Quartz vs granite worktops: which should you choose?
Choose quartz if you want a low maintenance, non-porous surface that never needs sealing and looks the same across the whole kitchen. Choose granite if you cook hard and want to put hot pans straight down, or if you want a slab nobody else has. Both will outlast the kitchen around them.
| Quartz | Granite | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Engineered, about 90 to 93% crushed quartz with resin | Natural quarried rock |
| Sealing | Never | On fitting, then roughly annually |
| Heat | To about 150°C, use a trivet | Excellent, hot pans direct |
| Staining | Very resistant, non-porous | Resistant when sealed, porous if not |
| Consistency | Uniform, matches across the kitchen | Every slab different |
| Outdoors | No, UV fades it | Yes, hard granites |
| Silica content | High, roughly 90% | Much lower |
| Repair of scorch marks | Not repairable in place | Rarely needed |
The heat question, which is the real dividing line
This is where the decision usually gets made. Granite came out of the ground under heat and does not care about a hot pan. Quartz is bound with resin, and resin has a limit somewhere around 150 degrees. A pan straight off a gas flame is well past that, and the resulting mark is permanent.
In practice most people manage this without thinking, in the same way nobody puts a hot pan on a wooden worktop. But if you are the kind of cook who moves fast and lands the pan wherever there is space, be honest with yourself about that now. Granite or porcelain will suit you better.
The maintenance question
This runs the other way. Granite is porous and wants sealing, once on fitting and then about once a year. It is a ten minute job, but it is a job, and it is one people forget. Quartz is non-porous and asks for nothing beyond warm soapy water. If you want a surface you never have to think about, quartz wins clearly.
Appearance, and the thing nobody warns you about
Quartz is consistent, which is a benefit and a limitation. The piece by the sink will match the island, and the slab you approve is what arrives. Granite is unique, which is the whole appeal, but it means a postcard sample cannot tell you what a three metre slab looks like. We send photographs of your actual slab before cutting for exactly that reason.
One practical note: very dark polished granite shows smears, dust and water marks more than a mid-tone does. It is beautiful and it is more work to keep looking beautiful.
Cost
They overlap heavily. Mid-range granite and mid-range quartz land in a similar place. Granite has a longer tail in both directions, with common blacks below most quartz and rare exotics well above it. We price granite by hand because that spread is real.
So which one
If you cook seriously, or want something unique, granite. If you want low maintenance and predictability, quartz. If you want both and the budget allows, the honest answer is porcelain around the hob and quartz elsewhere, which sidesteps the whole trade off.