Blinds vs Curtains (and Where Shutters Fit): An Honest Comparison

Blinds sit close to the glass and cost less per window. Curtains hang from a track, look softer and can cover a whole wall of glass. Shutters are framed panels with tilting blades. All three are made to your measurements and you fit them yourself, so here's what each one does well, where it falls down, and which one we'd put in each room.

The short answer

Pick blinds for a lower price per window, a compact look that leaves the wall clear, or a bedroom that has to go dark. A blockout roller blind fitted on the wall around the window blocks the most light at the edges.
Pick curtains for a soft, full-height look on a big window or a whole wall of glass. You'll need room at the side for the curtain to stack when it's open.
Pick both for most living rooms and main bedrooms: a sheer curtain in front for soft daylight, and a roller blind behind it for glare and night.
Pick shutters for a bathroom, laundry or street-facing room where you want privacy and daylight at the same time, and the room doesn't need to be dark.

A wide living-room wall of sheer curtains in soft afternoon light

Charcoal sunscreen roller blinds lowered in a concrete-walled living room with a garden view

Blinds vs curtains vs shutters, side by side

	Blinds	Curtains	Shutters
Light control	Blockout, light filtering or sunscreen. Fitted on the wall, a blind blocks the most light at the edges	Sheer softens daylight. Blockout stops light through the fabric; a ceiling track and centre overlap cut it at the edges	Tilt the 89 mm blades to set the light. Not blockout: small gaps around the panels are normal
Privacy	Blockout gives full privacy, light filtering gives it by day. Sunscreen keeps your view, but people can see in at night	A sheer gives privacy by day. At night with the lights on, shapes show through	Tilt the blades for privacy and still let daylight in
Look	Compact and close to the glass. Leaves the wall clear for a bed head or wardrobe	Soft and full height. Needs space at the side to stack	Framed panels in a choice of whites that read as part of the window
Cleaning	Most roller fabrics need a dust or a soft vacuum. PVC and aluminium venetians wipe down	Depends on the fabric: follow the care label, or have them professionally cleaned	Dust, or wipe with a damp cloth. No painting or sealing
Cost	Lowest with a roller: it costs less than a curtain or a shutter for the same window	Higher, and it rises with the width of the track	Higher than a roller. Priced by the square metre
Rooms it suits	Bedrooms, kitchens, studies, bathrooms (PVC or aluminium venetians) and sliding doors (vertical or panel)	Living rooms, bedrooms, big windows and sliding doors	Bathrooms, laundries and kitchens as well as bedrooms and living areas
DIY fitting	The easiest	An overhead job for two people	Takes the most care and time

Prices move with your sizes and fabric, so we don't print them here. Enter your width and drop in the roller blind designer or the curtain designer and you'll see your price as you go.

Where blinds and curtains fall down

Blinds. A roller inside the recess leaves a thin line of light down each side, and a sunscreen roller lets people see in once your lights are on at night. On a big window a single roller can look plain, which is where a sheer in front comes in. Our roller blinds come in blockout, light filtering and sunscreen fabrics, in 40+ colours.

Curtains. A wall of curtain is a lot of fabric on a track, so it costs more than a blind for the same window. It needs space at the side to stack, and it's not the thing to hang over a kitchen bench. Ours are sewn in Australia in sheer or blockout, with an S-fold, pinch pleat or pencil pleat heading. See them all on our curtains page.

Room by room: our verdict

Room	Our pick	Also works	Why
Bedroom	Blockout roller blind, fitted on the wall around the window	Blockout curtains on a ceiling track, or a sheer over a blockout roller	Darkness is the job. Shutters aren't blockout, and light gets between venetian slats
Street-facing bedroom	Double roller: blockout and light filtering on one bracket	Double curtains: a sheer and a blockout on one track	Privacy by day, dark at night
Living room	Sheer curtain over a roller blind	Shutters, or a double roller (sunscreen and blockout) if the TV faces the window	Soft light by day, privacy at night
Kitchen	Sunscreen roller	A Focus or Vibe roller (hardy, wipes down), PVC shutters, or a Visionwood or aluminium venetian	Cuts glare, with nothing hanging near the bench
Bathroom or laundry	PVC shutters	A Focus or Vibe roller, or a Visionwood or aluminium venetian	Privacy with daylight, and they handle moisture
Sliding door	Vertical or panel blinds	S-fold curtain on a track that runs past the door	They clear the opening. Our shutters don't slide
Home office	Sunscreen roller	Venetian	Takes the glare off the screen
Wall of glass	Floor-to-ceiling sheer on a ceiling track	Rollers behind it if the room must go dark	One soft wall of fabric

These rooms each have their own guide: bedroom blinds and curtains, living room blinds and curtains and blinds for sliding doors.

