Quartz slabs cost between $15 and $70 per square foot for materials, depending on brand and grade. Wholesale buyers — fabricators, builders, and designers — typically pay 13–25% below retail by sourcing through a members-only platform like GoSource. For most kitchens, 2cm thickness and a mid-range brand like MSI hit the best value-to-performance ratio. If you want the look of marble without the maintenance, quartz is almost always the right call.
What Is a Quartz Slab?
Quartz slabs are engineered stone surfaces made from 90–95% ground natural quartz crystals, bound together with resins and pigments. Unlike granite or marble, which are quarried as-is from the earth, quartz goes through a manufacturing process that controls consistency, color, and pattern — which is why no two quartz slabs from the same collection look dramatically different.
That controlled process is also why quartz outperforms natural stone on most practical metrics: it does not need sealing, resists staining better than marble, and handles the abuse of a working kitchen without complaint.
Standard quartz slab sizes run 63×126 inches (the most common format for kitchen countertops) and 65×130 inches for jumbo formats used on large islands and waterfall panels. Most manufacturers also offer a pre-fabricated option — smaller, pre-cut slabs with polished edges — for bathroom vanities and straightforward kitchen runs.
How Much Does a Quartz Slab Cost?
Quartz slab pricing varies by brand, finish, size, and grade. Here is how the numbers break down at both retail and wholesale:
Material Cost (slab only, before fabrication and installation)
| Tier | Retail Price Range | Wholesale Price Range | Example Brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry-level | $800–$1,600 per slab | $670–$1,330 | MSI Iced White · Snow White |
| Mid-range | $1,800–$3,500 per slab | $1,500–$2,920 | MSI Calacatta Arno · LX Hausys mid-tier |
| Premium | $3,600–$7,000+ per slab | $3,000–$5,850 | Caesarstone · Cambria · LX Hausys Adagio Gold |
On a per-square-foot basis, material costs typically run $15–$70/sqft depending on grade. MSI puts the uninstalled material range at $15–$50/sqft across their full catalog.
Installed Cost (material + fabrication + labor)
HomeAdvisor reports the installed cost for a full kitchen project ranges from $1,500 to $8,000, with most homeowners landing around $4,500. That figure includes:
- The slab material
- Fabricator cutting and edge profiling
- Professional installation
- Sink cutouts and seaming
For trade professionals buying slabs directly — fabricators, builders, GCs — the material cost is the controllable variable. The difference between retail and wholesale pricing on a 10-unit multifamily project can run $15,000–$30,000 in materials alone.
What Drives Quartz Slab Pricing?
Brand premium. Caesarstone and Cambria charge more partly because of brand equity and warranty terms. MSI competes on volume and variety.
Thickness. A 3cm slab costs more than a 2cm slab of the same style, and installation labor is higher because of weight.
Finish. Polished is standard. Honed and leathered finishes add cost.
Slab size. Jumbo slabs (65×130) cost more than standard (63×126) and reduce seaming on large countertop runs — often worth the premium on island-heavy projects.
Quartz vs. Marble vs. Quartzite: Which Should You Choose?
This is the most common question trade buyers get from their clients. Here is the honest breakdown:
Quartz vs. Marble
Marble's appeal is aesthetic — the real veining, the depth, the prestige. But marble is porous, etches from acidic substances (lemon juice, wine, coffee), and needs resealing every 1–2 years. In a working kitchen, marble shows wear quickly.
Quartz gives you the marble look — the Calacatta patterns, the soft veining, the light-colored slabs — without the maintenance overhead. Caesarstone's Calacatta Scoria and MSI's Calacatta Arno are engineered specifically to mimic high-end marble at a fraction of the total ownership cost.
Choose marble when the client wants the authentic natural material for a low-traffic area (a bathroom feature wall, a fireplace surround) and accepts the upkeep. Choose quartz for any kitchen, high-traffic bathroom, or commercial application where consistency and durability matter.
Quartz vs. Quartzite
Quartzite (not to be confused with quartz) is a natural metamorphic rock — harder than marble and more heat-resistant than engineered quartz, but still porous and still requires sealing. It also varies significantly slab to slab, which creates matching challenges on large projects.
Quartzite retail pricing overlaps with premium quartz ($800–$8,000 per slab), but fabrication is harder because of its density. For most residential and commercial applications, engineered quartz is easier to work with, easier to source consistently, and cheaper to fabricate.
Choose quartzite for outdoor applications (it handles UV and heat better) or when a client specifically wants a natural stone with strong, distinctive veining. Choose quartz for indoor projects where fabrication predictability, stain resistance, and consistent supply matter.
Quick Comparison
| Factor | Quartz | Marble | Quartzite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stain resistance | Excellent | Poor | Good |
| Scratch resistance | Very good | Moderate | Excellent |
| Heat resistance | Moderate | Good | Very good |
| Sealing required | Never | Every 1–2 years | Every 1–3 years |
| Appearance consistency | Uniform | Varies slab to slab | Varies slab to slab |
| Price (retail, per slab) | $800–$7,000+ | $1,200–$12,000+ | $800–$8,000 |
Which Quartz Thickness Is Right for Your Project?
