Engineered hardwood and laminate both give you a wood look, and in a photo of a finished room they can be hard to tell apart. Under the surface they are different floors. An engineered plank has a real oak layer bonded to a wood core, so the surface you walk on is wood. A laminate plank has a printed wood image sealed under a clear overlay on a fibreboard core, so the surface you walk on is a picture of wood. Choose engineered hardwood when you want a floor that can be sanded and refreshed later, feels solid underfoot and is nailed down to a wood subfloor. Choose laminate when the budget comes first, the room is dry, and you want a click-together floor that goes in fast and takes family life without much fuss.
The money picture is simple. Laminate here runs from $1.69 to $3.59 per sq ft and the European oak engineered boards run from $3.99 to $4.79 per sq ft. Our engineered hardwood collection is the longer-term purchase, and the laminate collection is the practical choice when several rooms need a floor on one budget.
Engineered hardwood or laminate at a glance
| Floor | Top layer | Core | Thickness | Plank width | Wear surface | Price per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Krono K6207 | Printed wood image | Fibreboard | 12mm | 5" | AC3 | $1.69 |
| Swiss Krono Beige | Printed wood image | Fibreboard | 10mm | 7 1/2" | AC5 | $2.49 |
| Swiss Krono Wilderness Oak | Printed wood image | Fibreboard | 14mm | 7 1/2" | AC6 | $3.09 |
| European Oak English Gray | Real oak | Wood | 19mm (3/4") | 6 1/2" | 2mm oak | $3.99 |
| European Oak Natural | Real oak | Wood | 19mm (3/4") | 7 1/2" | 3mm oak | $4.29 |
| European Oak Cloud | Real oak | Wood | 19mm (3/4") | 7 1/2" | 4mm oak | $4.79 |
Prices checked October 17, 2026. Box prices are before taxes, delivery and installation.
What are you actually walking on?
On an engineered plank the top is a thin slice of real oak bonded to a wood core, and the core layers run in opposing directions so the board stays flat. That oak layer is what you see, what your hand touches, and what holds the factory colour. It is also why the floor varies from plank to plank, since the character grade keeps the natural marks a cleaner grade would cut out.
On laminate the top is a printed wood image under a clear overlay on a dense fibreboard core. The print is consistent, so planks line up evenly across a room, and the sealed surface shrugs off daily grit and scuffs. Nothing on that surface is wood. The pattern sits inside the plank rather than being the plank, and that one difference settles almost everything else: whether the floor can be refreshed, how it ages, what it feels like underfoot, and how much of the budget it takes.
Can it be refinished later, or is it once and done?
On the engineered side this is about how much oak sits above the core. A 2mm oak layer, as on English Gray at $3.99 per sq ft, is the entry point of our European oak range on a 6 1/2" board. The 3mm boards, such as Natural, are 7 1/2" wide at $4.29, and the 4mm boards, such as Cloud, are 7 1/2" wide at $4.79. Sanding removes oak each time, so a thicker layer leaves more wood for a future refresh. Our explanation of 2mm, 3mm and 4mm oak layers covers what each one allows, and our guide to refinishing engineered hardwood explains the limits.
Laminate cannot be sanded. Sanding would cut through the printed image to the core, so there is no way to bring a tired surface back. A single chipped or worn board in a click floor can be swapped out, but a floor that is worn across the room is replaced.
How do scratches and dents behave on each floor?
A laminate surface is hard and sealed, so fine grit, pet claws and chair feet leave fewer small scratches than they do on oak. The weakness is impact. A heavy, sharp object dropped on a laminate plank can chip the overlay, and a chip shows the printed layer underneath, with nothing that fills it back in to match. Oak behaves the other way: the wood gives slightly, so you tend to get a small dent or a scratch that sits in the grain rather than a broken surface. A wire brushed character grade blurs small marks because the board already has texture and colour movement in it.
Colour matters on both floors. A mid tone hides dust, footprints and light marks better than a very dark or a very pale floor. Our article on how dark and light floors show dust, scratches and pet hair shows the difference on real boards.
Water and basements: what happens to each floor?
Neither floor is waterproof, and it helps to know how each one fails. Water that stays on a laminate seam soaks into the fibreboard core, the board swells, and the swollen edge lifts and stays lifted. Our guide to water damaged laminate explains when it can be saved.
Engineered oak is wood, so a spill you wipe up promptly is a non-event, while standing water or a slow leak under a fridge raises the grain, stains the finish and can lift the board edges. Our article on whether engineered hardwood is waterproof covers kitchens, leaks and bathrooms honestly.
