For casual home play, the Mizerak Dynasty at around $700 to $870 is the table we’d buy. It has an automatic ball return on a cabinet about 78 inches long, and it fits a 12’7” × 15’6” room with standard cues. Weekly players should save for slate. Imperial’s Eliminator 8’ came to about $3,300 installed, and Brunswick’s Santini 8’ adds a lifetime warranty for about $600 more if Brunswick accepts the installer.
We haven’t played on these tables. The picks come from retailer and dealer listings we checked between early October and November 5, 2026. In each budget we started from the lowest price we could confirm, then weighed warranty against room size.
Each price names or links the store that showed it. Amazon purchases through this page earn us a commission, which doesn’t decide the order.
Measure the Room First
Measure before you price anything, because a home 8-foot table needs a 13’4” × 17’ room once you add a 58-inch cue at every rail.
Each figure below is the playing surface plus one cue length on all four sides. Shorter cues shrink the room: the 48-inch cues in the Fairmont’s box take 20 inches off each dimension.
| Table | Playing surface | Room with 58” cues | Room with 48” cues |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hathaway Fairmont 6’ | 33” × 66” | 12’5” × 15’2” | 10’9” × 13’6” |
| Mizerak Dynasty 6.5’ | 34 3/4” × 69 7/8” | 12’7” × 15’6” | 10’11” × 13’10” |
| Home 7-foot | 39” × 78” | 12’11” × 16’2” | 11’3” × 14’6” |
| Home 8-foot | 44” × 88” | 13’4” × 17’ | 11’8” × 15’4” |
The Pool Table Room Planner checks your own measurements shot by shot, and the standard pool table size guide covers every size up to 9 feet. For the choice between the two common home sizes, see our 7-foot vs 8-foot comparison.
The Picks at a Glance
Two MDF tables cover casual play under $1,000, and the cheapest slate with a published installed price came to about $3,300.
| Table | Bed | Price we found | Installation | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mizerak Dynasty 6.5’ | MDF | ~$700-870 | You assemble it | Casual play with a ball return |
| Hathaway Fairmont 6’ | MDF | ~$450-500 | You assemble it | Small rooms and tight budgets |
| Imperial Eliminator 8’ | 1” slate | ~$3,300 installed | Required, $299 (HB Home) | The lowest published installed price |
| Mizerak Donovan II 8’ | ~1” slate | ~$1,800-3,000 | Extra, $1,000 at GameTablesOnline | Slate on Amazon, if the price drops |
| Playcraft Cross Creek 8’ | 1” slate | ~$4,900-5,000 installed, ~$6,100-6,200 with the dining top | Free at ground level (Sawyer Twain) | A pool table with a dining top (+$1,195) |
| Brunswick Santini 8’ | 1” slate | ~$3,900 installed | $899 (Sawyer Twain) | A lifetime warranty, if Brunswick accepts the installer |
| Olhausen 8’ | Slate | From ~$4,700 (Abt) | Authorized dealer | A US-built table |
Under $1,000: MDF for Casual Play
Under $1,000 you’re buying an MDF bed, which plays fine for family games and casual practice as long as the room stays dry.
MDF is pressed wood fiber, and damp air swells it. Keep the room between 40 and 60 percent humidity and the bed stays playable for years. Our slate vs MDF comparison covers the tradeoff, and best pool tables under $1,000 compares five budget tables in more depth.
Mizerak Dynasty 6.5-Foot
Sunk balls roll back to one collection point, so nobody has to fish them out of six pockets. WebstaurantStore gives the playing surface as 69 7/8 by 34 3/4 inches, which with standard 58-inch cues needs a 12’7” × 15’6” room. Two cues and a ball set come in the box.
Zoro listed it at $868 in early October, near the top of what sellers asked. Stock has been patchy. Several retailers showed it out of stock this fall, though Amazon still had an add-to-cart button when we checked on November 1. The legs are fixed.
