Quartz, granite or porcelain: picking the right worktop

If you cook a lot and move pans around

Porcelain and granite are the safer bets. Porcelain was made in a kiln and granite has no resin to scorch, so a hot pan set down for a moment is no problem for either. Quartz’s resin binder can scorch, so it relies on you using a trivet.

If you want the least upkeep possible

Quartz or porcelain. Neither has pores, neither needs a sealer, and both wipe clean. Granite varies: tight-grained stones absorb almost nothing, while paler, open-grained ones need sealing after installation and an occasional top-up.

If the room gets strong sun

Porcelain keeps its colour indefinitely in sunlight, and granite is unaffected. Some quartz can yellow after years of direct UV, which matters in garden rooms and beside large glazed doors.

If the look matters most

For solid colours and concrete styles, quartz is the most consistent. For natural depth, sparkle and a one-off slab, granite. For bold, large-format designs, including very convincing marble effects, porcelain.

If you are worried about chips

Quartz and granite both take everyday knocks well, quartz flexing slightly more at the edge. Porcelain is the hardest on its face but the most brittle along its edge, so a mitred or bevelled front is wise. Small chips in any of the three can usually be invisibly filled.

How each one is made

Granite is cut from quarried blocks and polished. Quartz comes out of a factory, a blend of ground quartz and resin. Porcelain is clay and minerals fired at very high temperature. That origin explains almost every difference above.