Ipe and Teak are the two names that come up most often when someone is searching for a premium hardwood deck. Both are beautiful, both are durable, and both cost significantly more than pine or composite. But they’re not equal — not in performance, not in price, and not in what you’ll deal with over the life of the deck. Here’s an honest comparison.
The Short Answer
Ipe is harder, denser, more fire-resistant, and substantially less expensive than teak. Teak has a warmer aesthetic and a reputation built partly on its historical use in boat building. For a residential deck in North America, Ipe outperforms teak in nearly every measurable category — and costs 40–60% less per board foot. Teak’s premium is largely brand recognition, not superior performance.
Hardness and Durability
The Janka hardness scale measures how much force is required to embed a steel ball halfway into a wood surface. It’s the standard proxy for dent and wear resistance in flooring and decking applications.
| Species | Janka Hardness | Natural Lifespan | Fire Rating | Rot Resistance |
| Ipe (Brazilian Walnut) | 3,684 lbf | 75+ years | Class A | Excellent |
| Teak (Burmese) | 1,070 lbf | 25–50 years | Class B | Very Good |
| Garapa (Brazilian Blonde) | 1,686 lbf | 25–40 years | Class A | Good |
Ipe is 3.4 times harder than teak. On a deck, that difference is real — Ipe resists furniture dents, dropped tools, and high-traffic wear in ways teak simply doesn’t. A teak deck on a heavily used patio will show wear in the wood surface within a decade. An Ipe deck in the same scenario will look essentially the same.
Fire Rating
This is one of the starkest differences. Ipe carries a Class A fire rating — the highest possible, the same as concrete and steel. Teak is Class B. In jurisdictions with wildfire risk or near-building code requirements for decks, Ipe qualifies where teak may not. If your deck is adjacent to a structure or you’re in a fire-risk zone, this matters.
Natural Oil Content and Maintenance
Both species contain high natural oil content, which is why both resist rot and moisture without chemical treatment. Teak’s reputation in boatbuilding comes directly from this oil — it prevents swelling, warping, and fungal growth in constant marine moisture exposure.
Ipe has comparable oil content and arguably superior performance in outdoor exposure testing. The difference is that teak’s oils were discovered and exploited by British colonial shipbuilders centuries ago, which gave teak a head start in premium reputation that Ipe — a South American species — never had in English-speaking markets until recently.
For maintenance: both species benefit from periodic oiling to maintain color. Both will weather to a silver-grey if left unfinished. Both require end grain sealing at installation. There is no meaningful maintenance advantage to either species.
Price Comparison
This is where the comparison becomes clear for most buyers. At current market prices:
- Ipe decking: $3.50–$8.00 per linear foot (5/4×6 profile, depending on length and source)
- Teak decking: $12–$25+ per linear foot for comparable dimensions
For a 500 square foot deck, that’s roughly $2,000–$4,000 in Ipe vs $6,000–$12,000 in teak — before installation. The price gap is not marginal. Teak is genuinely 3–4x the cost of Ipe for material that performs worse on hardness and fire resistance.
Why does teak cost so much? Supply. Most premium teak comes from Southeast Asia (Burma/Myanmar historically, now mostly plantation teak from Indonesia or Costa Rica). Plantation teak is softer than old-growth and performs noticeably worse — but carries the teak premium in price. Ipe comes primarily from Brazil, where supply is more consistent and the species matures faster in the wild.
Aesthetics
This is genuinely a matter of preference. Teak has a warmer golden-brown tone with a relatively uniform grain — classic, yacht-deck look. Ipe ranges from olive-brown to reddish-brown with more grain variation and occasional streaking. Some people prefer teak’s consistency; others prefer Ipe’s character.
Both species darken and silver over time if left unfinished. Both respond similarly to penetrating oil finishes. Side by side on a deck, most people would struggle to tell a well-maintained Ipe from a well-maintained teak at a glance.
Sourcing and Sustainability
Old-growth Burmese teak is CITES-listed (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) and essentially unavailable for commercial decking. Most “teak” sold for decking today is plantation-grown, which is legal and renewable but produces a significantly softer, less oil-rich wood than the old-growth material teak’s reputation was built on.
Ipe from responsibly managed sources in Brazil is available with FSC certification. The species is not CITES-listed and is abundant in its native range when harvested from managed operations. Ask your supplier for chain-of-custody documentation if sourcing sustainability matters to your project.
The Bottom Line
Teak has a premium reputation. Ipe has premium performance. Unless you have a specific aesthetic reason to choose teak, or a marine application where teak’s historical track record is important to you, Ipe is the better-value choice by a significant margin — harder, more fire-resistant, longer-lived, and less expensive.
See the full hardwood decking species comparison for Ipe against Garapa, Cumaru, and Tigerwood as well. Use the deck calculator to estimate material quantities, or browse Ipe decking profiles and current pricing available direct from importer.