A rental floor is bought on cost per year, not cost per square foot. It has to survive tenants who did not pay for it, be cleaned between them, and be replaced without a story. That pushes the answer toward hard, cheap and forgiving, with nothing that needs refinishing or a special cleaner.
Based on: dry living space and kitchen and entry areas · several rooms · heavy traffic and frequent spills · lowest cost, durability and easy maintenance first · $5 to $8 per sq ft · a professional install.
Stone-composite core: 100% waterproof and dimensionally rock-steady.
The tile-shaped sibling of SPC plank — same core, glued or floating.
Foamed core: warmer, quieter and softer than SPC — and thicker.
Anything that needs sealing or refinishing on a schedule a tenant will not keep. Carpet beyond the bedrooms.
The full reasoning, the failure modes and the care schedule for each of these are on FlooringFAQ’s guide. This page is the decision; that one is the education.
This ranking assumed a typical version of the situation. Change the rooms, the budget, the subfloor or who is installing it and the order moves. The eight questions start with these answers filled in.
Your flooring choice is only half the equation. Installation, subfloor preparation, removal and transitions change the final price. Local professionals quote the same scope, and you decide whether to talk to any of them.
No obligation. You choose whether to contact the professionals who respond.