Check Price on Amazon →
Hathaway Fairmont 6-Foot
Home Depot gives a 33 by 66 inch playing surface on an MDF bed. No other table here fits in a smaller room than the Fairmont, which needs 10’9” × 13’6” with the two 48-inch cues Hathaway packs in the box.
Its steel legs fold, which lets it stand against a wall between games. Folding frames flex more than fixed cabinets, though, and need re-leveling more often than the Dynasty’s. Walmart had it at $449 in early October.
Kids and apartments suit it best. League players outgrow a 6-footer first, as our guide to whether a 6-foot table is too small explains.
Check Price on Amazon →Slate You Order Online
Slate tables ordered online came to about $3,300 to $5,000 installed at the retailers we checked in early November.
Slate usually arrives in three heavy pieces that have to be leveled and seamed on site, so budget for a pro even when the table ships to your door. Our slate weight guide puts a residential 8-footer at around 800 to 900 pounds.
Imperial Eliminator 8-Foot
The bed is 3-piece 1-inch backed slate, under a 10-year limited warranty according to Prestige Billiards, a dealer.
HB Home, a New Jersey retailer, listed the Eliminator at $2,995 on November 3 and says the table requires a $299 professional installation. Expect about $3,300 all in, more at some delivery locations.
It was still a pre-order that day, with four to five weeks from purchase to installation by HB Home’s count. Amazon showed it as unavailable on November 1. The button below goes to HB Home instead.
See the Eliminator at HB Home →
Mizerak Donovan II 8-Foot Slate
Check the model number first: the slate Donovan II is P5223W1, and a slatron version, P5223W2, carries the same name. Slatron is particleboard coated in plastic, as our slatron explainer describes.
The cheapest listing we found, about $1,800 at WebstaurantStore on November 3, was out of stock. That listing gives a 90-day limited warranty. Sports Unlimited had it near $2,100, though its page sent mixed signals on stock.
GameTablesOnline asked about $3,000 with basic freight included. Its install and felting add $1,000 at ground level and $1,250 with stairs, so the total there lands near $4,000.
Check Price on Amazon →
Playcraft Cross Creek 8-Foot
The optional dining top is the reason to buy it, and it adds $1,195. Sawyer Twain showed about $4,900 to $5,000 across the table’s sizes on November 5, with a free white-glove install at ground level included.
With the top, that’s about $6,100 to $6,200, or roughly $2,800 to $2,900 more than an installed Eliminator. Warranty length depends on the seller. Sawyer Twain says five years; Gaming Blaze says one.
Check Price on Amazon →Slate With a Lifetime Warranty
Brunswick and Olhausen both put a lifetime warranty on their tables, and both tie it to an authorized dealer doing the install.
That dealer install is part of what you pay for, and in return the table is covered for as long as you own it. Neither warranty covers cloth or pockets.
Brunswick Santini 8-Foot
Brunswick’s warranty covers tables made after January 1998 for life if Brunswick or an authorized dealer installs and services them.
Sawyer Twain had the Santini 8’ at $2,999 on November 3, close to the roughly $3,000 on Brunswick’s own table collection. Its required white-glove install adds $899, about $3,900 in all. The listing repeats Brunswick’s dealer condition, so before you order, ask whether Sawyer Twain’s installer counts as an authorized Brunswick dealer.
Brunswick’s own pages don’t say where its tables are built.
See Brunswick's tables and prices →Olhausen 8-Foot, From a Dealer
Olhausen builds its tables in Portland, Tennessee. Most models get Olhausen’s own US-made Accu-Fast cushions, which the warranty covers for life along with the table. Any move has to go through an authorized Olhausen dealer or agent.
Abt’s cheapest 8-footer on November 3 was the Belmont at about $4,700, with most others between $5,100 and $9,900. Abt takes orders by phone, chat, email or in store.
Some Olhausen models use laminate. The company’s own Grand Champion III listing gives the table’s wood material as “Black Laminate,” so ask what’s under the finish on any model you like.
Find an Olhausen dealer →The pool table brands guide compares eight makers on warranty and installed price, and our Brunswick vs Olhausen comparison puts these two warranties side by side.
