It seems natural stone is in the lead

When given the choice, natural stone is naturally unique and a one of a kind option and we love when our clients choose to incorporate it into our design. However, in some cases, it is the smartest way to go with manufactured stone. For instance, for a current project we're working on, our client wanted a 4 foot tall retaining wall. When working in an urban yard there isn't much room to tie it back anywhere and with natural stone, a 4 ft tall retaining wall is not safe. At our local supplier, we stumbled upon a manufactured stone that is engineered to be safely stacked 4 feet high! We were so excited! Also, there are so many gorgeous options nowadays, just like natural stone. For this reason, we are happy manufactured stone is here!

Long story short, we love them both!

@Kemora is spot on. The only thing I would add is look to your natural surroundings as well to decide. I our High-Sierras cabin surrounded with granite boulders, no manufactured stone would fit in. And at our main residence, we have 89-year old stone retaining walls and steep steps everywhere that the stones were from the site back in 1925, so we are struggling to find something that fits in and doesn't clash. But anything too uniform in size will look odd, so likely will go with natural stone, even for a new retaining wall. We have one original wall that is over 5' high and went through two big earthquakes fine. All depends upon site conditions, I say.

So much good input, thanks for your comments and participation we want to help our clients choose the right product.

Natural stone for us whenever we can use it!! This is Wisconsin limestone and this particular product is called 'cut drywall' though it can be dry-set or used in a masonry application. That being said, our volume with manufactured products is greater than it is with natural stone products.