What's the Difference between Self-Close and Soft-Close Hinges?

Self-Close Hinges

Self-close hinges are a type of hinge that has a spring built into it so when you start to close a cabinet door, the spring, at some point, takes over and pulls the cabinet door closed with a tap.

• Self-Close Standard Long Arm European Hinges
• Self-Close Compact Hinges

Soft-Close Hinges

Soft-close hinges, on the other hand, have hydraulics built into them so when you close the cabinet door, the hydraulics take over and ease the door closed silently. The cabinet door appears to glide closed.

Most hinges that are soft-closing are also self-closing, but not all self-closing hinges are soft-closing as the "thump" sound demonstrates.

• Soft-Close Standard Long Arm European Hinges
• Soft-Close Compact Hinges

In the video below, Blum gives us a demonstration of first a Self-Closing hinge and then a Soft-Close hinge:

Note: An alternative to the soft-close hinge is a Soft-Close Adapter. Soft-close adapters are small devices that are installed into an existing cabinet without replacing the hinges. These adapters provide your cabinets with the soft-close experience with less hassle. See Soft-Close Adapters.