Kitchen worktops compared: granite vs quartz vs wood.
The worktop is the surface you touch most in a kitchen. It takes the heat, the spills, the knife marks, and the daily scrubbing. Choosing the right material is one of the most consequential decisions in a kitchen renovation, and each option has real trade-offs. Here is an honest comparison based on twenty years of installing all three.
Granite: the natural stone
Granite is quarried stone, cut into slabs and polished to a high sheen. Every slab is unique because the mineral composition varies through the block. That is both its appeal and its limitation: you cannot guarantee an exact colour match across joins, and the slab you see in the showroom may not be the slab that arrives at your house.
Durability
Granite is extremely hard. On the Mohs hardness scale it sits around 6-7 (diamond is 10, glass is 5.5). In practice, this means it resists scratches from knives, pans, and everyday abrasion very well. It will not wear down over decades of use. However, granite can chip if you drop a heavy cast-iron pan on an edge, and chips in stone are difficult to repair invisibly.
Heat resistance
Excellent. You can put a hot pan directly on granite without damage. The stone absorbs and dissipates heat without scorching or discolouring. This is granite's strongest practical advantage over the other two materials.
Maintenance
Granite is porous. Unsealed granite will absorb liquids (wine, oil, coffee) and stain. Most granite worktops are sealed during installation, and the sealant needs reapplying every 1-2 years. The resealing process is simple (wipe on a liquid sealant, wait, buff off) but it is one more maintenance task that quartz does not require.
Cost
Granite worktops in the UK typically run £250-£500 per linear metre installed, depending on the stone variety and edge profile. Exotic granites (Blue Bahia, Azul Macaubas) can reach £600-£800 per metre. A typical 5-metre kitchen run costs £1,500-£3,000 including templating, cutting, and installation.
Quartz: the engineered stone
Quartz worktops (Silestone, Caesarstone, Cosentino) are engineered from about 90-94% ground natural quartz mixed with resins and pigments, then formed into slabs under pressure. The result is a material that looks like stone but behaves differently in several important ways.
Durability
Quartz is slightly harder than most granite and significantly more consistent. Because it is manufactured, there are no soft veins or fissures that could become weak points. It resists scratches well and does not chip as easily as natural stone. Over the long term, it is arguably the most durable worktop material available.
Heat resistance
This is quartz's weakness. The resin binder can discolour or crack under sustained high heat. Putting a hot pan directly on a quartz worktop can leave a white mark or a scorch ring. Always use a trivet or a pan stand. If you regularly pull hot pans off the hob and set them on the worktop, granite or solid wood would serve you better.
Maintenance
Almost none. Quartz is non-porous, so it does not absorb liquids and does not need sealing. Wipe it down with a damp cloth and mild detergent. Red wine, coffee, and turmeric that would stain unsealed granite sit on the surface of quartz and wipe off. For a busy household, this low maintenance is a genuine advantage.
Cost
Quartz worktops run £300-£550 per linear metre installed. Premium brands (Silestone Eternal, Dekton ultra-compact) push higher. Overall, quartz and granite sit in a similar price bracket, with quartz averaging slightly more expensive because the raw material cost is more predictable and there is less waste in manufacturing.
Solid wood: the warm option
Solid wood worktops are made from planks of hardwood (oak, walnut, iroko, maple) laminated together and sanded to a smooth finish. They bring a warmth and texture to a kitchen that stone cannot match. Wood is also the material most suited to bespoke work because it can be cut, shaped, and joined on site with standard woodworking tools.
Durability
Wood is softer than stone. It will mark, scratch, and dent over time. A solid oak worktop used daily for five years will show signs of wear. But here is the thing: wood can be sanded back and refinished. A granite chip is permanent; a scratch in oak is a weekend project with sandpaper and oil. Many people prefer the way wood ages. A well-used oak worktop develops a patina that no other material can replicate.
Heat resistance
Moderate. A briefly placed hot mug will not damage a properly oiled wood worktop. A hot pan straight from the hob will scorch it. The scorch mark can be sanded out, but it is better to use a trivet. In practice, most people who choose wood learn the trivet habit quickly.
Maintenance
Wood needs regular oiling. A new worktop should be oiled weekly for the first month, then monthly, then every few months once the oil has built up. We recommend Danish oil or a food-safe hardwax oil (Osmo or Fiddes). Around the sink and hob, where water exposure is highest, the oiling schedule matters most. Neglected wood around the sink will darken, swell, and eventually split.
The area immediately around the sink is wood's most vulnerable point. We often recommend a stone or stainless insert around the sink in a wood worktop, with wood running either side. This gives you the warm look of wood where you see it and the water resistance of stone where you need it.
Cost
Oak worktops run £150-£300 per linear metre supplied and installed. Walnut is more expensive, around £250-£450 per metre. Iroko (a tropical hardwood with excellent water resistance) sits around £200-£350. Wood is the least expensive of the three premium options, which makes it a good choice when the budget is tight but you still want a quality worktop.
Which is best for your kitchen?
There is no single best material. The right choice depends on how you use the kitchen:
- Choose granite if: You want a natural material, you put hot pans down without thinking, and you do not mind resealing every year or two. Granite suits traditional and farmhouse kitchens particularly well.
- Choose quartz if: You want the look of stone without the maintenance, you have a busy household with kids, and you always use a trivet for hot pans. Quartz suits modern and transitional kitchens.
- Choose wood if: You want warmth and texture, you enjoy the way surfaces age, and you are willing to oil the worktop regularly. Wood suits country kitchens, cottage kitchens, and spaces where you want the kitchen to feel like furniture rather than a laboratory.
- Mix materials: Some of our best kitchens use two materials. Wood on the main worktop run for warmth, and granite or quartz around the sink and hob for practicality. The joint between the two materials is a design feature rather than a compromise.
What we install most
Across our projects in 2024 and 2025, the split was roughly 40% quartz, 35% solid wood (mostly oak), and 25% granite. The trend has been toward quartz over the last five years, driven mainly by the low maintenance. But wood has a loyal following among clients who value the craft and character of a natural material, and granite remains popular in larger country kitchens where the slab size and natural variation make a strong visual statement.
We are happy to bring material samples to a site visit so you can see and touch each option in the room where it will be installed. The light, the cabinetry colour, and the flooring all affect how a worktop material looks, and showroom conditions rarely match a real kitchen.