Stainless steel vs Titanium
Stainless steel and Titanium are genuine alternatives to one another — a choice somebody actually makes — and differ on 4 measured properties, density most clearly.
Stainless steel vs Titanium
These are different kinds of thing (alloy, element). Fewer properties mean the same thing across both, so a like-for-like reading may not be available.
Stainless steel
Steel with enough chromium to repair its own oxide film — the material that made corrosion a design choice rather than a certainty.
Titanium
Ti
As strong as steel at half the weight, abundant in the crust, and expensive because it is difficult to extract rather than rare.
| Property | Stainless steel | Titanium |
|---|---|---|
| Atomic number Only one of the two has a figure we can stand behind, so there is nothing to compare. | Not known | 22 |
| Density | 7.7–8 g/cm³ higher | 4.51 g/cm³ |
| Electrical conductivity | 1.45 MS/m | 2.4 MS/m higher |
| Melting point | 1370–1450 °C | 1668–1670 °C higher |
| Mohs hardness Only one of the two has a figure we can stand behind, so there is nothing to compare. | Not known | about 6 |
| Molar mass Only one of the two has a figure we can stand behind, so there is nothing to compare. | Not known | 47.867 g/mol |
| Tensile strength | 480–2000 MPa higher | 240–370 MPa |
Choosing between them
Titanium is recorded as a substitute for Stainless steel — more corrosion-resistant, lighter.
What it gives up: Far more expensive, galls against itself, and is difficult to weld outside an inert atmosphere.
In this application, on the evidence cited above.