When you’re dreaming with your dream kitchen or bathroom do you see a veined beautiful countertop? If so, quartz and marble are some of your top choices.
You might have heard a lot about both of these materials, but knowing the result of our Quartz vs Marble comparison will definitely help you make up your mind.
Quartz vs Marble: Differences Explained
Quartz and Marble are both solid, durable and able to add value to your house. Aside from that, they are both present in beautiful kitchen designs you’ve seen on social media and magazines.
However, which one is pricier? Which is easier to take care of? Join us as we tackle all of your questions and more as we list all the differences between Marble and Quartz.
They are both stones, right? Well, not exactly, let’s start there.
Origination
Marble is a natural stone that was extracted, sliced, processed and polished to become a wonderful slab you can shop for at a local supplier. That comes with many pros and cons that we will discuss in this article.
Quartz, however, is not a natural stone. The material is what we call an engineered stone.
Composed of 90-95% ground quartz crystals bonded together through a polymeric resin and colored by pigments, quartz aims to offer the best of both worlds. That being, the pros of a stone countertop plus the pros of being able to carefully control the countertop traits. Nevertheless, that does bring some cons to the table.
Let’s see how the origination differences play out in other important aspects of choosing a countertop material.
Appearance
Marble is a synonym of classic beauty and elegance. Few other materials can compete with its natural glamorous looks.
Quartz is one of them. It can be fabricated in almost any color, and some special lines of quartz slabs can mimic marble almost perfectly. However, we need to emphasize the word almost.
Marble offers a rich complexity on its patterns that’s unique to it, and uncopyable. Every natural stone slab is unique.
And while that brings the luxury of having in your home a countertop unlike any other out there, it also brings seam areas in case your countertop needs to be composed of more than one slab.
Those aiming at a controlled and consistent design experience will fall in love with quartz. Whilst for others looking for uniqueness and natural complexity marble is just perfect.
Color
As we’ve mentioned Quartz can be fabricated at almost any point at the color spectrum. Also, it can come in numerous different patterns, presenting marble veins, granite freckles, color stains or only one color.
Due to it being produced in a controlled environment, you can choose Quartz from a catalog.
Marble, being a mother nature original product, is so unique you can’t even risk choosing it through pictures. Its colors vary depending on the angle you look at it, and to make sure you’re making the right choice for your cabinets, you should visit a stone yard and see it for yourself.
It is commonly found in dazzling whites and hues of gray and brown. However, some unique color variations are possible.
Durability
As not to confuse you, we should start saying that: if proper care is taken, both materials will last at least a lifetime. However, when comparing quartz vs marble, quartz is a more durable choice, with a catch.
From all natural stones, marble is one of the softer and more porous choices. That means the stone is easily susceptible to be scratched by knives and other pointy stuff, and stained by absorbing liquids.
As if that is not much, marble is very sensitive to acids, which react with the stone chemicals causing etching mark.
The only way we can use marble in kitchens and bathrooms is through sealing them periodically. The sealant will stop all of this from happening and keep your stone as beautiful as you bought it. Still, you should be careful.
Quartz is nonporous, and thus not susceptible to stains the way marble is. However, it still stains from heat and chemical reactions. Know more in our article: Does quartz stain?.
You should also be careful with it, but not as much as with marble. Quartz, additionally, will endure hits and impacts a bit better than marble.
Here’s the catch: Since marble is sealed and a natural stone you can reseal, repolish, and hard polish it again to make it look like new. Quartz is more resistant, but stains on it are very hard to recover from, they will probably become part of your kitchen.
Maintenance
Quartz is nearly maintenance-free. It doesn’t require periodic sealing (it can’t be sealed since it’s not porous, don’t bother trying). You should just keep it clean and wipe out spills as soon as they happen. As long as you perform cleaning with neutral pH chemicals, it will be fine.
Marble requires annual sealing and a bit more care to avoid spills. Cleaning wise, you should also carefully select your chemicals. A neutral detergent will do, if you need something stronger, make sure it is proper for usage with marble.
Never clean either of these materials with vinegar and lemon, acids can cause etching on both.
Usability
Neither Marble nor Quartz countertops are good for outdoor usage. Marble will weather really fast, and quartz will lose color and get yellowish.
Excessive sunlight exposure does that to quartz, so you shouldn’t use it if your indoor kitchen gets lots of sunlight either.
Quartz is also less heat resistant, therefore, you must avoid placing hot cookware directly on it at all costs.
Both these surfaces shall be protected from scratches, that means, cutting pads must be at hand.
Price
Quartz and Marble are both premium and long-lasting materials, so you can expect a bigger price tag than laminate and solid surface.
When compared, marble tends to get more expensive on bigger projects, since it’s a limited resource not furnished in any size.
However simple projects on both marble and high-quality quartz tend to priced similarly.
The best way to know is by approaching a supplier, selecting options and receiving estimates.
Choosing the right material for your countertop
That’s is it for quartz vs marble. You have all the info you need in order to choose the best countertop option for your house.
However, nothing replaces the experience of visiting a showroom and seeing for yourself your options. We suggest you select a reputable service provider that can both install and supply your countertops.
If you live in Sarasota or Manatee counties, we will be more than happy to provide you with a guided tour. Come visit our showroom.
