Acrylic or Tile Shower: Which Is Right for You?

When a shower gets replaced, the first real decision is the walls. Prefab acrylic or solid-surface panels on one side, tile set over a waterproofed wall on the other. Here is a straight comparison. The tile work itself is on our tile shower page, and the prefab route is on shower replacement.

The material prices

The guides price the two materials differently, so they do not line up neatly. Angi gives the acrylic insert as a total and tile per square foot, both before labor:

Installed, a shower replacement runs $4,448 to $12,373 (Angi, shower installation cost, national, updated October 13, 2026). Tile usually lands higher because of the labor: the wall has to be waterproofed, the tile set, cut and grouted. All the numbers are on the cost page.

What the plumbing code asks of both

The Illinois Plumbing Code does not prefer one over the other. It sets the same bar for every shower:

An acrylic base comes as one piece, so the pan is built in. A tile shower needs a pan built on site, turned up at least 2 inches, with the tile and grout on top. That is where most tile shower failures start, so it is the part to ask about.

Acrylic and solid surface

Good

• Goes in fast, often in a day or two once the old shower is out.
• No grout lines, so it wipes clean.
• The base and walls are made to fit together, so fewer seams to leak.

Not so good

• Sizes and shapes are limited to what the maker offers.
• Fewer looks to choose from.
• Scratches show on some cheaper surfaces.

Tile

Good

• Any size, any layout, built-in niches and benches.
• The look most people picture when they say custom shower.
• Individual tiles can be replaced.

Not so good

• More labor and more days on the job.
• Grout needs sealing and care, and it shows hard water first.
• Everything depends on the waterproofing behind and under it.

Hard water tips the scale

Area homes run on groundwater, and none of the local water reports we checked publishes a hardness figure. If your tap tests hard, a smooth surface with no grout lines is the low-maintenance pick. If you love tile, large-format tile means fewer grout lines, and a sealed grout holds up better. See hard water and your bathroom.

What to ask before you sign

Whichever you pick, the questions that matter are about what goes behind the finish:

• For tile: what waterproofing goes on the walls, and what the pan is made of and how high it turns up.
• For acrylic: is it a one-piece unit or panels, and how are the seams sealed?
• Is the valve being replaced, and is the new one pressure-balancing or thermostatic?
• Who does the plumbing, and is a permit being pulled for any drain or valve change?
• What is the written price, with the materials listed? Illinois requires that on any job over $1,000.

A quote that cannot answer those is guessing about the most important part of the shower. For more on choosing who does the work, see hiring a bathroom remodeler in Illinois.

A quick way to choose

• Fast and simple, or a rental: acrylic or solid surface.
• Odd size, a niche or a bench, or a curbless floor: tile.
• Want the tile look without the grout: ask about large-format panels.

Either way, the new valve has to be an anti-scald type set no hotter than 115 F, and Illinois limits plumbing to a licensed plumber or the owner-occupant of a single-family home.