Soapstone Vs. Granite

Cost

• Granite typically ranges from $60 to $150 per square foot, while soapstone is $120 per square foot. Granite is also available in tiles that are between $4 to $18 a piece when used for counters.

Appearance

• Ultimately, either material brings with it the beauty of natural stone, but there are many more colors available with granite. Soapstone is limited to endless shades of gray or green.

Uses

• Granite is most commonly used for counters, sinks, tiles and walls. Soapstone can be used for counters, but also makes great cookware.

Maintenance

• A big advantage to soapstone is that, unlike granite, it is nonporous and will not need sealing. It is also easy to remove scratches from the surface of soapstone. A drawback of maintaining soapstone is the yearly mineral oil treatments it requires if used in a decorative style.

Durability

• Granite and soapstone are both very thick and built to last a lifetime, but granite is a little harder than soapstone. This is a plus in the durability category, but also makes it more difficult to hide blemishes that may come up over the years.