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Best Pool Table Brands: Who Makes the Best Tables

Updated Oct 15, 2026 · The LeaguePool Team

The best pool tables in the US come from a short list of makers: Brunswick, Diamond and Olhausen at the top, then Presidential, Connelly, Imperial, Legacy and American Heritage for home buyers who want real slate in a furniture cabinet. What separates them from the rest is easy to check once you know where to look: one-inch slate in three pieces, a solid frame under it, cushion rubber with a named profile, and a written lifetime warranty.

Billiard table brands and pool table brands are the same companies; in the US, "billiard table" almost always means a six-pocket pool table. Below is a pool table brands list with a profile of each good brand, says where you can actually buy it, lists the price ranges we found on the makers' own stores this week, and gives you a checklist that works on any table, branded or not.

Pool table brands list: the top makers at a glance

Price ranges are the list prices shown on each maker's own online store on October 15, 2026, for 7 to 9 foot slate pool tables. Dealer prices, delivery and installation vary by region, and some brands publish no prices at all.

Two names you may expect are missing from the table. Plank & Hide (Cincinnati, Ohio, sold through 200-plus retailers) and Playcraft (sold through retailers and online) don't publish enough specs on their own sites for us to fill in the columns, so they get shorter profiles below.

Tournament and heirloom brands

These are the tables you'll find in pool rooms, at major events and in the basements of people who play seriously. Expect a dealer to deliver and level them, and expect the warranty to depend on that.

Brunswick

Brunswick dates itself to 1845 and credits founder John Moses Brunswick, an immigrant who went into the billiards business after seeing a table built by a London maker. Today the company works out of Bristol, Wisconsin, and the Brunswick Billiards family also includes American Heritage Billiards. Its range is the widest of any brand here: entry home tables near $3,000 on its own store, the Glenwood and Black Wolf in the middle, and the Gold Crown and Centennial lines at the top, past $10,000.

The flagship Gold Crown VII sits on 30mm Brazilian slate over a steel base, with Gold Crown K-55 cushions made by Artemis. Further down the range, the Winfield lists Brunswick's own cushion rubber and one-inch certified slate. The warranty is lifetime on indoor tables, but it goes void if the table isn't installed and serviced by Brunswick or an authorized dealer, and cloth and pockets aren't covered. Pick Brunswick if you want one brand that covers every budget and resells easily. Our best Brunswick pool tables guide goes model by model, and Brunswick serial numbers helps date a used one.

Diamond

Diamond was started in 1987 by a group of pool players from Louisville, Kentucky, and builds every table in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The company says its tables have been used in more than 500 major tournaments. There are four lines: the coin-op Smart table, the Pro-Am, the Professional and the Paragon, each offered in one-piece or three-piece slate with five pocket sizes.

Diamond's details are aimed at players. Its replacement slate is 30mm Brazilian three-piece, there are 22 leveling wedges under the slate, and the cushions are K55 Black Diamond on 7 and 8 foot tables and Artemis Intercontinental No. 66 on 9 and 10 footers. The site doesn't list table prices, so you go through a dealer. Pick Diamond if you play leagues or tournaments and want your home table to play like the one at the event. See Diamond vs Brunswick and, for bar-size tables, Valley vs Diamond.

Olhausen

Olhausen has built tables in Portland, Tennessee, since 1972 and sells only through local dealers, who handle sizing, finish choices and installation. Its collections run from Quick Ship and Modern through Rustic and Traditional to Tournament and licensed designs. Most tables carry Olhausen's Accu-Fast cushions, which are made in the USA and covered by the lifetime warranty (Olhausen even pays shipping on approved cushion claims after year one).

Read the warranty before you plan a move, though. It covers only the original buyer, and it's void if anyone other than Olhausen or an authorized dealer installs, services or moves the table. Olhausen publishes no prices and its site doesn't state slate thickness, so ask the dealer for both in writing. Our best Olhausen pool tables guide covers the lines.

Presidential

Presidential is the brand to look at if you want carved, exotic-wood cabinets. Its construction page is refreshingly direct: one-inch slate on every table, BCA-approved K-66 profile cushion rubber on every table, double cross beams on most, and bolts that thread into metal inserts instead of straight into wood. The cushions are part of its lifetime warranty. Sales go through dealers.

Connelly

Connelly tables are built by craftsmen in Richland Hills, Texas, and the brand is listed as part of Valley-Dynamo, the bar-table maker at the same address. The current range includes the Westlake, Competition Elite, Cochise, Ventana, San Carlos and Richland. Connelly's homepage doesn't spell out slate or warranty terms, so get those from the seller before you commit.

Furniture-style home brands

This group builds tables meant to sit in a finished room and look like furniture. Most use one-inch slate and sell both through dealers and on their own websites, which makes price shopping easier than with Diamond or Olhausen.

