead. The polymers shrink differently, so a tool cut for one is rarely dimensionally perfect in the other. Piece price follows the polymer in the part, and Beaded EPE often needs a higher density for the same stress: compare finished part mass, not bead price.
Ten application families, the material we start from, and the reason.
| Application | Start from | Typical density | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface-critical liners for painted or polished parts | Beaded EPE | 24–45 kg/m³ | Scratch-safe, flexible, no bead edges that imprint. The finish is the specification, not the drop height. |
| Returnable dunnage and KLT inserts | EPP | 27–50 kg/m³ | Hundreds of trips. Stiffness, recovery after impact and dimensional stability are what is being bought. |
| Deep-frozen and cold-store handling parts | Beaded EPE | 30–45 kg/m³ | Serviceable to −70 °C. EPP stops at −40 °C, so this is not a close call. |
| Automotive energy absorption | EPP | 40–66 kg/m³ | Cabin temperatures, a GB 8410 burn-rate specification, and a core that has to survive a low-speed event intact. |
| Automotive interior trim backing and pillar padding | Beaded EPE | 24–45 kg/m³ | Soft against a finished trim face, flexible during assembly, and FMVSS 302 at every density. |
| Appliance and HVAC internals | EPP | 27–50 kg/m³ | Air paths run warm, above the 80 °C Beaded EPE ceiling, and the parts have to be stiff enough to locate. |
| Consumer electronics and display packaging | Beaded EPE | 20–37 kg/m³ | Light payloads, high finish sensitivity, and a liner that gets handled repeatedly during assembly. |
| Outdoor and long-daylight-exposure parts | Beaded EPE | 30–74 kg/m³ | A saturated backbone with no tertiary hydrogen. Beaded EPE starts ahead outdoors and needs a smaller additive package. |
| Battery module trays and ESS packaging | EPP | 40–66 kg/m³ | Load-bearing and returnable, and usually required to hold a flame specification with FR grades available. |
| Cold-chain shippers where insulation leads | Neither (EPS) | 20–25 kg/m³ | A third material fits better. If holdover time is the requirement, EPS insulates better than either polyolefin. |
EPP is ordered by density grade, Beaded EPE by density directly; either way the number decides the part more than the polymer does. EPP compression figures are at 10% strain to ISO 844, Beaded EPE values to ASTM D3575.
| Grade or density | Material | Density (kg/m³) | Compression at 10% strain (kPa) | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–25 kg/m³ | EPP | 20–25 | 50–70 | Ultra-light cushioning, insulation and dunnage where weight is the constraint. |
| 27–33 kg/m³ | EPP | 27–33 | 70–100 | Protective packaging and lightweight parts with strong energy absorption. |
| 40–50 kg/m³ | EPP | 40–50 | 130–175 | Structural cushioning: automotive, handling trays, heavier returnable packaging. |
| 54–66 kg/m³ | EPP | 54–66 | 255–325 | Structural and load-bearing parts. The stiffest option in this comparison. |
| Beaded EPE 20 and 24 | Beaded EPE | 20 · 24 | 44.8 · 55.2 | The lightest liners. Elongation 38% and 35%, so they flex into place around finished surfaces. |
| Beaded EPE 30 and 37 | Beaded EPE | 30 · 37 | 70.3 · 91.0 | The volume band for surface-critical packaging: tear 2.98–3.33 kN/m, compression set 4% at 25% strain. |
| Beaded EPE 45 | Beaded EPE | 45 | 115.8 | Where load starts to matter as much as surface care. Conductivity still 0.0346 W/(m·K). |
| Beaded EPE 67 and 74 | Beaded EPE | 67 · 74 | 202.7 · 241.3 | The stiff end of Beaded EPE. Tensile 675.7–827.4 kPa and tear up to 5.95 kN/m, for structural liners that still must not mark. |
Extruded EPE (pearl cotton, foam wrap, laminated sheet) is a low-density roll product converted by cutting. The Beaded EPE here is molding-grade polyethylene beads blown into a vented aluminium cavity and fused with steam, the same way EPP is made.
