Superhydrophobic coatings can be made from many different materials. The following are known possible bases for the coating:
* Manganese oxide polystyrene (MnO/PS) nano-composite 
* Zinc oxide polystyrene (ZnO/PS) nano-composite
* Precipitated calcium carbonate
* Carbon nano-tube structures
* Silica nano-coating
* Fluorinated silanes and Fluoropolymer coatings.
The silica-based coatings are perhaps the most cost effective to use. They are gel-based and can be easily applied either by dipping the object into the gel or via aerosol spray. In contrast, the oxide polystyrene composites are more durable than the gel-based coatings, however the process of applying the coating is much more involved and costly. Carbon nano-tubes are also expensive and difficult to produce with current technology. Thus, the silica-based gels remain the most economically viable option at present.