Picking between a penny board vs skateboard sounds simple until you stand in front of both and realize they ride almost nothing alike. One is a small plastic cruiser you can stuff in a backpack. The other is a wood deck made for ollies, kickflips, and ramps. They look related, but they solve different problems — and choosing the wrong one is the fastest way to get frustrated and quit.

This guide breaks down what each board actually is, how they feel under your feet, what each one is good (and bad) at, and how to match the right board to your real-world plans. Whether you’re a parent buying a first board, a student looking for an easy ride to class, or an adult who wants to learn real skateboarding, you’ll leave knowing exactly which one to pick — and why.

1. What Is a Penny Board?

A penny board is a small plastic cruiser skateboard, usually about 22 inches long and 6 inches wide. The name comes from Penny Skateboards, the Australian brand founded in 2010 that made the modern plastic mini-cruiser popular. Today, “penny board” is often used as a generic term for any short plastic cruiser of similar shape, even when made by another brand.

The deck is molded plastic — not wood — with a slightly raised tail and a waffle-pattern grip surface molded into the top. It has standard skate trucks (usually 3″ wide), and soft 59mm wheels with a hardness around 78A–83A. That soft wheel is the key. It rolls smoothly over cracks, pebbles, and rough sidewalks that would stop a hard skate wheel cold.

The result is a board that feels playful, light, and quick to turn. It’s small enough to clip onto a backpack or tuck under an arm. That portability is why you see so many of them on college campuses and city streets.

Penny boards are best at one thing: short, smooth, casual rides. They’re not made for tricks, ramps, or rough terrain. The narrow deck gives your feet very little room, which is fun once you’re used to it but punishing at first.

2. What Is a Standard Skateboard?

A standard skateboard — sometimes called a popsicle, street, or trick board — is a wood deck typically 31″–32″ long and 7.5″–8.5″ wide. It’s made from 7 cross-laminated plies of maple, glued and pressed into a curved shape with two raised ends: the nose (front) and tail (back). Both ends curve up, which is what makes ollies and flip tricks possible.

The shape is symmetrical, the surface is covered in gritty griptape, and the deck has a deep concave — the curve from rail to rail that helps your feet lock in. You’ll find harder, smaller wheels (50–55mm, around 99A–101A) that are designed for sliding, popping, and skating smooth concrete at parks.

This is the board you see in skate parks, on staircases, and in every skateboarding video. It’s been the standard since the late 1980s, and the shape has barely changed because it works. Pros and beginners learning tricks both ride this same basic platform.

Skateboards are versatile. You can cruise on one (with softer wheels swapped in), bomb a hill, learn tricks, ride a bowl, or commute. The trade-off: hard wheels and a narrow truck-base mean rougher streets feel much rougher than they would on a cruiser.

3. Penny Board vs Skateboard: Side-by-Side

Before we dig into how they ride, here’s a clean spec comparison so you can see the differences in numbers. These are typical ranges for stock boards from major brands — custom builds vary.

4. Ride Feel: Wheels, Trucks, and Deck

This is where the two boards split hard. The difference isn’t just size — it’s the whole personality of the ride.

Wheels do most of the work

Soft penny board wheels (78A–83A) act like tiny shock absorbers. They squish slightly over rough concrete, swallow small cracks, and hold momentum on bumpy pavement. Hard skateboard wheels (99A+) are made for the opposite job — they slide cleanly on smooth park concrete, pop crisply off ledges, and don’t absorb energy when you ollie. Roll a hard wheel over a pebble and it can stop you cold.

Trucks change how it turns

Penny boards usually come with looser, narrower trucks that let you carve sharply with little body movement. Skateboard trucks are tighter and wider, giving stability for landing tricks and bombing slight hills. If you’ve only ridden a regular skateboard, the first time you push on a penny board feels almost too quick — every weight shift turns the board.

Deck width changes your stance

On an 8.0″ skateboard, your feet have room to settle into a comfortable stance. On a 6″-wide penny board, your toes and heels hang off the rails. That’s part of the charm for cruisers — but it also means you have to be more precise with foot placement, especially at speed.

5. Tricks and Skill Progression

If your goal is to learn skateboarding — real ollies, kickflips, grinds, and skatepark tricks — a penny board will hold you back. The hard truth: it’s not what they’re built for.

Penny boards can do basic flat-ground tricks. You can practice manuals (riding on two wheels), kick turns, tic-tacs, and even a low shuvit. But the small plastic deck doesn’t pop the way a wood tail does. Ollies feel weak. Flip tricks won’t land cleanly because there’s no proper concave to lock your feet in. And the slick plastic top means your shoes don’t grip mid-trick the way they do on griptape.

