Types of Flooring in Australia, With Real Prices
The short answer
What are the main types of flooring?
Hybrid, vinyl planks, laminate, engineered timber, bamboo, tiles, carpet and solid timber. Hybrid suits the most homes: it looks like timber, it's 100% water resistant, and ours starts at $33.99 a m². Choose engineered timber for real wood, porcelain tiles for bathrooms, and vinyl planks for the lowest price.
Here they are side by side, then a short guide to each. The prices are ours on 1 November 2026, and many are Black Friday prices until 27 November.
Types of flooring compared
| Type | Price per m² | Where it suits | Water | Lay it yourself? | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | $33.99 to $54.98 | Every room, kitchens and laundries too | 100% water resistant | Yes, it clicks together | 15 to 25 years |
| Vinyl planks | $22 to $39.95 | Kitchens, laundries, rentals, over old tiles | 100% water resistant | Most people have it laid | 15 to 25 years |
| Laminate | $24.90 | Bedrooms and living rooms | Dry rooms only | Yes, it clicks together | 10 to 20 years |
| Engineered timber | $78.83 to $123.13 | Living rooms, bedrooms and halls | Dry rooms; wipe spills fast | Click planks yes; herringbone by a floor layer | 20 to 30 years |
| Bamboo | $61.39 | Living rooms and bedrooms | Dry rooms only | Yes, it clicks together | 20 to 25 years |
| Porcelain tiles | $42.08 to $53.08 | Bathrooms, laundries and kitchens | Water won't hurt it | Best left to a tiler | 30 years or more |
| Carpet | $45 to $110, laid | Bedrooms | Soaks up spills | A carpet layer | 8 to 12 years |
| Solid timber | $150 to $280, laid | Living rooms and bedrooms | Dry rooms only | A floor layer | 30 to 50 years or more |
Not sure which suits your home?
Answer a few quick questions about your rooms and your household, and get a shortlist of our floors with the reasons.
Find Your Perfect Floor
Answer a few questions to discover the ideal flooring for your space
- 1Your home
- 2Your floor
- 3Your shortlist
101 floors match so far
Where is the floor going?
What kind of home is it?
Upstairs and apartments need a quieter floor.
Has your building set an acoustic rating?
This filters listed test results. It does not establish building compliance.
Who lives there?
Claws, toys and busy feet are harder on some floors than others.
What matters most to you?
Every floor is a trade-off. Pick the one you’d keep if you could only have one.
Who’s laying it?
Which layout do you like?
Which colour tone do you like?
We’ll show these first. A sample shows the real colour in your own light.
Your Results
Complete the questions above to see the floors that match your requirements.
Hybrid flooring
Hybrid is a rigid stone core under a printed timber look and a clear wear layer, with the underlay built in. It's 100% water resistant and clicks together over most flat floors, so one floor can run through the whole home, kitchen and laundry included.
Ours costs $33.99 a m² in 6.5mm, $49.99 in 9.5mm and $54.98 in herringbone. Shop hybrid flooring, or read what hybrid flooring is.
Vinyl planks
Our vinyl planks are glued down over the whole floor. That makes them quiet underfoot, 100% water resistant and thin enough to lay over old tiles. The floor underneath has to be smooth and flat.
Ours costs $22 a m² in 2.5mm, $35 in 4.5mm and $39.95 in herringbone. Shop vinyl plank flooring, or read our guide to glue-down vinyl planks.
Laminate flooring
Laminate is a wood fibre core under a printed timber look and a tough top layer that stands up to scratches. Ours is 12mm thick, clicks together, feels solid underfoot and costs $24.90 a m². Keep it to dry rooms like bedrooms, living rooms and halls.
Shop laminate flooring, or read what laminate flooring is.
Engineered timber
Engineered timber is real oak or Australian hardwood on top, over a stable layered core. It's the one to choose if you want real wood under your feet.
Ours costs $78.83 a m² for Classique Oak, $92.99 for 15mm oak and $108.99 for Australian hardwood. Herringbone and chevron cost $103.99 to $123.13. Click planks you can lay yourself; herringbone and chevron are glued down by a floor layer. Keep it out of wet rooms.
Shop engineered timber, or see what timber flooring costs.
Bamboo flooring
Our bamboo is strand woven: bamboo fibres pressed into hard, dense boards. It's 12mm thick, clicks together and costs $61.39 a m². Keep it out of bathrooms and laundries, and away from hard western sun.
Shop bamboo flooring, or read whether bamboo flooring is any good.
Porcelain tiles
Porcelain tiles shrug off water and hard wear, which makes them the floor for bathrooms and laundries. They're hard and cold underfoot, and in a bathroom a tiler lays them over a wet-area membrane.
Our Brescia porcelain floor tiles cost $42.08 a m² in 600 x 600 mm, rated P3 for slip, and $53.08 in 600 x 1200 mm. See what a whole job costs in the cost to tile a bathroom.
Carpet and solid timber
We don't sell either, but they're worth knowing. Carpet is the softest and quietest floor. It costs $45 to $110 a m² laid and lasts 8 to 12 years.
Solid timber costs $150 to $280 a m² laid. It can last 50 years or more, because it can be sanded back again and again. It does move with moisture, and it's sanded and coated after it's laid.
Which flooring for which room?
- Kitchen: hybrid or glue-down vinyl planks.
- Bathroom and laundry: porcelain tiles over a wet-area membrane.
- Bedrooms: laminate, engineered timber or carpet.
- Apartment: glue-down vinyl or hybrid, with the sound rating your body corporate asks for. See acoustic flooring for apartments.
- The whole home in one floor: hybrid.
- The lowest price: 2.5mm vinyl planks at $22 a m², or laminate at $24.90.
Types of flooring: common questions
What are the different types of flooring?
The main types in Australian homes are hybrid, vinyl planks, laminate, engineered timber, solid timber, bamboo, tiles and carpet. Hybrid, vinyl and laminate have a printed timber look on a man-made core. Engineered timber, solid timber and bamboo are real plant fibre. Tiles are fired porcelain or ceramic.
What is the cheapest type of flooring?
Vinyl planks: ours start at $22 a m², then laminate at $24.90. Carpet costs $45 to $110 a m² with laying.
What is the most durable type of flooring?
Porcelain tiles, which last 30 years or more. Solid timber can last 50 years, because it can be sanded back many times. Of the timber-look floors, hybrid and vinyl planks last 15 to 25 years.
Which flooring handles water best?
Porcelain tiles, hybrid and vinyl planks. Our hybrid and vinyl planks are 100% water resistant. Keep laminate, engineered timber, solid timber and bamboo to dry rooms.
Which flooring suits a whole house?
Hybrid. It's 100% water resistant, so one floor can run through the kitchen, living areas, halls and bedrooms with no change at the doorways. Ours costs $33.99 to $54.98 a m².
Can you mix flooring types in one home?
Yes. Tiles in the bathroom and laundry with another floor everywhere else is common. A trim joins the two at each doorway.
