Both sunrooms and porches add value to your home and keep out pesky bugs
Both sunrooms and screened porches offer loads of natural light.
Sunrooms are better for year-round usage.
Screened porches are best in the early spring to summer.
Sunrooms cost between $20,000 and $72,000, while screened porches cost between $4,500 and $22,000.
When choosing a sunroom versus a screened porch for an outdoor home addition, many homeowners aren't sure what's the right option—and for good reason. Both types of additional living spaces add natural light to your home, give you a space to enjoy nature (without the bugs and sometimes without the heat, too), and can even increase the value of your home. But which is right for your home and budget? Below, we’ll cover some pros and cons of sunrooms vs. screened porches, and how to tell when one’s a better option for you.
The primary difference between a sunroom and a screened porch is that a sunroom is a fully enclosed room added onto your home, complete with finished walls, insulation, a finished interior, and, usually, some type of heating and cooling system. A screened porch has columns that support the roof, but the walls aren’t finished like they are in a sunroom or the rest of your home. Instead, they feature screens that provide ample airflow, but don’t insulate the space inside.
First off, what is a sunroom? A sunroom is an additional living space in your home that you can enjoy year-round. It's designed to give you access to natural light and the feeling of being in nature while keeping you protected from bugs and the outdoor temperatures. Also, its four-season availability makes it an attractive upgrade for most homeowners planning a home addition.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Tons of natural light | Expensive |
| Temperature controlled | Higher maintenance costs |
| Add value to home | Limited privacy |
| Energy efficient | Less ventilation |
Best For: Homeowners looking to be close to nature and have natural light year-round, while remaining safe from bugs and outdoor temperatures.
Sunrooms make worthwhile additions to your home for a number of reasons, including:
Temperature Control: Since sunrooms have insulation and rigid walls, you can add heating and cooling systems or tie them into your existing HVAC system.
Natural Light: Sunrooms let you enjoy the sun and all its phases throughout the day without requiring you to battle the less enjoyable aspects of the outdoors, like uncomfortable temperatures and bugs.
Peace and Quiet: Sunrooms are great places to read a good book away from the activity inside your home. You can add soundproofing between your living space and the sunroom to maintain a tranquil area to relax.
Four-Season Access: Regular porches limit how much you can enjoy the seasonal weather before seeking shelter indoors. On the other hand, sunrooms with proper temperature control allow you to sit outside year-round in comfort.
Building a sunroom isn’t always complete bliss. Let’s look at some of its flaws to consider, including:
Cost: Sunrooms cost between $20,000 and $72,000. The costs can fluctuate greatly—sometimes up to $140,000—depending on materials, add-ons, furnishings, and style. However, you can build a sunroom on a budget by using a prefab sunroom, opting for a smaller size, and foregoing heating and cooling.
Upkeep: Sunrooms require regular maintenance like regular cleaning, pest control, checking for damages that can affect their safety and functionality, and cleaning your sunroom’s furniture.
Limited Privacy: Their glass design makes it easy for people to see inside your sunroom. This can be a problem if you live in a crowded neighborhood and would prefer not to have your home feel like it's on full display for anyone who wants to look.
A screened porch is an upgrade from a traditional porch, which gives full access to any four-legged animal or bug that might want to visit you. Instead, it’s a roof-covered, screened-in room that allows you to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors while protecting you from unwanted visitors. Plus, its cozy design gives you a unique combination of being protected from rain and the blaring sun, while still getting fresh air and natural light.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Tons of natural light | No heating/cooling |
| Plenty of ventilation | Limited privacy |
| Less expensive maintenance | Can still be costly |
| Increases property value | Not suitable year-round |
Best For: Homeowners looking for a more affordable home addition that provides ample ventilation and connection to nature.
Depending on where you live, building a screened porch can have numerous benefits, including:
Entertaining: Screened porches are an extension of your home, which makes them perfect for entertaining. They let guests mingle inside or step outside to enjoy the fresh air while still being sheltered from the elements.
Nature: Nothing’s better than hearing the birds chirp and feeling that cool autumn breeze—all while still being (for the most part) inside. With screened porches, you’re not directly exposed to the elements, but can still enjoy everything nature has to offer.
Can Use Existing Outdoor Structure: If you have an existing porch or deck in good shape, you can save money on your home addition project by screening in your existing structure.
Additional Living Space: Screened porches provide you and your family with additional living space. Unlike traditional porches, these home additions let you comfortably relax outdoors without worrying about pesky bugs and critters.
You’ll need to weigh the pros and cons of a screened-in porch, including these drawbacks:
Cost: Adding a screened porch costs $5,000 to build from scratch. Prices can go as high as $22,000, depending on the type of screen porch, size, and materials. You should also consider the cost to rescreen your porch on occasion.
