The short answer: most Australian homes are best served by a hybrid plank in the 6.5 mm to 7 mm range. 5 mm planks are fine for budget jobs over a near-perfect subfloor, and 7 mm-plus options earn their price in upstairs apartments, over underfloor heating, or on subfloors that aren’t quite flat. This guide walks through what each thickness actually buys you, and how to match it to your room.
What “thickness” actually means in a hybrid plank
A hybrid plank is built in layers: a printed timber-look wear layer on top, a rigid SPC or RCB core in the middle, and usually a pre-attached IXPE or EVA acoustic underlay on the bottom. The headline thickness on the box is the total of all those layers. Two planks both labelled 6.5 mm can have very different cores and very different wear layers — so thickness alone isn’t the whole story, but it’s a useful first filter. If you want the long-form on core types, see our SPC vs RCB comparison.
5 mm hybrid: budget and rental jobs
5 mm is the entry point. It’s the thinnest hybrid worth laying — anything below that is closer to a luxury vinyl plank than a true hybrid. 5 mm suits rental refurbishments, investor jobs, and rooms where the budget is tight and the subfloor is dead flat. It transmits more sound to the room below, doesn’t hide undulation well, and the click joint is shallower so it’s less forgiving on imperfect installs. If your subfloor is older concrete or particleboard with any hollow or high spots, skip 5 mm.
6.5 mm hybrid: the all-rounder
6.5 mm is the sweet spot for most owner-occupied homes. The core is thick enough to be properly stable, the click joint is deep enough to resist gapping over time, and the pre-attached IXPE underlay does a reasonable job on acoustic transfer in single-storey homes. Most of the well-known Australian hybrid ranges sit in this band, and it’s where the price-to-performance ratio is best. We’d recommend it for kitchens, living areas, hallways and bedrooms in the typical detached home.
7 mm and 8.5 mm hybrid: upstairs, apartments and problem subfloors
Once you go above 7 mm, you’re paying for three things: a more rigid plank that bridges minor subfloor imperfections, a thicker acoustic underlay that helps with body-corporate noise specs, and usually a deeper, more reliable click profile. If you’re laying upstairs in a two-storey home, in a strata apartment with acoustic requirements, or over a slab that telegraphs cold and unevenness, the extra mm or two pays for itself. Aqua Stone’s 8.5 mm range is a typical example — the extra height means the plank holds shape better and the underlay does more work.
Underfloor heating: thinner is better
If you’re laying over hydronic or electric underfloor heating, the thinner planks transfer heat faster and reach the set temperature with less energy draw. Check the manufacturer’s max surface temperature spec — most hybrid is rated to around 27 degrees Celsius at the top of the plank — and confirm the warranty covers heated subfloors before you commit. A 5 mm to 6.5 mm plank is usually the better thermal choice; a 7 mm-plus plank will still work but takes longer to come up to temperature.
Subfloor flatness matters more than thickness
No hybrid plank, regardless of thickness, will hide a bad subfloor. Hybrid is rigid by design — that’s how it stays dimensionally stable — and rigidity means it doesn’t drape over high spots the way carpet does. The Australian standard most installers work to is 3 mm tolerance over a 2 m straight edge. If your slab or particleboard is outside that, you’ll need to self-level the high spots before install, regardless of which thickness you buy. The click joint quality also matters here; our explainer on 5G and 2G clicking systems covers why some click profiles tolerate imperfect subfloors better than others.
Wear layer: the spec that matters as much as plank thickness
The plank’s overall thickness is one number; the clear wear layer on top is another. Wear layer is measured in mils (one-thousandth of an inch) and is what determines how the floor looks after five or ten years of foot traffic, dog claws and dropped pans. 12 mil is the residential standard, 20 mil is what we’d suggest for households with large dogs or heavy traffic, and 30 mil is rated for light commercial. A 6.5 mm plank with a 20 mil wear layer will outlast a 7 mm plank with a 12 mil wear layer in any busy home.
Quick guide by room
- Single-storey kitchen and living: 6.5 mm, 20 mil wear layer.
- Upstairs in a two-storey home: 7 mm or thicker, IXPE underlay rated for acoustic transfer.
- Strata apartment: check the body-corporate spec first, then choose 7 mm-plus with the underlay called out in the spec.
- Rental refurb: 5 mm to 6.5 mm, 12 mil wear layer, on a level subfloor.
- Over underfloor heating: 5 mm to 6.5 mm, manufacturer-approved for heated subfloors.
- Wet zones (laundry, bathroom): any SPC hybrid will do, but seal the perimeter with silicone properly.
The bottom line
Don’t buy on plank thickness alone. Match the thickness to the room, then check the wear layer, the core type, and the click profile before you commit. A well-specified 6.5 mm plank in the right room beats an oversold 7 mm plank in the wrong one. For shortlisted ranges we’d back, see our pick of the best hybrid flooring brands in Australia, and our hybrid flooring cost guide for what each thickness band typically costs per square metre. We carry samples across our Sydney and Brisbane showrooms — bring the room dimensions and a photo of your subfloor and we’ll narrow it down with you.
Ready to shop? Browse our full hybrid flooring range online, or drop into our Sydney or Brisbane showroom to see the range in person.