Molded Beaded EPE holds real three-dimensional geometry: pockets, ribs, molded-in inserts, a molded skin instead of a cut face, repeatable part to part. It also goes to 74 kg/m³, well above roll stock, which is why it costs more per part. If the part is a flat pad or a low-volume void filler, cut sheet is cheaper and there is no reason to tool for it.
Every comparison here comes from the same eleven-property dataset. If this pair is not yours, one of these is.
| Comparison | The decision it settles |
|---|---|
| EPP vs EPS foam | Recovery against cost. Whether the part is struck once or many times, and whether insulation or reuse leads the specification. |
| EVA vs EPP foam | Soft conforming contact against structural load. Whether the foam touches a surface or carries it. |
| EPP vs ETPU foam | Elastomer resilience at around 200 kg/m³ against all-round cushioning at 30. What the extra polymer mass actually buys. |
| EPP vs EPO foam | Where a PS/polyolefin composite bead at 16 kg/m³ is better value than either EPS or EPP. |
| All thirteen, ranked | Every material sorted on each of the seven properties that settle a spec. |
| EPE vs Beaded EPE foam | The same polyethylene shaped two ways: what the forming route costs and buys. |
| Cut vs molded foam | Which forming process the part needs: shape freedom and seams against tooling commitment. |
Stiffness and temperature, mostly. EPP is the stiffer material, at 50–325 kPa at 10% strain against 44.8–241.3 kPa for Beaded EPE, and it runs continuously to 100 °C against 80 °C. Beaded EPE is medium-soft, more flexible, far kinder to a finished surface, weathers better outdoors, and stays serviceable to −70 °C where EPP stops at −40 °C. Both are closed-cell polyolefin bead foams molded on the same machines with the same chemical resistance and the same recycling route.
No. Extruded EPE is a low-density roll good converted by cutting, useful for wrapping and void fill. Molded Beaded EPE is a molding-grade polyethylene bead foam fused with steam in an aluminium cavity, exactly like EPP, so it can hold true three-dimensional geometry with pockets, ribs, contoured nests and molded-in inserts, has a molded skin instead of a cut face, and is available up to 74 kg/m³.
Beaded EPE, by a very wide margin. It stays serviceable down to −70 °C, while EPP is rated to −40 °C. That makes Beaded EPE the material for deep-frozen logistics, cold-store handling parts, dry-ice-temperature pharmaceutical transport and anything approaching cryogenic handling. At the hot end the order reverses: EPP runs to 100 °C against 80 °C for Beaded EPE.
EPP in compression, Beaded EPE in tension and tear. EPP reaches 325 kPa at 10% strain at 54–66 kg/m³, while Beaded EPE reaches 241.3 kPa at 74 kg/m³, so EPP gives more load capacity at lower mass. Beaded EPE is ahead on tensile strength up to 827.4 kPa, elongation of 22–38% and tear strength up to 5.95 kN/m, which is what lets it be flexed, folded and re-seated without splitting.
Both are published against a horizontal burn method, but not the same one. Beaded EPE passes FMVSS 302 at every density we supply. EPP is published against GB 8410 with burn rates of ≤70 mm/min at 54–66 kg/m³, ≤80 at 40–50 kg/m³ and ≤90 at 27–33 kg/m³, with flame-retardant grades available across the density range. Neither figure is a vertical-burn classification, so tell us the standard your program is audited against and we will confirm in writing what the grade holds.
The tool is priced off the part rather than off the bead, because both materials run in the same vented aluminium steam chest on the same machines. So a material switch does not automatically mean a new tool. It does mean a dimensional check, because the two polymers shrink differently and a tool cut for one is rarely dimensionally perfect in the other.
You do not have to name a material. Tell us what the foam touches, what it carries, how cold or hot it gets, and how often it is handled. We come back with a material, a density, a sample plan and a price.