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Laminate vs Vinyl Plank Flooring: Which Suits Your Toronto Home? (2026)
Laminate or vinyl plank for your Toronto home? Compare water resistance, feel, durability and real installed prices, both from $3.20 per sq ft. Free in-home measure.
Quick answer
The two floors side by side
What each floor is made of
Laminate is a board of compressed wood fibre with a photographic layer of wood or stone on top and a clear wear layer over that. Its strength is the picture: at the same price, a good laminate usually looks more like real oak than a vinyl plank does, with sharper grain and deeper embossing. Its weakness is the core, which is wood, and wood swells when it gets wet.
Vinyl plank has no wood in it. The core is plastic, either SPC, a rigid stone-and-polymer mix that resists dents and stays flat over slightly uneven floors, or WPC, a foamed core that is thicker, warmer and quieter underfoot. Of the roughly 2,600 vinyl floors we stock, about 1,050 are SPC and about 200 are WPC. The picture layer works the same way as laminate, but the whole plank is waterproof.
Water, basements and Toronto houses
This is the deciding factor for most rooms. A spilled pot in a kitchen, a leaking dishwasher, a wet dog by the back door: vinyl shrugs it off, laminate can lift at the joints. Basements make it starker. Toronto basements sit on concrete that breathes moisture, and many are rented out as suites, so the floor has to survive both damp and tenants. Vinyl plank is rated for below grade; standard laminate is not.
Water-resistant laminate exists and we carry it, including the Waterproof Laminate PLUS and HydroXpert lines. It buys you time to wipe up a spill, and it is the right call if you want the laminate look in a kitchen. It does not turn laminate into a basement floor.
Durability, pets and kids
Laminate is graded by AC rating. AC3 is fine for bedrooms, AC4 for busy family rooms and hallways, AC5 for commercial use. Of the 142 laminates we stock, 64 are AC5, 42 are AC4 and 29 are AC3, and nearly all are 12 mm thick, which is the thickness that stops a laminate feeling cheap. Laminate resists scratches very well, better than most vinyl, which is why it holds up under dog claws and chair legs.
Vinyl is graded by its wear layer in mils. 12 mil suits bedrooms and light traffic, 20 mil is the standard for a family home, 30 mil is commercial grade. Vinyl dents more easily than laminate under a dropped pan or a heavy chair leg, especially WPC, but it does not chip at the edges the way laminate can.
Feel and sound
Laminate is hard. Without a quality underlay it sounds hollow when walked on, which is the first thing people notice in an open-plan house. Vinyl is softer, quieter and warmer, and a large share of our vinyl planks arrive with a pad already attached. In a condo, where the building sets a sound rating for anything that is not carpet, vinyl with an attached pad is usually the easier floor to get approved.
The downsides of each
No floor is perfect, and it’s better to know before it goes down.
Vinyl plank dents under a dropped pan or a heavy chair leg, the softer WPC planks most of all. It can’t be sanded or refinished, so a deep gouge means replacing the plank. It also reacts to strong, direct sun: in a room with big south-facing windows, cheaper vinyl can fade and move, which is worth knowing in a glass-walled condo.
Laminate doesn’t like water. A spill that sits in the joints swells the wood-fibre core, and a swollen edge doesn’t go back down. Without a good underlay it sounds harder and more hollow underfoot than vinyl, and a sharp knock can chip the edge of a plank.
What each costs installed in Toronto
Labour is a tie for floating floors. 22FLOORING installs laminate from $3.20 per square foot and click vinyl from $3.20 per square foot. Glue-down vinyl, which covers dryback planks, LVT tile and loose lay, is from $5.50 per square foot including the glue, because it needs a flatter subfloor and more time. The flooring itself is priced separately: every product page shows the installation rate, and the flooring goes on your written quote.
For an 800 sq ft main floor, installation alone is $2,560 for either floating floor. Taking up the old floor is included. What moves the total is levelling the subfloor and any stairs, both priced in your free quote. Our Toronto installation cost page has the full breakdown.
Room by room
- Kitchen: vinyl plank, or water-resistant laminate if you want the look.
- Bathroom and laundry: vinyl plank, no contest.
- Basement: vinyl plank, glued or floated over the slab.
- Bedrooms and upper floors: laminate, AC4 or better if children or pets use the room.
- Living and dining room: either. Laminate for the sharper wood look, vinyl if the room opens onto a kitchen.
- Condo unit: vinyl with an attached pad is the easier one to get past the sound rules.
Shop both
Browse our laminate flooring and vinyl flooring ranges, or read how we install each: laminate installation in Toronto and vinyl installation in Toronto. Send us your square footage for a free in-home measure across Toronto and the GTA.
Frequently asked questions
Is vinyl better than laminate for a basement?
Yes. Vinyl plank has a waterproof core and is rated for below grade, so it handles the moisture that comes through a concrete slab. Standard laminate is not rated for basements, and even water-resistant laminate is a compromise there.
Can laminate go in a kitchen?
It can, if you choose a water-resistant line and wipe up spills promptly. Vinyl plank is the safer choice if the kitchen sees heavy use or opens onto a back door.
Which is quieter in a condo?
Vinyl plank with an attached pad. It is softer underfoot and most condo boards accept it more readily than laminate against their sound rating.
Which lasts longer?
Both last fifteen to twenty-five years in a home when the right grade is chosen. Laminate resists scratches better; vinyl resists water and dents at the edges better. The wrong floor in the wrong room fails first.
Does installation cost differ?
Not for floating floors: laminate and click vinyl are both installed from $3.20 per square foot by 22FLOORING. Glue-down vinyl is from $5.50 per square foot including glue. Taking up the old floor is included either way.
What is the downside of vinyl plank flooring?
It dents under heavy point loads, it can’t be refinished, and cheaper vinyl can fade or move in strong direct sun. In return it’s waterproof, quieter and softer underfoot than laminate.
How do you clean laminate and vinyl floors?
Sweep or vacuum, then use a damp mop, not a wet one, with a cleaner made for the floor. Never steam-mop laminate or leave water standing on it. Vinyl is more forgiving, but steam isn’t recommended on it either.
How can you tell laminate and vinyl apart?
Look at a cut edge or the end of a plank: laminate shows a brown wood-fibre core, vinyl a grey or white plastic one. Laminate also feels harder and sounds louder when you tap it.
Can laminate or vinyl go on stairs?
Yes. Vinyl plank on stairs gets a matching vinyl nosing on every step; see vinyl plank on stairs.
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