Is luxury vinyl plank a good substitute for real hardwood in a Toronto home? Often, yes, depending on the room and what sits under the floor. But it's a different purchase from solid wood, not a copy of it. Below we put our solid hardwood flooring collection side by side with the rigid-core SPC vinyl plank we sell. We use current box prices, our house installation rates and one 800 sq ft job priced four ways. For the wider hardwood cost picture, start with our hardwood flooring price guide.
Quick answer: is vinyl plank a good substitute for hardwood?
Over a concrete slab or anywhere moisture is close by, usually yes. Solid hardwood is the stronger choice for a main-floor living area over a plywood subfloor, especially if you may want to sand and refinish down the road. So the real choice comes down to room, subfloor and budget. Here's where each range starts and ends in our catalogue. Price per sq ft is the box price divided by the sq ft per box.
| Floor | Product | Box price and coverage | Price per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid hardwood, entry | Lauzon Essential Beech Cape Cod | $99.80 per 20 sq ft box | $4.99 |
| Solid hardwood, top | Lauzon Authentik Red Oak Nostalgia | $169.83 per 17 sq ft box | $9.99 |
| SPC vinyl, entry | Riche Cream Ivory Oak, 6mm | $62.93 per 23.64 sq ft box | $2.66 |
| SPC vinyl, top | Riche Flooring 9mm Coastal Greige | $69.99 per 13.79 sq ft box | $5.08 |
Prices were checked October 4, 2026, against our current catalogue. Several SPC colours share each vinyl price, so each row shows one example.
- Choose solid hardwood for main-floor living areas over a plywood subfloor, especially if you expect to sand and refinish later.
- Choose SPC for basements, concrete slabs and rooms where spills happen all the time. Three Lauzon solid floors (Sapphir, Beech Cape Cod and Authentik Nostalgia) are each listed as not suitable over concrete or below grade.
- Compare installed totals, not box prices. At 800 sq ft, our highest-priced SPC still comes in under the hardwood at the bottom of our solid range.
- For resale, we share one US survey below. It tells you nothing certain about Toronto.
LVP vs hardwood flooring: how the two differ in our catalogue
Every solid hardwood floor we stock today is 19mm thick. That's 37 products from Appalachian, Lauzon and MKB, priced from $4.99 to $9.99 per sq ft.
Our SPC vinyl plank collection is a different story. We stock 87 SPC products, all click-lock floating planks 6mm to 10mm thick, priced from $2.66 to $5.08 per sq ft. Every one of them is listed as waterproof.
Wear layer: 12mil or 20mil
Of those 87, 45 have a 12mil wear layer and 42 have 20mil. The wear layer is the protective top of the plank, and in a busy house it's the first number to compare. Riche Flooring Heavy-Duty 8mm Driftwood Mist is one of the 20mil planks, at $59.00 per 16.55 sq ft box, or $3.56 per sq ft.
What separates the ends of each range
On the solid side, the entry board is 3 1/4" wide and the top board is 4 1/4" wide with a wire-brushed surface. Both are 19mm thick, so the extra $5.00 per sq ft gets you a wider, textured board, but not a thicker one.
On the vinyl side, the extra $2.42 per sq ft takes you from 6mm to 9mm total thickness. Both planks still have a 12mil wear layer, so the pricier plank doesn't necessarily have the thicker wear layer.
A mid-range solid example
Lauzon Essential Hard Maple Sapphir sits in the lower half of our solid range at $99.80 per 17 sq ft box, or $5.87 per sq ft. Like the rest of the range, it's 19mm thick.
It comes with a “25-Year Residential Finish Warranty”. That covers the finish, not how long the wood itself will last, so check the terms.
What 800 sq ft costs: entry and top SKU for each floor
This example is the heart of the comparison. Take an 800 sq ft floor in a house, installed by us at our standard rates: $2.00 per sq ft for hardwood and $1.50 per sq ft for vinyl plank on jobs over 300 sq ft. We priced the four products from the first table with the same five steps, so you can follow along on a calculator.
- Waste-adjusted area: 800 sq ft × 1.05 = 840 sq ft (a 5% waste allowance).
- Boxes: waste-adjusted area divided by sq ft per box, rounded up to whole boxes.
- Material: boxes × box price.
- Labour: 840 sq ft × the install rate.
- Subtotal is material plus labour. HST is 13% of the subtotal, and the total is subtotal plus HST.
These totals don't include removing the old floor, delivery, trim, stairs or subfloor prep. We quote those once we know the job. To price your own rooms, use your measured area, the box price and sq ft per box from the product page, and the install rate for your building type.
| Floor | Boxes | Material | Labour | Subtotal | HST | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid hardwood, entry ($4.99 per sq ft) | 42 boxes | $4,191.60 | $1,680.00 | $5,871.60 | $763.31 | $6,634.91 |
| Solid hardwood, top ($9.99 per sq ft) | 50 boxes | $8,491.50 | $1,680.00 | $10,171.50 | $1,322.30 | $11,493.80 |
| SPC vinyl, entry ($2.66 per sq ft) | 36 boxes | $2,265.48 | $1,260.00 | $3,525.48 | $458.31 | $3,983.79 |
| SPC vinyl, top ($5.08 per sq ft) | 61 boxes | $4,269.39 | $1,260.00 | $5,529.39 | $718.82 | $6,248.21 |
What the numbers say
- At the entry level, SPC totals $3,983.79 and hardwood $6,634.91, a $2,651.12 gap with HST. At the top of each range, the gap is $5,245.59.
- The ranges overlap. Our $5.08 SPC totals $6,248.21, which is $386.70 less than the $4.99 hardwood.
