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Massage guns are often pitched at the highly active. They can help you warm up for workouts, accelerate recovery and generally keep things loose and injury-free. However, you don’t have to be training for an Ironman triathlon to benefit from a percussive pummelling. A good session can also alleviate the general soreness, stiffness and pain that comes from desk-bound days and the daily grind – all without having to cough up for a spell on a masseuse’s table or be handled by a stranger.
These personal-care power tools use rapid, repetitive pressure and vibrations to penetrate tired muscles, with a selection of heads, variable speeds and even automated routines to tailor treatments towards tight trouble spots. Dozens of massage guns are available from various brands, and you can spend anything from £50 to £500. But not all muscle massage guns are made equal.
To find out which gun massagers give the best bang for your buck, I spent two solid months giving myself DIY myofascial manipulation four times a day, over two testing periods. I tested the latest massage guns from the top brands while training two to four times a week. A good test to see if they could soothe my tired muscles and help me recover stronger.
Here’s my pick of the best massage guns you can buy right now.
At a glance
Why you should trust me
I’ve spent two decades testing the latest fitness gear and the best home exercise kit – including the first massage guns on the market – while also running more than 50 marathons and ultramarathons. I train most days, sometimes twice, regularly racking up more than 50 miles a week and occasionally running solo marathons. And I do it all in the name of testing running shoes and watches.
When I’m not working out, I sit hunched over a desk for hours on end, tapping out articles like this one. At almost 47, that’s the perfect recipe for full-body tightness. If anyone can benefit from percussive massage, it’s me.
How I tested
In addition to the nine massage guns I tested for the previous incarnation of this roundup, I’ve now put another nine through an intensive two-day test. This page has now been updated with the results from both testing periods, and my top picks from the 18 massagers I’ve tested.
Testing included a brief full-body, wake-up going over in the early morning, a pre-run or pre-training activation, and a short post-workout recovery session (and yes, you can use massage guns on your own – see below for more detail). I ended each day with a short wind-down rubdown, about an hour before bed. I am now officially the most massaged human on the planet.
I tried all the different head attachments, speed settings, heat and cold options, and I worked on my weak spots. As a daily runner, I suffer from all sorts of tightness: tight calves, quads, glutes and adductors – not to mention fatigued feet. I had plenty to work on. Anyone who came to my house over either testing period also got massaged.
I downloaded any available apps and followed the guided plans, checked whether the battery life largely lived up to the listed times, and used a decibel sound app to compare the loudness of each gun. After all that, I rated the gun massagers based on performance, ease of use, quietness, portability, staying power and overall value for money. Here are my top picks.
The best massage guns you can buy in 2026
Best massage gun overall:
Therabody Theragun Sense 2
Therabody
Theragun Sense 2
from £249
What we love
Easy to use with excellent guided app routines
What we don’t love
No heated massage
Therabody’s Theragun Sense 2 is a compact massage gun with easy-to-follow guided routines. These target tension and stress relief as much as soothing post-workout sore spots.
Why we love it
The midweight gun comes at a premium but takes top spot for its all-round quality. It’s well built, plenty powerful for tension-busting and brilliantly easy to use, taking the guesswork out of using it to the best effect.
It doesn’t quite have the pummel power of the biggest, hardest hitters like the Theragun Prime Plus below, but the depth is good enough for most, and you get the convenience and control of a smaller gun. I’m a big fan of Theragun’s familiar triangular grip, and the Sense 2’s skinnier handle makes it even easier to switch holds to hit hard-to-reach spots.
What really stands out are the guided routines. There are four expert-guided protocols built in to the gun (sleep prep, back pain, tension relief and lower leg recovery). A small LCD screen shows you exactly where to massage, for how long and with how much pressure. Alternatively, you can fire up the app to access dozens of set routines with video guidance and live pressure feedback. This makes it a doddle to use, although it lacks the automated speed changes you find on Therabody’s pricier guns. More dedicated fitness enthusiasts can also connect to Apple Health and Strava to get personalised recovery routines based on recent activity.
The five-speed Sense 2 matches the top speeds of the Prime Plus, but it won’t quite hit with the depth of those higher-amplitude, more recovery-focused guns. It’s still effective but won’t work big muscle groups with quite as much force. It comes with two heads: a dampener and a standard ball. I’d expect more for the price, although they’re a decent size.
I also loved that it’s quieter than the bigger guns. I got fewer side-eyes for using it while on the sofa watching TV.
It’s a shame that … it lacks the heated smarts of the pricier Theragun Prime Plus.
