Sintered Stone vs Granite vs Quartzite

You were planning on granite or quartzite, and someone at the showroom or the fabricator's has suggested sintered stone instead. In our experience, an important reason buyers make that move is the far wider choice of colors and patterns, including the chance to get a rare look at a more affordable price. That is the reason to switch. Performance is not: sintered stone is not harder and not more heat-resistant than a good natural stone, and its edges are more fragile. What it does better is stay clean without any care. What you give up is a stone that can be repaired and refinished over the years.

So keep granite if its familiar look is what you want: an imitation would add little and cost you a tougher, refinishable stone. Switch to a high-end sintered design when you want a look natural stone doesn't offer, or one that is rare and expensive in natural stone. But where the stone itself matters, natural stone comes first: a one-of-a-kind centerpiece, or a countertop meant to last for decades and be refinished rather than replaced.

We supply all three materials. Here is the reasoning behind that advice, starting with the three side by side.

For outdoor use, see our guide to sintered stone for outdoor kitchen countertops.

How Sintered Stone Differs from Granite and Quartzite

Granite and quartzite were formed in the ground. Their color and pattern are part of the stone itself, running from the face through to the back. Every block is different, and every block also has fissures and small voids.

That is why natural stone slabs are filled with resin during processing. The resin goes into cracks and pores so the slab can be cut and polished. Marble is also often given a mesh backing; quartzite much less so. The amount of resin involved is tiny compared with engineered quartz, where resin is the binder holding the whole slab together. So "natural stone has no resin" is not quite true, but the resin is a repair material, not what the stone is made of.

Sintered stone is made the other way round. Mineral powders are pressed into a slab and fired at high temperature until the particles bond into a dense body. No resin binds it. In the sintered stone this article compares, the design is applied to the face of that body. Underneath, the slab is a uniform material with almost no pores.

Nearly every practical difference between these materials follows from this. Because the pattern of natural stone is grown into it, each slab is one of a kind, can't be repeated, and looks the same when you cut, grind or polish it. Because the pattern of sintered stone is made on the surface, you can have almost any look, repeat it as often as you like, and the surface stays sealed without care. But the pattern lives only on the face.

You can often see this at a cut edge or sink cutout. On granite or quartzite, the pattern carries on into the edge. On surface-decorated sintered stone, the edge shows the color of the body instead.

What You Gain with Sintered Stone: Mostly the Look

Sintered stone gives you looks that natural stone can't, and that is the main reason to switch.

Granite comes in a limited visual range: mostly grains and speckles, in black, gray, white, red or brown. Long flowing veins are not what granite does. Quartzite does them, but true quartzite is mostly white, gray and other neutral tones, and the more unusual colors are rare and expensive.

Sintered stone doesn't have those limits, because its design is produced rather than found. Our ranges include marble looks, concrete effects, solid colors, wood grains and metallic finishes, and sintered designs are also made to resemble quartzite. A look that is rare in natural stone is not rare in sintered stone, so it isn't priced as a rarity: a high-end sintered design gives you that look for less than the rare stone it is modeled on.

Choose the high-end design if the look is why you are switching. Up close, a high-end design is very hard to tell from the stone it imitates. A cheap one gets the color right, but the texture is wrong, and the natural movement of the veins doesn't come through. Judge it on a full slab, not a small sample.

The same manufacturing gives you a few things natural stone struggles with:

• A slimmer profile. 12 mm is a regular countertop thickness, against the 2 or 3 cm of most granite and quartzite.
• Large slabs. A 1600 × 3200 mm slab can cover a long island with fewer seams.
• Vein matching. Slabs can be book-matched or vein-matched across seams and from countertop to backsplash.
• Consistency. The same design looks the same on the tenth countertop as on the first, so a project with many units can be specified once.

The second real gain is that you stop looking after the surface. In tests on our 20 mm sintered stone, water absorption averaged 0.03%, stain resistance was rated Class 5, and the surface reached the top classes for resistance to acids, alkalis and household chemicals (Foshan Quality and Metrology Supervision and Testing Center, National Ceramic and Sanitary Ware Product Quality Inspection and Testing Center, to GB/T 4100-2015). Nothing soaks in, and there is nothing to seal.

