Ranking Countertop Choices for Your Home

Whether they’re in the kitchen, bathroom, or mudroom, countertops need to stand up to a lot of demands: water, heat, spills, and the constant threat of chipping, cracking, or staining. Let’s take a look at six common countertop materials and discover their pros and cons - and see which ones come out on top.

Quartz Countertops

Pros:

• Durable: Quartz is extremely resilient and can easily withstand everyday wear and tear.
• Easy Daily Maintenance: Because quartz is non-absorbent, it is stain-resistant and doesn’t harbor bacteria.
• Easy Long-Term Maintenance: Quartz doesn’t require sealing or special care to stay beautiful and functional. 
• Perfect for Any Decor Style: Quartz comes in a variety of colors and designs. You can get neutral shades like black or white, but you can also get golds, blues, and greens!
• Eco-Friendly: Quartz is one of the most abundant natural elements, and harvesting it leaves a smaller footprint and generates less waste than other natural countertop materials.

Cons:

• Heat Damage: Like any stone countertop, quartz can be damaged by sudden temperature changes. Use pot holders or trivets under hot items to avoid this.
• May Appear Less Natural-Looking: Because of the way that natural quartz develops, it cannot be harvested in large pieces. Therefore, quartz countertops are composed of both natural stone and high-quality binders. The result is no less beautiful, but it may look a little smoother and less organic than other types of stone countertops.

Solid-Surface Countertops

Pros:

• Durable: Solid-surface countertops are resistant to heat, stains, and moisture.
• Easy Daily Maintenance: Solid-surfacing is easy to clean and chemical-resistant, so you don’t need to worry about what’s in your cleaning spray. 
• Cleanliness: No need to worry about messes—solid-surface countertops are food safe, non-toxic, non-porous, bacteria resistant, and mold/mildew resistant.
• Perfect for Any Decor Style: If you can dream it, you can build it: Solid-surfacing is available in a whole rainbow of colors and designs.
• Eco-Friendly: Solid-surface countertops are repairable, reusable, and recyclable.

Cons:

• Heat Damage: While solid-surface countertops are heat-resistant, too much heat can sometimes leave scorch marks.
• Scratches: Cutting directly on solid-surface countertops can leave scratches or cuts. Luckily, this type of damage is repairable.
• May Appear Less Natural-Looking: They can be made to look like natural stone, but solid-surface countertops might not fool everyone.

Tile Countertops

Pros:

• Budget-Friendly: With such a wide range of products to choose from, a tile countertop project can be adjusted to fit just about any budget.
• Durable: Glazed ceramic tile is heat-resistant, scratch-resistant, stain-resistant, and moisture-resistant.
• DIY: If you love do-it-yourself home improvement projects, tile is a great choice!
• Perfect for Any Decor Style: With tile countertops, the sky’s the limit—you can get just about any shape, color, or pattern imaginable, and arrange them however you like.

Cons:

• Damage: Not all tile is built to stand up to wear and tear, so you run the risk of chips and cracks, especially in a high-activity area, like the kitchen.
• Maintenance: Although tile itself can be resistant, grout is susceptible to stains and mildew and will require routine cleaning.

Natural Stone Countertops

This category includes marble countertops, granite countertops, limestone countertops, and soapstone countertops.

Pros:

• Durable: Natural stone countertops are built to be long-lasting and difficult to damage. Like quartz, they’re also heat-resistant, except in the case of sudden temperature changes.
• Perfect for Any Decor Style: Stone countertops will always look classic and stylish, and can easily fit within any home’s aesthetic. 

Cons:

• High Maintenance: Marble, granite, limestone, and soapstone are all naturally porous materials. They need to be sealed when installed, and they require regular maintenance and resealing for upkeep and to maintain food safety.
• Damage: Softer stones, like marble and limestone, can be chipped or cracked. Natural stone is also more susceptible to stains than some other countertop materials.
• Budget-Unfriendly: Natural stone countertops are easily the most expensive option, the kind of investment that may not work for all budgets.

Laminate Countertops

Pros:

• Durable: Laminate countertops are generally heat-resistant, stain-resistant, and scratch-resistant, at least to a degree.
• Easy Maintenance: Laminate is easy to clean and requires no special supplies.
• Budget-Friendly: Laminate countertops are perhaps the most budget-friendly of all the material options available.

Cons:

• Damage: Laminate countertops can be easily damaged by heat and sharp tools (like kitchen knives).
• Non-Repairable: Unlike other countertop materials, scratches, cracks, and scorching cannot be repaired or buffed out of laminate.
• Design Limitations: Due to how laminate countertops are constructed, only drop-in sinks can be installed.

Wood Countertops

Pros:

• Chef-Friendly: Having wood countertops is kind of like having your entire counter be one big cutting board—they can withstand chopping and slicing without dulling your knives.
• Timeless Design: Wood is a long-lasting and stylish material that often ages with a charming patina.

Cons:

• Damage: Wood countertops are vulnerable to moisture, heat, acid, chemicals, and stains.
• Environmental Challenges: If wood countertops are in an area that’s often very dry or very moist, they can shrink or expand due to the humidity (or lack thereof).
• High Maintenance: Wood countertops require routine sealing and daily maintenance to stay food-safe.