Gallium is a soft, silvery metal that melts at 29.76 C (85.58 F), low enough that a solid chunk turns liquid in your palm. No US chain stocks it, so buying means a metals dealer, a chemistry supplier, or a marketplace seller. Here is what to check on a listing, a fair price per gram right now, and the storage mistake that ruins a first order.
This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Who Actually Needs Gallium
Gallium is a chemical element (symbol Ga, atomic number 31) sold as a pure metal for demonstrations, low-melting alloys, and lab work. It sits in group 13 of the periodic table, directly below aluminium, and holds a liquid state from 29.76 C up to a boiling point near 2,400 C. Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran isolated it in 1875.
Four groups buy it:
- Teachers and demo builders. 20 to 50 gram vials for the melt-in-hand trick.
- Hobby metallurgists. Feedstock for Galinstan, the gallium-indium-tin alloy that replaced mercury in some thermometers.
- Element collectors. One labeled specimen for a periodic table display.
- Small labs and makers. Coatings, thermal interface tests, semiconductor precursor work.
Industrial demand is why small quantities are easy to get at all. Most refined output becomes gallium arsenide and gallium nitride for radio-frequency chips, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and solar cells, so hobby vials ride along on a supply chain built for electronics.
Buying Criteria: What Separates Good Gallium From Bad
Purity decides everything else on the listing, and sellers write it in “N” notation, where N counts the nines. Buy 4N or better unless you only need alloy feedstock.
| Grade | Purity | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| 3N | 99.9% | Reclaim stock for alloy mixing, often dull |
| 4N | 99.99% | Classroom and hobby standard, mirror bright |
| 5N | 99.999% | Research work, sold in sealed ampoules |
| 6N and up | Six nines | Wafer production, rarely sold retail |
A grade printed on the page. Sellers of high-purity gallium advertise the number because it is what they charge for. If none appears, assume reclaim material.
Container material. This metal expands about 3.1% when it freezes, the same trick water pulls, so a glass vial filled to the shoulder can crack in a cold room. Use polyethylene past 50 grams.
Net weight, not gross. Some marketplace listings quote shipped weight including the container. Read the grams, not the photo.
Oxide film. Exposed surfaces dull as slow oxidation forms a thin skin. That is normal, and it wipes back to a mirror after a remelt in a clean vessel.
Paperwork. Chemistry suppliers include a certificate of analysis. Marketplace sellers rarely do, which matters if the purity number is load-bearing for your project.
How Much Should You Pay for Gallium
As of July 2026, three price bands cover almost every order.
- Budget, $15 to $30. A 15 to 20 gram 4N vial, roughly $1 to $1.50 per gram. The melt-in-hand starter size.
- Mid-range, $50 to $70. A 100 gram ingot or jar at 4N, about $0.50 to $0.70 per gram, half the small-vial rate.
- Premium. 5N in sealed ampoules costs several times the 4N rate, and kilogram lots are quoted per order rather than listed.
Two supply facts explain the drift upward. Almost all primary gallium is recovered as a byproduct of refining bauxite ore into alumina through the Bayer process, with trace amounts from zinc residues, so nobody mines it on purpose. China, which the USGS reports supplies roughly 98% of primary production, added export licensing in August 2023 and barred gallium exports to the United States in December 2024. Unlike gold or silver coins, there is no retail resale market here, so treat the buy as a consumable.
Where paying more is wasted: 5N or 6N material for a hand demo. At 4N the liquid already looks like polished chrome, and the extra nines are invisible without instruments.
Buying Gallium Online: Retailer Comparison
Six sources cover a 15 gram vial through a kilogram lot. Marketplaces win on speed, metals dealers on price per gram, chemistry houses on documentation.
Amazon
The fastest route to a first vial, with third-party sellers listing 4N material from 15 to 100 grams and Prime delivery on many of them. Browse the current selection, and stick to sellers who print the purity figure in the title. #ad
RotoMetals
RotoMetals is a specialty metals dealer stocking 20 gram, 100 gram, 500 gram, and 1 kilogram sizes. Worth a bookmark if you also buy bismuth, indium, or tin for low-melting alloy work.
Luciteria Science
Collector-grade element samples, usually in a labeled acrylic holder with purity documentation. Higher per gram than a plain vial, which is the point for a gift or a display case.
Solution Materials, LLC
Solution Materials, LLC sells to educators and researchers, from 15 gram bottles up to kilogram jars, all at 4N. No institutional account required.
eBay
New-in-package listings from established sellers are usually fine. Auction lots of reclaimed material are a gamble, so get the grade in writing and skip anything showing a stock photo.
Chemistry suppliers
For 5N and above: MilliporeSigma (Sigma-Aldrich), American Elements, or Strem Chemicals. Sealed ampoules and full certificates, though most want a business or institutional account.
Buying Gallium Locally: Store by Store
Nothing sits on a shelf. Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, and Michaels all skip the category, and Walmart.com listings come from marketplace sellers rather than store inventory. Three local exceptions are worth a phone call:
- University bookstores near a chemistry department sometimes carry sample vials during term.