A standard skateboard, by contrast, is the trick-learning tool the entire industry has been refining for 40 years. The wood pops, the concave guides your feet, the hard wheels slide on rails, and the symmetrical shape means you can ride switch (opposite stance) without thinking. Every skatepark, every spot, every trick tutorial assumes you’re on this kind of board.

Bottom line: penny board for fun, skateboard for skill. If “learning to skate” is anywhere on your list, get the skateboard.

6. Portability and Commuting

Here’s where penny boards shine. At about 3 pounds and only 22 inches long, they slip into most backpack side pockets, fit under desks, and weigh almost nothing if you have to carry them up stairs. The plastic deck doesn’t soak up rain like wood, and you don’t need to baby them.

Standard skateboards are roughly twice the weight and won’t fit inside any normal backpack. You either carry them under your arm, clip them to a board strap, or live with awkward dangling. For a five-minute walk-and-roll across campus, a penny is faster door-to-door because you spend less time wrestling the board.

That said, “commuting” has a ceiling. Anything over a mile, anywhere with hills, or any neighborhood with sidewalk cracks bigger than a finger — and a penny board becomes punishing. The small wheels lock up easily, and your feet ache from the narrow stance after 15 minutes. For real distance commuting, a longboard or a 28″+ cruiser is the right tool. Internal link suggestion: link to your “best longboards for commuting” article on hoverboardsguide.com.

7. Stability, Safety, and Learning Curve

For total beginners, a regular skateboard is usually the safer first board, despite its bigger reputation for tricks. Here’s why: the wider deck gives your feet more landing room, and the concave guides your stance so you don’t roll an ankle off the side as easily. Falling off a board you can’t balance is more dangerous than falling off a board you can.

Penny boards have a steeper learning curve for adults specifically because of the narrow deck. Kids do fine — small feet fit. Adult feet hang off the edges, which means a wobble can become a fall fast. Once your balance clicks, penny boards are a blast. Until then, expect some sketchy moments.

Whichever you ride, the safety basics don’t change. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC.gov) reports tens of thousands of skateboard-related ER visits per year, and most serious injuries involve no helmet. Wear:

• Helmet — non-negotiable, for both boards.
• Wrist guards — wrists take the brunt of beginner falls.
• Knee and elbow pads — especially while learning.
• Closed-toe shoes — flat-soled skate shoes grip best.

For more on protective gear that holds up to real impacts, our guide to skateboarding safety equipment for beginners on hoverboardsguide.com walks through what each piece actually prevents.

8. Which One Should You Choose?

Forget price and looks for a second. Match the board to what you’ll actually do with it.

If you’re still split, ask yourself one question: “Will I ever want to ollie or drop in at a skatepark?” If yes — even a maybe-someday yes — get the skateboard. You can always swap in soft cruiser wheels for everyday rolling. You can’t turn a penny board into a trick board.

9. Common Misconceptions

Plenty of bad advice floats around online about both boards. Let’s clear up the worst of it.

Myth 1: “Penny boards are easier because they’re smaller.”
Smaller doesn’t mean easier. Narrower decks demand more precise balance. Most adult beginners find a standard skateboard easier to stand on, not harder.

Myth 2: “Plastic decks are weak and break fast.”
Modern penny boards use injection-molded polypropylene that flexes without cracking. They’re remarkably durable for cruising. They will snap if you try to ollie down stairs — but that’s a misuse problem, not a quality problem.

Myth 3: “Skateboards are only for tricks.”
Swap the hard wheels for 78A softies and a regular skateboard cruises just fine. Many riders use one board for everything by keeping a second wheel set on hand.

Myth 4: “Penny boards are toys, not real skateboards.”
They’re a different tool, not a worse one. The penny board has a real skating heritage that goes back to 1970s plastic boards like the Bahne and Stoker. Calling it a toy is like calling a road bike a toy because it’s not a mountain bike.

Related Concepts Worth Knowing

• Longboards — 33″+ boards built for downhill, distance, and dancing. (Internal link: hoverboardsguide.com/longboard-vs-skateboard)
• Cruisers — broad category that includes penny boards plus wood mini-cruisers in the 27″–32″ range.
• Wheel durometer (A-scale) — measures hardness. 78A = soft and cushy, 101A = hard and slidy.
• Concave — the side-to-side curve of a deck that helps your feet grip without thinking.
• Electric alternatives — if you want effortless commuting, see our electric skateboard buyer’s guide on hoverboardsguide.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Summary: Penny Board vs Skateboard

Further Reading

• Longboard vs Skateboard: Which One Fits You? — hoverboardsguide.com
• Complete Skateboard Buying Guide — hoverboardsguide.com
• Skateboarding Safety Gear: What You Actually Need — hoverboardsguide.com
• CPSC Skateboard Safety — U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• International Association of Skateboard Companies — industry standards body