You have narrowed your deck down to real wood or engineered boards. Now comes the harder question. Cedar, redwood, or composite? Each one is genuinely good. Each one asks something different from you, whether that is money upfront, weekends of upkeep, or a compromise on how the deck feels underfoot.
This guide compares all three on cost, lifespan, maintenance, heat, and looks, without pretending there is one right answer. By the end you will know which material fits your budget, your climate, and how long you plan to stay in the house.
The Short Answer
- Choose cedar if you want natural wood warmth at the friendliest price, and you do not mind sealing it every couple of years.
- Choose redwood if you want the richest natural wood and slightly better durability, especially if you live out West where it costs less.
- Choose composite if you never want to stain a deck again and you plan to stay in the home long enough for the savings to catch up.
There is no universal winner here. The right pick depends on how you weigh upfront cost against the next twenty years of Saturdays.
The Three Materials at a Glance
Before the details, here is how the cedar decking vs composite question, plus redwood, shakes out across the factors that actually drive the decision.
A quick caution on the numbers. Installed costs vary widely by region, deck design, and who does the work, and published ranges differ from source to source. Treat these as planning figures, then get a local quote.
Cedar vs Composite Decking: The Main Event
Most homeowners are really deciding between these two, so let us take the composite decking vs cedar comparison one factor at a time.
Upfront Cost: Cedar Wins
Cedar is the cheaper deck to build. Installed, cedar typically runs about $20 to $35 per square foot, while composite lands closer to $30 to $60 depending on the line you choose. On a 300 square foot deck, that difference is thousands of dollars, and it is the single biggest reason homeowners still pick wood.
Maintenance: Composite Wins, Decisively
This is the real divide. A cedar deck needs cleaning every year and sealing or staining every two to three years to hold its color and fight moisture. Skip a few cycles and cedar grays, checks, and eventually cups. Composite asks for soap, water, and a brush. That is it. No sanding, no staining, no sealing, ever.
Be honest with yourself about this one. The homeowners who regret composite are rare. The homeowners who wish they had skipped three seasons of staining are common.
Lifespan: Composite Lasts Longer
Cedar deck boards generally last 15 to 25 years with consistent care. Composite is engineered for 25 to 50 years, and most premium capped brands back it with 25 year or longer warranties against fading, staining, and structural failure. Wood, by contrast, rarely carries a meaningful warranty at all.
Climate sharpens the gap. In the Midwest, where a deck swings from below zero to ninety degrees, freeze and thaw cycles work on wood every single year. Cedar can crack and check under that stress. Capped composite stays dimensionally stable through the same swings.
Heat Underfoot: Cedar Wins
Here is where composite gives ground. On a hot, south-facing deck in July, dark composite boards can get uncomfortably hot for bare feet. Cedar absorbs and releases heat more evenly and stays noticeably cooler. Light-colored composite and newer low-heat formulations narrow the gap, but they do not erase it. If your deck bakes in full afternoon sun and the kids run around barefoot, that matters.
Looks and Flexibility: A Split Decision
Nothing looks exactly like real wood except real wood. Fresh cedar has a warmth, an aroma, and a grain that composite manufacturers spend fortunes approximating. Modern capped composite comes remarkably close, with multi-tonal streaking and deep grain texture that is hard to distinguish at a normal viewing distance, but up close the difference is there.
Cedar also gives you a second chance. You can sand it, strip it, and restain it any color you want, any time. Composite color is integral to the board, so if you tire of it or it fades badly, replacement is the only real fix. That flexibility is one of wood’s genuine, underrated advantages.
The 20-Year Math: When Composite Catches Up
Comparing day-one prices misses the point. The honest question is cost per decade, not cost at checkout.
A cedar deck starts lower and then climbs. Professional staining and sealing on a mid-size deck runs a few hundred dollars per cycle, every two to three years, plus the occasional board replacement. Composite starts higher and then flattens out. For most homeowners, the crossover point where composite becomes the cheaper deck lands somewhere around year eight to ten.
So the timeline decides it. Selling in three to five years? Cedar’s lower entry price usually pencils out better. Staying put in your forever home? Composite tends to win on total cost, and you get your weekends back.
Where Redwood Fits In
Redwood is cedar’s close cousin and, in many ways, its upgrade. Like cedar, it contains natural tannins that resist rot and insects without chemical treatment. It is a bit denser and richer in color, with a deep reddish tone that ages to a handsome silver-gray if you let it. Expect roughly 20 to 30 years of service with proper care, a touch more than cedar.
