Choosing the right material for your countertops can be a challenging experience, after all, you have to find something that will hold up well, look good, and match your home’s appearance, all while staying on budget. For a lot of people, the budget is the tricky part, especially when they love the look of both granite and quartz options. Here’s how granite and quartz compare when it comes to cost.
General cost comparison
Very generally speaking, granite is usually a lower price point than quartz, though not by much. This is because granite is an abundant natural stone, whereas quartz is a manufactured stone. Still, both tend to fall in the $$ to $$$ price range. Price is also affected by factors like availability, maintenance costs, and brand.
Availability
One cost-related benefit of quartz is that, as a man-made product, it has greater availability in terms of style and color—a style and color can be easily replicated in the process of making quartz slabs, so you can be sure that the color and style of quartz countertop is likely available, and available in very similar styles from multiple brands so that you can compare price.
Granite, as natural stone, can cause some availability issues: once all of a certain vein with a certain coloration and pattern is mined and sold, that’s all there is. For in-demand colors and styles, that could hike up the price. The limited availability of granite slabs can also work in your favor though, as suppliers often can’t sell single slabs with no remaining matches (called orphans) or remnants (pieces that are left over from other projects and are smaller than full-size slabs), or can’t sell them at full price. (Psst—Kowalski Granite and Quartz has a great selection of remnants and orphans!)
Brand names
With some slabs, granite or quartz (but mostly quartz) you’re paying for the brand name. In cases like that, you can often find a comparable slab from another brand at a lower price point that is the same material and has a very similar look and coloration. So, even though there are some brands out there that are pricey, that hefty price tag doesn’t apply to all quartz. You can find something you love just as much or more without paying for a brand name.
Whether you go the granite or quartz route, Kowalski has what you’re looking for. Come into our Grand Haven showroom and check out our selection of natural and engineered stone slabs.