By Jose L. Siandre, owner of Made in the Shade North Jersey. Veteran-owned. Serving Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Sussex, Essex and Warren counties. Last updated September 30, 2026.
Choose cellular shades when insulation and quiet matter most, as in bedrooms and drafty windows. Choose roller shades when you want a clean, modern look, the widest choice of fabrics or a lower price. Both can be blackout, cordless or motorized, so the choice comes down to insulation, look and budget.
Cellular vs roller shades at a glance
| Cellular (honeycomb) | Roller | |
|---|---|---|
| Look | Soft, tidy pleats. The stack blocks a little glass when raised. | Flat and clean. Fabrics run from sheer to full blackout. |
| Insulation | Honeycomb pockets trap air against the glass, which helps drafty and sun-baked windows. | Less insulating than cellular. |
| Light control | Light filtering or blackout, single or double cell. Top-down/bottom-up is available. | Sheer, light filtering or blackout. Blackout can still leak light at the edges. |
| Fabric choice | Wide, within each product line. | More fabrics than any other shade. |
| Lift | Cordless or motorized. | Cordless, loop or motorized. |
| Per-window price on our jobs | $250 to $1,427, typically $450 to $1,070 | Graber Vitale $179 to $430; Norman Soluna $349 to $1,398, typically $800 to $1,100 |
Prices are product only, before installation, from jobs we wrote between April 2025 and September 2026. Installation is billed separately and typically runs $175 to $1,000 per job.
Insulation: where cellular pulls ahead
A cellular shade is built from pockets of air. Those pockets sit between the room and the glass, which is why the shade suits bedrooms, drafty windows and rooms that are hard to heat or cool. A roller shade is one layer of fabric, so it does less against a cold window or a sun-baked one.
If you are comparing cellular quotes, ask whether the shade is single cell or double cell and how each is rated. That detail separates two shades that look identical on a quote.
Light and privacy
Both styles can go fully dark, but they get there differently. Light-filtering cellular cells glow with daylight, so ask for blackout in sleeping rooms. Top-down/bottom-up cellular lets you lower the top for daylight while the bottom keeps privacy.
Roller blackout fabric can still leak light around the edges. Ask about side channels, or an outside mount that overlaps the frame. Also check how the fabric behaves at night: some fabrics give privacy by day but turn see-through when the lights are on.
Free guide
Chapter 3 compares roller, cellular, Roman, solar, banded and natural woven shades, job by job. Get the free New Jersey window treatment buyer’s guide.
Price: where the two overlap
At the low end, a Graber Vitale roller shade is our least expensive option, typically about $350 per window. At the high end the two styles meet: Norman Soluna rollers typically ran $800 to $1,100, and cellular shades typically ran $450 to $1,070. When the prices overlap, choose on function. Portrait vertical cellular for a slider ran about $450 to $560, and Duette shades about $990.
Which shade for which room
| Room | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bedrooms | Cellular or blackout roller, cordless | Sleep needs darkness and no hanging cords |
| Kitchen and bath | Roller shades | Easy to wipe clean in humid rooms |
| Skylights and high windows | Motorized cellular | You cannot reach them, and a remote can |
| Sliders | Portrait cellular or motorized shades | Large panels are hard to move by hand |
A starting point is not a rule. Tell your designer how the room is used, not just what it looks like. Our guides to cellular shades, honeycomb shades and roller shades go deeper on each style, and the cellular and roller product pages show what we install.
Inside mount or outside mount
Both styles can mount inside the window frame or on the wall or trim. An inside mount gives a clean, built-in look and needs enough frame depth. An outside mount covers the frame and blocks more light at the edges, which is why we suggest it for roller blackout shades in bedrooms.
A quick way to decide
- Pick cellular if the room is drafty, sun-baked or a bedroom, and you want quiet, tidy shades.
- Pick roller if you want a flat, modern look, the most fabric choices, or the lowest starting price.
- Pick either, motorized if the window is a skylight, a high window or a wide slider.
- Pick a solar roller if the goal is glare control and keeping the view, as in a home office.
If you are torn, price both for one room and compare the written quotes line by line. Product line, fabric, lift and installation should each appear on the quote.
Cellular vs roller shade questions
Are cellular shades better than roller shades?
Neither is better everywhere. Cellular shades win on insulation and quiet. Roller shades win on a clean modern look, the widest choice of fabrics and a lower starting price.
Which is better for a bedroom?
Either works if it is blackout and cordless. Cellular adds insulation and softens outside noise. A roller with side channels or an outside mount can block more light at the edges. Tell your designer what wakes you up.
Do roller shades insulate?
Less than cellular shades. A roller is a single flat layer of fabric, while a cellular shade traps air in its pockets against the glass.
Can both be motorized?
Yes. Both come in cordless and motorized versions. Our motorized shade price guide shows what a motor adds.
See both in your own windows
A free in-home consultation puts cellular and roller samples against your actual glass, with a written quote you can compare. Book a free consultation or call (973) 833-1612.
