Stainless steel vs Steel
Stainless steel and Steel are genuine alternatives to one another — a choice somebody actually makes — and differ on 4 measured properties, density most clearly.
Stainless steel vs Steel
Stainless steel
Steel with enough chromium to repair its own oxide film — the material that made corrosion a design choice rather than a certainty.
Steel
Iron with a controlled, small proportion of carbon — the most-used engineered material in the world.
| Property | Stainless steel | Steel |
|---|---|---|
| Density | 7.7–8 g/cm³ | 7.75–8.05 g/cm³ higher |
| Electrical conductivity | 1.45 MS/m | 6.99 MS/m higher |
| Melting point | 1370–1450 °C | 1370–1510 °C higher |
| Tensile strength | 480–2000 MPa higher | 400–2000 MPa |
| Thermal conductivity Only one of the two has a figure we can stand behind, so there is nothing to compare. | Not known | 15–54 W/(m·K) |
Choosing between them
Stainless steel is recorded as a substitute for Steel — more corrosion-resistant.
What it gives up: Several times the cost, and the work-hardening makes it harder to machine.
Direct substitute, on the evidence cited above.