Are quartz countertops like Cambria really a better countertop material than granite or is granite still the reigning king of the countertops? I have collected a few unbiased studies that get to the heart of the quartz vs granite countertops debate and one countertop came out on top.
The Comparison Results
You can get beautiful natural looking stone with quartz countertops just like you can with granite. Quartz and granite are both naturally ocurring in nature but that is almost where the similarities end.
No more more sealing your countertop if your choose quartz vs granite countertops. Now sealing granite is not that tough of a job but you have to do it religiously about every twelve months. Who can remember to do something like that. No sealing required with quartz.
Quartz is less porous than granite so food particles and fluids have a harder time getting trapped in quartz that granite countertops. Trapped food harbors bacteria and I know that neither you or I want bacteria or viruses growing in between the invisible cracks in our countertops.
Quartz color choices are very different from granite. With engineered quartz you can get solid colors. Very unrealistic and in my opinion ugly colors. It’s nice to have options I guess but I think that granite scores points here in the quartz vs granite countertops comparison.
Let’s recap:
No need to seal quartz countertops
Quartz countertops are less porous than granite
Quartz countertops are more resistant to bacteria
Quartz countertops are more resistant to staining
Quartz is available in solid colors and as it grows in popularity you may be able to get custom colors
Granite has more intricate patterns than quartz
Consumer Reports did just barely eke out granite in a side by side comparison. It was a very close race for the number one ranking. Being number two in the granite vs quartz countertops debate isn’t so bad either. You can’t go wrong with either countertop. Both are beautiful and functional.