Intex vs Bestway by Pool Size: Which Brand to Choose for 12-Foot, 15-Foot, 18-Foot, and Larger

Intex vs Bestway by Size Comes Down to the Specific Model, Not the Brand Name

Most buyers ask me which brand is better, and my honest answer is that the question is backwards. Intex vs Bestway by size only makes sense once you already know the footprint you are working with, because a 12-foot inflatable and an 18-foot steel frame pool are not competing for the same buyer. I have set up both brands side by side in the same backyard more than once, and the pool that held up better was almost never the same brand twice in a row. It depended on the pump that came in the box, the liner thickness, and whether the owner was going to leave the pool up all season or drain it every few weeks.

What actually separates these two manufacturers at a given size is the pump flow rate relative to the water volume, and the liner construction underneath the printed pattern. A 15-foot Intex and a 15-foot Bestway can hold almost the same amount of water and still behave differently once the water turns cloudy on a hot week. I am going to walk through the sizes most people actually buy: 12-foot, 15-foot, 18-foot, and the 22-foot-and-up tier, using the current specs each manufacturer lists for their own products.

12-Foot Round Pools: Intex Easy Set vs Bestway Steel Pro MAX

At 12 feet, the Intex Easy Set is an inflatable ring top pool holding 1,485 gallons, and it ships with a 530 GPH cartridge filter pump. The specific Bestway Steel Pro MAX kit compared here, at the same 12-foot by 30-inch footprint, uses a steel frame instead of an inflatable ring, holds a bit more water at 1,710 gallons, and includes a 330 GPH cartridge pump, although other 12-foot Steel Pro MAX bundles sold under the same name have shown up with a different pump rating, which is exactly the kind of bundle variation covered further down this page. Using the rated pump flow, the Intex has a theoretical turnover of a little under three hours, while the specific Bestway kit compared here comes out to roughly five hours for one full cycle. Both theoretical figures fall inside the eight-hour comparison benchmark used in this article, but the gap is real, and it is the kind of thing a buyer standing in the store never sees on the box.

The tradeoff at this size is not really about filtration. It is about what you want out of a pool that small. The Intex packs down into a bag and stores in a closet, which matters if you are renting or only setting up for a few weekends. The Bestway steel frame is sturdier and holds up better if the pool is staying up for the whole season. Both pools are 30 inches deep, so the extra 225 gallons on the Bestway comes from how a straight-walled frame pool holds its shape better than an inflatable ring at the same footprint, giving a bit more usable water volume and more room for several swimmers rather than a real depth advantage.

Choose the Intex Easy Set if portability and quick teardown matter more than anything else. Choose the Bestway Steel Pro MAX if the pool is staying up for the season and you want the sturdier frame. Either way, this is the size where I would rather see a buyer choose based on how the pool will actually be used than on brand.

15-Foot Round Pools: The Closest Matchup in the Lineup

This is the size where the two brands get genuinely close. The Intex Metal Frame 15-foot by 48-inch pool holds 4,440 gallons and comes with a 1,000 GPH cartridge filter pump. The Bestway Steel Pro MAX 15-foot by 48-inch pool holds 4,231 gallons, close but not identical, and also ships with a 1,000 GPH filter pump. On the stock setup, both pools produce a theoretical turnover of a little over four hours based on the rated pump flow, which stays comfortably inside the eight-hour benchmark I use in the field for normal use.

So if the pump rating and the volume are nearly a wash, what actually decides the better 15-foot choice for most buyers is smaller and more practical than a spec sheet difference. Both use reinforced multi-layer liners, and in my experience, the difference in lifespan has more to do with UV exposure, winterization, water chemistry, and ground preparation than with the logo on the side. Replacement liners typically run somewhere in the low hundreds of dollars, depending on the exact model and whether you are replacing the liner alone or the full kit. If you want the extra couple hundred gallons of headroom for more swimmers, the Intex edges it. If you would rather have whichever set is cheaper or in stock locally, the Bestway is just as sound a pick, and at this size I would tell a buyer to stop hunting for a spec advantage that barely exists and decide on price and availability instead. For the full pump and filter comparison between brands across every size tier, that breakdown covers the flow rate math in more depth than fits here.

18-Foot Round Pools: Where the Two Lineups Diverge

At 18 feet, I tell buyers to slow down, because the current Bestway lineup does not sell an 18-foot round pool under the old Power Steel name anymore. What Bestway offers today at this footprint is the APX 365, an 18-foot by 52-inch round pool holding 6,869 gallons with a 1,600 GPH sand filter pump, built with a heavier-duty steel frame and a liner designed to stay assembled year round in most climates. The Intex equivalent is the Ultra XTR 18-foot by 52-inch round pool, holding 6,981 gallons with a 2,100 GPH sand filter pump. On paper, both numbers clear the turnover benchmark easily. The Bestway produces a theoretical turnover of a little over four hours and the Intex a little over three, based on the rated pump flow rather than measured system performance, so the advertised specs suggest neither needs an upgrade out of the box for normal use.

