Comparison of plastic laminate, painted, wooden, tiled, and stone kitchen countertops.
Plastic laminate: a most commonly used type of kitchen countertops. Laminate kitchen countertop is a layer of melamine plastic over colored paper on top of a stack of sheets resin-coated and heat-fused brown paper, mounted on top of a particleboard kitchen counter. Laminate is cheap and not very durable. It is relatively easy to install on one's own with ordinary skills and instruments. Laminate is sold by linear feet at $5-35 depending on different factors. It is usually stocked by places like Home Depot in 2'x4' sheets, but a distributor will have more patterns and sizes. If you don't do it yourself, you pay separately for the material, for the formation and for installation. Post-formed kitchen countertops are cheaper than custom made and come with a backsplash one piece with the countertop. Depending on your manner of use, it will last several years. Laminate is not heat-resistant enough to put hot pots directly on it. The thin layer of melamine scratches easily, and if the scratches are deep, the moisture can soak through to the base and swell it up. Laminate comes in every imaginable pattern, imitating metal, stone, and wood, or using the freedom of a completely artificial material. It also comes in several textures: smooth, glossy, and honed finish: with little clefts, imitating the surface of low-sheen natural stone. Laminate is chemically inert, it will not get permanently stained with food and won't add anything to it.
Painted kitchen countertops: some people repaint their laminate countertops with polyurethane-based paint, as a way of remodeling a kitchen under $200. I definitely understand the appeal of such a quick and creative renovation. The painted surface is not heat-resistant, it scratches easier than plastic laminate, it will get ruined if water is left on it. But you can repeat whole process in a year and get all new kitchen under $200 -- again!
Tiled kitchen countertops: my favorite so far. Tiles are inert. They are easy to clean and look clean, they don't scratch, and they are heat resistant. There are several problems with tile kitchen countertops. Grouts can get filthy. Tiles can be laid unevenly (but every job could be done badly). Tiles are, actually, very hard: they will ruin any knife if you try cutting on your kitchen countertop directly. You cannot roll the dough on tiles, as well: the dough will stick to grouts. I never cut or roll right on a countertop, anyway.
Natural stone kitchen countertops are most expensive and high-end. Unlike laminate, stone is sold by square feet, with fabrication (cutting to the shape and sometimes the installation, as well) included in the price at $80-100 and up per square feet on average. Sometimes discount slabs are priced at $20-40, but I don't know if "do-it-yourself" includes cutting the stone. Marble, slate, soapstone, and granite are popular natural stones used for kitchen countertops.
Marble is porous and not chemically stable. Acids in food will ruin it soon. Marble also is relatively soft and will scratch. Marble kitchen countertops were used by bakers and confection makers, and they didn't look classy and glorious after this sort of use. Soapstone is soft and porous, it will get stained permanently. Slate is soft, as well. Both soapstone and slate require sealing and/or oiling with mineral oil to maintain the surface. Mineral oil makes slate countertops darker, brining out asphalty grey tints. Granite is very hard, very inert, almost indestructible. Natural granite kitchen countertops are sealed with impregnating sealer to protect it from the sneaky stains that will get into small surface pores. Resealing is recommended once in several years. All natural stones are heat-resistant for every kitchen purpose, and all natural stones have unique and individual patterns.
Engineered stone: 95% quartz glued together with epoxy resin. Nominally, not as heat resistant as natural stone (but enough for a cookie sheet), doesn't need sealing, doesn't scratch, non-porous -- doesn't get soaked through with stains. Engineered stone costs a bit less than natural stone. It is even, doesn't have individual patterns of natural stone.
Wood: thick butcher-block style wood panels. Wears, but ages gracefully. Hygiene questionable, if you do use it as a cooking surface, and I don't see why make wooden kitchen countertops if you don't. Wooden kitchen countertops are finished either with polyurethane sealer or with oils to protect the surface from the water.
See also: kitchen, granite countertops, kitchen knives.