Porcelain vs Ceramic Tile: Major Differences

According to the industry group that decides whether a tile is a porcelain or ceramic, everything boils down to whether the tile can meet a set of highly controlled water absorption criteria. Both ceramic tile and porcelain tile usually receive a surface glazing that makes them hard to distinguish from one another.

Porcelain Tile

Porcelain tile has a water absorption rate of 0.5 per cent or lower as defined by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) section C373. To test this, the fired tile is first weighed, then it is boiled for five hours and left to sit in water for 24 hours. Then it is weighed again. If the tile weighs less than half of one per cent more as a result of water-absorbing into its surface, it is considered porcelain.

To achieve this density, a special kaolin clay mixture is used, which is finer and purer than most ceramic clay. It usually contains notable levels of quartz and feldspar mixed in. Porcelain tiles are fired at temperatures ranging from 2,200 to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. To the consumer, it generally suffices to say that porcelain is a dense, fine-grained, smooth tile that is more impervious to water than ordinary ceramic tile.

Porcelain tile virtually always receives a surface glazing treatment—a coating of liquified glass material—while some forms of ceramic tile are left unglazed. As a rule porcelain tile is more impervious than ceramic tile and is thus subject to less water infiltration.

Ceramic Tile

Tile defined as ceramic uses a coarser clay with a smaller ratio of fine kaolin clay, and it generally lacks some of the additives used in porcelain clay. Ceramic tile is fired at lower temperatures, generally no more than 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit. Ceramic tile can be slightly more prone to water infiltration than is porcelain tile, though these differences are fairly minimal if the ceramic tile is glazed.


 Appearance
Ceramic tile and porcelain both are often manufactured with a glazed surface coating, and at a glance, they may be indistinguishable.

Porcelain Tile

One recent innovation with porcelain tile is the ability to manufacture them to resemble different materials. While ceramic tile generally has solid colour and pattern, porcelain tiles are available that are remarkably good at mimicking natural stone such as marble or even wood grains. This makes porcelain tile an excellent choice where you want the look of wood without wood's susceptibility to water damage.

Ceramic Tile

Most ceramic tile that is not categorized as porcelain is a solid colour, and simulations of wood grains or natural stone are not common with basic ceramic tile.

Best for Appearance: Porcelain Tile

Porcelain tile has the edge when it comes to appearance, for the simple reason that it is available in more colours, patterns, and surface finishes, including tiles that resemble wood grains and natural stone.

Le Marblegallery provides all kinds of Ceramic Tiles in Kerala.