7 Best Permeable Pavers – [Reviews & Guide 2023]

Permeable systems are spongy so that they can allow water to pass through them to soak down on the soil beneath. These types of systems are just as durable as the old type of concrete paving systems. Getting one can help you prevent mud or puddle in your driveway and it can also save you days of putting up the concrete pavement.

How Do They Work?

Learning to know how permeable pavers work is very essential especially if you need to get one right away. These types of pavers have open cells in them and they are filled with grass or gravel which allows fluid like water to enter into their surfaces, be dormant under the rock base while waiting to be absorbed by the earth again.

Most paving systems such as compacted gravel, concrete, or asphalt will gather rainfall causing the water to log or flow somewhere else. However, permeable pavers have a spongy surface that inherently mimics and copies the way a normal ground reacts to rainfall. The rate at which water is drained totally depends on the type of permeable system used.

Thus, finding the best permeable pavers can be very hard, so hard that if you get the wrong one, you will watch your driveway crumble. That’s why I have made my top list to help you pick out the right one. Below are the best products we have on the market and what’s to look out for when choosing them.

1. Best for Cold Climates: Standartpark 4 inch thick geogrid
2. Best for Parking: Standartpark – EasyPave Grid
3. Best for Sidewalks: Techno Earth Depth Permeable Grass Pavers
4. Best for Heavy Loads: DuPont DPGG-50110
5. Best for Driveways: TRUEGRID PRO Plus
6. Best on Slopes: TRUEGRID PRO LITE
7. Best for Pool Decks: TRUEGRID Deco

Types of Permeable Pavers

Initially, permeable pavers were manufactured out of bricks and concrete stones with little spaces designed between the bricks or stones to allow water to drain through to the earth for absorption. These new inventions were used in places most prone to ponding. Nevertheless, different types of permeable pavers have sprung up from the market including recycled plastic and even porous asphalt, also, they were far more permeable than the former asphalt, interlocking concrete pavers, and permeable concrete.

Recently, there is a variety of permeable tiles and pavers available and each product has its bad or good sides. The type of permeable pavers you choose should depend on the nature of the application, the requirement for the surface which you are going to fix it on as well as the goal you are trying to achieve.

Below are the different types of permeable pavers you can get your hands on:

Permeable Concrete – These types of Permeable pavers are made up of fired clay brick or a layer of concrete. These pavers are kept apart by joints filled with smashed particles.  It is much more different than other types of permeable pavers because instead of water passing through it, it just goes around the pavers.  This type of pavers has the ability to slowly absorb water-reducing runoff. Yet it has limited capability for draining water, has a high cost of installation, and requires frequent maintenance.

This type of permeable pavers offers an architectural structure that can bear both light and heavyweights.  It is more brittle than conventional concrete, therefore, long-term use without proper maintenance may lead to cracks and potholes. 

Porous Asphalt – Just like concrete, asphalt is also not a traditional porous paver material. Nevertheless, it can be made porous and placed on top of a stone storage bed (this allows water to flow into the underlying soil.  This type of paver is basically a grid system filled with sand, gravel, or dirt and supports gravel retention, ground stability, and grass reinforcements.  Also, this paver system structure stabilizes the infill and spreads vertical loads from the surface to a wider area. Choosing the best grid system for you depends on the traffic, surface material, and loads. The cellular grid lowers the compression of the soil to retain permeability, in turn, the roots boost water infiltration utilizing the channels.

Pervious Pavers – Not to be confused with homogenous binders that are mixed with gravel from the backyard in a portable mixer, the pervious paver is a by-product of natural stone bonded together in a regulated factory setting.  This paver lets stormwater penetrate through the surface rather than spreading it all over the area or into storm drains.  This filters the municipal pollution on the surface. Also, the pervious paver allows the ground below to breathe this allowing the tree roots and other microorganisms to interact. The space-saving makes this paver ideal for a storm drainage filtration system. Thereby boosting the quality of stormwater. This paver helps in vector control, prevents the West Nile, and decreases the number of mosquitoes in that area by avoiding access to stagnant waters.

