Airsoft vs Paintball

Looking for a fun activity to do with your friends this weekend and can’t decide between paintball or airsoft? Well, we are here to make this process easier for you by listing down all features of both of these games. We are also going to make Airsoft vs Paintball comparison and providing you the pros and cons of each. Through this, you can make an informed decision and choose the one that best suits your preferences.

Difference Between Airsoft and Paintball – A Detailed Review

What is Airsoft

Airsoft is a player vs. player competitive combat simulation game that involves players using BB guns to shoot each other. Once a player is hit by a BB from the gun, they lose, and the objective of the game is to eliminate the opposing players. It can be played either in teams or as a free for all game. One of the distinct characteristics of Airsoft is that as it is a military simulation game, the way the weapons look and operate is quite realistic.

What is Paintball

Just like airsoft, paintball is also a competitive game that involves shooting. Although it has one unique feature, that is, it uses paint pellets as bullets. And so, when the pelt hits a person, it splatters their suit with paint. Through this, you can keep an account of who is still in the game and who has been eliminated. In paintball, players need to wear armor to protect themself from getting hurt and to minimize the staining on their clothes.

Airsoft VS Paintball Comparison

Airsoft and Paintball are quite similar in terms of gameplay, as they both require strategizing, teamwork, and shooting the opposing player. Yet, they have multiple features that make them distinct from each other. One of those is the element of realism. Airsoft features more realistic weaponry that includes pistols, machine guns, sniper and assault rifles, and so on.

Cost-wise, airsoft is much cheaper than paintball, especially when it comes to the ‘ammunition’ This is because paintball ammunition costs a lot more than BBs as they are fairly complex when compared to the little hard plastic BB pellets. Because of this, you can play a lot more airsoft games than paintball ones before having to buy more ammo.

When talking about the gameplay of each, it is a lot easier to keep track of the ‘alive’ and the eliminated players in paintball than airsoft. This is because, in paintball, the eliminated players are literally marked with paint. Airsoft, on the other hand, depends on the honor system, which means that after being hit, the players have to truthfully admit their defeat; otherwise, there is no proof of them losing.

When it comes to the pain factor, airsoft generally hurts less than paintball. This is because despite being fast, the BBs of the airsoft guns have less energy and therefore hurt less than paintballs. Furthermore, BBs have a smaller mass than paintballs which again makes them less painful. This is why airsoft players do not require the armor that paintball players do and usually just need a helmet and safety masks to protect the face and the eyes from the BBs.

Pros and Cons of Airsoft

Moving on from the differences of these both games, here are some pros and cons of each so that you can decide for yourself which of these is the better option for you. We will first talk about Airsoft. One of the pros of this game is that they offer better immersion in the game as the guns are quite realistic and function as real guns would. Another pro is that it is a lot cheaper than paintball as BBs are of extremely low cost.

Because of this, the amount of BBs that you will get for a certain price will last you multiple games, while the number of paintballs that you will get at that price would only last you one or two games. Airsoft is also less painful than paintball as the BBs are small and do not hit you with a lot of force, especially if you are playing in a large area. And lastly, Airsoft is also less messy than paintball, as it doesn’t leave paint stains on your skin and clothes.

But on the other hand, realistic airsoft guns can lead to dangerous misunderstandings in your everyday life. This is because it can give people the idea that you have actual arms and might get you into trouble. Furthermore, airsoft guns are less durable and can be difficult to maintain as they are much more complicated than paintball guns. Lastly, in airsoft, it is difficult to tell if someone is out or not, which makes it easy for people to cheat.

Pros and Cons of Paintball

When it comes to paintball, the first pro is that paintball usually has larger and more popular competitions and events than airsoft as it is a more popular sport. Also, as paintball uses balls of paint as ammunition, it stains the clothes of the players that are hit. This makes it easy to point out those who have been eliminated and those still in the game, leaving very little space for cheating.

Also, even though paintball guns are not as fancy or realistic as airsoft guns, they are quite easy to use. This is because they do not have many technical components and so are easy to reload and shoot from. Along with this, the guns are also quite tough, and since they are all usually gas-powered, they are easy to maintain as you don’t have a lot of technical parts to care for. And due to the simple build of paintball guns, you can easily locate any issue and fix it.

But paintball also has some downsides; one of them is that it is quite messy. And while this is an advantage during the gameplay, it can get tedious to get the stain out from your clothes and skin. Also, paintballs hurt more than airsoft BBs. This is because they have a larger mass, and they are shot with a lot more force. And lastly, playing paintball can get quite expensive as the ammo costs significantly higher than BBs.