What About Diamond Tables?
Most home buyers can skip Diamond: the cheapest one we priced cost about $6,500.
Diamond builds its tables in Jeffersonville, Indiana, according to its about page. In late October, West State Billiards listed the Pro-Am at about $6,500 and the Paragon, its most expensive Diamond, at about $11,500.
Matchroom named Diamond the official table for the 2025 US Open, and the APA announced in 2022 that its major championships would move to Diamond tables from 2023.
Tight pockets make it a hard table for a family room. West State lists the Professional with a 4.5-inch standard pocket and a looser 4.75-inch option. Casual players will want the 4.75.
Diamond’s FAQ gives new tables a one-year warranty, honored through the dealer on dealer purchases. If you grew up on bar tables, our Valley vs Diamond comparison covers the other one you’ve probably played.
Mistakes That Cost Home Buyers
Four mistakes cost home buyers money: skipping the tape measure, pricing slate without the install, putting MDF somewhere damp and moving a warrantied table yourself.
Skipping the tape measure. Use the room table above, or the planner, before you order.
Pricing slate without the install. Installation on the tables above ranged from free (Sawyer Twain’s Cross Creek, at ground level) to $1,250 (GameTablesOnline’s Donovan II with felting and stairs). Get that number from the seller before you compare sticker prices.
Putting MDF somewhere damp. An unheated garage or a wet basement is where MDF beds swell. If the table has to live there, read our guide to keeping a pool table in the garage and run a dehumidifier set near 50 percent.
Moving a warrantied table yourself. Olhausen’s lifetime coverage requires an authorized Olhausen dealer or agent for any move, and Brunswick’s needs Brunswick or an authorized dealer for installs and service. Call the dealer before you move house. Neither warranty passes to the next owner if you sell the table with the house.
Common Questions
What’s the best pool table for a home game room?
The Mizerak Dynasty 6.5-foot, at around $700 to $870, is our pick for casual play because of its ball return. For weekly play, buy slate: the lowest published installed price we found was about $3,300, for Imperial’s Eliminator 8-foot in early November 2026.
How much does a good home pool table cost?
The MDF tables in this guide run about $450 to $870, and you assemble them yourself. New 8-foot slate from online retailers came to about $3,300 to $5,000 installed in early November 2026. Abt’s cheapest Olhausen 8-footer was about $4,700.
Is a 7-foot or 8-foot pool table better for home?
Eight feet, if the room allows it. A home 8-footer needs 13’4” × 17’ with standard 58-inch cues, against 12’11” × 16’2” for a home 7-footer. If you’re short of that, the 7-footer plays better than an 8-footer you have to shoot around.
Do I really need a slate pool table?
Only if you play often. MDF is fine for family games in a dry room, though damp air can swell it over the years. Slate stays flat for decades. It also costs far more: the lowest installed price we found was about $3,300.
Do slate pool tables need professional installation?
Plan on it. HB Home says the Imperial Eliminator requires its $299 install, and GameTablesOnline charges $1,000 to install and felt a Donovan II. Brunswick’s and Olhausen’s lifetime warranties also depend on an authorized dealer doing the work.
The Bottom Line
The Mizerak Dynasty is the home table to buy for occasional games, and slate only pays off if you play every week.
In a smaller room, buy the Fairmont at around $450 to $500. With 13’4” × 17’ to spare and a weekly game, the Eliminator at about $3,300 installed is the slate to price first. A Santini runs about $600 more and carries Brunswick’s lifetime warranty.
If a US-built table matters to you and the budget stretches, find an Olhausen dealer.
Updated November 5, 2026: prices now come from listings checked between early October and November 5, and slate prices include installation where the seller publishes it. The earlier version priced 8-foot slate at $1,000 to $1,900, and the same tables now list at about $1,800 to $5,000. It also put Diamond in Kentucky. Picks we couldn’t price from a current listing were dropped.
The table we'd buy for casual home play, with a ball return on a cabinet about 78 inches long. If you play every week, the slate tables in this guide start at about $3,300 installed.