Weight: 886g
Amplitude: 12mm
Speed levels: five (1,750-2,500 RPM)
Quoted battery life: up to two hours
Attachments: two
Tested noise level: 27.9-69.6dB
App guidance: yes
Warranty: two years
Therabody
Theragun Sense 2
from £249
What we love
Easy to use with excellent guided app routines
What we don’t love
No heated massage
Best budget massage gun:
Renpho Active Thermacool 2
Renpho
Active Thermacool 2
£84.99
What we love
Good battery life and pummel power for the price tag
What we don’t love
No guided routines; heads can be fiddly to change
Renpho makes affordable massage guns that pummel above their price tag. The Thermacool 2 adds a hot and cold edge to its midweight massage powers. It might not have the AI smarts and app guidance of a Theragun or the slick aesthetics of a Hyperice, but Renpho’s mid-weight, pistol-grip massage gun delivers a lot for its sub-£100 price.
Why we love it
It ships with a competitive selection of five heads, including a flat heated/cooling attachment that flips rapidly from warming to 45C or cooling to 8C. The heat setting penetrates more effectively than the slightly weaker cold, offering some extra soothing to sore muscles when you use it on bare skin. One warning: the heads are somewhat fiddly to change.
For the size and power, it’s relatively light and easy to grip, with a soft silicone handle that’s pretty standard for these types of massage guns. It’s not as powerful as the top-tier guns, though. The 8mm amplitude means it can’t hit the muscles to the same depth as some of the more pro-level massage guns, but I could apply all the pressure I needed without causing it to stall. I eased tired quads, calves and back without any issues.
The big colour display makes it easy to keep tabs on the essential speed and temperature settings: no squinting at tiny fonts here. The three-hour battery life is right up there with the leading guns, and while it’s not the quietest device I tested, it’s not any noisier than many more expensive rivals.
The carry case is too bulky to stick in a gym bag and that, along with the bigger gun size, means it’s definitely a better at-home option. But for less than £100, it’s enough to help most of us bounce back quicker.
It’s a shame that … there are no guided routines or pressure sensor to help the uninitiated.
Weight: 667g
Amplitude: 8mm
Speed levels: five (1,800-3,200 RPM) KA confirmed range with PR
Quoted battery life: up to three hours
Attachments: five
Tested noise level: 54-71dB
App guidance: no
Warranty: two years
Renpho
Active Thermacool 2
£84.99
What we love
Good battery life and pummel power for the price tag
What we don’t love
No guided routines; heads can be fiddly to change
Best mini massage gun:
Therabody Theragun Mini
Therabody
Theragun Mini
from £199
What we love
Impressively powerful for its ultra portable size
What we don’t love
The carry case is bizarrely small
Theragun’s most compact pummeller is small but still mighty, with the connected smarts of pricier guns. This is the one to choose if you want to unleash percussive massage powers anywhere – at your desk, on a plane or at the marathon finish line.
Why we love it
For a mini massage gun, the second-generation Theragun Mini is pricey. But while it may empty your bank account as rapidly as it relieves your muscles, there is value here. This powerful Bluetooth-connected compact gun is pleasingly simple and impressively powerful for its size.
What stands out from rival cheaper mini guns is the guidance. If you’re unsure about how best to use your knot buster, you get the same access to dozens of preset, guided routines that come with Theragun’s pricier models.
These routines cover everything from alleviating hip pain to walks and parkrun warm-ups. There are recovery drills to fend off post-workout muscle soreness after an upper/lower body session and if, like me, you suffer late-night leg cramps, there’s one for that, too.
The triangular shape bucks the standard design in a bid to improve the grip, but I had mixed success with it. It’s not the easiest to hold for some areas or for applying more pressure.
However, I was impressed by the depth and strength of the massage. The 12mm amplitude is good for a mini gun, while the three preset speeds offer a good range. I also loved being able to fine-tune the percussions a minute in the app, unlocking speeds between those fixed presets.
You get only three head attachments – a standard ball, a dampener and a thumb. Some minis offer up to five, but these covered most of what I needed – from foot-soothing plantar to the calves and tighter spots on my back. A fork attachment for working deep around the spine and neck was the only thing I missed.
Overall, you’re getting excellent portability in a travel-friendly package that’s great for sticking in a gym bag, post-marathon drop bag or your carry-on. I loved having this by my desk for some forearm and hand massage.
It’s a shame that … it’s bizarrely hard to squeeze everything into the small carry case.
