Counter Stools vs Bar Stools: What Is the Difference?

A bar stool has a seat about 30 in high and is made for bar counters of 39 to 40 in. Everything else, from backrest to material, can be the same.

Both heights follow the same rule of thumb: the seat sits 9 to 10 in below the underside of the counter, which gives your thighs room without putting the counter out of reach. That is why the two types are exactly one counter-height step apart. At by Crea, every model is made in both heights, so you choose the stool first and the height second.

It is made for the standard kitchen counter of 35 to 36 in, measured to the underside of the countertop, which leaves 9 to 10 in of legroom.

Counter height is by far the most common height for kitchens in Europe and North America, which is why the counter stool is the height most homes need. It is also the easier height to climb onto, which matters for children and older guests. Our bar stool height guide has a calculator if you want to check your own counter.

It is made for a bar counter of 39 to 40 in, measured to the underside, which leaves the same 9 to 10 in of legroom as a counter stool at a kitchen counter.

Bar height appears in home bars, in restaurants and on raised sections of kitchen islands, where a higher ledge screens the cooking side from the living room. A full-backed bar stool at this height reaches over a meter in total, 40.6 in on our models, so check it against low shelving or a window behind the counter.

In British kitchens a breakfast bar is usually part of the countertop or an island at counter height, around 35.5 in, so it needs a 26 in stool despite the word bar. A raised breakfast bar on a peninsula is often 39.5 to 41.5 in and needs a 30 in seat or a custom height.

This is why British shoppers who search for breakfast bar stools can easily end up with stools that are too tall. The name of the surface tells you nothing; the tape measure tells you everything. Our breakfast bar stools guide covers British kitchens in more detail.

The reverse is uncomfortable too: a 26 in counter stool at a 39 in bar leaves 13.4 in, so you reach up to eat.

A difference of a few inches is fine and is what the 9 to 10 in range allows for. A difference of 4 in is not, and in our experience no cushion or footrest makes up for it. If you are replacing stools and the old ones felt wrong, this mismatch is the most likely reason.

In the United States, counter stool and bar stool are two products of two heights. In Britain, bar stool is used for both and breakfast bar stool usually means counter height. In Sweden, Germany and France one word covers both: barstol, Barhocker, tabouret de bar.

So when you shop across markets or read reviews from another country, ignore the word and read the seat height in inches. The same by Crea stool is called a counter stool in the US and a bar stool in Sweden; what stays the same is the 26 or 30 in seat.

As a rule of thumb, the right seat is the counter height minus 9 to 10 in, for example 27.5 in for a 37.4 in counter.

We make custom seat heights on our steel stools, Freja, Philip, Bruno and Svea, welded to order in our factory in Sweden with the same 10-year warranty and 440 lbs load rating as the standard heights. Read more in custom height bar stools.