Five brands make almost every board worth hanging. What separates them, which board to buy from each, and what the boards professionals throw at actually have in common.
Updated October 2026 · By Stephen V.
Winmau is the dartboard brand to buy, and the Blade 6 Dual Core is the board to buy from it: a tournament-specification sisal board with the thinnest, staple-free wire web of anything at its price. Unicorn is the closest rival and the right answer if you prefer its Eclipse scoring web; Target Darts makes the best-value competition board in the TOR; Viper is the brand to buy from if the board is for a garage and needs to come with darts; and Granboard is the one to buy if you want an electronic board that scores itself.
If you are here because you searched for what dartboard professionals use, the honest answer is a specification, not a logo. Every board at that level is pressed sisal (often called bristle), 18 inches across, with a thin staple-free wire spider and a removable number ring. Four brands make boards to that standard for home buyers — Winmau, Unicorn, Target and, at the recreational end, Viper. Everything else in a sporting-goods aisle is a coiled-paper board, and it is the reason most people think dartboards wear out in a season.
So this page is organized by brand rather than by price. For each one you get what the brand is actually good at, the board worth buying from it, and the thing about it that annoys owners. Are Winmau boards good? Yes — and so are Unicorn's; the difference between them is which scoring web you prefer looking at, not quality.
We have not run these boards in a side-by-side test. The ranking is built from published specifications — wire profile, staple-free construction, sisal versus paper, number-ring rotation, what is in the box — plus owner-review consensus reported as other people's experience. See how we pick. Prices come live from Amazon with the date we verified them.
The short answer
In a hurry? These are the picks we'd buy. Prices are live; tap a card below for the full reasoning.
Winmau's Blade web is the thinnest, most forgiving wire you can buy at this money, and the Dual Core is the version that gets the scoring segments out of your way.
A buyer who wants the board the rest get compared to
Unicorn's answer to the Blade, with a thinner spider and less embedded wire than its own earlier boards — the brand to pick if you have thrown both and liked this one.
Target Darts TOR Steel-Tip Dartboard (with fixing kit)
Target's competition-standard board comes with the fixing kit and sits well under the Winmau and Unicorn flagships — the sensible buy for a first serious board.
Competition specification without the flagship price
Viper Shot King Sisal Bristle Dartboard Set (with 6 darts)
Viper is the brand to buy when the board needs to come with darts and be hanging within the hour — real sisal, recreational wire, six darts in the box.
A garage or games-room board that arrives ready to throw
Winmau's Blade web is the thinnest, most forgiving wire you can buy at this money, and the Dual Core is the version that gets the scoring segments out of your way.
Brand
Winmau
Surface
Pressed sisal (bristle)
Wire
Blade 6, staple-free
Spec
Tournament specification
Pros
The thin, staple-free Blade web means fewer bounce-outs than a stapled board
Tournament specification, so you are practicing on the real geometry
Winmau sells the board as a line, so number rings and parts stay available
Pressed sisal self-heals, so a board that is rotated regularly lasts years
Cons
Costs noticeably more than a sisal board with stapled wire
No darts in the box — budget for a set
The tightest wire web shows up every inaccuracy in your throw
Best for: A buyer who wants the board the rest get compared to.
Unicorn's answer to the Blade, with a thinner spider and less embedded wire than its own earlier boards — the brand to pick if you have thrown both and liked this one.
Brand
Unicorn
Surface
Pressed sisal (bristle)
Wire
Ultra spider, reduced embedded wire
Bullseye
Ultra bullseye
Pros
A genuine alternative at the top of the category rather than a copy
Reduced embedded wire exposes more scoring area than older Unicorn webs
Unicorn has been making boards for decades, so spares exist
Numbers on a rotatable ring, which is what makes a board last
Cons
Priced at or above the Winmau equivalent
Unicorn's model names are confusing — Pro, Pro 2, Ultra and HD2 all overlap
No darts included
Best for: A thrower who prefers the Eclipse scoring web.
Target Darts TOR Steel-Tip Dartboard (with fixing kit)
Target's competition-standard board comes with the fixing kit and sits well under the Winmau and Unicorn flagships — the sensible buy for a first serious board.