- Labour isn't the big difference. The $0.50 per sq ft gap in install rate adds up to $420.00 on 840 sq ft, so most of the spread comes from material.
- Before HST, spread over the 800 sq ft you actually walk on, the four jobs come to $7.34, $12.71, $4.41 and $6.91 per sq ft.
- Watch stock on hardwood. The beech entry floor shows 9 boxes on hand and this job needs 42, so confirm availability before you plan around it.
Cream Ivory Oak comes with an attached IXPE pad, so you don't need separate underlay. That's why none is included in the totals above.
Lifespan and refinishing: counting the second install
No one can honestly promise a lifespan in years for either floor, and we won't try. What we can tell you is how solid wood ages. The National Wood Flooring Association's magazine says that, generally speaking, most solid wood floors can be sanded six to eight times during their service life. The exact number depends on things like the thickness of the wear layer and the skill of the contractor.
The Sapphir product page makes the same point about that floor: it can be sanded and refinished multiple times over its lifetime. We quote refinishing separately, so it has no set price here.
So the lifecycle question becomes how many installs you'll pay for. Using the pre-HST subtotals above, one entry-level hardwood install is $5,871.60, while two entry-level SPC installs are $7,050.96 (2 × $3,525.48). At the top of each range, one hardwood install is $10,171.50 and two SPC installs are $11,058.78.
Treat that as a rough break-even check. It leaves out tearing out the first vinyl floor, any hardwood refinishing, disposal and future price changes, and it assumes you'd buy the same vinyl again. If you expect to replace the floor within a few years anyway, the lower-cost floor makes good sense. If you plan to stay, that second install is where hardwood closes the gap.
With vinyl, the wear layer is the choice you make up front. Driftwood Mist, a 20mil plank at $3.56 per sq ft, costs less than the 12mil Coastal Greige at $5.08. In our catalogue, a thicker wear layer doesn't always cost more.
Resale: what a cited source says and what nobody can promise
Resale is where local evidence is thinnest. The best source we have is the 2022 Remodeling Impact Report from the National Association of REALTORS®. In this US survey, REALTORS® estimated how much of a project's cost a seller gets back. Among interior projects, refinishing hardwood floors came in at 147 percent, followed by new wood flooring at 118 percent.
Keep in mind that it's a 2022 US survey. It lumps solid and engineered together under “new wood flooring”, and its interior chart has no vinyl plank project to compare against. We have no Toronto sale data, so we can't tell you that either floor adds a set amount to a home here. If you're selling soon, ask a local REALTOR® what buyers in your area expect.
Where each floor wins in Toronto and GTA homes
Your rooms and subfloors will settle this faster than any spec sheet. Here's how four common situations usually play out.
Condos
In a condo, our vinyl plank install rate is $2.00 per sq ft on jobs over 300 sq ft, compared with $1.50 in a house. Solid hardwood in a condo has no standard rate. We price it after viewing the space, and the same goes for vinyl jobs under 300 sq ft. Check your building's rules before you order any floor. Our guide to LVP and engineered hardwood in Toronto condos goes deeper on the building side.
Basements and concrete slabs
This is where SPC comes out ahead. The Sapphir product page says this floor “is not suitable for installation over concrete or below-grade (basement) applications,” and the Beech Cape Cod and Authentik Nostalgia pages say the same about those floors. Check the product page of any solid floor before you plan it for a basement. Our vinyl plank labour rate for basements is $1.50 per sq ft, the same as a house.
Main-floor living areas
Over a plywood subfloor, solid hardwood's ability to be refinished matters most here. You live on this floor every day, and you can renew it later. The Sapphir product page says this floor “must be nailed or stapled to a plywood subfloor,” so find out what's under your current floor first. If you're also considering engineered boards, see our solid versus engineered hardwood comparison.
Busy family rooms and entrances
Go with SPC when the room sees wet boots, pets and spilled drinks. Start with the 20mil planks, and remember that the planks are listed as waterproof. Our busy-household comparison with engineered hardwood weighs the same trade-offs from the engineered side.
Frequently asked questions about LVP and hardwood
Is vinyl plank as good as hardwood?
Neither one is best in every room. All our SPC planks are listed as waterproof, which helps on a slab and anywhere moisture is a concern. Solid hardwood can be sanded and refinished, and the Lauzon floors we checked need a plywood subfloor. Decide room by room using the situations above.
How much cheaper is vinyl plank than solid hardwood installed?
Material for our SPC runs $2.66 to $5.08 per sq ft, compared with $4.99 to $9.99 for solid hardwood. In a house, installation is $1.50 per sq ft for SPC and $2.00 for hardwood. In our 800 sq ft example, totals with HST ran $3,983.79 to $6,248.21 for SPC and $6,634.91 to $11,493.80 for hardwood.
Can you install vinyl flooring over hardwood?
Sometimes. It depends on the condition of the floor underneath and on the installation instructions for the plank you choose, so we check both before quoting. Send us photos of the existing floor along with your room sizes.
Should I remove old hardwood before installing vinyl plank?
Not always. Removal is a separate line on the quote, and it depends on what the old floor is and how it's fastened. When you ask for a quote, tell us whether it's nailed or glued.
Can the solid hardwood you sell go in a basement?
Not the Lauzon floors we checked. The product pages for Lauzon Essential Hard Maple Sapphir, Beech Cape Cod and Authentik Nostalgia each say that floor is not suitable for below-grade installs. Check the page for the floor you pick. For basements, SPC is what we price.
Get a measured quote in Toronto and the GTA
Send us your room sizes, your building type (house, basement or condo) and what's on the floor now, and we'll run the same steps with your numbers. You can request a quote online for solid hardwood, SPC or both.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819