Short answer: for most phones, tempered glass is better. It absorbs a drop or a hard knock by cracking instead of your screen, and it feels like the phone's own glass. A plastic film screen guard mostly stops scratches, and it is the better choice only where rigid glass cannot follow the screen — some heavily curved edges, and the inner screen of a folding phone.
What people mean by "screen guard"
In shops the words are used loosely, and "screen guard" can mean either. Usually it means a thin plastic film — PET, TPU or "hydrogel" — and "tempered glass" means a sheet of toughened glass. That difference in material is what everything below comes down to.
Protection
Tempered glass is a sacrificial layer: a drop or a knock on a table cracks the sheet, not the display under it, and a new sheet costs a fraction of a screen repair. A film guard is too thin and soft to spread an impact — it keeps grit from scratching the screen, but a hard knock goes through it to the display.
How they feel and look
Glass feels like the screen itself: smooth, hard, with the same glide under your thumb. Film is softer, can feel slightly sticky or rubbery, and shows scratches and dents over time. Clear glass keeps the display as sharp as it was; most films add a faint haze.
Where film is the better choice
A flexible film can wrap further round a curved edge than rigid glass can, so on a phone whose screen curves steeply down the sides, film covers more of the edge. It is also the only option for the folding inner screen of a foldable, where glass would crack at the hinge. In both cases you trade impact protection for coverage.
Film protects the surface. Glass protects the screen. On a flat phone, that makes the choice for you.
Fingerprint readers
Both work with in-display fingerprint readers when fitted properly. With glass, what matters is adhesive across the whole sheet, so there is no air gap over the reader. Either way, register your fingerprint again after fitting.
What we sell
We make tempered glass only, cut for each phone model — flat sheets for flat screens, and sheets that stop just inside the bend for curved ones. If your phone's screen curves so steeply that you want the very edge covered, a film may suit you better, and we would rather tell you that than sell you glass that lifts.
Questions people ask
Which is better, tempered glass or screen guard?
For most phones, tempered glass: it takes drops and knocks by cracking in place of the screen, and feels like the phone's own glass. A film screen guard mainly stops scratches, and suits steeply curved edges and folding inner screens, where glass cannot follow the shape.
Is tempered glass the same as a screen guard?
Not exactly. "Screen guard" is often used for any protector, but it usually means a thin plastic film. Tempered glass is a sheet of toughened glass, which is stiffer, clearer and far better at absorbing impacts.
Does a screen guard protect the phone if it falls?
A plastic film offers little protection against a drop — it is too thin to spread the impact. It protects against scratches. Tempered glass is the one that takes the impact.
Tempered glass or screen guard for a curved phone?
Glass cut to stop just inside the curve protects the flat face well and stays down. A film can reach further round the curved edge but protects far less against knocks. Most people are better served by the glass.
Is tempered glass or a screen guard better for the fingerprint sensor?
Both work when fitted properly. For glass, choose one with adhesive across the whole sheet so there is no air gap over an in-display reader, and re-register your fingerprint after fitting.