Downstairs the deciding factor is the slab, not the material. A concrete basement floor has to be dry before any wood-based floor goes on it, and moisture testing comes first. Engineered hardwood is the more realistic wood option below grade, glued or floated so it can move, while the 19mm European oak boards here are nail-down for a wood subfloor. Our notes on engineered hardwood in an Ontario basement cover the subfloor side. Where water is likely, waterproof SPC vinyl is safer than either.
Which one feels and sounds better underfoot?
Laminate is a floating floor. The planks lock to each other and rest on an underlay rather than being fixed to the subfloor, which is why a click floor can sound hollow. Thickness changes the feel: a 10mm plank such as Swiss Krono Beige at $2.49 per sq ft feels firmer than a thin board, and a 14mm plank such as Swiss Krono Wilderness Oak at $3.09 sits closer to wood.
Engineered oak at 19mm, nailed to a wood subfloor, feels closer to a solid floor and is quieter to walk on, because the boards are fixed and the oak layer adds mass. Our comparison of nail-down and floating engineered hardwood explains what each method needs from the floor beneath it.
Which floor helps more when you sell?
Buyers read materials. A real wood surface tells a buyer the floor can be brought back later instead of replaced, which carries weight in an older house. Laminate still earns its place before a sale, as the fastest way to take several rooms from tired carpet to a clean wood look on a set budget.
What 300 sq ft costs in material
Floors are sold by the box, and box coverage differs between products, so the fair comparison is the whole order. The table prices a 300 sq ft room with 5% added for cuts, which comes to 315 sq ft of material, rounded up to whole boxes.
| Floor | Box price | Box covers | Boxes for 315 sq ft | Material |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Krono K6207 laminate | $23.00 | 13.61 sq ft | 24 | $552.00 |
| Swiss Krono Beige laminate | $42.83 | 17.22 sq ft | 19 | $813.77 |
| Swiss Krono Wilderness Oak laminate | $41.04 | 13.28 sq ft | 24 | $984.96 |
| European Oak English Gray | $80.76 | 20.24 sq ft | 16 | $1,292.16 |
| European Oak Natural | $83.31 | 19.42 sq ft | 17 | $1,416.27 |
| European Oak Cloud | $93.02 | 19.42 sq ft | 17 | $1,581.34 |
Installation, removal of the old floor, underlay and trim are separate, and they depend on your subfloor, doorways and stairs, so we price those lines after we see the job.
Which one should you choose?
- A whole floor for the least money: laminate, starting with Krono K6207 at $1.69 per sq ft on a 5" plank, or Swiss Krono Beige at $2.49 per sq ft for the wider 7 1/2" look.
- Several bedrooms or a rental unit: laminate at $1.69 to $3.09 per sq ft keeps the material bill down and goes in quickly.
- A main floor you look at every day: engineered oak, because the surface is wood and can be refreshed later.
- A floor that may need a sand in future: a thicker oak layer, such as Cloud or Pewter at $4.79 per sq ft, leaves the most wood for it.
- A basement or a room over concrete: engineered hardwood over a dry, tested slab, glued or floated. Ask us first, because the 19mm boards here are nail-down for a wood subfloor.
- A bathroom, laundry or mudroom: neither of these two. Look at waterproof SPC vinyl instead.
Engineered hardwood vs laminate: questions buyers ask
Is engineered hardwood worth the extra cost over laminate?
If you want a wood surface that can be sanded and refreshed, yes. If the budget decides and the room is dry, laminate gives you a sealed wood look for less, and the saving can go into the rest of the renovation.
Can laminate be sanded or refinished?
No. Sanding cuts through the printed image to the core, and there is no finish to build back. One damaged plank in a click floor can be swapped, but a floor worn across the room is replaced.
Which one is better for a basement?
Engineered hardwood is the more realistic wood option below grade, provided the slab is dry and it goes down glued or floating. Laminate on a fibreboard core is the riskier choice, because a damp slab or a small flood swells it.
Which one holds up better with kids and pets?
Laminate takes claws and daily traffic without fine scratching, but an impact can chip it and the chip stays. Oak dents and scratches in the grain instead, and a wire brushed character grade hides small marks well.
Do I need an underlay under a click laminate floor?
Yes. Click laminate floats over an underlay, which softens the sound and levels small imperfections in the subfloor, and a thicker plank feels firmer over it. Engineered oak nailed to a wood subfloor does not work the same way.
Get an engineered hardwood or laminate quote in Toronto
Send us your room sizes, what is on the floor now, and whether the subfloor is wood or concrete. We will tell you which of the two suits each room and price the boards with the installation lines that go with them. You can request a floor quote and we will come back with the box counts and the labour for your address.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819