The bigger difference at 18 feet is what each brand is optimizing for. The Bestway APX 365 is built to be left up through winter in most climates, which changes the maintenance conversation entirely since you are not draining and storing it every fall. The Intex Ultra XTR is a warm-weather seasonal pool with a stronger stock pump flow rating. Both use heavier-duty frame systems with reinforced liners. In my experience, this liner class can hold up better than lighter seasonal sets, but actual lifespan varies widely with sun exposure, chemistry, ground preparation, and winter care. Replacement cost climbs with the size. If your yard gets real winters and you were planning to drain the pool anyway, that difference in intended use matters more than either spec sheet.

22- to 24-Foot Round Pools: Where Intex Offers the Larger Option

Once you get past 18 feet, the lineups stop lining up evenly. Bestway’s APX 365 tops out at 22 feet by 52 inches, holding 10,668 gallons with a 2,200 GPH sand filter pump, a theoretical turnover of just under five hours on paper. Intex keeps going past that with the Ultra XTR available at 24 feet by 52 inches round, holding 12,481 gallons and shipping with a 2,800 GPH sand filter pump, and Intex also offers rectangular Ultra XTR options up to 32 feet by 16 feet for buyers who want more swimmable footprint without going wider on one axis. If you are set on the largest backyard footprint in this category, Intex simply has one more size tier that Bestway does not currently match with a round pool.

Size is not the only thing that changes at this tier, though. In my experience, Intex has a deeper and more consistent parts network for these larger frame pools, which matters more here than at 12 or 15 feet because a torn liner or a failed pump on a 10,000-plus gallon pool is not something most owners want to sit on for weeks waiting for a part. Bestway is usually more competitive on price at the sizes where both brands still compete, but sourcing a specific replacement part outside of peak season can take longer. For the full spare parts picture across both brands, how spare parts availability differs by brand goes into more detail than fits in a size-by-size comparison.

These are theoretical numbers based on gallons divided by the rated pump flow printed on the box, not a measured system turnover, since actual system flow is usually a bit lower once hoses and filter resistance are factored in. Even accounting for that gap, the rated flow on every set compared here suggests a full turnover well inside eight hours. Read across the table and the pattern holds: the differences that matter are smaller and more specific than “Intex is better” or “Bestway is better,” which is exactly why the model number ends up mattering more than the logo on the box.

Why Diameter Alone Is Not Enough

Everything above is grouped by diameter because that is how most people search and shop, but diameter alone does not fully describe a pool. The same nominal size and line name can ship in more than one kit. Wall height is the most common split, a 15-foot pool might be sold at 42, 48, or even a different depth depending on the exact set, and that changes both the gallon capacity and which replacement liner fits. While pulling the numbers for this comparison, I found listings for the same nominal 12-foot Bestway Steel Pro MAX kit showing a 330 GPH pump on one retailer’s current listing and a 530 GPH pump on another, which almost certainly reflects two different kit configurations sold under the same size and line name rather than a single fixed spec.

That is exactly why I keep coming back to the model number instead of the size on the box. Two pools that both get called “the 15-foot Bestway” in casual conversation can be different kits with different pumps, different accessory bundles, and different liner part numbers. Before you buy, or before you go looking for a replacement part, check the specific set name and wall height on the actual listing or box in front of you rather than assuming every pool with the same diameter and brand name is identical.

The One Rule That Holds at Every Size

Whichever brand you land on, write down the exact model information at the time of purchase, and keep the pool identity separate from the pump identity. Liner replacements are matched to the pool set, while filter cartridges and pump seals are matched to the pump itself, and I have seen this trip up more first-time buyers than any spec on this page.

A short checklist covers most of what actually needs recording before the box goes in the recycling bin:

• The pool set name and SKU from the box or packaging label, used to order the correct replacement liner or frame part
• The pool diameter and wall height together, since brands reuse names across slightly different sizes
• The pump model number printed on the pump housing itself, used to order the correct cartridge, sand, or seal kit
• Whether the pump is a cartridge type or a sand filter type, since replacement parts differ completely
• The filter cartridge type letter, if applicable, since Intex alone uses several different letter designations

For the wider picture on how Intex and Bestway stack up beyond just size, the complete Intex versus Bestway comparison pulls the brand-level pattern together, and the broader above ground pool buying breakdown covers sizing decisions before you even get to brand.

Final Thoughts: Pick the Size First, Then Compare the Actual Models

If there is one thing I want a reader to walk away with, it is that Intex vs Bestway by size is really four or five separate, narrower decisions rather than one brand-loyalty question. At 12 feet the choice is about portability versus sturdiness. At 15 feet the specs are close enough that price and availability should decide it. At 18 feet the two brands are no longer building the same kind of pool. One leans seasonal, while the other is designed to stay up year round. Past 18 feet, Intex simply offers a size option Bestway does not currently match with a round pool.

Match the pump rating to the gallons, note the liner type, and write down the exact set name and pump model before you forget which pool is actually sitting in your backyard.

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