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If you ask buyers about the difference between flat and grid plastic pallets, most answers sound the same—different surface, different use—but that only scratches the surface.
After more than 25 years in the plastic pallet industry, working with food factories, FMCG brands, automated warehouses, and cold storage projects, we have learned one thing clearly:
The real difference between flat and grid pallets is not what you see — it’s how they behave over time inside a system.
Let’s start with what everyone already knows, and then move into the part most people never explain.
The More Obvious Differences
Flat Plastic Pallet (Solid Deck Plastic Pallet)
A flat plastic pallet uses a solid deck, meaning the top surface is a fully closed deck, with no holes.
This makes it easier to clean and much more suitable for hygiene-sensitive environments.
Flat plastic pallets are typically chosen for:
- Indoor warehouses
- Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems (AS/RS)
- Food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries
- High-hygiene requirements
- Racking storage systems
One common misunderstanding is that a solid deck pallet must have a fully closed base.
In reality, many solid deck pallets use a closed top surface while the underside features a ribbed or grid-reinforced structure, as shown above, to balance cost, weight, and structural performance.
Grid Plastic Pallet (Vented / Open Deck / Grid Plastic Pallet)
A grid plastic pallet uses an open deck design.
The surface may feature square holes, slotted openings, or honeycomb patterns.
Because of the openings, cleaning usually requires more thorough rinsing.
In practice, grid pallets usually feature one of two grid designs:
- Coarse grid (hole size > 30 mm)
- Fine grid (hole size < 15 mm)
They are commonly used for:
- Cold room floor storage
- Seafood processing
- Fruit and vegetable warehousing
- Outdoor environments
- High-frequency ground-level handling
A Quick Comparison You Need to Know
| Artículo | Flat Plastic Pallet | Grid Plastic Pallet |
| Deck surface | Fully closed | Open, vented |
| Load capacity | Higher | Potentially lower |
| Hygiene performance | Excellent | Moderate |
| Liquid leakage | No | Sí |
| Cleaning effort | Very easy | Requires more care |
| Peso | Heavier | Lighter |
| Racking suitability | Very suitable | Must be verified |
| Price level | Higher | Lower |
From a purchasing point of view, this usually leads to a simple conclusion for you:
- If goods are high-value, heavy, contamination-sensitive, hygiene-critical, used by multinational FMCG brands, automated, or stored on racks — choose flat plastic pallets.
- If the environment is wet, requires drainage, involves frequent turnover, or cost control is critical — choose grid plastic pallets.
So far, these are the visible differences. The more critical ones are rarely discussed.
The Differences Nobody Tells You
The following differences rarely appear in product catalogs.
They come from years of our factory testing, system-level projects, and direct feedback from customers who rely on pallets in real operations—not just on paper.
Completely Different Load Path
A flat pallet does not rely on individual ribs to carry weight.
Instead, the entire deck works together to spread point loads into surface loads.
What does this mean in real life?
It means the pallet stays stable even when the load is not perfectly placed—whether the bottom is uneven or the weight is concentrated in one area.
This is why, with the same HDPE material and the same load,flat pallets tend to remain stable on racking over time, while grid pallets are more likely to gradually sag due to creep deformation.
Grid pallets follow a different load path:Cargo → grid beams → local ribs → runners / feet
There is no continuous deck layer acting as a buffer.
In real applications (not theory), point-loaded goods such as cartons, metal bins, or IBC feet concentrate pressure on only a few ribs.
Over time, this leads to:
- local deck collapse
- cracked grid ribs
- permanent plastic creep
That is why grid pallets often appear “fine” in the short term but develop problems later.
Different Long-Term Deformation Mechanisms
Flat pallets mainly experience Global Creep, which means the pallet ages as a whole.
The deformation happens slowly, stays even across the deck, and—most importantly—is predictable.
Because of this, engineers can control it by thickening the deck, optimizing reinforced ribs, or adding steel bars.
That is why flat pallets are commonly trusted in AS/RS systems, high-bay racking, and applications that require a service life of more than 10 years.
Grid pallets behave very differently.
They tend to suffer from Localized Creep, where deformation starts in specific weak points, usually the center ribs or directly under heavy loads.
Once this type of deformation begins, structural strength drops quickly.
The load capacity does not fade gradually—it falls off suddenly.
This explains why many grid pallets seem fine at first, then suddenly fail after 2–3 years, even though they still look acceptable on the surface.
The Real Gap Inside Racking Systems
In selective racking systems, two keywords matter most: Beam Load Sharing and Deflection Control.
