There has been lots of debate about the best ping pong table under $400. Which is the best one? Which one should you choose? In this article, I hope to clear things up and help you decide. It’s JOOLA Inside vs STIGA Advantage time!
Both JOOLA and STIGA are known for the quality of their equipment. The JOOLA Inside and STIGA Advantage were designed to be great value for money. Which one is the better value for money buy? Let us compare.
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JOOLA Inside vs STIGA Advantage
You may have noticed that these two ping pong tables look very similar. There’s an interesting reason for that…
The JOOLA Inside 15mm table tennis table was created back in 2012 and became an instant success. At last, a decent table tennis table for less than $400!
Five years later, they were a tad slow off the mark, STIGA US (owned by Escalade Sports) decided to get in on the action. They hunted down the factory in China that produces JOOLA’s Inside table and got them to make an identical STIGA version.
Sneaky, right? They even copied JOOLA’s product description and images!
Ok, now I’ve got that off my chest, on with the JOOLA Inside vs STIGA Advantage comparison…
Ben’s Comparison…
Tabletop
The JOOLA Inside features a 15mm MDF playing surface. We found the table provides a consistent bounce but played a little bit slower than a thicker 22mm or 25mm table.
The Stiga Advantage features an identical 15mm MDF playing surface. It also provided a consistent bounce yet not quite as good as you would find on a thicker (and more expensive) competition table.
You will get better performance from an 18mm, 22mm or 25mm table tennis table. But a 15mm table is good enough. I recommend staying away from 12mm tables – these are horrible to play on!
- The winner? It’s a tie. Both tables have a decent playing surface
Undercarriage
Both tables have 1.5-inch powder-coated steel legs and split into two halves for storing away. They also both use the net to connect the two halves when playing.
The tables offer a playback feature for solo play and have 3-inch locking caster wheels to hold the table in place. Another feature in common is the leg levellers for uneven playing surfaces. They can also both be set up in under 10 minutes, which is great!
- The winner? It’s another tie. The two tables are virtually identical!
Net
The JOOLA Inside comes with their patented quick assembly clamp net system. This makes for easy storage and assembly.
It’s a decent tournament-grade net that will keep any recreational or professional player happy. Much better than the kind of net and post set you get included with most table tennis tables
The STIGA Advantage comes with a very similar professional-grade clamp on net. I’m not sure if it’s identical but I don’t think you’ll be able to tell much difference between the two!
As we always say, the quality of the net makes a huge difference to the enjoyment you get from the table. We couldn’t be happier with either net.
- The winner? It’s a tie (again). It’s hard to spot much difference between the two nets.
Durability
Both tables come with standard MDF tops. These tables are purely for indoor use and can’t withstand moisture or extreme changes in temperature.
You can expect your JOOLA Inside or STIGA Advantage to last for years, provided you don’t leave it outside. Just make sure you have space inside (in the dry) for the table. Both tables take up very little space when folded up.
- The winner? Another tie.
Design
Both the JOOLA Inside and STIGA Advantage have blue tabletops and offer playback for solo play. Both have caster wheels and nets that hold the two pieces together when in play. Where do they differ?
Visually, they look very similar. So we’ll leave this one up to you to decide.
- The winner? You decide.
Price
As I write this, the difference in price between the JOOLA Inside and the STIGA Advantage is significant. The JOOLA Inside is $349.99, whereas the STIGA Advantage is $399.99!
When you consider that these tables are virtually identical in every way, you’d be mad not to go for the cheaper of the two.
- The winner? The JOOLA Inside!
Which table should you buy?
That’s totally up to you. We have it from the very very top that…
Truthfully, the two tables are nearly 100% the same.
So you don’t have to worry about one being much better than the other and buying the wrong one. Both are excellent options if you’re looking for a great value ping pong table!
If you want to have a look at my full reviews of the tables you can find check out my JOOLA Inside review and STIGA Advantage review.
Where to buy?
In the US, you can buy both tables from Amazon;
- JOOLA Inside: Available for $349.99
- STIGA Advantage: Available for $399.99
In the UK, neither of the tables are available. But Donnay have made their own version of the JOOLA Inside 15mm table – called the Donnay Premium Indoor/Outdoor.
You can buy one from Amazon.co.uk for just £199.99! But bear in mind that, just like the JOOLA Inside, this is an “indoor” table. I have no idea what they think they’re doing calling it the “Donnay Premium Indoor/Outdoor”.
- Donnay Premium Indoor/Outdoor: Available for £199.99
If you’ve enjoyed this guide, you might be interested in reading my popular article The Best Table Tennis Tables. And don’t forget to check out all of my other Table Tennis Table Reviews as well.