Orangery vs conservatory: what's the difference?

Structure and glazing

A conservatory is predominantly glass, built on a low dwarf wall with a fully glazed pitched or lean-to roof. An orangery is brick-built, with proper masonry walls and piers, and a glazed roof lantern set into a solid, insulated perimeter roof rather than a fully glazed one. That structural difference — more brick, less glass overhead — is really what separates the two.

In practice this means an orangery reads more like a permanent extension from the outside, while a conservatory reads as a lighter, more clearly "added on" garden room.

Heat retention and year-round use

This is usually the deciding factor for people who've lived with a conservatory. A fully glazed roof loses heat fast in winter and lets a room overheat in direct summer sun, which is why so many conservatories end up used for six months of the year rather than twelve. An orangery's solid perimeter roof and smaller glazed lantern area give it noticeably better thermal performance, closer to a standard extension.

If you already have a conservatory and don't want to rebuild it as an orangery, a roof replacement can close a lot of this gap — see our guide on insulated conservatory roofs.

Cost

A conservatory is generally the cheaper of the two to build, since there's less brickwork and structural work involved. An orangery sits closer to a good-quality extension in price. As a general guide, budget conservatories can start from a few thousand pounds for a small structure, while orangeries typically start in the tens of thousands — see our full orangery cost guidance for indicative ranges.

Frequently asked questions

FAQs.