Steel tip vs soft tip darts

Steel tip is thrown at a bristle board and scored by a person. Soft tip is thrown at a plastic board with holes in it and scored by the machine. Almost everything else that differs follows from those two facts.

Neither is the serious version. Both have leagues, both have national bodies, and plenty of players do both.

Written and maintained by Timothy Moose, who builds Dart Meister. Updated August 25, 2026. How we write these pages.

Scoring works the same on both

Dart Meister handles Cricket, 301, 501 and Shanghai either way. Free for up to eight players.

Get it free

Side by side

Board Bristle vs plastic Steel tip uses compressed sisal, which closes up behind the dart. Soft tip uses a plastic face with thousands of holes and electronics behind it.

Dart weight Up to 50 g vs about 16 to 20 g Steel tip darts are usually 21 to 26 g. Soft tip darts are much lighter because heavy darts damage the board and bounce out.

Throw line 7 ft 9.25 in vs 8 ft Soft tip play in the United States stands a few inches further back. Board height is 5 ft 8 in for both.

Scoring By hand vs automatic The machine scores soft tip, and its ruling is final in league play even when it misses a dart.

Bounce outs Common on both On soft tip a dart that sticks but does not register cannot be scored manually in most league rules.

Cost Board and darts vs a machine A good bristle board and a set of darts is inexpensive. A soft tip machine is a piece of furniture with a price to match.

Which one suits you

Play steel tip if you have a wall, want the traditional game, or want to play the format professional darts is played in. It is quieter, it is cheaper, and a bristle board hung properly lasts for years.

Play soft tip if you are in a bar league, want the scoring handled for you, or cannot put holes in the wall. It is also the safer option around children and pets, which is not a small consideration.

If you are choosing for a house, the honest answer is that steel tip on a decent bristle board with a surround gives more people more darts for less money. Machines are for venues.

What the differences mean for scoring

Soft tip machines score for you, which sounds like it removes the problem until the machine misses a dart, credits the wrong player, or somebody hits next player before the round is finished. Then you are back to remembering what happened.

Steel tip has no scoring at all beyond whoever is chalking. That is where a scoring app earns its place: it keeps the running total, it shows the checkout, and it lets you go back and fix a round when somebody mis-taps. A machine will not let you do that.

Cricket, 301, 501 and Shanghai are all played on both. The Cricket rules and the 501 rules on this site apply to either, with the caveat that soft tip machines sometimes implement house variants of their own.

Governing bodies

For steel tip in the United States the American Darts Organization is the sanctioning body and a member of the World Darts Federation. The professional tour is run by the PDC.

Soft tip league play in the United States runs largely through the American Darters Association and similar organizations. If you are joining a bar league, the machine and the league rules will tell you which world you are in before anyone explains it.

Common questions

Is soft tip easier than steel tip?

Not easier, different. The scoring segments are effectively larger on a soft tip board because of the plastic web, but the darts are lighter and the throw line is further back.

Can I use steel tip darts on a soft tip board?

No. Steel points destroy the plastic face and the electronics behind it. Some darts accept interchangeable points so one set of barrels can do both.

Are the rules the same?

The game rules are the same. Machines sometimes implement their own variants and their own bust handling, and in league play the machine is treated as correct.

Which is better for a house?

Steel tip on a bristle board, for most people. It costs far less, it is quieter, and it plays the same game the professionals play.

Scoring works the same on both

Cricket, 301, 501 and Shanghai, whichever board you are standing in front of.

Download free on the App Store

Dartboard height and distance → Cricket rules → Darts glossary →