This study compared the performance of eight commercial starch and expanded polystyrene (EPS) based loose-fill foam products. Density of starch-based foams is higher, by a factor of two to three times, than either EPS-based ones, Compressive stress of most starch-based foams did not differ significantly from 0.0893 MPa value for virgin EPS foam. EPS-and starch-based foams have predominantly a closed and open cellular structure, respectively. Resiliency or elastic recovery of starch-leased foams had values between 69.5 and 71.25%, which is about 10% lower than virgin EPS foam. Friability of both starch-and EPS-based foams was between 2 and 6 wt%, but starch-based foams broke into a fine dust, whereas EPS-based foams broke into large fragments. After conditioning at 20, 50, and 80% r.h., 23 degrees C and 50% r.h., 35 degrees C, the water content for starch-based foams averaged 6.0, 9.5, 14, and 8.5 wt%, respectively. The mechanical properties of starch-based foams were more sensitive to changes in relative humidity and temperature than EPS-based foams, but the higher amount of absorbed moisture did not compromise its mechanical integrity.