PU leather is a polyurethane coating on a fabric backing, usually polyester or cotton, softer and more flexible than PVC, and typically lasts one to three years of regular use before the coating cracks and separates from the backing. PVC is polyvinyl chloride with plasticizers, stiffer, less breathable, and more water-resistant, but it feels more plastic and can go sticky as plasticizers migrate out.
Pick up two faux leather jackets and they can feel like different materials entirely. One is soft, supple, and close to the real thing. The other is stiff, shiny, and unmistakably plastic. Both are plastic-coated fabric, and the difference is the coating: polyurethane on one, polyvinyl chloride on the other. The coating decides how the material feels, how long it lasts, and how it fails.
PU leather is the most widely used faux leather on the market, and it earns that position on feel. A polyurethane coating over a fabric backing gives a softer, more flexible material that looks more convincingly like leather than PVC does. PVC is the oldest synthetic leather, made from polyvinyl chloride combined with chemical softeners called plasticizers, and it is generally the lowest-performing of the widely available faux leathers on comfort, even though it is tougher against water and scuffs.
PU starts with a fabric backing, usually polyester or cotton, coated with a flexible layer of polyurethane plastic. The result is lightweight, available in a wide range of colors and finishes, and less expensive to produce than animal hide. One hundred percent PU contains no animal hide at all, which is why it is sold as vegan leather as well as faux leather. The coating is thin and pliable, which is why PU drapes and moves more like real leather than any other synthetic.
PVC starts the same way, a fabric base, but the coating is polyvinyl chloride foam plus a plastic layer, and PVC is naturally rigid, so manufacturers add plasticizers to make it flexible enough for seating and upholstery. The result is firmer, smoother, and more plastic-like, with a surface that resists water and scuffs better than PU. The trade-off is comfort: PVC is less breathable, stiffer against the body, and associated with significant environmental concerns during production and disposal.
PU fails by delamination. The polyurethane coating dries out with age, loses flexibility, cracks, and separates from the fabric backing, usually starting at the edges and high-flex areas. Most PU holds up one to three years under regular use before this starts, and two to five years is the generous end of the range. Once peeling begins, it cannot be permanently repaired, because the material does not respond to conditioning products: its surface is a sealed synthetic coating, not a porous natural fiber, so conditioner sits on top and does nothing.
PVC fails differently. Its surface is tougher, so it resists scuffs and water for longer, often three to seven years, but the plasticizers migrate out over time, especially with heat, and the surface can go sticky. Needle holes and tears cannot be repaired invisibly in either material. Bonded leather, which is shredded leather fibers glued to a backing and coated with PU, performs the same way as standard PU: it peels, cracks, and degrades quickly, and the polyurethane binder fails the same way.
Buy PU when feel matters and the item will not take hard daily wear: bags, jackets, accessories. Buy PVC when the surface will be wiped down constantly and comfort matters less: commercial upholstery, automotive interiors, lower-cost goods. For a sofa that gets sat on every day, neither is a great buy, and the honest answer is that a PU sofa will start peeling at the edges within a few years while a PVC one will feel stiff and plastic from day one.
Watch out for plant-based vegan leathers, too. Newer materials use cactus, pineapple leaf fiber, apple waste, grape waste, or mushroom mycelium, but many are blended with or coated in PU to make them durable, so read the composition rather than assuming they are plastic-free. And keep any faux leather away from heat, direct sun, and solvents. Wipe it with a damp cloth and mild soap, and accept that the coating has a lifespan, which is the price of the lower cost.
For the background behind “PU vs PVC Faux Leather: The Coating Decides Everything”, these earlier guides help: Faux Suede vs Microsuede: What the Label Means and How to Clean Each, Faux Wood Beams: The Weight, the Mounting, and the Ceiling That Holds Them, and Faux Fur Care: Washing It Without Matting It.
PU is a polyurethane coating on fabric, softer, more flexible, and closer to real leather in feel. PVC is a polyvinyl chloride coating with plasticizers, stiffer, less breathable, and more water-resistant, but it feels more plastic and can go sticky as plasticizers migrate out.
Typically one to three years of regular use before the coating begins to crack and separate from the backing, with two to five years at the generous end. Once peeling starts it cannot be permanently repaired, because the surface is a sealed coating that does not absorb conditioner.
No, not permanently. Peeling is the coating separating from the fabric backing, and patching or recovering the panel are the only real options. Minor surface damage can sometimes be patched, but widespread peeling or cracking means the material is done.
Vegan leather means the material contains no animal products, and most vegan leather is PU or PVC, so it is plastic-based. Plant-based versions exist, using cactus, pineapple leaf, or mushroom mycelium, but many are still blended with or coated in PU, so check the composition.