Or both: a sheer curtain over a roller blind

You don't have to choose. For most lounge rooms, this is what we'd order: a floor-to-ceiling sheer on a ceiling track at the front, and a roller blind close to the glass behind it. The sheer stays closed most of the day, softening the light and stopping people seeing in. The roller comes down for glare or at night.

It goes up in this order:

Fit the roller first, inside the window recess. It needs about 60 mm of depth, or 125 mm for a double roller. If the recess is shallow, fit it on the wall above the window instead.
Then fit the curtain track to the ceiling, set forward so the sheer hangs clear of the roller. Aim for about 100–150 mm between them.
Run the track at least 150 mm past the frame on each side, so the open curtain clears the glass.
Order the drop to finish 20 mm off the floor. It clears rugs and the vacuum.

At Oak & Orange's Dream Home 6 in Silverdale, NSW, that's what we supplied for the bedrooms and living area: blockout roller blinds with S-fold sheer curtains in front. The master bedroom got PVC plantation shutters. Our guide to sheer curtains and roller blinds together covers fabric pairing and which layer to motorise.

Shutters vs blinds: which is better?

It depends on the job. Shutters are better for privacy with daylight and for steamy rooms. Blinds are better for a dark room, a lower price and a quicker delivery. Plenty of homes have shutters in a room or two and blinds everywhere else.

White PVC plantation shutters across a bay window seat in a bedroom

When shutters make more sense

A bathroom, ensuite or laundry. PVC won't warp, crack or swell, and it doesn't need painting or sealing.
A street-facing room you want private by day without shutting out the light. Tilt the 89 mm blades and you get both.
A window you want to look finished and built in. The panels sit in a frame and hinge open like a door, so you can still clean the glass.

When a blind makes more sense

A bedroom that must be dark. Shutters aren't blockout. A blockout roller blind fitted on the wall is.
Lots of windows, or a tighter budget. A roller blind costs less than a shutter for the same window.
A deadline. Blinds are dispatched in 8–15 business days. Shutters are made to order: allow 4–6 weeks.
A sliding door. Our shutters hinge or bi-fold. They don't slide.
A remote. Roller blinds can be motorised. Our shutters can't.
Not much room. Hinged panels swing into the room, so check a bed, desk or window seat isn't in the way. More, narrower panels swing out less far.

Like tilting slats in a bathroom but would rather have a blind? A Visionwood venetian has a timber look and suits bathrooms and kitchens. If it's shutters, see our plantation shutters page, then design yours and see the price in the PVC shutter designer.

How hard is each one to fit yourself?

You measure, it's made to your sizes, and you fit it. Every product has its own install video. The effort isn't the same, though.

Roller blinds: two brackets, four screws, a drill and a level. About 20 minutes a window once you've done the first. Buy fixings to suit your wall before you start; we don't include them because every wall is different.
Curtains: an overhead job for two people. The track comes with brackets and instructions.
Shutters: the most care and time. Measure the opening in three places. Inside the reveal needs at least 65 mm of depth so the blades clear the glass; on the face of the wall suits shallow or out-of-square windows.

Harries Carroll on a step reaching up to hang a sheer curtain on a ceiling track beside a window

Lose a bracket or need a new chain later on? Parts are in our spare parts shop.

Common questions

Is it better to have curtains or blinds?

Neither wins everywhere. Blinds suit smaller windows, kitchens, studies and dark bedrooms, and cost less. Curtains suit big windows and rooms where you want a soft look. For most lounge rooms we'd use both.

Is it cheaper to have curtains or blinds?

Blinds. A roller blind costs less than a curtain for the same window, because a curtain is a lot of fabric plus a track. Enter your sizes in each designer to compare.

What looks better in a bedroom, curtains or blinds?

Either works. Blinds leave the wall clear for a bed head; curtains soften the room. The darkest setup is a blockout roller blind with a curtain in front of it.

What are the downsides of shutters?

They don't black out a room, they cost more than a roller blind for the same window, and ours take 4–6 weeks. Hinged panels swing into the room, and our shutters can't be motorised or slide across a door.

Can you have curtains and blinds on the same window?

Yes. Fit a roller blind in the recess first, then a curtain track on the ceiling about 100–150 mm in front of it.

Can I fit blinds, curtains and shutters myself?

Yes, that's how we sell them. You measure, each one is made to your sizes, and you fit it with a drill, a level and our install video.

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