• Imperial has been around since 1955 and is still family owned, now in its fourth generation, in Carlstadt, New Jersey. Its own store listed 8 foot tables from about $3,000 to about $12,000 this week, with most between $3,500 and $6,000. The Eliminator lists one-inch three-piece slate and K66 cushions.
• Legacy Billiards sells through dealers and certified installers across the US and Canada, plus its own site. Its spec sheets list three-piece one-inch backed slate and 100% gum rubber cushions, and its pool tables carry a lifetime warranty. Store prices for 7 and 8 foot tables ran from about $2,500 to $6,000. Legacy also has a 7 foot slate model on Amazon (card below).
• American Heritage Billiards is now part of the Brunswick Billiards group and its tables are sold on Brunswick's store, where 8 foot models listed at roughly $5,000 to $6,000. Its Halifax lists K66 cushion rubber.
• Plank & Hide builds modern and vintage-style tables (Industrial, Vintage, Classic and Competition series) and sells through more than 200 retailers. Its site doesn't list slate or cushion specs, so ask the retailer.

Brands in this tier are the best answer for most people searching "best pool table for the money": you get the same one-inch slate a Brunswick uses, a lifetime warranty, and a cabinet that matches the room, for well under top-tier money.

Online and Amazon-sold slate tables

Playcraft has sold game room furniture for more than forty years through retailers, many of them online, and several of its slate tables are on Amazon. Empire USA and Legacy also list slate tables there. These ship freight to your door, and you hire your own installer to set and level the slate. That's the trade: lower prices and easy comparison, but nobody from the brand comes out to level the table, and you should read how the warranty treats a third-party installation before you buy.

If you shop this way, confirm three things on the listing before you pay: the word slate (not slatron, MDF or "slate-like"), the slate thickness, and the shipping weight. Slate is heavy, so a suspiciously light shipping weight is a warning; our pool table weight guide has typical figures. Our picks by size are in best 8 foot pool tables and best 7 foot pool tables.

Price tiers: what each budget buys

A used table from a top maker is often the smartest money in pool. Slate doesn't wear out, and a good mechanic can re-cloth it and swap the cushions. Our used pool table prices and how to buy a used pool table guides cover what to pay and what to inspect. The full cost picture, including moving and installation, is in how much does a pool table cost.

Build quality markers to check on any table

The World Pool-Billiard Association publishes equipment specs for its tournaments. They don't bind home tables (the WPA says so itself), but they make a good yardstick, and the better home brands meet most of them.

1. Slate at least one inch thick. The WPA minimum is 1 inch (2.54 cm). Brunswick's and Diamond's flagships go to 30mm, a little thicker. Thinner slate (3/4 inch is common on entry tables) plays fine but is easier to flex out of level. Our slate thickness guide goes deeper.
2. Three pieces, backed with wood. Tournament tables use three equal slate sections with a wooden frame at least 3/4 inch thick attached underneath, screwed or bolted to the base. Three pieces can be leveled individually and moved through a doorway; the backing gives the cloth staples something to grip. Ask whether the slate is backed.
3. Named cushion rubber. Look for a profile name (K-66 is the common pool profile; Brunswick and Diamond use K-55 on some tables) and a maker or material, like Artemis, Accu-Fast or 100% gum rubber. Unnamed "premium rubber" tells you nothing. The WPA's speed test is easy to try in a showroom: a ball shot from the head spot through the foot spot with a firm center hit should travel four to four and a half table lengths.
4. A frame that stays put. Solid hardwood or steel, with cross beams under the slate and bolts into metal inserts. Push hard on a corner; a good table doesn't rock or creak.
5. Pocket size that fits how you play. WPA corner pockets measure 4.5 to 4.625 inches at the mouth and sides 5 to 5.125 inches. Home tables are usually more generous, which is fine unless you're practicing for tournaments.
6. A warranty with the fine print read. Brunswick and Olhausen both void their lifetime warranties if the table isn't installed (and for Olhausen, moved) by an authorized dealer. Neither covers cloth or pockets.

Types of pool tables

"Pool table" covers several different products, and a brand that's great at one may not make the others.

Before you shop any brand, measure the room and check it against the chart in how much room for a pool table. Cue clearance, not the table itself, decides which size fits.

Pool table brands to avoid (and the red flags that matter more)

We'd rather name warning signs than trash a brand, because the same company can sell a solid slate table and a flimsy one under one logo. Walk away from any table, whatever the badge, that shows these:

• A bed described as slatron, "slate-like", MDF or "engineered wood" at a slate price.
• No slate thickness listed anywhere, or a one-piece thin slate on a home table you plan to move someday.
• Cushion rubber with no profile or maker named.
• A warranty measured in months, or one that doesn't say what's covered.
• A shipping weight that's far too light for slate.
• A brand name you can't trace to a real company address or dealer network.

A dealer who can't tell you the slate thickness and backing is a reason to keep shopping, even if the cabinet is gorgeous.

Which of the top pool table brands should you buy?

