**EPS** if you need:
- Cheap (€8-15/m³)
- Large blocks (easy to find 500x500x1000 at any builders' merchant)
- Lightweight final parts
- You can live with the visible "bead" pattern on cut surfaces
**XPS** (the pink/blue stuff) if you need:
- Smoother cut surface — no bead pattern, just slight melt finish
- Higher density / more rigidity per volume
- Better-looking parts for decoration / theatre props
- Tighter dimensional tolerance after cutting
XPS is 3-4× more expensive than EPS and harder to find in big blocks. For wings and one-off props: XPS. For prototypes, cosplay armor padding, sound-dampening: EPS.
- Cheap (€8-15/m³)
- Large blocks (easy to find 500x500x1000 at any builders' merchant)
- Lightweight final parts
- You can live with the visible "bead" pattern on cut surfaces
**XPS** (the pink/blue stuff) if you need:
- Smoother cut surface — no bead pattern, just slight melt finish
- Higher density / more rigidity per volume
- Better-looking parts for decoration / theatre props
- Tighter dimensional tolerance after cutting
XPS is 3-4× more expensive than EPS and harder to find in big blocks. For wings and one-off props: XPS. For prototypes, cosplay armor padding, sound-dampening: EPS.