Epoxy vs. Polyaspartic Floor Coating: Which Is Actually Cheaper Over 10 Years?

Over a 10-year window, polyaspartic costs less than epoxy for a typical Fort Wayne garage — even though it costs more to install. The reason is simple: epoxy’s 5–10 year lifespan usually means a full recoat sometime within that 10-year window, while polyaspartic’s 15–20 year lifespan means zero recoats. Once you add the recoat cost back in, the cheaper-looking epoxy floor stops being cheaper. Below is the actual 10-year math, broken down by garage size, using Duration’s own published pricing and lifespan figures — not a generic national average.

Why Sticker Price Alone Is the Wrong Comparison

Epoxy runs roughly $3–$8 per square foot installed; Duralast® polyaspartic runs about $5–$12 per square foot. Compared side by side on install day, epoxy looks like the better deal. But that comparison stops at day one, and a garage floor is a 10-to-20-year purchase, not a one-time expense. The number that actually matters is total cost over the time you’ll own the floor — including the maintenance and, in epoxy’s case, the recoat that its shorter lifespan usually requires.

The 10-Year Total Cost, By Garage Size

These figures combine install cost, ten years of routine maintenance, and — for epoxy only — one mid-life recoat, since standard epoxy typically needs replacement within a 10-year span while polyaspartic does not.

*Epoxy totals assume one recoat within the 10-year window, priced at the same rate as original installation — a conservative assumption given epoxy’s published 5–10 year lifespan.

How the Numbers Break Down

For a standard 2-car garage (480 sq ft), epoxy installation runs roughly $1,440–$3,840. Add 10 years of maintenance at an estimated $300 per year ($3,000 total), then add a single recoat at the original install price, and the 10-year total lands between $5,880 and $10,680. Polyaspartic installation for the same garage runs $2,400–$5,760, plus roughly $150 per year in maintenance ($1,500 over 10 years) and no recoat — landing at $3,900–$7,260 total. The gap only widens for larger garages, since a bigger floor means a bigger recoat bill for epoxy.

What’s Actually Driving the Cost Difference

• Lifespan: Epoxy typically lasts 5–10 years; Duralast® polyaspartic is built for 15–20+ years, backed by a lifetime residential warranty.
• Recoat risk: A 10-year ownership window falls inside epoxy’s typical failure range but well inside polyaspartic’s — this is the single biggest swing factor in the total.
• Maintenance: Epoxy is more prone to chipping and yellowing, which tends to mean more frequent touch-ups and cleaning products.
• Indiana winters: Freeze-thaw cycling and road salt accelerate epoxy failure specifically — a Fort Wayne garage sees harder use than the national averages most cost guides are built on.

When Epoxy Might Still Make Sense

If you’re planning to sell within a few years, or the space sees very light use — a rarely-used storage garage, for example — epoxy’s lower upfront cost can be the more sensible short-term choice. The 10-year comparison above assumes you’ll own and use the space for the full decade, which is the more common scenario for a primary residence garage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is polyaspartic really cheaper than epoxy over time?

For most homeowners keeping their garage floor for 10+ years, yes. The higher upfront cost is generally offset by not needing a recoat within that window, since polyaspartic’s 15–20 year lifespan comfortably outlasts a 10-year ownership period while epoxy’s 5–10 year lifespan usually doesn’t.

How much does a recoat cost if my epoxy floor fails early?

A full recoat generally costs close to the original installation price, since it typically requires removing or grinding down the failed coating before reapplying — it isn’t simply a fresh top layer over the old one.

Does Duration Concrete Coatings install epoxy floors?

Duration installs the Duralast® polyaspartic system exclusively for residential garage floors, based on its performance in Fort Wayne’s freeze-thaw climate. For a closer look at how the two systems compare feature-by-feature, see our companion guide on polyaspartic vs. epoxy cost.

What’s included in the maintenance cost estimates?

The maintenance figures reflect routine cleaning products and occasional touch-up work over a 10-year span. Actual costs vary based on garage use, but the relative gap between the two systems — polyaspartic requiring meaningfully less upkeep — holds consistently across use cases.

The sticker price on install day tells you almost nothing about what a garage floor actually costs you. Run the number out to year 10, and the coating that looked more expensive on day one is usually the one that saved money.