The catch is geography and price. Redwood costs about $25 to $45 per square foot installed and is meaningfully cheaper on the West Coast, near where it grows, than it is in the Midwest or East. Here in Illinois, cedar is usually the more practical natural wood. Redwood also carries the same maintenance schedule as cedar, so it does not solve the sealing problem. It just looks gorgeous while you do it.
A Third Option: Cedar Color Composite Decking
Worth knowing if you love cedar’s look but not its upkeep. Every major composite manufacturer sells boards in cedar tones, warm reddish-browns with multi-tonal streaking designed to mimic freshly stained western red cedar. Cedar color composite decking gives you the visual warmth of wood with the maintenance profile of composite.
It is not a perfect copy. The color will not shift or mellow the way real cedar does, and you cannot restain it. But for homeowners who want cedar’s character without the sealing calendar, it is often the answer that ends the debate.
How to Decide
Three questions get you there faster than any chart.
- How long will you own this deck? Under five years, cedar’s lower cost usually wins. Ten years or more, composite typically pays for itself and keeps paying.
- How do you feel about maintenance? If sanding and staining a deck sounds like a satisfying weekend, cedar and redwood reward you. If it sounds like a chore you will skip, be honest and buy composite.
- What is your deck’s exposure? Full sun with barefoot traffic favors cedar or a light composite. Shade, moisture, and hard freeze-thaw cycles favor composite.
| If you want… | Pick | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest upfront cost | Cedar | Cheapest of the three to build |
| Lowest 20-year cost | Composite | No staining, sealing, or board swaps |
| The most natural look | Cedar or redwood | Real grain, real warmth, real aroma |
| Coolest surface in full sun | Cedar or redwood | Wood absorbs and sheds heat evenly |
| To change the color later | Cedar or redwood | Sand and restain any shade, anytime |
| Cedar looks, no upkeep | Cedar-tone composite | Warm wood color, soap-and-water care |
Still torn? Order samples of each and set them in your own backyard at different times of day. Color and texture read differently in real light than on a screen. You can also hire a skilled deck contractor naperville residents recommend to bring samples along and price all three options against your actual deck plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is cedar or composite decking better?
Neither is universally better. Cedar costs less upfront, stays cooler in the sun, and can be restained any color. Composite lasts longer, needs almost no maintenance, and usually costs less over 20 years. Your ownership timeline and tolerance for upkeep decide it.
Does composite decking last longer than cedar?
Yes. Composite typically lasts 25 to 50 years with warranties to match, while cedar generally lasts 15 to 25 years with regular sealing. Cedar can reach the high end of its range with diligent care.
Is a cedar deck cheaper than composite?
To build, yes. Cedar runs roughly $20 to $35 per square foot installed versus about $30 to $60 for composite. Over time the gap closes, and composite often becomes the cheaper deck around year eight to ten once staining and sealing costs are counted.
Does composite decking get hotter than cedar?
Yes, especially in dark colors. Composite retains more heat than wood in direct sun, while cedar stays noticeably cooler underfoot. Choosing a light-colored composite board reduces the difference considerably.
What is cedar color composite decking?
It is composite decking manufactured in warm, reddish cedar tones with multi-tonal streaking to mimic real western red cedar. You get the look of a freshly stained cedar deck with composite’s soap-and-water maintenance, though the color cannot be changed later.
Is redwood better than cedar for decks?
Redwood is slightly denser, richer in color, and lasts a bit longer, around 20 to 30 years versus cedar’s 15 to 25. It also costs more, especially outside the West Coast, and needs the same sealing schedule. For most Midwest homeowners, cedar is the more practical natural wood.
The Bottom Line
Cedar is the affordable natural choice, warm underfoot and easy to restain, at the price of a sealing schedule. Redwood is its richer, longer-lasting cousin, best where it grows. Composite trades a higher upfront cost and a warmer surface for decades of nearly zero maintenance.
If you are staying put and want your weekends back, composite is hard to beat. If you love real wood and the ritual of caring for it, cedar rewards you every year. And if you cannot decide, cedar-tone composite splits the difference beautifully. Homeowners looking for a deck builder in barrington you can trust can get all three priced side by side, with no pressure and no guesswork.