Brand
Target Darts
Surface
Steel-tip bristle board
Spec
Competition standard
Included
Fixing kit
Pros
Competition-standard geometry for appreciably less than the flagship boards
Fixing kit in the box, which saves a separate trip for a bracket
Target also makes the Corona lighting system, so the ecosystem lines up
A strong first bristle board for someone upgrading from a paper one
Cons
Wire is not as fine as a Blade 6 or Eclipse Ultra
Target's own range is as confusingly named as Unicorn's
Still no darts included at this level
Best for: Competition specification without the flagship price.
$52.9924% offPrice as of October 13, 2026·#addisclosure
Viper Shot King Sisal Bristle Dartboard Set (with 6 darts)
Viper is the brand to buy when the board needs to come with darts and be hanging within the hour — real sisal, recreational wire, six darts in the box.
Brand
Viper (GLD Products)
Surface
Sisal bristle
Included
6 steel-tip darts
Size
Regulation 18 in
Pros
Sisal rather than coiled paper, which is the line that matters most
Darts included, so it is a complete purchase
Viper and GLD also make the cabinets, surrounds and stands, so the accessories match
By far the cheapest way into a board that will not wear out in a season
Cons
Thicker wire than the competition boards, so more bounce-outs
The included darts are a starter set you will replace
Not the board to practice on if you play in a league
Best for: A garage or games-room board that arrives ready to throw.
Granboard is the electronic brand worth the money: soft-tip segments, app scoring over Bluetooth, and online play against other boards.
Brand
Granboard
Type
Electronic, soft tip
Scoring
App over Bluetooth
Play
Online matches
Pros
Scores itself, which is the single best thing about an electronic board at a party
App scoring means game variants without reading a manual
Soft tips are the safer choice on a wall you care about
Online play keeps it in use when nobody is over
Cons
Segment holes and plastic tips never feel like sisal
Needs a device and the app to get the most out of it
Soft-tip darts are a different purchase from steel tips
Best for: A home bar where nobody wants to keep score.
Skip this
The budget traps that look cheap and cost you twice. We'd skip these.
Any board described as coiled paper, or sold without naming the surface
This is the one brand-level trap in darts. A pressed sisal board closes up around the hole a dart leaves and can be rotated to spread the wear; a coiled-paper board takes a permanent dent on every throw and is visibly chewed up in the 20 bed within a season. Every brand on this page sells sisal. If a listing does not say sisal or bristle anywhere, assume paper and spend the extra.
Choosing between Winmau and Unicorn on brand loyalty
Both make tournament-specification sisal boards with thin staple-free webs, both sell replacement number rings, and the difference in how they play is small enough that it comes down to which spider you prefer looking at. Buy whichever is cheaper on the day, or whichever one you have thrown at and liked. There is no quality gap to agonize over.
How to choose (and what to skip)
Sisal versus paper is the only decision that really matters
Everything else on this page is a refinement. Pressed sisal — the stuff still called bristle — is thousands of tightly packed fibers standing on end, so a dart parts them and they close again. Coiled paper is wound strips that crush. The first lasts years with rotation; the second is scrap in a season. Every brand here sells the former, which is why they are the brands worth naming.
Then look at the wire, not the logo
A thin, staple-free wire web is what reduces bounce-outs and what you are paying for in a flagship board. Winmau's Blade and Unicorn's Ultra spider are the thinnest; Target's competition boards are a step behind; Viper's recreational wire is thicker and stapled at the outer ring. Thicker wire does not shorten the life of a board — it just throws more of your darts back at you.
Check that the number ring rotates
Darts wear a board unevenly because everyone aims at the 20 and the treble 20. A removable, rotatable number ring lets you move that wear around the board every few weeks, which is the difference between a board that lasts two years and one that lasts five. All four bristle brands here do this; the cheapest boards in a supermarket do not.
Buy a brand that sells the accessories too
Winmau, Target and Viper all make surrounds, lights and stands around their boards, which matters more than it sounds: a surround that is cut for an 18-inch board of the same family sits flush, and a ring light designed for the same board does not shadow the wire. Our picks for a <a href="/darts/best-dartboard-surround">dartboard surround</a> and a <a href="/darts/best-dartboard-light">dartboard light</a> go into that in detail.
Do not pay flagship money for a first board
If you throw a few times a month, the Target TOR or the Viper Shot King is the right spend and the money saved goes on a surround and a light, which will improve your evenings more than a finer wire web will. Buy the Blade 6 or the Eclipse Ultra when you have started keeping score seriously or joined a league.
What dartboard do professionals use?
