Both of our pergola models share the same DNA: a powder-coated aluminum frame on a 13.5 × 13.5 cm post profile with 2 mm walls, a waterproof louvered roof with hidden drainage through the posts, wind resistance up to 110 km/h, maintenance amounting to an occasional rinse, and compatibility with the full accessory range — screens, shutters, heating, lighting. Choose either and the engineering is settled. From there they diverge deliberately — in how the roof is driven, how big they go, what comes built in, and what they cost. This is the full comparison, model by model, ending with the honest decision logic we use ourselves when advising.
Pergola Piano — the manual one
The Piano is the purist's pergola: a louvered roof operated with a removable crank handle. A few easy turns sweep the flat louvers through their full 115° range, from wide open to sealed and waterproof. There is no motor, no wiring, no electronics — nothing that can fail, and nothing to install electrically.
- Sizes: 10' × 10', 10' × 13' and 10' × 16' — dining or lounging covered beautifully.
- Snow load: 65 – 120 kg/m² depending on size; wind 110 km/h like its sibling.
- LED: optional add-on kit, matched per size — light when you decide you want it.
- Installation: the fastest in the range — two people, typically 3 to 5 hours, usable immediately since there is nothing to wire.
- Louvers: flat profile, 1.5 mm; wall-mounted with louvers parallel to the wall.
Who it's for: straightforward terrace sizes, gardens without convenient power, buyers who prize mechanical simplicity, and anyone for whom the saved difference funds a side screen — which adds more daily comfort than any drive upgrade. Full detail in our manual-vs-electric guide.
Pergola Equa — the electric one
The Equa is the motorised pergola of the range, and its design statement. The louvers glide to any angle at a press of the radio remote, driven by a whisper-quiet motor, and integrated warm-white LED lighting is included and lives on the same remote. Because adjustment takes two seconds from your chair, you use the roof constantly — the terrace is simply always in its best state. Its louvers are curved rather than flat, in a thicker 1.7 mm profile — the roof reads as sculpted, with a shadow play the flat louvers don't have, closing at 110°.
- Sizes: nine, from 10' × 13' up to a substantial 13' × 19' — the 13-foot depths are where the true outdoor living room begins — including the in-between 11' widths (11' × 13' / 11' × 16' / 11' × 19'), quietly the most useful dimensions in the range for terraces where 10' is tight and 13' overwhelms.
- Snow load: 160 – 320 kg/m² per size (the compact widths rate highest); wind 110 km/h.
- LED: included, 3000 K warm white, same remote.
- Installation: plan a day with three people, plus a short electrician visit for the standard 230 V connection.
- Louvers: curved profile, 1.7 mm, closing at 110°; wall-mounted on one or two sides — a real solution on L-shaped facades, corners and renovations where the obvious mounting side isn't available.
Screens: the Equa uses its own matched screen series, sized to its frame including the 11' lengths. Who it's for: daily-use terraces, larger footprints, households where lighting and one-button comfort will actually be used — which, in our experience, is most of them — as well as design-driven projects and tricky dimensions or facades. This is the model most customers end up with, and the reason is simply balance: electric comfort, the widest size range, and the premium version of everything.
The numbers, side by side
Every product page carries the full specification table — roof drive, sizes, LED, snow and wind ratings, frame and louver dimensions, mounting directions — with your current model highlighted, so the line-by-line comparison is always one scroll away. The structural constants worth repeating: same frame profile, same waterproofing and drainage, same 110 km/h, same accessory compatibility, same 5-year structure / 2-year mechanism warranty across both.
Deciding in practice
- No convenient power, simplest possible ownership, best price → Piano, and spend the difference on a screen.
- Best overall balance for daily use, lighting built in, one-button comfort → Equa; if in doubt between the two, this doubt usually resolves to Equa.
- The in-between sizes, a complicated facade, or the sculpted roof → Equa.
- Size before model: if your terrace needs 11' width, two-side mounting or the full 13' × 19', the Equa chooses itself; if it fits within 10' × 16' and power is a hassle, the Piano does. Read our sizing guide first and the model question often answers itself.
Two fits, no wrong answer
The range is deliberately built so the "worst case" is a pergola that protects you identically and merely operates differently. Compare them line by line on any product page, let the 1-minute quiz turn your seating, space and habits into a specific recommendation with size and color included — or request a free quote and talk it through with a person who configures these every day.