These are also the two points customers come back to most often after long-term use.
With flat pallets, the deck actively participates in load sharing.
The runners mainly act as supporting structures, which means actual deflection stays lower and beam stress is distributed more evenly.
This is exactly what our customers operating automated warehouses, FMCG distribution centers, and pharmaceutical or chemical facilities are looking for—stability they can rely on over time.
Grid pallets behave differently on racks.
Here, the deck itself does not share the load.
Most of the force is concentrated on the runners and local ribs, which makes beam stress far more localized and leaves much less room for error.
As our engineers often explain during racking evaluations—and as many customers later confirm—grid pallets are not forbidden on racks, but their tolerance for variation is much lower.
Cargo Stability Differences
Flat pallets offer a larger contact area, which keeps the friction coefficient more stable and helps reduce cargo sliding during handling.
This stability matters most in automated palletizing, high-speed conveyor lines, and high-bay storage, where even small shifts can create system issues.
Grid pallets behave differently.
Because they have fewer contact points, friction depends heavily on carton edges, grid beam positions, and the bottom consistency of the load.
That is why the same cartons often shift more easily on grid pallets than on flat pallets.
For this reason, at Enlightening Pallet, all grid pallets used in system projects are equipped with anti-slip pads as standard.
Different Behavior in Automation Systems
In automated, system-level operations, there is no hard rule that grid pallets cannot work or that flat pallets are always better.
Automation systems do not care about appearance—they care about how a pallet behaves over time.
The first thing they watch is Deflection, which simply means how much a pallet sags under long-term load.
The commonly accepted guideline is Deflection ≤ L / 300 (L being the load span).
As long as deflection stays within this range, conveyors, stacker cranes, and forks run reliably.
Next comes Creep Rate.
All plastics creep, and automation does not expect zero deformation—it expects deformation that is uniform and predictable, without early local failure.
Then there is Dimensional Stability.
After long-term use and repeated temperature changes, pallet length, width, diagonal, and flatness must remain within system tolerances.
Millimeter-level deviations that are ignored in manual warehouses can trigger alarms in AS/RS systems.
Bottom Geometry Repeatability is just as critical.
Runner and foot heights must stay consistent across every pallet, because automation depends on repeatability, not single-unit strength.
Finally, systems look at Interface Compatibility and Failure Mode.
The preferred failure mode is gradual sagging with clear warning signs, not sudden rib breakage or collapse.
When these system-level conditions are met, both flat and grid pallets can operate reliably in automation systems.
Preguntas Frecuentes
Is the load capacity of grid pallets always lower than flat pallets?
No.
It is incorrect to assume that grid pallets are inherently weaker.
Load capacity depends heavily on Rib Layout and Reinforcement.
With optimized ribs and steel reinforcement, grid pallets can reach very high performance levels.
At Enlightening Pallet, reinforced grid pallets can achieve static loads up to 6 tons, exceeding poorly designed flat pallets.
Are grid pallets more likely to deform or break?
Not necessarily.
Deformation depends on design and operating conditions.
Grid pallets face higher risk under point loads, high-rack static storage, or cold-storage heavy loads.
Under normal temperatures, reasonable loads, and short-term circulation, differences are often minimal.
Are flat pallets always heavier and more expensive?
No.
Weight and cost depend on material usage, reinforcement strategy, and mold design — not deck type alone.
For example, our recycled plastic pallets with closed decks are optimized for weight and cost efficiency without sacrificing performance.
Are grid pallets riskier in cold storage?
Yes, under Cold Storage + High Load conditions, grid pallets face higher challenges due to hygiene, moisture control, structural stress, and handling compatibility.
However, through design optimization (denser grids, HDPE material, impact modifiers, moisture-control pads), risks can be reduced — though overall performance still tends to favor flat pallets.
Final Thought
Flat pallets manage system risk, while grid pallets focus on operational efficiency.
Choosing the right pallet is not about shape, but about how that pallet behaves inside your system over time.
If there is still hesitation, that is normal. In real projects, most pallet failures are not caused by the wrong material, but by mismatched design, underestimated loads, or missing system-level validation—issues that often appear only after operations begin.
This is exactly where Enlightening Pallet‘s Palets de Plastico helps. With 600+ pallet models, we support manual handling, racking, cold storage, and full automation scenarios, offering long service life, compliance with ISO 9001 and GRS, and optional RFID integration to meet automation and tracking requirements.If you are planning a new project or troubleshooting an existing one, share your application, load conditions, and system details with us. Our sales managers help you select or customize the right pallet before problems appear, not after.
