French doors vs. sliding glass doors: Key differences & how to choose

Infinity offers outswing French doors, inswing French doors, and sliding French patio doors. The difference between them is a hinge. An inswing and outswing French door opens and closes with a hinge. A sliding French patio door opens and closes by using rollers on a track. Both options maintain the same style as a French door, which is characterized with a bigger, bolder profile. Searching for the right French door? Check out our French door buying guide.

A single-hinged exterior French door will only swing inward or outward. A single-hinged exterior French door will open to the right or to the left. When picking a swinging French door, you’ll need to select the handing of the door. Handing is the direction a door opens and gets determined by viewing the door from the exterior and the location of the door on the hinge. If the door appears to the left side of the hinge, the door is left-handed. Infinity has single-hinged inswing and outswing French doors as part of our collection.

A double-hinged exterior French door has two panels. It's also known as a side-by-side configuration, or a double French door. A double-hinged French door opens from the center inward or outward. Our outswing and inswing double-hinged French doors can come as two-panel units.

Stuck between a sliding patio door vs. a French door? You can choose a sliding French patio door, which looks like a classic French door but has space-saving sliding function. Our sliding glass French patio doors come in two, three, or four-panel configurations that can span up to 16 feet wide. A sliding French patio door gracefully expands your entertaining space.

Yes, you can replace a sliding door with French doors. There are special considerations when it comes to installing a French door where you had a sliding patio door. An Infinity consultant can review options with you before professional installers can handle the work of swapping the door styles.

A French door has several advantages because it can come as a one-panel door, which fits in tighter spaces and can add natural light easily. A single-hinged French door fits great in a laundry room or mudroom space that doesn’t have any natural light sources.  

A sliding glass patio door operates on a track and slides from the center, to the right, or to the left. Infinity sliding patio doors come in two, three or four-panel configurations that can span up to 16 feet wide.  

There’s plenty to consider with sliding patio doors and French doors since they function differently and have different styles. One type of door can fit a space better than the other. Or, you could prefer the convenience of one style over the other.

The space needed for the door to open and close often moves to the top of mind for homeowners. Sliding glass doors can help save interior space by stacking neatly on top of each other. On the other hand, you still need enough space to fit each panel of a sliding patio door. French doors have a little more flexibility since you can get them as one-panel doors. But with French doors you must consider the swing path of the door. An inswing French door can impact furniture space. An outswing French door can solve the problem, but it can also limit where you can place outdoor furniture and other items. A sliding French door can solve all the issues of a swing path.

Sliding doors and French doors differ in their design because of the way they open and their style. Sliding patio doors appear more often in contemporary style homes. Their large glass area can also make a space feel larger with the increased natural light. The light can act like a mirror and make it feel roomier.

French doors have a classic look and tend to fit older, more traditional-styled homes. French doors can feel out of place in some contemporary homes, just like sliding doors can feel incongruous in traditional homes.

With a sliding patio door gliding along tracks and a French door swinging open, the operation you prefer for a space makes a difference. A sliding door has a threshold that you must consider as you move from the indoors outdoors. The sill can impact your flooring, and you could need an ADA-compliant low sill.

Your patio door style can matter in specific climates, too. A sliding patio door might suit a windy area better than a swinging French door since wind gusts can blow a French door shut. In snowy climates, an outswing French door can become tough to open if there are snow drifts.

Both exterior French doors and sliding glass patio doors have appealing features but deciding between the two can come down to your home’s style. An exterior French patio door might fit better in a home with a more traditional style because it has a bigger profile and additional style elements. A sliding glass patio has a slender profile and can fit well into more modern styled homes.