This is the question we get asked more than any other. Both open up a rear wall in glass; they just do it differently. The honest answer depends on how you actually live in the room.
Open aperture vs open view
Bifolds fold almost the entire wall away, so on a warm day the boundary between inside and garden disappears. Sliders leave one panel behind another, so you never clear 100% of the opening — but when closed they show far more glass and far less frame. If you spend more days looking through the doors than walking through them, a slider like the Schüco ASE 60 usually wins. If summer entertaining is the whole point, folding doors make more sense.
- Clears full opening
- Bifold ✓ / Slider ✗
- Most glass when shut
- Slider ✓ / Bifold ✗
- Slim sightlines
- Slider stronger
- Flush threshold
- Both possible
- Everyday access door
- Bifold (traffic leaf) easier
Thresholds and access
Both can be specified with a flush, level threshold, though the drainage detailing differs. If step-free access is a firm requirement, raise it at design stage for either system — see installation for how the threshold is built.
Cleaning and upkeep
Sliders have fewer hinges and gaskets to fuss over; bifolds have more moving joints but each is simple to wipe and adjust. Neither is high-maintenance if fitted well — our maintenance guide covers the light annual routine.
So which one?
There is no universally right answer, which is why seeing both configured helps enormously. A local showroom such as the bifold and sliding showroom in Hertfordshire lets you fold and slide the real thing before deciding.