Pile height and weight per square metre — the rest is colour

Artificial grass, compared

Artificial grass is the one product on this site that replaces the lawn rather than maintaining it, and the corpus shows what the market actually sells under the word: outdoor carpet for balconies and terraces, in rolls cut to order, rather than the heavy sand-filled systems laid over a prepared base. Reading that distinction is the first job, and the weight per square metre is what reveals it — a light terrace carpet and a garden-grade turf differ by a factor of three in grams, and that figure predicts how it looks after two summers better than any photograph. The pile height is the headline: short piles look like a mown sports surface and stand up to traffic, long ones look softer and lie flat where they are walked on, which is why a 40 mm turf in a doorway is matted within a season. The width and length matter because these are sold from a roll — typically 100, 200 or 400 cm wide — and a terrace that needs two widths needs a joint, which is the part of the job that shows. The backing decides whether it can be laid outdoors at all: a latex backing with punched drainage holes lets rain through, a solid one holds puddles. And UV stability is the claim that separates a product that stays green from one that goes grey on its south side — makers who publish a UV rating or a warranty in years are saying something checkable, and most say nothing. We compare pile height, width, length, weight, backing, drainage and UV.

Every part here, laid out figure by figure

1. 

   KARAT SKY Riviera

   Soft polyethylene at 14 mm on a 1.5 m² mat — and the only listing here that never mentions drainage.

   Pile height

   14 mm

   Width

   100 cm

   Length

   150 cm

   Weight

   Not published

   Backing

   Not published

   Drainage

   Not published — the only listing on this shelf that does not mention it

   UV

   UV-resistant, stated; free of lead and cadmium

   Amazon reference

   B0GLGLWKH6 (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4067631485794

   • Polyethylene, which is the soft fibre — the right choice for anything walked on barefoot
   • States it is free of lead and cadmium, which only one other listing here addresses
   • No drainage or backing described, and every other listing here names one

   Best for: A small balcony or a single seating area, under cover, where it will not be rained on hard

   Check price on Amazon
2. 

   AKCILA MAJORKA

   A 33 mm pile in pure polypropylene on a perforated latex backing — tall, and stiffer than it looks.

   Pile height

   33 mm

   Width

   150 cm

   Length

   150 cm

   Weight

   Not published

   Backing

   Latex

   Drainage

   Drainage holes in the latex backing

   UV

   UV-resistant and colourfast, stated

   Amazon reference

   B0G1JF725X (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   5907266578821

   • One of the tallest piles here at 33 mm, which reads most like grass from a distance
   • A named backing material with drainage holes
   • Polypropylene at 33 mm is stiff underfoot, and tall pile flattens under furniture

   Best for: A terrace or pool surround where it should look like grass and nobody lies on it

   Check price on Amazon
3. 

   Foxx 100 × 500 cm

   The cheapest square metre here and the only listing citing an EU chemical regulation — with no pile height.

   Pile height

   Not published

   Width

   100 cm

   Length

   500 cm

   Weight

   Not published

   Backing

   Not published

   Drainage

   Integrated drainage, stated to prevent standing water and mould

   UV

   UV- and weather-resistant, stated; REACH-compliant

   Amazon reference

   B08G1SRNS3 (one reference across 2 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4251824403676

   • About 7.00 € per square metre — the cheapest on this shelf
   • The only listing here that names an EU chemical regulation and explains it
   • No pile height and no fibre material published

   Best for: Covering a long narrow balcony or a strip of decking, cheaply

   Check price on Amazon
4. 

   PUCHIKA 100 × 300 cm

   Both fibre types and a named backing compound — the most complete material declaration on this shelf.

   Pile height

   25 mm

   Width

   100 cm

   Length

   300 cm

   Weight

   Not published

   Backing

   Rubber, with styrene-butadiene latex

   Drainage

   Built-in microchannels

   UV

   UV-resistant, stated

   Amazon reference

   B0BP22RKSM (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   0761259155711

   • Names both fibre polymers and the backing compound — the fullest material statement here
   • A rubber backing with stated slip resistance, which matters on a smooth balcony floor
   • About 15.31 € per square metre, near the top of this shelf

   Best for: A balcony or terrace floor that is smooth and slippery when wet

   Check price on Amazon
5. 

   Primaflor - Ideen in Textil Comfort 2.00 × 3.00 m

   Not tufted grass but a needle-felt carpet at 5 mm — and the only product here with a weight and a fire class.

   Pile height

   5 mm total height — a needle-felt grass carpet, not a tufted grass

   Width

   200 cm

   Length

   300 cm

   Weight

   850 g/m² — the only weight published on this shelf

   Backing

   Dimpled back

   Drainage

   Permeable structure with a drainage effect; the dimples ventilate from below

   UV

   UV-stabilised, stated; fire class Efl

   Amazon reference

   B00B5CV5YM (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4260338841027

   • The only weight per square metre on this shelf, at 850 g/m²
   • The only fire classification here — Efl
   • It does not look like grass close up — it is a felt carpet with a grass colour

   Best for: A balcony floor, a camping ground sheet, or anywhere flat and hard-wearing matters more than realism

   Check price on Amazon
6. 

   ECD Germany IP-2373

   The tallest pile on this shelf, in PE and PP on a double backing — 4.5 m² in one 1.5 m roll.

   Pile height

   35 mm — the tallest on this shelf

   Width

   150 cm

   Length

   300 cm

   Weight

   Not published

   Backing

   Double backing, stated for extra stability

   Drainage

   Water-draining and quick-drying, stated

   UV

   UV-resistant, stated

   Amazon reference

   B0GVNDBYJR (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4064649262911

   • A four-colour pile, which is what stops tall artificial grass reading as carpet
   • Both fibre polymers named, and a double backing
   • About 15.78 € per square metre — the dearest on this shelf

   Best for: A terrace or garden corner meant to read as grass, with nothing heavy standing on it

   Check price on Amazon
7. 

   Mazovia 400 × 500 cm

   Twenty square metres in a single 4 m width — the only piece here wide enough to need no seam.

   Pile height

   Not published

   Width

   400 cm — the only piece here wide enough to need no seam

   Length

   500 cm

   Weight

   Not published

   Backing

   Not published

   Drainage

   Small openings on the underside

   UV

   Stated resistant to rain, frost and sunlight

   Amazon reference

   B0D11KZTQ5 (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   5905285387578

   • A 4 m width — the only piece here that covers a typical balcony or terrace with no seam
   • 20 m² in one purchase, at about 13.40 € per square metre
   • No pile height, no material, no weight and no fire classification

   Best for: A whole balcony or terrace covered in one piece, where the seamless finish is the point

   Check price on Amazon