A tournament-specification pressed sisal board, 18 inches in diameter, with a thin staple-free wire spider, a rotatable number ring and a 1.5 inch wide double ring. That is the specification, and several brands build to it — Winmau's Blade series and Unicorn's Eclipse series are the two you will see most often, with Target's competition boards close behind. Nothing about that specification is exotic or expensive by game-room standards: a board built to it costs less than a decent set of darts plus a light. What you cannot do is get there with a paper board, however good the graphics look.
Are Winmau dartboards good?
Yes, and they are the brand we would send a first-time buyer to. The reason is narrow and practical: the Blade web is the thinnest wire profile in common sale, which means more of the board is scoring surface and fewer darts come back at you. The Blade 6 line splits into Single, Dual and Triple Core, which sounds like marketing but refers to the density of the sisal under the wire — denser cores take a dart more cleanly and hold their shape longer under heavy throwing. Dual Core is the sensible middle and the one most home buyers should get.
Unicorn vs Winmau: which should you buy?
Buy whichever is cheaper the day you order. Both are tournament-specification sisal boards with staple-free webs, both use a rotatable number ring, both will outlast anything you put in front of them if you rotate the ring. The real difference is the look and feel of the spider: Winmau's Blade web is a flatter, blade-profile wire; Unicorn's Ultra spider is a thinner round wire with less of it buried in the sisal. People who throw at both develop a preference, and that preference is the only honest tiebreaker. If you have never thrown at either, the Winmau is the safer default because the Blade 6 range is easier to buy the right version of.
Where Viper and Granboard fit
Viper — a GLD Products brand, and the same family behind the Hudson cabinets — is the recreational brand, and there is nothing wrong with recreational. A Shot King is a real sisal board with six darts in the box at a price that makes it an easy call for a garage, a cabin or a first board for teenagers. Granboard sits outside the comparison entirely: it is an electronic soft-tip board that scores for you over Bluetooth, which is the right answer for a home bar where people are holding drinks and nobody wants to do arithmetic. Our electronic dartboard roundup covers that side properly, and the steel-tip versus electronic comparison is the page to read if you are still deciding which kind you want.
What a brand does not tell you
Three things decide how much you enjoy a board, and none of them are the badge. Where you hang it: 5 ft 8 in to the bullseye, 7 ft 9¼ in back to the throw line, and enough space behind you to step back. What is behind it: bare drywall will be pitted inside a month, which is why a surround is not optional. Light: a single room light behind the thrower puts your own shadow on the board, and no board overcomes that. We cover all three in the dartboard height and distance guide; the brand decision is the easy part.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best dartboard brand?+
Winmau, on the strength of the Blade wire web — the thinnest, staple-free spider in common sale, which means fewer bounce-outs and more scoring surface. Unicorn is a genuine equal with a different spider, Target Darts makes the best-value competition board, and Viper is the brand to buy if you want sisal with darts included at the lowest price.
What dartboard do professionals use?+
A tournament-specification pressed sisal board, 18 inches across, with thin staple-free wire, a rotatable number ring and a 1.5 inch double ring. Winmau's Blade and Unicorn's Eclipse boards are the two most commonly seen built to that specification. The important part is the specification rather than the brand — any board that meets it is the real thing.
Are Winmau dartboards good?+
Yes. The Blade web is the thinnest wire profile you can buy at the price, pressed sisal self-heals around the hole a dart leaves, and the rotatable number ring lets you spread the wear. The Blade 6 comes as Single, Dual and Triple Core, referring to the density of the sisal — Dual Core is the version most home buyers should get.
Unicorn or Winmau — which dartboard is better?+
Neither, in any way that matters. Both are tournament-specification sisal boards with staple-free wire and rotatable rings. The difference is the shape of the wire spider and how it looks to you when you throw. Buy whichever is cheaper on the day, or the one you have already thrown at and liked.
Is a bristle dartboard the same as a sisal dartboard?+
Yes — the words are used interchangeably. The surface is tightly packed, pressed sisal fiber standing on end, which parts around a dart and closes again. The term bristle is a holdover from when boards were made of animal bristle. Either word on a listing tells you it is the durable kind rather than coiled paper.
Do expensive dartboards last longer?+
Not dramatically. What extends the life of a board is rotating the number ring to move the wear away from the 20 bed, and keeping it dry. A denser sisal core holds its shape a bit longer under heavy throwing, but a rotated budget sisal board will outlast an unrotated flagship. What you buy with money is thinner wire and fewer bounce-outs.
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