7ft vs 8ft pool tables

Short answer: buy 7ft unless your room clears roughly 18ft by 14ft of genuinely empty floor, in which case 8ft plays a better game. The size decision should be made by the tape measure, not by preference — an 8-foot table in a room sized for a 7-footer is worse than a 7-footer in every respect that matters.

The reason this decision is not just about taste is that a pool table needs room for the cue, not just for the table. You add roughly the length of a cue plus a few inches to every side. One extra foot of table therefore costs about a foot of room in length and, because the width scales too, most of a foot in width as well.

Ten inches sounds like very little until you are in a real room. It is very often the difference between a comfortable stance and putting your back against a wall on two of the four sides. Our room size guide has the full chart and covers awkward cases like support columns.

The 8-foot table plays a longer game. Shots are further, position play matters more, and the pockets are proportionally tighter relative to the distance you are shooting from. Good players generally prefer it because it rewards accuracy and punishes sloppiness.

The 7-foot table plays faster and more forgivingly. Balls congest more, which produces more clusters and more break-out shots, and beginners have a better time. It is also what most bar and pub tables are, so if the household plays out as well as in, skills transfer directly.

For a family game room with mixed abilities, the 7-footer is usually the more enjoyable table even where an 8-footer would fit. That is a genuine argument, not a consolation — more people playing, more games finished, less frustration for the weakest player in the room.

Quick picks

Tap any row to jump to the full write-up.

#	Product	Best for	Price
1	Best 7ft table Playcraft Southport 7 ft Slate Pool Table The size that fits the most rooms, with a slate bed.	Most homes, most of the time	Check price on Amazon
2	Best 8ft table Brunswick Danbury 8 ft Pool Table The size to buy if the room genuinely clears it.	Large game rooms and players who want a longer game	Check price on Amazon
3	If neither fits Mizerak Dynasty Space Saver 6.5 ft Billiard Table 6.5ft, for rooms that come up short on the 7ft numbers.	Rooms that measure just under the 7ft clearance	Check price on Amazon

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1. Best 7ft table

Playcraft Southport 7 ft Slate Pool Table

Playcraft

Seven feet is the default answer to this comparison and the Southport is a good expression of it: a slate bed in the size that clears the widest range of real rooms.

It also matches what most bar tables are, which matters more than people expect — practice at home transfers directly to the table at the pub.

What we like

• Fits far more rooms with full cue swing
• Matches the size most people play on elsewhere
• Slate bed
• Cheaper to buy, cloth and move than an 8ft

Worth knowing

• Shorter shots than an 8ft table
• Still needs real clearance
• Professional setup

Who it’s wrong for

A large dedicated room where an 8-foot table clears comfortably. There, the bigger table is the better game.

Check price on Amazon

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2. Best 8ft table

Brunswick Danbury 8 ft Pool Table

Brunswick Billiards

An 8-foot table plays a more demanding, more satisfying game — longer shots, more position play, less margin. If the room genuinely clears around 18ft by 14ft, it is the better table.

The Danbury adds furniture-grade cabinetry on top of that, which matters in a room that is on show. In a basement, plainer 8-foot tables deliver the same game for less.

What we like

• A longer, more demanding game
• Furniture-grade finish for a visible room
• Slate bed, long-established maker
• Strong resale

Worth knowing

• Needs roughly 18ft x 14ft of clear floor
• More expensive at every stage, including cloth
• Harder to move and to sell on

Who it’s wrong for

A room that does not clear the space. This is the single most expensive measuring mistake in the category.

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3. If neither fits

Mizerak Dynasty Space Saver 6.5 ft Billiard Table

Mizerak

If the measurements land under the 7-foot requirement, the honest answer is not to squeeze the 7-footer in — it is to drop a size. A 6.5-foot table plays a real game and leaves room to stand.

Combine it with short cues on any tight side and a difficult room becomes a good one.

What we like

• Recovers useful clearance
• Real playing field
• Self-assembly
• Affordable

Worth knowing

• Non-standard size
• Engineered bed
• Not a match for bar-table dimensions

Who it’s wrong for

Anyone whose room clears 7 feet. Do not drop a size you do not have to.

Check price on Amazon

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• Cloth. Recovering an 8-foot table uses more cloth and more labor than a 7-footer. It is a recurring cost over the life of the table.
• Delivery and setup. More slate, more weight, more awkwardness through doorways and down stairs.
• Moving house. An 8-foot slate table is a genuine logistical problem and reduces the number of rooms it can go into next time.
• Selling it on. The buyer pool for an 8-foot table is smaller, because fewer rooms take one.

Nine feet is the tournament size and it needs a room most houses do not have — comfortably over 19ft by 15ft with standard cues. It is a superb game and a specialist purchase. If you are weighing 7 versus 8, you are almost certainly not in 9-foot territory, and if you are, the clearance maths above scales the same way.