30
Sep

How Do Glass Countertops Compare to Granite and Quartz

Counters can last for decades in the bathroom or kitchen, so you shouldn’t rush to select the right material for your home, needs, and budget.

You’ve narrowed it down to three materials: quartz, granite, and glass. However, you’re unsure which is the most suitable for your counters. In this guide, we’ll help you decide by comparing these three materials on important criteria like durability, style, and cleaning.

glass kitchen island

Glass Countertops vs. Granite

Granite is a popular counter choice, as is glass. Let’s pit these two tough materials head-to-head (figuratively, of course) to decide which counter material comes out on top.

Looks

Granite has a very covetable look that can feature swirls or chips of stone. It can be as heavily or lightly textured as you prefer, and you can select from several textures. Some have a more natural look than others.

Glass is a timeless, trendy counter material that you can think of as a blank slate. Glass accent companies like CBD Glass can add to that blank slate with features like colorful glass painting, textures, and LED lighting.

That gives glass a unique edge that you don’t see as often with granite counters.

Durability

Granite and glass are durable counter materials for certain, but granite has one weakness. It’s porous. This means that stains can set if you spill, and other messes can accumulate that take away from the lasting quality of your counters.

Glass is nonporous, so it has no such issue.

Colors

Glass is traditionally translucent, but as mentioned, you can request that it’s painted any color under the sun (and even those that are out of this world). Granite usually has natural earthy, stone colors like shades of brown, gray, white, or black, but you sometimes see it available in other hues like blue.

Cleaning

Granite and glass share one thing in common: they’re easy to clean! You only need water and mild dish soap to get either counter material back to its pristine glory. However, you’ll need something heavier-duty to remove granite stains, such as hydrogen peroxide for wine or juice stains.

glass island

Glass Countertops vs. Quartz

Next, let’s compare glass kitchen and bathroom counters against an equally popular material, quartz.

Looks

Quartz countertops have a look akin to granite, with flecks of stones or wavy patterns interlaid throughout the counter. It’s certainly an upscale look for any kitchen, but you can opt for glass painting that looks like quartz but doesn’t cost as much.

Durability

In the durability department, quartz beats granite, as it’s nonporous like glass. Even if you spill coffee or tomato juice, the counter easily cleans up without any signs of the spill. It’s also about as high as glass on the Mohs scale, so while you can scratch quartz, it’s difficult.

Colors

Quartz countertops come in a few colors, traditionally shades of white, brown, black, and beige. You’ll recall that a glass countertop is available in whatever color you want, even non-earthy hues and metallics.

Cleaning

Keeping a quartz countertop clean doesn’t differ from the cleaning protocol for glass. That is, you should use a soft, clean microfiber cloth and dish soap.

Quartz and granite match glass in features like durability and ease of cleaning but fail to provide the same versatility, appeal, and customization options. Glass is the true winner.