Quartz slabs come in three standard thicknesses. The right choice depends on application, edge profile, and budget.
1.5cm (about ¾ inch)
The thinnest option, used primarily for pre-fabricated countertop pieces with built-up laminated edges, vertical cladding, and lightweight installations. Most fabricators do not use 1.5cm for full-run kitchen countertops — it requires full substrate support and limits edge profile options.
Best for: Prefab vanity tops, vertical wall panels, budget-sensitive bathroom projects.
2cm (about ¾ inch nominal, the standard)
The dominant thickness for residential kitchens, apartment builds, and multifamily unit turns. Flintstone Marble and Granite describes 2cm as the industry standard for prefabricated slabs and bathroom countertops, while 3cm dominates kitchen applications. In practice, 2cm hits the right balance of cost, workability, and visual weight for most projects.
Best for: Standard kitchens, bathroom vanities, apartment renovations, high-volume unit turns where cost per unit matters.
3cm (about 1¼ inch)
The premium option. At 3cm, a slab has enough structural integrity to span unsupported runs longer than 24 inches, supports full waterfall edges without laminating, and carries the visual weight expected in high-end residential and commercial interiors. It costs more — both in material and in installation labor, since 3cm slabs are significantly heavier.
Best for: Luxury residential kitchen islands, commercial hospitality surfaces, waterfall edge applications, any span over 24 inches without full cabinet support.
Top Quartz Brands Compared
GoSource carries 800+ quartz slab styles across the major brands. Here is how they differ in practice:
MSI
The largest selection on GoSource — 180+ quartz styles across entry, mid, and upper-mid price points. MSI is the go-to for volume buyers: consistent quality, broad availability, fast lead times. Their Calacatta collections (Calacatta Arno, Calacatta Lavasa) are among the top-selling slabs on the platform. Pricing stays accessible, which makes MSI the default choice for high-volume fabricators and multifamily project teams.
Best for: Volume fabricators, apartment and multifamily, cost-sensitive residential projects.
Caesarstone
The original engineered quartz brand and still a benchmark for premium residential work. Caesarstone's production is tightly controlled, their color depth is distinctive, and their warranty program is among the strongest in the industry. Caesarstone is the brand architects specify by name. Their Calacatta Scoria, at the premium end, is one of the most visually striking quartz options currently available.
Best for: High-end residential kitchens, hospitality interiors, clients who specify by brand name, projects requiring a strong warranty.
Cambria
The only American-made quartz brand in GoSource's catalog, Cambria is family-owned and vertically integrated from quarry to finished slab. Their patterns are proprietary — you cannot get a Cambria colorway from another manufacturer — and they carry particular weight with the designer community in markets where domestic sourcing matters. Pricing sits at the premium tier.
Best for: Architects and interior designers, luxury residential, projects where domestic manufacturing is a specification requirement.
LX Hausys
LG's surfaces division produces some of the most visually distinctive quartz on the market — Adagio Gold, in particular, is a bold statement piece that has no close equivalent from MSI or Caesarstone. LX Hausys sits between MSI's volume pricing and Caesarstone's premium, making it a smart choice for designers who want a unique aesthetic without the full luxury brand premium.
Best for: Designers seeking distinctive aesthetics, mid-to-premium residential projects, buyers looking for visual differentiation.
How to Buy Quartz Slabs at Wholesale Prices
The traditional path to quartz slabs runs through a local distributor or a brand showroom — both of which build retailer margins into the price. For fabricators, builders, and designers who buy regularly, those margins add up fast.
GoSource is a B2B marketplace built specifically for trade professionals, with direct relationships with MSI, Caesarstone, Cambria, LX Hausys, Bedrosians, and other top brands. Members — fabricators, builders, architects, designers — access wholesale pricing 13–20% below retail on every order, earn GoCash cashback on purchases, and get access to a dedicated account manager.
Membership is free. To unlock wholesale pricing across all 800+ quartz slab styles, create a free GoSource account and specify your trade role. Wholesale prices display immediately after sign-in.
Browse wholesale quartz slabs on GoSource →
The Bottom Line
Quartz is the dominant countertop material for kitchens, bathrooms, and commercial surfaces for straightforward reasons: it outperforms marble on durability and maintenance, matches quartzite on aesthetics for most applications, and has better supply consistency than any natural stone. For trade buyers, the material cost is the variable that moves the project margin — and buying at wholesale, rather than retail, is the highest-leverage move available.
Start with the brand that fits your project tier (MSI for volume, Caesarstone or Cambria for premium), choose 2cm for most residential applications or 3cm for islands and commercial runs, and get access to GoSource member pricing before your next order.
