The main difference between a pub pool table and a home pool table is the payment mechanism, not the size. A pub or bar pool table is usually a 7ft English table with a coin box and a magnetic or smaller cue ball, while a home table is normally freeplay. On the same SAM model, coin-op costs £1,000 more.
That's the short answer, so you can stop here if it's all you needed. If you're choosing a table for your games room and wondering whether you need "a proper pub table", read on.
What makes a pub pool table different from a home one?
A pub table is built to take paid games from strangers every night. A home table only has to please you and your friends.
The British Association of Pool Table Operators (BAPTO) was set up in 1975 as the trade body for companies running coin-operated tables in pubs and clubs. Its history of the British pub table explains how those operators fixed the familiar spec: a 7ft table, 2-inch object balls and a smaller 1⅞-inch cue ball.
Here's how the two usually compare:
| Pub or bar table | Home table | |
|---|---|---|
| Payment | Coin, electronic or contactless mechanism | Freeplay, no coin box |
| Cue ball | Magnetic or smaller (1⅞in) | No mechanism has to sort it out |
| Ball release | Balls held until a game is paid for | Push-button release, no payment |
| Cabinet | Solid ply, steel cash door, built for knocks | Anything from MDF to solid ply |
| Usual size | 7ft, sometimes 6ft | 6ft and 7ft both common |
| Upkeep | Coin mechanism needs the odd service call | Cloth, cushions and levelling |
Most of that comes straight from our own tables. The coin-op SAM Atlantic holds the balls until a game is paid for, pairs that mechanism with a magnetic cue ball, and keeps the takings behind a separate steel cash door. Its freeplay twin has none of that, just a push-button ball release.
Is a pub pool table bigger than a home pool table?
No. Pub and home English tables come in the same sizes, and 7ft is simply the one you see most in pubs.
BAPTO's table standards, agreed with the amusement trade body BACTA, list three sizes: 6ft x 3ft, 7ft x 4ft and 8ft x 4ft 6in. They call the 7ft "the familiar pub table". Those sizes are measured outside the cabinet, so your playing area is usually about 1ft shorter each way. For the full measurements, see the guide to UK pool table sizes.
In other words, a 7ft home table is the same size you play on in the pub. The coin-op Atlantic and the freeplay Atlantic Champion share a 186 x 94cm playing surface on the 7ft, and both weigh 285kg.
What changes at home is the room around it. With a full 57in cue, the 7ft Atlantic needs a room of 15'11" x 12'11". If that's a squeeze, the 6ft plays the same English game and needs a foot less in length and 6in less in width.
Does a bar pool table play differently from a regular one?
Sometimes, and the cue ball is usually the reason.
In an AzBilliards thread on bar table pool versus big table pool, experienced American players describe overrunning position with the bar table's heavier or magnetic cue ball until they adjusted. Several also say balls cluster more on a bar table, so cue ball control matters more than long potting.
UK owners say much the same about pockets and cushions. In the comments under this YouTube comparison of UK pool tables, owners report their home table playing noticeably differently from their league tables. Some find their home pockets more generous, one finds his home table tougher than the club's, and one is simply glad to have "no tiny cue ball" at home.
The pockets themselves don't have to differ. BAPTO's standard sets every pocket by one formula, ball size x 1.6, so a home table built to the same standard has pub-sized pockets.
So if you play pub league on a Tuesday, match your home table's pockets and cue ball to the tables you compete on. If you just want friends round on a Friday, any good slate table will feel right from the first break.
How much more does a coin-operated pool table cost?
On the same model, the coin mechanism adds £1,000 to a SAM table.
These are the prices on our product pages on 20 October 2026, the same for 6ft and 7ft:
| Table | Coin-operated | Freeplay version | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAM Atlantic | £5,197.00 | £4,197.00 (Atlantic Champion) | £1,000 |
| SAM Balmoral | £5,497.00 | £4,497.00 (Balmoral Champion) | £1,000 |
Underneath, each pair shares the same single-piece slate bed, solid plywood cabinet and cushions. On the Balmoral that's a 20mm slate and the same 210kg (6ft) or 250kg (7ft), so the £1,000 buys you the mechanism and nothing else you'd feel on the cloth.
Questions about your pool table? Message Rossa on WhatsApp → +44 7348 956 222
Or email support@premiumpooltables.co.uk. Tell me where your table is going and I'll tell you straight whether it needs a coin mechanism.
Should you buy a pub pool table for your home?
Buy the pub table, but skip the pub mechanism. I'll be honest: unless people will actually pay to play, a coin box at home is £1,000 of kit that mostly gets in the way. It's also one more part that needs servicing.
Picture it. Friends are round on a Saturday, the game goes to the black, and someone has to dig out a coin before the rematch. A freeplay table just releases the balls and you rack up again.
There are real downsides to a pub-style slate table at home too. It's heavy, from 210kg to 285kg across these models, so plan your floor, your doorways and any stairs before you order. The checklist of what to know before buying covers access in detail.
Ball returns can be noisy as well. The Atlantic Champion sends balls back along a carpeted track, and owners in the same YouTube thread single out quiet ball runs as something they value.
When does coin-op make sense? If you run a bar, club or busy function room, the mechanism earns its keep. If it's just you, your family and your mates, freeplay is the one.
And if you only want occasional family games, you don't need the full pub spec at all. BAPTO's own standard says MDF of 15 to 25mm can stand in for slate, and a lighter, cheaper table may suit you perfectly well. If you want slate on a tighter budget, the freeplay DPT Omega Classic is £1,449.00 in 6ft or 7ft. If you're new to the game, see the guide to the best pool table for beginners.
So a pub table is really a home table with a till attached. Leave the till in the pub and put the money into the right size and a good slate bed. Your games room then gets the game you love at the local, every night of the week.