Against a dense, dark granite, that gain is small: those stones take up very little and need resealing only rarely. Against light-colored quartzite it is a real advantage, because oil and colored liquids show on a pale surface, and a stain is easier to prevent than to remove.

Is Sintered Stone Harder or More Heat-Resistant?

You will often read that sintered stone is harder and more heat-resistant than granite or quartzite. Neither is a reason to switch.

On scratches: the sintered stone we tested measured Mohs 6. Some manufacturers quote higher figures for their own products, so "harder than stone" is not something to take on trust. Quartz, the main mineral in quartzite, is 7. The main minerals in granite, quartz and feldspar, sit between 6 and 7. All three resist everyday scratching well, and none of them wins on it.

On heat: all three handle a hot pan. You can put a hot pan on granite. The places that can mark under a very hot pan are the resin-filled spots and any sealer on the surface. Sintered stone has no resin, and in our tests it showed no cracking under thermal shock. The difference is narrow, and a trivet is a good habit on any countertop.

The Downside of Sintered Stone: Chips and No Refinishing

The downsides of sintered stone are edges that chip more easily and a surface that can't be refinished. Neither shows on the face of a new slab: one is at the edges, and the other shows up over the years.

Sintered stone is hard but brittle. Its face shrugs off daily use, but a heavy pot knocked against an edge can chip it. A small chip can be filled with color-matched resin and polished. But the filler has to match both a printed design and a body of a different color, so it is harder to hide. A large missing corner means replacing the piece. Granite and quartzite edges, at 2 or 3 cm, take knocks better. When they do chip, the repair blends into a pattern that runs right through the stone. They also accept more elaborate edge profiles.

Over the years, there is a second difference. A natural stone countertop can be reground and repolished after long use, or after an acid mark, because the stone is the same all the way through. Sintered stone can't be resurfaced like that: grinding would remove the design. Instead it relies on not aging in the first place. It has no resin to yellow, and our slabs are rated Class 4 for surface abrasion. Even so, years of dragging rough-bottomed objects across it will slowly wear the finish, and that wear is there to stay.

The look has a cost, too. A repeated design is an advantage across a project, but it also means your countertop is not one of a kind. And because the pattern stops at the face, exposed edges and sink cutouts show the body color. A mitered edge, where two pieces meet at an angle so the face wraps around the corner, carries the pattern over the edge.

The edge risks can be managed when they are planned for: a small radius or bevel on exposed edges, 20 mm where you want a thicker edge, mitered edges where the pattern must continue, and a fabricator who has worked with sintered stone before. We cover these in detail in why sintered stone chips and what you can avoid and sintered stone fabrication. Refinishing is different: no amount of planning gives sintered stone that. It is the one cost planning can't remove.

One more thing stays with natural stone: the smaller manufacturing footprint. Granite and quartzite are quarried, cut and finished. Sintered stone has to be fired in a kiln, which takes far more energy. For projects working toward green building credits, ask for Environmental Product Declarations; the Natural Stone Institute publishes industry-wide declarations for natural stone countertops.

Is Sintered Stone More Expensive Than Granite or Quartzite?

Sintered stone isn't simply cheaper or more expensive than granite or quartzite. Natural stone is priced mostly by the variety: common granites and rare ones can be worlds apart, and quartzite is usually at the higher end. With sintered stone, more of the finished cost goes into fabrication.

When you compare real quotes, the differences come from:

• the specific stone or design;
• how hard the material is to fabricate: granite is the easiest, true quartzite wears tooling faster, and sintered stone needs suitable equipment and a fabricator who knows it;
• thickness and weight, which affect freight;
• edge work, cutouts and mitering.

For sintered stone figures and what a quote should include, see our sintered stone price guide.

Sintered Stone vs Granite: When to Switch

If granite's familiar look is what you want, stay with granite.

