Globally, there is a significant growth in demand for building materials, especially aggregates, due to the rise in urbanization and infrastructure development. Widespread mining of aggregate negatively impacts on the river bed and surrounding ecosystem. The aim of this study is to compare and examine the physical and chemical characteristics of different kinds of natural fine aggregate (NFA) and recycled fine aggregate (RFA). River sand is the source of NFAs, whereas construction and demolition (C&D) waste within the Kolkata municipal area is the source of RFAs. Physical characteristics like particle size distribution, fines content, specific gravity, bulk density, water absorption (WA), and void content are assessed, and chemical properties like water-soluble chloride and sulfate are evaluated. RFA shows lower sp. gravity, higher fines, and WA compared to NFA. The voids content is nearly the same for both NFA and RFA. Chemical characterization suggests that both water-soluble chlorides and sulfate are under the permissible limit for construction application.