If you play in a league and want your home table to match the one you compete on, buy a Diamond. If you want the safest all-around choice with the widest spread of styles and the best resale, buy a Brunswick. If a local Olhausen dealer is nearby and you value having one shop handle delivery, leveling and future service, Olhausen is the best home table for the money in the dealer tier.

Furnishing a finished basement on a firmer budget? Imperial, Legacy and American Heritage give you one-inch slate and a lifetime warranty in a cabinet that suits the room. And if your budget sits under $3,000, a used Brunswick or Olhausen with fresh cloth will usually outplay a new entry-level table. Whatever you choose, book a qualified installer; a premium table leveled badly plays worse than a mid-range table leveled well.

Sources

• WPA Recommended Equipment Specifications
• Brunswick Billiards: Our History and Brunswick warranty
• Diamond Billiards: About Us
• Olhausen Billiards lifetime warranty
• Presidential Billiards: Table Construction
• Imperial International
• Legacy Billiards
• Connelly Billiards and Valley-Dynamo
• Plank & Hide and Playcraft

Our picks

Links open the current selection and price on Amazon so you can compare real reviews before buying.

Playcraft Charles River 8 ft Slate Pool Table

A furniture-style 8 footer bought online

Playcraft has sold game room furniture through retailers for more than forty years, and this is its furniture-style slate table in the 8 foot size. Budget for a local installer to set and level the slate, since it ships to your door.

Check price on Amazon →

Legacy Baylor II 7 ft Slate Pool Table

Bar-box size from a dealer brand

Legacy sells mostly through dealers and certified installers, but this slate model is on Amazon. The 7 foot size matches what most bar leagues play on, so practice at home carries straight over to league night.

Check price on Amazon →

Empire USA Manhattan 8 ft Slate Pool Table

Slate on a tighter budget

A slate-bed 8 footer sold direct to your door. It's the way into real slate for buyers who can't stretch to dealer-tier money; check the listing's slate spec and plan on professional leveling.

Check price on Amazon →

POMER Fitted 8-Foot Table Cover

Protecting any brand's cloth

Brunswick and Olhausen both leave cloth out of their lifetime warranties, so dust, spills and sun are on you. A fitted cover is the cheapest way to keep new cloth playing fast for years.

Check price on Amazon →

Frequently asked questions

Who makes the best pool tables?

Brunswick, Diamond and Olhausen are the three most respected makers in the US. Diamond is the tournament favorite, Brunswick has the widest range and longest history (it dates itself to 1845), and Olhausen builds dealer-sold tables in Tennessee with a lifetime warranty.

What are good pool table brands?

Good pool table brands publish their slate thickness, name their cushion rubber and offer a lifetime warranty. Brunswick, Diamond, Olhausen, Presidential, Imperial, Legacy and American Heritage all meet that bar on their slate tables.

Are billiard table brands different from pool table brands?

No. In the US the terms are used interchangeably, and the same companies (Brunswick, Diamond, Olhausen and the rest) sell them. Snooker and carom billiard tables are different products from specialist makers.

What is the best pool table for the money?

A one-inch, three-piece slate table from a brand with a lifetime warranty, such as Imperial, Legacy, American Heritage or Olhausen's value lines, in the $3,000 to $6,000 range. A used Brunswick or Olhausen with new cloth is often better value still.

What is the best pool table brand for home use?

For most homes, Brunswick. It covers every style and budget, its tables resell well, and it has dealers in most regions. Pick Olhausen if you want a dealer to handle everything, or Diamond if you play competitively.

Is Diamond better than Brunswick?

Diamond plays closer to a tournament table, with a choice of five pocket sizes and player-focused details. Brunswick offers far more furniture styles and a longer history. Neither is simply better; competitive players lean Diamond, most households lean Brunswick.

How thick should pool table slate be?

One inch is the WPA tournament minimum and the standard on quality home tables. Brunswick's Gold Crown VII and Diamond's slate go to 30mm. Three-quarter-inch slate is common on entry tables and still far better than MDF.

Are pool tables sold on Amazon any good?

Some are. Slate tables from Playcraft, Legacy and Empire USA are sold there. Confirm real slate and its thickness on the listing, and plan to hire a local installer, since the table arrives in crates and the slate must be set and leveled.

Do pool table warranties require professional installation?

Often, yes. Brunswick's and Olhausen's lifetime warranties are void if an authorized dealer doesn't install the table, and Olhausen's also requires a dealer for moves. Cloth and pockets are excluded by both.

Which pool table brands are made in the USA?

Diamond builds in Jeffersonville, Indiana, Olhausen in Portland, Tennessee, and Connelly in Richland Hills, Texas. Brunswick is based in Bristol, Wisconsin. Check each model's listing if country of manufacture matters to you, since lines and sourcing change.

Related guides

• Table Tennis Conversion Top for Pool Tables: Best Picks
• Buying a Pool Table: Size Guide, Slate and Setup
• 7ft vs 8ft Pool Table: Size, Room and Which to Buy
• 7 Foot Pool Table: Dimensions, Cost and Best Picks

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