Steel tip darts have metal points and are thrown at a bristle board; a player or a scorer keeps the score. Soft tip darts have plastic tips and are thrown at an electronic board that registers every dart and counts for you. The two are played under different rule sets, which differ in dart weight and length, sometimes in throw distance, and often in how a game is finished.
| Steel tip | Soft tip | |
|---|---|---|
| Board | bristle (sisal), 451 mm across (WDF 4.01) or 18 in (ADO 57) | electronic; NDA ratings count games "on a 15.5-inch target" |
| Tip | metal needle point (WDF 1.01) | plastic tip (NDA; DSAB 1.4.2: flexible plastic tips) |
| Longest dart | 30.5 cm, 12 in (WDF 1.01, ADO 56, DDV §3(3)); 200 mm at PDC events (DRA 6.1.1) | 16.8 cm (DSAB 1.4.2); 8 in including flight (NDA) |
| Heaviest dart | 50 g (WDF, ADO, DDV); 40 g at PDC events (DRA) | 21 g including 5% tolerance (DSAB, since season 2/2019); 20 g (NDA) |
| Throw distance | 2.37 m, 7 ft 9¼ in (WDF, DRA, ADO, DDV) | 2.37 m (DSAB, Germany); 8 ft, about 2.44 m (NDA, US) |
| Bull height | 1.73 m, 5 ft 8 in | 5 ft 8 in (NDA); not stated by the DSAB |
| Bull | 50, counts as double 25; outer bull 25 | split 25/50 (DSAB board; NDA Cricket and Masters events) or a single 50 bull (NDA open in, open out '01) |
| Standard '01 finish | double out (WDF 2.02, DDV §5(1)) | any out (NDA); double out, master out or single out by league class (DSAB 1.1) |
| Who counts | a scorer or the players | the machine; "Jeder Spieler akzeptiert die vom Sportgerät angegebene Punktzahl" (DSAB 2.3.4) |
| Darts that bounce out | do not score, no rethrow (WDF 1.05, 1.06) | count as thrown, no rethrow (DSAB 2.3.3, NDA) |
| At the line | feet behind the oche (WDF 6.04) | leaning over the line is allowed (NDA, DSAB 2.3.1) |
Board height, distance and how to measure them are on our dartboard height and distance page. The steel tip rules in full are in darts rules.
The board
A steel tip board is made of sisal fibers, "bristle" type, with the numbers 1 to 20 in the standard clock pattern (WDF 4.01, DDV §7(1) and (2)). The darts stick in the fibers, and the wires between the segments decide where a dart scores: it counts "from the side of the segment wire in which the point of the dart enters" the board (WDF 3.03).
A soft tip board is a plastic board with holes that the tips catch in, mounted on a machine or an electronic home board that detects the segment. The German league body DSAB plays only on approved Löwen machines with a tournament board, single 20 blue, doubles and trebles red, bull 25 and 50 (DSAB 1.4.1). The US body NDA counts ratings from games "on a 15.5-inch target".
The darts
- Steel tip: at most 30.5 cm long and 50 g, with "a metallic needle shaped point" (WDF 1.01; the same limits in ADO 56 and DDV §3(3)). The PDC's rule book is stricter: 200 mm and 40 g (DRA 6.1.1).
- Soft tip: plastic tips that can stick in the holes of the board, at most 16.8 cm long (DSAB 1.4.2). The DSAB raised the weight limit "von 18 auf 21 Gramm (inkl. der Toleranzgrenze von 5%)" from season 2/2019. In the US, NDA darts "may not exceed 20 grams in weight", flight, tip and shaft included, and 8 in in length.
The throw line
For steel tip the line is 2.37 m (7 ft 9¼ in) from the board face in every rule book we read. For soft tip it depends on where you play: 2.37 m in Germany (DSAB 1.4.3) and 8 ft (about 2.44 m) in the US (NDA). The French soft tip league France Darts also uses 2.44 m. That is where the question "2.37 or 2.44 m?" comes from; the dartboard height and distance page has all eleven rule sets side by side.
At the line, steel tip rules regulate only where your feet are: behind the oche, never on it (WDF 6.04). Soft tip allows more: "It is legal to lean over the line. They may step on, but not across, the line" (NDA).
Scoring and finishing
Steel tip '01 games are double out: the last dart must hit a double or the bull (WDF 2.02, DRA 6.3.1, DDV §5(1)). Soft tip leagues vary:
- NDA (US): the standard '01 game is "Any In-Any Out", with the whole bull worth 50. "Masters" events play double in, double out with a split 25/50 bull.
- DSAB (Germany): "501 Double out" from the Bundesliga to the A league, "301 Master out" in the B league and "301 Single out" in the C league (DSAB 1.1).
What each finish rule means, and when you bust under it, is in double out, master out and straight out.
Who keeps score
On soft tip the machine counts, and its score stands: "Jeder Spieler akzeptiert die vom Sportgerät angegebene Punktzahl" (every player accepts the score the machine shows, DSAB 2.3.4). Every dart thrown counts as thrown, "whether or not it is registered on the machine" (NDA).
On steel tip somebody has to count. At tournaments that is a scorer with a chalkboard or an approved electronic device; the German federation allows electronic scoring aids only if they show the last 6 scores of both players, let wrong entries be corrected and show the remaining score clearly (DDV §5(9)). At home and in the pub, the players count themselves, which is where a scoring app comes in.
Is soft tip easier?
We found no study or rule book that measures it, so we do not give a verdict. What the rules change:
- Easier finishes are common: any out in NDA leagues, single out or master out in the lower DSAB leagues, instead of double out.
- Leaning over the line is allowed in soft tip (NDA, DSAB 2.3.1).
- Lighter darts: 20 or 21 g at most, against up to 50 g in steel tip.
- No arithmetic: the machine subtracts for you.
Which one should you choose?
Let the place you want to play decide. If your club or league plays under WDF, DDV or ADO rules, that is steel tip. If it plays on machines under DSAB or NDA rules, that is soft tip, and you will play on the league's machine. For home, both need the same floor space (see the room table on the height and distance page). Bristle, electronic, magnetic and paper boards are compared in types of dartboards, and picking a set of darts in how to choose darts.
Counting steel tip with your phone
Darts Counter keeps score for steel tip games at home or in the pub: you enter each dart and the app subtracts, applies busts and shows a checkout suggestion. It has all three finish rules of the DSAB leagues (Double Out, Master Out, Straight Out), so you can practice the format of your soft tip league on a steel board. One limit: it does not yet show the last six scores of both players, so it does not meet the DDV condition for electronic scoring aids at DDV events.
Sources
Written by FLAME Apps, maker of Darts Counter since 2015. Checked 2026-09-25.
- WDF Playing and Tournament Rules, 20th revised edition, rules 1.01 to 1.06, 2.02, 3.03, 4.01 and 6.04
- DRA Rules 2026, rules 6.1.1 and 6.3.1 (Darts Regulation Authority)
- ADO Tournament Rules Booklet, rules 56, 57 and 62
- DDV Sport- und Wettkampfordnung, §3(3), §5(1), §5(9) and §7 (German)
- DSAB-Liga-Regeln 2016, rules 1.1, 1.4.1 to 1.4.3, 2.3.1, 2.3.3 and 2.3.4, with the 2019 weight change (German)
- NDA Rules: dart machine and equipment specifications, general rules of play, '01 rules, skill rating
- France Darts, règlement, edition 16, 2018 (French)
- Keep reading: dartboard height and distance, darts rules, double out, master out and straight out