- Rock and mineral shops stock element collections with a labeled specimen, usually a gram or two.
- Science museum gift shops such as the Exploratorium in San Francisco or the Museum of Science in Boston sell souvenir vials tied to exhibits.
Call first, because stock is sporadic and none of these carry more than souvenir amounts. Anything past 20 grams means an online order.
Red Flags When Shopping for Gallium
The costliest mistake is buying an alloy that never solidifies and expecting the melt-in-hand trick to work.
Galinstan sold as the pure element. Some listings use the word in the title but ship the gallium-indium-tin eutectic, which stays liquid at room temperature. Look for “99.99% pure” or “pure Ga” and a stated melting point near 29.8 C.
No grade anywhere on the page. Missing specs usually mean reclaim stock. Ask before ordering, and skip the seller if the answer stays vague.
Summer shipping with no insulation. A delivery truck runs well above the melting point in July, so the order arrives liquid and can seep past a loose cap. Buy in cooler months, or pick a seller who packs a cold pack.
An ingot that feels too heavy. Solid gallium runs about 5.91 grams per cubic centimeter, well under lead at 11.3. A chunk that feels dense for its size is probably another metal.
Vague international shipping. Carrier rules and customs handling vary, and plenty of sellers will not ship outside North America. Read the ship-to list before paying.
Storing and Handling It Without Ruining Something
Elemental gallium is considered low in toxicity next to mercury, which is why the Galinstan alloy replaced mercury in some thermometers. Low toxicity is not the same as food safe, so keep it off cookware and wash your hands afterward. Treat the safety data sheet that ships with your order as the authority; NOAA’s CAMEO Chemicals entry is a useful second reference.
- Keep it away from aluminum. Liquid gallium diffuses along aluminum grain boundaries and causes liquid metal embrittlement, so a wetted can or bracket can crumble under light pressure. Aerospace shops restrict it near airframes for this reason.
- Store it in polyethylene, above freezing. Expansion on solidification is what cracks glass vials and pops lids.
- Warm it in a water bath, not on a burner. Body heat or warm tap water is enough, and a direct flame is hard to control.
- Work over a washable surface. It wets glass into a thin film that resists cleaning, and the grey residue can set permanently in fabric.
For another classroom favorite with a short shelf life, see our guide on where to buy dry ice.
Best Gallium Right Now
Picks are grouped by buying scenario, with price ranges checked in July 2026.
Best overall: 20-gram 4N vial. Enough to pour a small ingot, run the demo twice, and keep a reference piece. Typically $15 to $25. Check price on Amazon or see the eBay listings.
Best for hand demos: melting spoon kit. Bundles 4N material with a silicone spoon mold and a pour cup, roughly $20 to $35. Find it on Amazon or search Walmart.
Best bulk value: RotoMetals 100-gram ingot. One 4N ingot for alloy mixing or small casts, around $50 to $70. Shop RotoMetals or browse Amazon.
Best for collectors: Luciteria Science element sample. Display-ready 4N sample with purity documentation, around $25 to $40. Order from Luciteria or search Amazon.
Best chemistry grade: Solution Materials 15-gram 4N. A research-ready bottle for teaching labs, about $18 to $28. Order from Solution Materials or compare on eBay.
Order a 20 gram 4N vial first, from Amazon or RotoMetals, and time it for October through April so the box does not arrive as a puddle. Set out a polyethylene bottle and a mold before it lands. Step up to a 100 gram ingot once you know you will keep using gallium, and leave 5N for a project that genuinely needs it. Other metal goods, like copper mugs, reward the same habit: read the spec, not the photo.
Gallium Questions, Answered
Is gallium toxic to humans?
Pure gallium is considered low in toxicity, far below mercury, and skin contact with the solid metal is not treated as a poisoning risk. It is still not food safe. Do not ingest it, keep it off cookware, and wash your hands after handling. Some compounds carry hazard warnings the pure element does not, so read the supplier’s safety data sheet.
Can gallium melt other metals?
No, it attacks them rather than melting them. Liquid metal embrittlement lets it penetrate aluminum grain boundaries and destroy the strength of a part at room temperature, and it forms alloys with other metals including indium, tin, and zinc. Ordinary steel and copper hold up much better, though prolonged contact is still worth avoiding.
Is this the same thing as Galinstan or mercury?
All three differ. The pure element freezes at 29.76 C, which is what makes the melts-in-your-hand effect possible. Galinstan is a eutectic alloy of gallium, indium, and tin that stays fluid down to roughly -19 C, so it never solidifies indoors. Mercury is liquid at room temperature, genuinely toxic, and restricted for consumer sale in several US states.
Why does the price keep climbing?
Supply is concentrated and policy-driven. Nobody mines this element directly, so output tracks aluminum and zinc refining rather than demand for the metal itself. Chinese export restrictions since 2023 tightened the flow to US buyers, and recycled material recovered from semiconductor scrap covers only part of the shortfall.
In July 2026, our editorial team re-verified prices, retailer availability, and product picks for this guide.