Franklin Sports X-26 Pickleballs - Indoor - 12 Pack - USAPA Approved - Optic

The X-26 is Franklin's indoor ball, and this box holds twelve of them in optic yellow. It costs about $22 on Amazon, roughly $1.83 a ball. It's rated 4.0 stars from about 1,210 ratings.

What makes it an indoor ball

Franklin built the X-26 for wood and composite floors. It has 26 holes instead of the outdoor ball's 40, weighs 24 g against the X-40's 26 g, and has the same 74 mm diameter. It's a two-piece ball with beveled holes, and USA Pickleball approves it for indoor tournament play.

A lighter ball with bigger holes would get pushed around by wind outside. On a smooth gym floor there's no wind, and it gives the lower, more controlled bounce that indoor play needs. Our indoor vs outdoor pickleball balls guide explains the physics.

Who should buy the 12-pack

Anyone running regular indoor sessions: rec centers, school gyms, church halls, a group that rents a court on weeknights. Twelve balls is enough for a few courts going at once with spares.

It also helps if noise is a problem. Indoor balls are softer than outdoor ones, which takes some of the edge off the pop. That's not silence, though. The quiet pickleball balls guide covers foam options if the neighbors or the building manager need more than that.

Skip it if you play outdoors. Get the Franklin X-40 for that.

The rating gap

The 12-pack's 4.0 stars sit below the X-26 3-pack, which has 4.4 stars from about 1,660 ratings. The listing doesn't explain the difference. If you haven't played the X-26 on your floor, a 3-pack is a cheap way to check before ordering twelve.

What our price tracking shows

The usual price over three years was about $25.37, so $21.99 is below normal. This listing rarely goes on sale: it was 10% or more below its usual price on only about 5% of days.

When it does drop, it's around Black Friday. Over the 2025 Black Friday weekend it fell 40% to $13.79, about $1.15 a ball, the lowest we recorded. The highest was $34.98. If you can wait until late November, that's when it's worth watching.

For how the X-26 compares with every other ball we cover, see best pickleball balls. Clubs mixing indoor and outdoor stock should read the bulk buying guide.