Yup. "Can I place a hot pan on my surface?

Caesarstone can withstand very brief exposure to moderate heat, however, any stone material can potentially be damaged by sudden and rapid temperature changes, especially near the edges. Therefore, the best course of action to prevent discoloration or cracking is to use inexpensive and readily available trivets, especially when using cooking units such as electric frying pans, crock pots or toaster ovens. Do not put hot cookware directly on the Caesarstone surface." https://www.caesarstoneus.com/faq/

Use a cutting board.

Thank you both!!!

It is somewhat misleading to call man-made products like quartz a "stone". Yes they contain stone dust. But a very large part is just resin used as a binder. Manufacturers try to downplay just how much of this surface is resin by quoting the component ratios by weight. Since stone is so much denser than resin, this unrealistically skews the numbers.

It would be more honest to compare the ratio of the volumes. And in that case, about a third of the material turns out to be heat sensitive plastics. So, do be careful when exposing your countertops to hot items. Fortunately a trivet or even just a wooden cutting board will often be all you need.

What about Soapstone?

Great point @M thanks!

@jeri "Soapstone is unaffected by very high temperatures" and would be fine. https://www.soapstonecompany.com/soapstone-faq/

There are several natural stones that wouldn't have any problem with heat. Soapstone is one of my absolute favorites. It's so gorgeous. Unfortunately, I've never had a kitchen where it would fit the rest of the design. But if it works for your design, I'd pick soapstone over quartz in a heartbeat. It's not even in the same league.

Do be aware though that soapstone is a "living material". To some degree it'll always show signs of use. It'll change it's appearance over time as you settle into your kitchen. It's what I really like about it. Quartz on the other hand always tries to look perfectly sterile and boring (although that stops working with it's damaged by heat or scratches). But you have to make sure you're ok with soapstone's look.

I’ve had Zodiac quartz for over 15 years and have never put anything under my crockpot or toaster oven...no damage ever. I wonder if I was just lucky? I would certainly never put a hot pot on it...

I have Cambria quartz and have my Breville oven and my air fryer right on my counter and use them almost daily with no damage, same with my crock pot (occasional use). I never put a hot pot or pan on there without a trivet though. But the oven and air fryer don’t really get that hot from the outside.