Quartz Versus Granite Worktops
Quartz and granite look similar on a showroom slab and behave very differently in a working kitchen. This guide sets out what actually separates them, where each one fails, and how to decide without relying on a salesperson's preference.
Where this works
- Choosing a surface before kitchen units are ordered
- Comparing two fabricator quotes that look close on price
- Deciding what suits a household with young children
- Specifying for a rental or holiday let that needs to survive tenants
- Matching a worktop to an existing floor or wall finish
How we install it
- 1What each material actually is
Granite is quarried stone, cut into slabs and polished. Every slab is different, and the pattern you see in the yard is the pattern you get. Quartz is an engineered product, roughly ninety per cent crushed quartz mineral bound with polyester resin and pigment. That resin is the whole story: it is what makes quartz consistent, non porous and easy to sell, and it is also what makes it vulnerable to heat and ultraviolet light. Neither is better in the abstract. They are different products that happen to be sold side by side in the same showrooms, usually by the same fabricators.
- 2Staining, sealing and day to day upkeep
Granite is porous. It arrives sealed, and that seal needs refreshing every year or two depending on the stone and how hard the kitchen works. Skip it and red wine, olive oil and turmeric will leave shadows in the lighter stones. Quartz needs no sealing at all, which is the single strongest argument in its favour for busy family kitchens. What quartz will not forgive is a hot pan, a curling tong left on the surface or years of direct sunlight through a south facing window, all of which can yellow or scorch the resin permanently.
- 3Joins, islands and where the compromises show
Both materials come in slabs, so any run longer than roughly three metres will have a join. On granite the join hides reasonably well in a busy stone. On a plain white quartz it can be the first thing a visitor notices, especially in raking light from a bifold. Islands with a waterfall end need book matched slabs, which pushes cost up sharply and limits your choice. If a seamless surface matters more to you than owning a piece of stone, this is the point where poured finishes such as microcement become worth pricing, because they run continuously with no join at all.
- 4How to decide in practice
Pick granite if you want a genuine natural material, you like the movement in real stone, and you will actually keep on top of sealing. Pick quartz if you want a predictable colour that matches a sample and you are prepared to protect it from heat with trivets. Pick neither if what you really want is an unbroken surface that continues from worktop to splashback to upstand, because no slab material will give you that below a very high budget. Get all three priced before the kitchen is ordered, since worktop choice affects cabinet spec, sink type and cutout allowances.
Common pitfalls we prevent
Frequently asked
Which lasts longer, quartz or granite?+
Both outlast the kitchen units around them if treated sensibly. Granite is more likely to stain and less likely to be damaged by heat. Quartz is the opposite. In a kitchen where hot pans routinely land on the surface, granite ages better. In a kitchen where spills sit for hours, quartz ages better.
Is quartz more expensive than granite?+
Mid range quartz and mid range granite land in much the same place, roughly £350 to £600 per linear metre fitted in the South East. Premium branded quartz and rare imported granites both climb well beyond that. Price differences between quotes are usually about edge detail, cutouts and fitting rather than the slab.
Can either be repaired if chipped?+
Chips on both are filled with a colour matched resin rather than genuinely repaired. On a busy granite the repair disappears. On a plain quartz you will always know where it is. Neither can be resurfaced in place the way a poured or timber surface can.
Do quartz worktops fade?+
Some do, in direct sunlight, over years. The resin binder is the part that reacts, not the mineral. If you have a wall of glass and a pale worktop, ask the fabricator for the specific slab's ultraviolet statement in writing rather than a general reassurance.
What if I want no visible joins at all?+
Neither material can do it beyond slab size. A poured microcement worktop is applied in situ and runs continuously into the upstand and splashback, so the surface reads as one piece. It is softer than stone and needs a proper sealer schedule, so it suits people who want the look more than they want indestructibility.
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