Maintenance: Screens are prone to rips and tears from interior and exterior sources like pet claws, branches, and debris. And once a screen rips on your porch, it’s more likely to let bugs inside. Also, dust and dirt can build up, meaning you’ll need to clean your screen often.
Vulnerable to the Elements: Screened porches let you enjoy the calming sounds of nature and fresh air, but this also means less protection from the weather than you’d enjoy from a sunroom. If it’s raining, you and your furniture can still get wet since screens don’t completely stop the rain from entering.
As you can see, sunrooms and screened porches offer great benefits for homeowners looking to elevate their outdoor living space. But while they look good on paper, how do they compare head to head? The factors below can help you decide which additional living space is right for your home.
When debating a sunroom versus screened porch, the first question to ask yourself is how you will use it. Both types of living spaces offer different benefits, but considering your specific lifestyle needs or wants can help you hone in on what’s most advantageous and cost-effective for your family.
If you’re someone who enjoys hosting parties or likes sitting outside in the fresh air, but dislikes mosquitos and other bugs, an enclosed porch could be a great choice. If, on the other hand, you’re looking to maximize property value or want to use your space year-round, a four-season sunroom could offer more benefits.
Do you enjoy the cool spring and summer air while drinking your morning coffee? Or do you prefer a temperature-controlled room year-round? Where you live—and if you enjoy being outside where you live—can also help you decide between a sunroom and a screened porch.
While you can use sunrooms year-round, porches are often best for only two or three seasons. The only related drawbacks to a sunroom are the higher installation cost and less ventilation.
Installing a screened porch requires fewer materials than adding a sunroom to your home. You won’t need high-end flooring, insulation, drywall, or as much HVAC and electrical work. Estimates and final price tags tend to reflect this.
For example, if after cleaning your deck patio, you decide to install a porch kit with basic screens, you might only spend $1,800 to $2,500. A sunroom costs around $47,000, on average, and the lowest price you can expect is around $5,000. If a budget-friendly addition is your goal, a screened porch is the better option.
You could also consider budget-friendly compromises, such as winterizing your screened-in porch by installing space heaters. You’ll pay a little more for your porch, but far less than you’d pay for a sunroom and still get to enjoy the outdoors a little longer.
Property value is also a key factor when weighing sunrooms versus screened porches. Generally speaking, a sunroom addition, which adds year-round square footage to your home, will boost the property value of your home more than a screened porch. It’ll cost more, but you could recoup what you pay when you go to sell. Screened-in porches, on the other hand, don't count toward a home's square footage.
That said, the type of sunroom you install could actually be a deterrent. For example, higher-end builds with less insulation (such as a glass solarium, conservatory, or garden room) could be a deterrent for some potential buyers.
Both screened porches and sunrooms let you customize your addition based on your needs. But since they’re different structures, your customization options are slightly different, and you’ll be able to customize more with a sunroom addition.
For example, you can choose between different screen types, layouts, furniture, lighting, decor, and flooring for a screened porch (and there are tons of screened-in porch ideas to help you really make it your own). However, since screened porches are more vulnerable to the weather, you’ll be more limited on how to customize your addition to fit your needs, especially in terms of electrical connection, flooring, wall finishings, furnishings, and more.
Sunrooms offer customization for layout, design, utility systems, and the type of glass and windows.
When considering screened in porches versus sunrooms, both options require regular maintenance to ensure they look and function well. A screened porch needs its screens cleaned from dirt and debris and inspected to make sure there aren’t any rips and tears in it. You’ll also need to keep up with your outdoor furniture, periodically reseal your floors, and apply fresh caulk to prevent bugs from getting in.
A sunroom requires you to clean its interior and exterior, inspect its insulation and HVAC system, and look for leaky seals and damaged framing. Some of the interior maintenance is reduced, though, since there’s less direct exposure to the elements.
Generally speaking, you’ll spend more on maintenance for a sunroom, but you’ll need to do maintenance more often on a screened porch.
Once you sign the contract and the project starts, a screened-in porch takes between four and six weeks to install, or around one to two weeks if you’re converting an existing deck to a screened porch.
Building a prefab sunroom can take a few weeks as well, depending on its complexity. However, custom sunroom builds may take months to complete and will almost always take longer than a screened porch due to the greater labor requirements.
If you love nature, are on a budget, or want to do the work yourself on an existing deck or porch, a screened porch is your best bet. If you prefer moderate temperatures, want to increase your property value, or just add more year-round space to your home, a sunroom is the way to go. If you’re still debating between an enclosed porch versus a sunroom, talk to a local sunroom contractor for information to help you decide.
