Lexan vs. Polycarbonate: Same Material, Two Names
Short answer: there is no “versus.” Lexan is polycarbonate — a brand name for the same clear, extremely impact-resistant thermoplastic sheet. Comparing Lexan to polycarbonate is like comparing Kleenex to facial tissue. If a project calls for Lexan, any polycarbonate sheet of the same grade and thickness does the job.
Where the name comes from
Polycarbonate was developed in the 1950s, and General Electric brought its version to market under the trademark Lexan. GE's plastics business was acquired by SABIC in 2007, which owns the Lexan brand today. Because Lexan dominated the U.S. market for decades, the name stuck the way Plexiglas did for acrylic — many people say “Lexan” when they mean polycarbonate sheet in general.
Other names for the same sheet
Polycarbonate sheet is sold under several trademarks, all of them the same base material:
| Brand name | Material |
|---|---|
| Lexan (SABIC, formerly GE) | Polycarbonate |
| Makrolon (Covestro, formerly Bayer) | Polycarbonate |
| Tuffak (Plaskolite) | Polycarbonate |
| Palsun (Palram) | Polycarbonate |
| “Generic” polycarbonate sheet | Polycarbonate |
What actually differentiates one polycarbonate sheet from another is grade (standard, UV-stabilized, abrasion-resistant hard coat, bullet-resistant laminate, multiwall) and thickness — not the brand on the protective masking. We stock standard-grade virgin polycarbonate and cut it to your exact size.
Lexan vs. plexiglass — that one IS a real comparison
The comparison people usually mean to make is polycarbonate (Lexan) against acrylic (Plexiglas). Those are genuinely different materials: polycarbonate takes an impact that would crack acrylic, while acrylic is clearer, stiffer, more scratch-resistant, cheaper, and can be polished to a glass-like edge. We compare them property by property in Acrylic vs. Polycarbonate.
Buying Lexan cut to size
Because the material is the same, you don't need the brand — you need the thickness and the size. We cut clear polycarbonate in seven thicknesses from 1/16″ to 1/2″, with instant pricing and no minimum order. Our custom cut Lexan guide walks through choosing a thickness and ordering. One caution that applies whatever the sheet is called: polycarbonate should never go in a laser cutter — it scorches and can catch fire — so we saw-cut it.