For bathroom tiling purposes, consider them to be the same. Porcelain tile is a ceramic tile in that they are from the same family. You could consider porcelain to be a finer grade than ceramic tile, in that porcelain is typically harder, more dense, more difficult to cut, and has a lower water absorption rate. As to the manufacturing process, a lot of ceramic is stamped out into the tile size, then glazed and fired. Tiles can have differential shrinkage during the firing, so ceramic tiles can be off a bit in one dimension versus the other. A lot of porcelain is "rectified tile", it is fired in large sheets, then cut to size after firing. As such, it's generally more uniform in size, and the edges will be perfectly square "sawn" edges. With the tile size being uniform, they can be set closer together with smaller grout lines. None of those qualities are really make or break differences for interior residential bathroom applications. Exterior? You'd want to lean towards porcelain due to its lower water absorption and its subsequent ability to handle freeze/thaw cycles. So...a list of basic differences for you.

Porcelain has become popular in residential flooring over the last several years, so one of the big draws is wanting the best and obtaining bragging rights to friends and neighbors, which is great! Most people want to buy porcelain because they think it is the same color and pattern all the way through the tile. However, this is only true on fraction of porcelain tile products that are called through-body porcelain. The majority of porcelain tiles are glazed porcelain and when chipped, the porcelain shows through, usually as a different shade if not color. Porcelain is denser than ceramic which means it has a lower absorption rate. It is frost resistant making porcelain better for outside applications. Indoors, the extra density makes porcelain less likely to chip. But it is a little overkill anf often misunderstood too. Some people lead you to believe that if you're not getting porcelain then you are wasting your money. More false words were never spoken. There are different qualities of ceramic tile. Some ceramics are denser than others. There are many great quality ceramics that are more than sufficient in a house. All tiles, whether porcelain or ceramic, have a PEI rating which will tell you how resistant the glazed surface is to scratching and chipping. A tile with a PEI of 1 will scratch and chip easily and should only be used on walls. A PEI of 2 is good for light residential areas like bathrooms. A PEI of 3 is good for all residential applications. 4 is used in commercial applications and 5 for heavy commercial applications like a mall. It is wise to view the PEI ratings becasue many pei ratings willl do fine in a house because the highest commercial pei rating isnt needed. The average home performance wont exceed those expectations and ratings. If you drop an iron skillet on equally rated ceramic and porcelain tiles, you will probably chip both. If you drop a glass, you will probably will not break either one. Because of the difference in density, there may be some things that may chip one or the other, but in reality, when comparing porcelain to ceramic floor tile, the difference is neglibible. Remember people have been using ceramic tile way before porcelain tile existed and many of those isntallationa re stil laround today, performing perfectly, with zoro problems. Porcelain has been around a while, but has been mainly used in outside and commercial applications. A lot of manufacturers have gone to porcelain tile recently because the price of tile in general has come down. By going to porcelain, the manufacturers can justify not lowering their prices because the insinuation is that its better so it costs more, and they really play up the performance. The bottom line is that in a typical residential application, both porcelain and ceramic tiles will endure comparably provided they have the same PEI rating. A through body porcelain is great, but there are not very many choices and they generally cost more than glazed porcelain and ceramic.

The original kitchen had linoleum, and while planning our reno we debated between hardwood, laminate or porcelain tile. I hate having hot feet, so radiant heating has never been a consideration. I live in southwest British Columbia, so it doesn't get too cold, and our forced air ducting runs in the crawlspace beneath the kitchen, so the floors don't get that cold regardless.. Anyways, hubby, the kids love the ice machine in our fridge, and they are always dropping crushed ice. The kids are always having spills and the floor almost always has at least a drip of water here or there. It's a well used kitchen! Because of my concern about water, we ended up installing porcelain tiles. I have always been aware that I should wear shoes in the house because I have a mild foot deformity that is at risk of worsening without appropriate support, but I've always gone barefoot in my home. The tile changed that, my feet become painful if I don't wear my house slides if I'm spending the day baking, but I suppose it's a good thing for me to support my feet. Hubby has dealt with plantar fasciitis prior to changing the floor, so he always wears house shoes as well. We haven't noticed any pain in our hips or knees, but we are still quite young, and I'm sure wearing shoes helps with our alignment. Right after we installed our dishwasher on the new flooring, there was a big leak, and I'm glad I went with the tile! It's easy clean, I don't stress about the kids sliding their chairs and stools across it, and it's an attractive tile. I prefer the warmth of wood, but I know for our family, tile was the best choice, and we are willing to wear house shoes. I've brought wood into the kitchen in different ways, with the stools, utensil "pots", cutting boards, etc.. There will always be pros and cons, you just need to decide which has the least cons and the best pros for your situation :). Also, when you are considering cost, find out if you need to install subfloor. We ended up having to install ditra, which definitely added to the cost. Good luck making your decision.

I live in a high rise and there is travertine tile in the common area. It is polished and so it resembles granite or marble. It has been down for at least 20 years and looks as good as new. Periodically the building hires a professional to clean and polish the stone and clean the grout and that it looks perfect again. Porcelain is quite a durable material as well. When I was looking at choices I considered some of the manmade materials but I preferred the look of natural stone. FWIW I went with wood in my kitchen and the newer finishes are amazingly durable. I was skeptical because I had lived with older floors that had either a waxed finish or a less durable finish. Of course it might be difficult to match the pre-existing hardwood anyway.