Buying guide for best pool tables
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A game of pool provides great entertainment, whether you’re occupying bored kids on a rainy day or indulging in a few “friendly” games with pals — you know, the ones that always turn out more competitive than you intended.
However, choosing the right pool table can be more involved than you think. There’s tremendous variety, from those designed to tuck away in the garage when not in use, to those that form the centerpiece of a full-on game room. And it’s not just about dimensions. There are big differences in construction, both from an appearance point of view and how they play. Of course, there is a wide range of prices, too.
Our top choice is the Plank & Hide Isaac Slate Pool Table. An attractive addition to your home or game room, it's made from distressed pine and includes everything you need to start playing.
Editors’ picks
Plank & Hide Isaac Slate Pool Table
Editors’ Favorite
Dimensions: 84" L x 51" W x 32" H | Weight: 772 lb | Top Material & Thickness: 3” solid slate | Frame & Base Material: Wood | Felt: Teflon spill-proof (multiple colors available)
This Plank & Hide Isaac Slate Pool Table is made from fine materials, giving it an ultra-high-quality build. The base and frame are made of sturdy real wood, and the top is solid slate for a flat, stable surface that ensures predictable ball rolls.
Standout features include K66 Tournament Cushions, a must-have for those seeking a tournament-level gameplay experience, and a limited-edition browns-and-gold finish that blends rustic wood tones with gold accents to upgrade any room's style. The championship felt is Teflon-treated, making it spill-proof and giving it a luxurious feel.
Choose from 8-foot or 7-foot models, and 33 felt colors to customize the table to your style, preferences and room layout. It’s hands-down one of the top choices for any game room, basement or living space where you want to add a touch of elegance and fun.
Rack Draco 7-Foot Pool Table
Great Value
Dimensions: 84" L x 48" W x 32" H | Weight: 282 lb | Top Material & Thickness: 3/4” engineered wood | Frame & Base Material: Engineered wood | Felt: Red wool/velvet
Pool tables can be expensive, but if you want a way to play without spending way above your budget, the Rack Draco 7-Foot Pool Table is a fantastic midtier value pick.
Made with engineered wood, this table is much more affordable than solid slate tables, but it delivers similar performance thanks to a high-quality design that ensures smooth, precise ball rolls. The K66 rubber bumpers and 6-inch leg levelers provide excellent stability, and the brown frame with red felt and scratch-resistant rails makes it both stylish and durable.
Although it’s not as premium as our top pick, it’s a great choice if you want a quality table for casual games with friends and family. The playing surface is covered with high-quality red felt, and you’ll get all the accessories you need, including two cues, 16 resin balls, 2 chalks, a triangle rack and a brush.
GoSports 7-Foot Pool Table with Wood Finish
Best Full-Size Table Under $700
Dimensions: 83.86" L x 47.64" W x 31.18" H | Weight: 200 lb | Top Material & Thickness: Engineered wood | Frame & Base Material: Engineered wood | Felt: Premium gray
The GoSports 7-Foot Pool Table is a solid entry-level table with a modern design that works in pretty much any room in your home. It weighs just 200 pounds, making assembly much simpler than higher-end models, but its engineered-wood construction provides excellent durability.
It’s a 7-foot table, so it’s big enough for competitive play, but still compact enough to fit midsize rooms with enough clearance on all sides. The pro-style bumpers provide consistent rebound for shot accuracy, and the thick felt delivers smooth rolls. The composite wooden legs give it superior durability compared to other models at the same price point, and the polymer pockets with reinforced corners give it a real billiards look.
The downside to this table is that it doesn’t come with any balls, cues or other gameplay accessories. However, it’s one of the best budget-friendly picks if you just want a solid yet affordable table for casual matches at home.
Nixon Billiards Huck Slate Billiard Pool Table
Best for Design-Forward Game Rooms
Dimensions: 102" L x 58" W x 31" H | Weight: 850 lb | Top Material & Thickness: 1” solid slate | Frame & Base Material: Oak wood/wood | Felt: Green championship
If elegance and durability are your top priorities, you’ll want to seriously consider the Nixon Billiards Huck Slate Billiard Pool Table. Its ultra-high-quality build provides fantastic stability and a luxurious look that adds a touch of elegance to almost any room.
It features a frame and base made of sturdy oak, and its 1-inch solid slate surface makes it suitable for both casual and competitive play. K66 Cushions provide accurate ball rebound for precise shots, and the leather drop pockets add even more style to an already elegant pool table. Championship felt covers the surface, and the weathered natural oak finish adds a modern touch that works in both modern and classic spaces.
It’s an expensive table, but it's worth it if you want something that exudes elegance while delivering a pro-level playing experience. Plus, you can choose from over 30 felt colors for a customized playing surface.
Hathaway Fairmont Portable Pool Table
Best Portable Table for Casual Play
Dimensions: 76" L x 43.25" W x 32" H | Weight: 115.5 lb | Top Material & Thickness: 0.6” engineered wood | Frame & Base Material: Alloy steel | Felt: Blended wool
Wood pool tables have a stylish look that’s hard to match, but they’re too bulky for many smaller rooms or homes. That’s what makes the Hathaway Fairmont Portable Pool Table such a great value pick if you need something compact that still offers a good gameplay experience,
Weighing just 115 pounds, this table is much easier to assemble than standard tables, and at just 6 feet, it’s a great option for smaller rooms where clearance with larger tables could be an issue. It features fast-action cushions and mesh pockets for smooth ball rebound, and the True Roll blended-wool felt surface ensures reliable shot response and consistent ball roll so you always play at your best.