Rolled Plastic Paving – This paving system is basically used for light-load applications and foot traffic.  The rolled plastic paving proposes staking thereby increasing its installation cost.  The ability of this paver to be foldable supports flexibility, and easy to store or ship.

Interlocking Concrete – The interlocking concrete is not a fully permeable paver but it allows water to drain through the small gaps created in the process until the spaces get clogged.  This type of pavers is precisely used for light commercial applications or a little home. 

Plastic Grid Pavers – The semi-flexible cellular grids filled with grass or gravel ideal for heavy traffic make them useful for commercial and industrial purposes.  This paper offers a hundred percent permeability and optimal gravel/grass retention.  The plastic grid pavers hug the ground resisting breaks and potholes as it shifts. Best for heavy use, the plastic grid paver offers no long-term maintenance, good installation cost, and a hundred percent previous cover with stormwater detention below.

Best for Cold Climates

1. Standartpark 4 inch thick geo grid Permeable Paver

• Cover (sq ft): 160
• Material: Modified Polyethylene
• Dimensions (inches): 17 x 9 x 4

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Key Features and My Experience

Next on this list is the Standartpark 4 inch thick geogrid Permeable Paver. I don’t really know much about this product but what I do know is that it is a 4” geogrid permeable paver which is manufactured by Standartpark for parking lots and driveways with the sloppy or straight surface.  The company advises that users should just simply spread out this product on the ground and fill the spots with either grass or gravel.  Also, they advise that if one uses their product on driveways, they should use a 3⁄4 quarter cut gravel instead of the normal pea-sized gravel so it won’t create an unstable platform for vehicles.

Soil and sand also work with this geogrid permeable paver on driveways too. The Standartpark 4 inch thick geogrid Permeable Paver can hold up to 1,800 pounds per square inch if the cells are filled.

Best for Parking

2. Standartpark 2 inch thick geo grid Permeable Paver

• Cover (sq ft): 50
• Material: 100% Recycled Polyethylene
• Dimensions (inches): 26 x 18 x 2

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Key Features and My Experience

The Standartpark 2 inch thick geogrid Permeable Paver just like the previous product is manufactured by Standartpark for parking lots and driveways with a sloppy or straight surface and the only difference is that this particular product is 2-inch in height.  The product can support the loss of up to 88,000 pounds of weight without anything like grass or grave inside.  Standartpark decided to take the engineering of the geogrid permeable paver further than its competitors by making it much taller than most permeable paver products and a taller grid means more sand, gravel or grass can fit for more durability and strength.

 The grids, on the other hand, are designed in the form of wave-type designs that becomes narrow at the edges.  This design was adopted to tweak the strength and durability of the permeable paver system. This means that buses, cars, trucks, lorries, and even tanks can go over the surface of this product without any hindrances. Installation, on the other hand, is very easy. No room for disconnection as the Standartpark 2 inch thick geogrid Permeable Paver just requires only a push and lock mechanism.

Best for Sidewalks

3. Techno Earth 1.9″ Depth Permeable Grass & Gravel Paver

• Cover (sq ft): 11
• Material: Plastic
• Dimensions (inches): 21 x 20.5 x 8

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Key Features and My Experience

Made specifically for vehicular load and traffic, the Techno Earth Permeable Grass & Gravel Pavers is another product on this list that handles a bike and pedestrian application as well as other heavy traffic areas. Since this product is made out of 100% recycled plastic, it provides a superior and eco-friendly alternative to the old type of permeable concrete grid paving.

Although it is made out of recycled plastic, it is still very much durable and can be used individually in your home or commercially for heavy traffic areas. Another advantage of its plastic component is that they prevent vehicles from sinking, which in turn improves drainage and it also prevents soil erosion while not even being noticed.  Compared to the normal concrete permeable paver, the Techno Earth 1.9” Depth Permeable Grass & Gravel Pavers are suitable for superior applications like overflow parking, landscaping, and private driveways. 

