A Pergola is one of the best ways to provide a distinctive and beautiful look to your garden.
It gives an all-important area where you can sit, relax, cook or entertain guests even when it’s raining.
But building one of these things is not easy, especially if you’re not already at least a little bit savvy in construction.
This is where Toja Grid comes in.
It’s a modular pergola system where you can purchase the parts and put them together with minimal work.
But these things are not cheap and Toja Grid’s are still unavailable in many parts of the country, which has led many buyers to look for suitable alternatives.
So in this article, we will walk through our five best alternatives to the Toja grid system.
The best alternatives to a Toja Grid
You can think of the Toja Grid as a lean-to, but it’s not attached to the house.
They are usually made from wood and have a latticed roof and beam structure which can enhance the look of your garden.
You can decorate it, put your roofing on, or hand lights from it.
The possibilities are endless!
But pergola systems existed long before the Toja Grid was around.
Not only are there several good alternatives available, but some of them can surpass it in looks.
So let’s look at some great alternatives to building your perfect garden refuge just the way you want.
1. Backyard Discovery
Whether you realize it or not, you’ve almost certainly encountered some of Backyard Discoveries products at some point before.
They are a well-known brand that produces all kinds of beautiful, practical wooden structures for your garden.
They make products that range from gazebos all the way to swing sets.
Anything you could want for your garden!
But really, it’s their pergolas that have earned them such a good reputation.
Unlike Toja, where you bear much of the responsibility for designing and purchasing what you need to build your pergola, Backyard Discovery has a ton of pre-build options already available for you.
The first thing to establish is that these are premium products designed with beauty and robustness in mind.
You can expect these to set you back anywhere from $1200 already the way up to $2800 for their higher-end models.
Backyard Discovery pergolas come in various finishes and texture types, including steel, modern white, or natural wood in multiple colors.
They also have solid roof construction or soft sail shade canopy roof designs, depending on your preference.
These aren’t just pretty structures either.
They are TextTM certified, which means they can resist mighty 100mph winds.
They even have some swanky modern upgrades, including in-built lighting fixtures, electrical outlets, and USB ports.
This is perfect for gatherings where guests can charge their phones, play music or run something like an electric grill out in the garden without running bulky and dangerous electrical cables from the house.
2. Bjorn Woodworks
Don’t be fooled by the European name.
Bjorn woodworks is a US-based company that sells complete pergola kits of the highest quality.
They offer pre-configured kits and modular components, allowing you to customize your structure exactly how you like it.
They use 16 gauge powder-coated steel for all their brackets, so you can be sure this will hold up in all weather conditions.
They offer several pergola types, including complete outdoor kitchen sets, patio coverings, corner, attached and free-standing pergolas.
You have to purchase the brackets and wood that you need. Unfortunately, some cutting is involved here, but this gives you complete freedom and flexibility in designing the perfect pergola.
While not the cheapest on the list, they are ‘fairly’ affordable and considering their emphasis on quality, we feel they are well worth the money.
There’s nothing too fancy here regarding tech or electronics integration.
So if you’re looking to have more of a basic, solid structure without bells and whistles, this is definitely one to consider.
And don’t worry if you’re not confident in your assembly skills.
Bjorn woodworks has its own comprehensive set of tutorials on the website that will guide you through the construction process step by step.
3. LINX
LINX is another relatively well-known pergola company that emphasizes ease of construction, aiming to do as much work as possible at their side while still giving you as many options as possible regarding personalization and modularity.
This primarily comes from their robust QA processes and premium quality components.
Their brackets use (or so they claim) 50% thicker steel than standard pagodas and all components go through a rigorous finishing process that includes galvanization, primer and then a powder coat finish that’s supposed to withstand a ton of abuse.
Not only that, but their brackets are also precision welded to ensure that you don’t need any sanding and planing at your end to get the beams to fit snugly in the brackets.
You should be able to take them out of the package and install them right away.
Finally, they offer several different products, including the sunshade kit, to help finish things.
This is probably the closest to the original Toja Grid you will find in terms of looks.
4. ALEKO
This is undoubtedly one of the most popular pergola brands around.
Two great things about ALEKO are that they are very affordable.
But secondly is their widespread availability.
Many other listed companies are usually restricted to a particular state or area unless you’re willing to shell out hefty shipping costs to get them to you.
ALEKO is distributed and sold at many Home Depot stores across the country, making them one of the most accessible pergola companies.
What’s also great about ALEKO is just the sheer variety of looks and styles they have on offer.
While many others stick to this traditional powder-coated, matte black bracket with a wood beam look, ALEKO is not afraid to get a bit more out with its designs.
They have complete stylized aluminum structures with retractable canopies that look unique and contemporary compared to many others on this list.
Complete pre-baked kits are available, but they also sell modular components for further customization.
Between their affordability, the fact they can be built at home without needing specialized tools and their widespread availability ALEKO makes one of the best choices.
5. Purple Leaf
Purple Lead is another well-renowned and trusted company that’s so popular they are even sold on larger retail websites such as Amazon.
But unlike ALEKO, which has a wide range to accommodate any budget, Purple Leaf sits on the premium side of things with top-end pergolas that can cost as much as $5,599!
There is a good reason for this, their quality, QA, and manufacturing are unmatched and their visual style screams top-shelf with their distinctive and contemporary designs.
While they don’t quite have the modularity options that brands like Toja or ALEKO have, they do offer gorgeous pre-designed units which are made to provide a distinct look.
Purple Leaf is the place to go if you want a no-compromise pergola that will wow visitors with a look so premium it looks like it’s been designed by an architect.
The pros and cons of Toja Grid Alternatives
Toja Grid has done a great job establishing itself as the go-to company for customizable, modular pergolas.
But with so much competition in the market from other companies that are as cheap and easy to assemble, it can be challenging to decide if you need to purchase from Toja Grid or if another company may be a better choice.
So let’s take a look at the pros and cons of Toja Grid so you can help make a more informed decision about what will work for you.
Pros:
- Their modular systems provide ultimate customizability, allowing you to craft the pergola of your dreams without any compromises.
- For their quality and robustness, Toja Grid pergola kits are reasonably priced and accessible to even those on a budget.
- They’re designed with ease of assembly in mind, meaning you don’t need any special skills or tools to be able to put one of these things together.
Cons:
- Toja Grid is not sold in every state/country, so depending on where you live, you might have issues trying to source one without paying hefty shipping fees.
- Compared to some of the competition, their range of available looks and styles is pretty limited. So depending on what kind of look you’re going for, you may stand a better chance of finding that perfect look for your garden from another company.