25mm, 35mm, 40mm or 50mm: Which Artificial Grass Pile Height?

Go 25mm for a balcony, 35mm for most homes, 40mm where kids play, and 50mm only if you're replacing a lawn you actually look at. That's the short version. For about eight people in ten, the answer is 35mm.

What pile height means

Pile height is just the length of one grass blade, from the backing to the tip. That's it. It isn't a quality rating, and 50mm isn't "better" than 25mm. It's longer, heavier, and it costs more because there's more stuff in it.

All four of ours use the same 100% polypropylene yarn on the same backing. What changes is length, weight, and how it behaves when someone walks on it.

25mm, for balconies and walkways

Short, dense, and flat enough that your door still clears it. On a balcony this is nearly always right. You're looking down at it from standing height across a small area, so blade length barely registers.

It handles furniture better than the long piles too. Put a chair leg on 50mm grass and you get a dent that takes days to come back. On 25mm you won't even notice.

Where it struggles: a big open garden. Over about 400 square feet, 25mm starts looking like carpet rather than grass.

35mm, buy this if you're not sure

This is what we recommend by default and what we'd use at home. Long enough to move a bit and catch the light, short enough to spring back without you having to brush it.

Going from 25mm to 35mm costs about ₹8 a square foot. On a 120 sq ft balcony that's under ₹1,000, and it's easily the best value step in the whole range. The jump from 35mm to 40mm costs roughly the same and gets you a lot less.

40mm, for gardens and kids

The extra 5mm over 35mm buys you cushioning, not looks. Underfoot you'll feel it immediately. From across the garden you won't see it.

Get this if children actually play on it, or if the space takes real daily traffic rather than the occasional wander. Pet owners should come here too. Longer pile hides and drains better between cleans, and it copes with a dog spinning circles on the same patch.

50mm, for replacing a lawn

At 50mm the blades are long enough that they lie differently depending on which way you brush them, and that's the thing your eye reads as real from a distance. The top end of this band uses a multi tone blade, mixing two greens with a straw coloured thatch, which is where the ₹85 comes from.

Worth it for a garden you see from inside the house. Not worth it on a balcony, and really not worth it under a dining set, where the long pile crushes and stays crushed.

Side by side

Don't forget the width

Separate decision, and people always forget it. We cut in 2.5 ft, 3.3 ft, 4 ft and 6.5 ft, up to 83 ft long.

Pick the width that divides into your space without leaving an offcut. A 12 ft balcony takes three 4 ft strips exactly. Two 6.5 ft strips give you 13 ft, so you've bought a foot for the bin. On a 120 sq ft job that mistake costs you around ₹420.

Frequently asked questions

Is 25mm artificial grass too thin for a garden? For a small garden under about 400 sq ft it's fine. Any bigger and it starts reading as green carpet rather than grass, because you're seeing it across a distance. Go 35mm or 40mm for larger open areas.

What pile height looks most like real grass? 50mm. The blades are long enough to fall differently depending which way they're brushed, and the premium cuts mix two greens with a straw coloured thatch. That variation is what your eye reads as real.

Does thicker grass last longer? No. All four use the same yarn and the same backing, so they wear at the same rate. On cheap grass it's the backing that fails first, not the blade, and that's a quality question rather than a pile height one.

Which pile height is best for pets and children? 40mm. The extra cushioning over 35mm matters when kids actually fall on it, and the longer pile drains and hides better between cleans if you've got a dog.