Buyer's Guide
We fabricate all three in our Raleigh shop, so this is a working comparison — durability, maintenance, heat, and real installed cost — not a sales pitch for one material.
Side by side
| Property | Granite | Quartz | Quartzite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material type | 100% natural stone | Engineered (93% quartz + resin) | 100% natural stone |
| Hardness (Mohs) | 6 – 6.5 | 7 (resin-bound) | 7 – 8 — the hardest of the three |
| Heat resistance | Excellent — hot pans OK | Moderate — resin scorches, use a trivet | Excellent — hot pans OK |
| Porosity / staining | Slightly porous — seal yearly | Non-porous — never needs sealing | Porous — seal every 1–2 years |
| Pattern | Speckled, highly varied | Consistent, repeatable | Marble-like veining |
| Outdoor use | Yes | No — resin yellows in UV | Yes |
| Typical installed cost | $ | $$ | $$$ |
| Best for | Busy family kitchens on a budget | Low-maintenance kitchens & baths | Statement islands with marble looks |
Cost shown relative: $ = most affordable installed, $$$ = premium. Ask for slab-specific pricing on your free estimate.
Material by material
Natural, heat-proof, and budget-friendly.
Quarried in slabs and cut to your template in our shop, granite handles hot pans straight off the stove and hides everyday wear in its speckled pattern. It is slightly porous, so we seal it at install and recommend resealing once a year.
Engineered for zero maintenance.
Quartz is ground natural quartz bound with resin, which makes it completely non-porous — no sealing, no staining from wine, oil, or citrus. The tradeoff is heat: the resin can scorch, so trivets are required, and UV makes it a poor choice outdoors.
Marble looks, granite toughness.
Quartzite is natural sandstone recrystallized under heat and pressure — harder than granite, with the soft veining people love in marble. It is the premium pick for waterfall islands. It is porous and dense, so it takes careful fabrication and periodic sealing.
How to choose
Granite or quartzite. Both take pans straight off the burner without scorching.
Quartz. Non-porous, never sealed, and it shrugs off wine, coffee, and citrus.
Quartzite. The veining reads like marble but it will not etch the first time someone spills lemon juice.
FAQ
Quartzite is the hardest and most scratch-resistant. Quartz resists stains best because it is non-porous. Granite is close behind on hardness and handles heat as well as quartzite. For a busy kitchen, all three outlast laminate or solid surface by decades.
Granite is usually the most affordable installed, quartz sits in the middle, and quartzite is the most expensive because it is harder to cut and comes from fewer quarries. We quote exact pricing per slab during your free estimate.
No. The resin binder in quartz can scorch or discolor around 300°F. Granite and quartzite are natural stone and take direct heat, but we still recommend a trivet on any surface.
Yes — quartzite is a natural, porous stone. We seal it at installation and recommend resealing every one to two years. Granite is the same. Quartz never needs sealing.
Quartzite. Its veining is formed naturally and looks nearly identical to marble, but it is far harder and less reactive to acids like lemon or vinegar.
About three days from digital template to install for granite, quartz, and quartzite. Everything is cut and polished in our Raleigh shop, so we are not waiting on an outside fabricator.
Keep reading
Visit our Raleigh yard and we'll walk you through slabs in person — free estimate, 3-day turnaround.