Best for Heavy Loads

4. DuPont DPGG-50110 8.5-Ounce Groundgrid Permeable Paver

• Cover (sq ft): 108
• Material: Geotextile
• Dimensions (inches): 65 x 5 x 2

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Key Features and My Experience

The DuPont DPGG-50110 8.5-Ounce Groundgrid Permeable Paver is a geotextile grid product that is used for ground stabilization in construction sites and landscape projects. The company DuPont decided to take it further by designing their product to be in the shape of a woven honeycomb and this gives the product a three-dimensional structure that can be expanded and placed on unstable grounds while being filled with gravel, stones, or grass.  The honeycomb design also when filled with particles for permeable paver creation, creates a very strong but uncommon stable ground for any vehicle. 

The DuPont DPGG-50110 8.5-Ounce Groundgrid Permeable Paver is mostly used in construction and landscape sites from gravel driveways to a commercial parking lot.  The material also used in making this product is like a plastic fabric, but it is strong enough for terrain conformity.  Each grid can cover up to 10 Square meters and it can be cut down to size if needed.

Best for Driveways

5. TRUEGRID PRO Plus (1.8″ Depth) Permeable Pavers

• Cover (sq ft): 40
• Material: 100% Post-Consumer Recycled HDPE
• Dimensions (inches): 24 x 24 x 1.8

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Key Features and My Experience

 Being one of the best producers of RV’s, heavy 18 wheelers, auto traffic products, and even fire trucks,  TRUEGRID is a heavy-duty factory that manufactures the TRUEGRID PRO Plus (1.8″ Depth) Permeable Pavers, a durable 100% permeable, maintenance-free product which would make your driveway beautiful and less waterlogged. During the TRUEGRID PRO Plus’s manufacturing process, the company was keen on the environment by using recycled HDPE plastic to make a paving product that is either filled with grass or gravel.

This product can be also used for industrial purposes. It can be used on parks, storage lots, industrial yards, highway traffic and virtually anywhere you imagine can be paved.  TRUEGRID boasts that the TRUEGRID PRO Plus has an impressive Life of 60 years which is far better than that of concrete. 

Best on Slopes

6. TRUEGRID PRO LITE (1″ Depth) Permeable Pavers

• Cover (sq ft): 72
• Material: 100% Post-Consumer Recycled HDPE
• Dimensions (inches): 24 x 24 x 1

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Key Features and My Experience

Coming second is another product from TRUEGRID and as I saw with the first product, this company didn’t come to play when it comes to making heavy-duty products for personal or industrial use. The TRUEGRID PRO LITE (1″ Depth) Permeable Pavers is designed for residential applications, vehicular traffic, and weight as well as human and lightweight vehicle application.  This product is also made from recycled HDPE plastic which is then molded into permeable pavers and filled with either grass or gravel. 

The TRUEGRID PRO LITE (1″ Depth) Permeable Pavers has a compression point that is almost above that of concrete and users have known to have gotten that same robust feeling when cars and trucks are driven over this product.  This product from TRUEGRID is 100% permeable which means rainwater or puddle will probably flow down coming in contact with the earth for absorption. 

Best for Pool Decks

7. TRUEGRID Deco (1.8″ Depth) Decorative Permeable Pavers for Stepping Stone Support

• Cover (sq ft): 40
• Material: 100% Post-Consumer Recycled HDPE
• Dimensions (inches): 24 x 24 x 1.8

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Key Features and My Experience

Lastly is another product from TRUEGRID and this one looks much different than their other traditional permeable pavers but it can be connected with the TRUEGRID PRO Plus and not the TRUEGRID ECO. The TRUEGRID Deco (1.8″ Depth) Decorative Permeable Pavers for Stepping Stone Support is more of a Decor than a permeable paver because it is a modular decor element that adds flexibility to your design.

With this product, users can add or design their pavers using round, square, and irregular-shaped pebbles and stones to build driveways, walkways, and other stepping areas.  The TRUEGRID Deco Decorative Permeable Pavers can be used alone or together with the TRUEGRID ECO to create a unique but simple design and combinations which is pleasing to the eyes. 

Comparison Table

FAQ

Conclusion

I hope my review and buyer’s guide on the best permeable pavers would help you know more about the products, especially when you are willing to purchase them. Getting a durable product that would serve you very well is my aim and purchasing the best product is my goal for you. Please always make sure you research more about the product you want to purchase and always read the manual guide before installation.