Brunswick vs Olhausen pool tables

Short answer: both are long-established American furniture-grade pool table makers selling slate tables through dealer networks, and at comparable specification they play much the same. The decision usually comes down to which styles you prefer, which dealer is near you, and what each is actually selling for — not to a quality gap.

That is a less exciting answer than the brand marketing on either side, and it is the honest one. Below is what genuinely distinguishes them, and what to look at instead.

Brunswick is one of the oldest names in billiards, with a history stretching back to the nineteenth century, and its name carries more recognition than any other in the category. Its home range is built around furniture-grade cabinetry on slate beds.

Olhausen is a younger American manufacturer that has become Brunswick's main competitor at the furniture-grade end. It builds in the United States and markets its own cushion design as a point of difference.

Both sell principally through dealers rather than direct, which has a practical consequence worth knowing: the price you are quoted varies by region and by dealer, so the two brands can swap places on value depending on where you live.

What genuinely differs: the styling catalogues, the dealer you will deal with, the warranty terms on a given model, and Olhausen's cushion design, which they treat as a differentiator. Also the price on the day, which is dealer-dependent and can move the answer.

What does not meaningfully differ: the fundamentals. Both put slate under the cloth, both build cabinets to carry it, and both are supported enough that you will be able to buy cloth and cushion rubber in a decade. Neither will disappoint someone who chose the other.

This is why we would steer you away from trying to settle the question in the abstract. Within either brand, the gap between an entry model and a flagship is far larger than the gap between the two brands at the same tier.

Quick picks

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

#	Product	Best for	Price
1	Best Brunswick pick Brunswick Danbury 8 ft Pool Table Classic furniture-grade styling from the oldest name in billiards.	Rooms where the table is on permanent display	Check price on Amazon
2	Best Olhausen pick Olhausen Breckenridge Pool Table American-built, with a proprietary cushion design.	Buyers who want a domestically manufactured slate table	Check price on Amazon
3	Brunswick, plainer styling Brunswick Allenton Pool Table The same heritage in a more restrained cabinet.	Traditional rooms that want less ornamentation	Check price on Amazon
4	Olhausen, plainer styling Olhausen 30 Series Pool Table An accessible entry into the brand without the flagship cabinetry.	Buyers who want the build without the top-range finish	Check price on Amazon

#ad · Buy links are affiliate links and we earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Photographs are licensed images of the category, not of the individual unit — see each retailer listing for the product’s own photography.

1. Best Brunswick pick

Brunswick Danbury 8 ft Pool Table

Brunswick Billiards

Brunswick has been making billiards equipment since the nineteenth century, and their home range sits firmly at the furniture end: cabinetry and finish designed for a room people sit in, on a slate bed.

If your shortlist is about how the table looks in a living space, this is the tradition that is built around that question.

What we like

• Furniture-grade finish
• Slate bed
• Very long heritage
• Strong resale

Worth knowing

• Premium pricing
• Large in 8ft sizes
• Dealer-dependent pricing

Who it’s wrong for

A basement nobody sees — spend the difference on cues and lighting.

Check price on Amazon

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2. Best Olhausen pick

Olhausen Breckenridge Pool Table

Olhausen Billiards

Olhausen competes with Brunswick directly at the furniture-grade end and builds in the United States. They promote their own cushion design, which is a genuine engineering position rather than pure marketing.

In a showroom, most buyers choose between the two on styling and price rather than on any perceptible difference in play.

What we like

• American-built
• Proprietary cushion design
• Wide style range
• Good dealer support

Worth knowing

• Premium pricing
• Dealer-sold
• Installation required

Who it’s wrong for

Anyone shopping primarily on price.

Check price on Amazon

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3. Brunswick, plainer styling

Brunswick Allenton Pool Table

Brunswick Billiards

Both makers run several style families, and the differences within each brand are often larger than the differences between them. A plainer Brunswick and a plainer Olhausen resemble each other far more than either resembles its own top-of-range cabinet.

This is the practical reason to shop by model rather than by badge.

What we like

• Restrained styling
• Slate
• Established support
• Holds value

Worth knowing

• Still premium
• Installation needed
• Heavy

Who it’s wrong for

Someone who wants the most ornate cabinet in the room.

Check price on Amazon

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4. Olhausen, plainer styling

Olhausen 30 Series Pool Table

Olhausen Billiards

Every furniture-grade maker has an accessible line, and it is usually the sensible place to buy: the bed, cushions and frame that define how the table plays, without the cabinetry premium.

If you like the brand but not the price, this is the part of the range to look at.

What we like

• Brand build at a lower tier
• Slate
• Simpler cabinet
• Good value within the range

Worth knowing

• Less ornate
• Still dealer-sold
• Installation required

Who it’s wrong for

A room where the cabinetry is the main point.

Check price on Amazon

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1. Measure your room first. Size outranks brand completely, because it is the only thing you cannot change after delivery. Use the room size chart.
2. Go and see both. These are dealer-sold tables. Styling is the real differentiator and it does not photograph reliably.
3. Compare like with like. An entry model from one brand against a flagship from the other tells you nothing. Match the tier.
4. Get the installed price, not the table price. Delivery and on-site levelling are separate, and they vary by dealer more than the tables do.
5. Ask what the warranty actually covers on the specific model, particularly the slate and the frame.
6. Weigh the dealer. You will deal with them for delivery, levelling and any problem. A good local dealer is worth more than a brand preference.

There is no wrong answer between these two. Both are furniture-grade slate tables from established American makers with real dealer support, and at matched specification and price either will serve a household for decades.

Choose Brunswick if the name and its heritage matter to you, or if the styling you prefer sits in their catalogue. It is the most recognised name in billiards and that helps at resale.

Choose Olhausen if domestic manufacture matters to you, if you prefer their cushion design's reputation, or — most often — if their styling suits your room better.

Choose neither if the room is the constraint. A furniture-grade table in a room that cannot clear a cue swing is money badly spent. And if this is your first slate table and the budget is doing real work, a mid-market slate table delivers the game for considerably less — the cabinetry is what you are paying the premium for, not the playing surface. See also best pool table brands for the wider landscape.