The chrome-plated corners and blue felt surface give this table a more modern look than most pool tables. Its folding mechanism also makes storage easy, so it doesn’t constantly take up space in your home.
How we analyzed
Pool tables vary greatly in design, quality and price, so we wanted to offer a few options for every budget and preference. We included high-end models made of premium materials for tournament-quality gameplay, as well as some midtier options for those who want something solid for home matches with friends and family.
Key considerations
Size
Pool tables range in length from a minimum of around 3 feet (many of them are tabletop models, but some have legs) to a maximum of 9 feet. Of course, you need to add space around the table to play comfortably. We can’t really advise you on the right size pool table for your situation because it depends so much on the space you have available.
Stability
What we can say is that if you’re looking for serious gameplay, where you can practice shots and improve your ball-control skills, you need stability. A folding pool table is fine if your space is limited or for an occasional bit of fun, but it doesn’t provide sufficient support for high standards of play. That doesn’t mean you need to spend a fortune on a sturdy table, but you do need to have a permanent location for it. If you can afford a pool table with a substantial frame and solid legs, you’ll almost always be rewarded with a better game experience. Most high-end pool tables have an underlying structure designed to offer additional support to the playing surface.
Levelness
It’s absolutely key that you have some means of leveling the table. This is often as simple as adjustable feet on low-cost tables, but it can also be mechanisms hidden within the frame. Use as long a spirit level as possible when doing this job.
Features
Playing surface
Plywood: Many cheap pool tables have a thin plywood playing surface covered with a nylon cloth. If it gets even slightly damp, it can warp out of shape, and, unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to get it level again.
MDF: Medium-density fiberboard gives fewer problems, and a 0.5-inch or greater thickness usually provides good, consistent play for several years.
Slate: Machined natural slate is far and away the best material. It’s almost completely unaffected by variations in temperature or humidity, but it is very expensive. The only disadvantage with such superior materials is weight. Slate in particular is very heavy (you might want to think twice before putting one upstairs). Pool tables using it come in numerous pieces — the bed itself can be three sections — and it’s usually recommended that you have them assembled by professionals who have the skills required to get that very level surface that you’re investing in.
Synthetics: There are a couple of synthetic alternatives, which, while not quite professional standard (they will start to move eventually) are an improvement over MDF.
Felt: The addition of wool to the nylon or polyester of the pool table cloth (also called felt, although, strictly speaking, it isn’t) reduces static and enables the ball to roll more smoothly. It reduces the inclination of the balls to skid when struck hard, particularly when applying spin (called “English”), which makes the cue ball change trajectory after it strikes the object ball.
Cushions
These are probably minor considerations, but the response of the cushions (rails, rubbers, or bumpers) is important to the standard of play. On cheap pool tables, they are a simple rubber strip, but on better ones, they’re a fully contoured part of the table and made to a standard profile called K66.
Pockets
Pockets can be nylon mesh or textile and leather combinations (which simply feel nicer). A few tables have a ball return like you find with tables in bars, but when you’re playing at home there’s no real advantage to having one.
Style
Of course, with larger pool tables you also get a much wider choice of style. There are lots of traditional and contemporary designs to match your décor, from tables with hardwood surrounds to those with concrete legs!
Accessories
Cue rack: If you want to create that proper poolroom atmosphere at home, you need a nice stand for your pool cues
Table cover: Protect your pool table between uses from dust and spills.
Pool table prices
Inexpensive
The cheapest pool tables are tabletop models, which you’ll find for around $60 or $70. Small folding tables start at about $100 and go as high as $300 for a good-quality 6-foot model.
Mid-range
Robust 6- and 7-foot pool tables, including those with a table tennis option, run from $400 to $1,000, which can get you a solid, classically styled billiard table with a better synthetic slate playing surface.
Expensive
Large 8- and 9-foot pool tables can easily top $2,000, and real bar or tournament models can exceed $5,000.
FAQ
Q. What size is a regulation pool table?
A. This is an interesting question because there’s more than one answer! In the United States, any pool table can be considered “regulation” as long as it’s twice as long as it is wide. So a 7 x 3.5-foot table (the common bar size) and an 8 x 4-foot table are both “regulation” size. (Those are external dimensions. The actual playing surface of a 7-foot table should be 78 x 39 inches, and an 8-foot table is 88 x 44 inches, still a ratio of 2 to 1.)
Official pro tournament tables are almost always 9 x 4.5 feet (playing area is 100 x 50 inches). They’re a great challenge to a player’s skill, but they’re too large for many homes. And to confuse matters further, pool tables in the United Kingdom have different proportions. For example, a 7-foot table is 4 feet wide.
Q. How do I work out the room space I need?
A. Ideally, you need to be able to use your full cue action from anywhere around the table, at any angle. You can find charts online that give minimum room dimensions for each different table size. If you want to visualize it in your room, you can mark a table size on the floor with low-tack tape, and walk around it with your cue. If you haven’t bought one yet, a broom handle is an acceptable substitute.
Q. What should I do to look after the pool table cloth?
A. The felt is a bit like carpet; it will pick up dust, hairs, and chalk, which will affect gameplay and eventually wear out the surface. It’s a good idea to cover the table when not in use, chalk your cue away from the table, and not place food or drinks on the table’s edge. Cleaning has traditionally been performed with a brush, working from the center toward the pockets. Special cleaning tools are now available. A low-power vacuum may also be effective, though it will pull on the cloth if it has too much suction.