Granite has not fallen behind on performance. It handles heat, takes daily use, and can be repaired and refinished. Almost every stone shop knows how to cut it. Its sealing needs are modest, especially in darker stones. Sintered stone made to look like granite adds only freedom from sealing, and on granite that is a small gain. In exchange you would give up a tougher edge and a surface that can be refinished, for a look the real stone already gives you.

Switch when you want something granite doesn't come in: flowing veins, a marble look, concrete, a solid color. A rare, expensive granite is a different case: the reasoning for quartzite, below, applies to it too.

Sintered Stone vs Quartzite: Check It Is Real Quartzite First

True quartzite and sintered stone are in the same family of looks, and in durability there is little between them. Where sintered stone does better is care, and that counts most on a pale stone. But first make sure it really is quartzite. The comparison only works once you know.

Quartzite is a natural stone: sandstone recrystallized under heat and pressure into a dense mass of quartz. It is not quartz countertops, which are engineered slabs bound with resin. (For that comparison, see sintered stone vs quartz.)

Some stones sold as quartzite are actually dolomitic marble. They look similar and carry similar trade names, but they are softer and react to acids. A trade name alone tells you nothing about how the stone will perform. Two simple checks on an offcut sort out most cases: leave a little lemon juice or vinegar on the surface for ten minutes, and try scratching it with a piece of glass. True quartzite won't etch and won't scratch. If the stone etches, you are really choosing between sintered stone and marble, a different decision we cover in sintered stone vs marble.

What a rare quartzite charges for is the stone itself: a slab that exists once, with veining that runs through its whole depth, which can be repaired invisibly and refinished for decades. Pay for that when the countertop is a centerpiece meant to be unlike anyone else's, or when it is meant to stay in place for decades and be refinished rather than replaced. When what you are after is that look on a working countertop, a high-end sintered design gives it to you at a more affordable price, without sealing, as many times as the project needs. Choose sintered stone when:

• the quartzite you've fallen for is priced beyond the budget;
• the countertop is light-colored, in a kitchen where oil and spills are part of daily life;
• you want a color quartzite doesn't come in;
• the project needs many matching pieces, or a long island vein-matched across seams.

Which Should You Choose?

For granite's own look, stay with granite: the imitation saves you a little sealing and costs you a tougher, refinishable stone. For a look natural stone doesn't offer, or a rare one it prices high, a high-end sintered design is the better buy. It is especially strong on pale, busy countertops and on projects that need repeated pieces. For a one-of-a-kind centerpiece, or a countertop meant to be refinished over decades, the natural slab earns its price. If you do choose sintered stone, plan the edges, and accept that it can't be refinished.

We supply granite, quartzite and sintered stone.

If you are weighing a sintered design against a natural stone you have already seen, send us its name or a photo through the inquiry form or by email, and we'll check the options.

FAQ

Will sintered stone turn yellow?

No. Sintered stone has no resin to yellow. What years of use can do is slowly wear the finish if rough-bottomed objects are dragged across it.

Can you put a hot pan on granite?

Yes. Granite handles a hot pan. The places that can mark under a very hot pan are resin-filled spots and any sealer on the surface. A trivet is a good habit on any countertop.

Does sintered stone stain?

In practice, no. In tests on our 20 mm sintered stone, water absorption averaged 0.03% and stain resistance was rated Class 5. Nothing soaks in, and there is nothing to seal.

Does quartzite need to be sealed?

As a natural stone, quartzite is sealed, and on a light-colored quartzite it matters most, because oil and colored liquids show on a pale surface. Sintered stone gives you a quartzite look without sealing.

Is sintered stone harder than granite or quartzite?

Not by default. The sintered stone we tested measured Mohs 6. Quartz, the main mineral in quartzite, is 7, and granite's main minerals, quartz and feldspar, sit between 6 and 7. Some manufacturers quote higher figures for their own products, so don't take "harder than stone" on trust.

Can chipped sintered stone be repaired?

A small chip can be filled with color-matched resin and polished, though the repair is harder to hide than on natural stone. A large missing corner means replacing the piece. See why sintered stone chips and what you can avoid.