Weight: 450g
Amplitude: 12mm
Speed settings: three (1,750-2,400 RPM)
Quoted battery life: up to two hours 30 minutes
Attachments: three
Tested noise level: 47-61dB
App guidance: yes
Warranty: two years
Therabody
Theragun Mini
from £199
What we love
Impressively powerful for its ultra portable size
What we don’t love
The carry case is bizarrely small
Best massage gun for portability and power:
Hyperice Hypervolt 2
Hyperice
Hypervolt 2
from £189.99
What we love
Really easy to grip with automated speed control
What we don’t love
No carry case included or USB-C charging
The Hyperice Hypervolt 2 is a sleek, mid-weight all-rounder with a big library of app-guided massage routines, competitive battery life and enough pummel power for most home users.
Why we love it
There’s a happy simplicity and a competent swagger to the Hyperice Hypervolt 2. It combines a sleek, durable build with plenty of practicality and smarts, including automated speed control, real-time guided routines, a pressure sensor and a long battery life. That all adds up to one of the best-value mid-range guns, hitting the sweet spot for most casual users.
The compact Hypervolt 2 is more portable than the pro guns, but it still gave a deep massage thanks to a brushless, high-torque 60W motor. There’s plenty of quiet power at your disposal, and I had no trouble working my bigger muscle groups.
There’s a good selection of easy-to-swap attachments, too – five in total – including fork, ball, cushion, flat and bullet. They happily come in their own carry case, although strangely, there’s no case for the main gun.
If you find some girthy guns hard to grip, the thinner but wider, rubberised handle is more natural. And though the Hypervolt 2 is heavier than mini guns, it’s no harder to use.
An excellent option for mostly home use with the occasional trip in a travel bag.
It’s a shame that … the app isn’t as intuitive as Theragun’s, and there’s no carry case for the gun or USB-C charging.
Weight: 820g
Amplitude: not listed
Speed levels: three (RPM not listed)
Quoted battery life: up to three hours
Attachments: five
Tested noise level: 25-82dB
App guidance: yes
Warranty: one year
Hyperice
Hypervolt 2
from £189.99
What we love
Really easy to grip with automated speed control
What we don’t love
No carry case included or USB-C charging
The best of the rest
Therabody Theragun Prime Plus
Therabody
Theragun Prime Plus
from £399
What we love
Offers the best graduated, muscle-penetrating warmth
What we don’t love
It’s very pricey
Best for: deep heated massage
The midweight Prime Plus is a powerful top-tier gun with an excellent partner app, four heads (including hot/cold heads) and five speed levels. This brilliant deep tissue massage gun works muscles with a bit more pummel power and depth than the Sense 2, and there’s no better option for bringing heat to your rub downs. But those nice-to-have extras come at a significant premium.
The Prime Plus has a robust, durable design that’s well thought out and makes it a doddle to wield the gun to the best effect. The tactile, triangle multi-grip handle makes it effortless to change the angle to hit hard-to-reach spots with plenty of knot-breaking power.
Meanwhile, the app-controlled treatments are excellent, with dozens of set video-guided routines, real-time pressure sensing and automated speed controls. You can also connect to Apple Health or Strava and get personalised routines recommended based on your activity.
It didn’t make the final cut because … it’s pricey! If you don’t care about heat or the extra power, the Theragun Sense 2 is a cheaper alternative.
Weight: 886g; amplitude: 16mm; speed levels: five (1,750-2,400 RPM); battery life: up to 2.5 hours; attachments: four; tested noise level: 25-73dB; app guidance: yes; warranty: one year
Therabody
Theragun Prime Plus
from £399
What we love
Offers the best graduated, muscle-penetrating warmth
What we don’t love
It’s very pricey
Renpho Reach
What we love
Extended handle is great for hitting hard-to-reach areas
What we don’t love
A bit plastic, lacking power and finesse
Best for: bad backs
The clue is in the name, but the Renpho Reach’s clever killer USP is a detachable handle extender that makes it much easier to reach tougher spots like shoulders and back. I wish all the other guns offered the same.
In terms of power, the Reach feels more like a mid-weight gun. It lacks the depth and penetration of the biggest hitters. Though automatic speed adjustments – that react to the pressure you apply – help to hit the sweet spot.
The four massage attachments (ball head, U-shaped head for spine, neck and achilles; flat head and bullet head for joint trigger points) are all quite hard and plastic. I prefer the softer coated heads on other guns. I also wanted a better grip-enhancing coating on handles. It’s all a bit shiny and slippery.
It didn’t make the final cut because … it’s great for hitting hard-to-reach areas and tries to offer a lot for the price, but the gun lacks power and finesse.
Weight: 750g; amplitude: 12mm; speed levels: five (1,600-2,800 RPM); quoted battery life: up to three hours; attachments: four; tested noise level: 41-71dB; app guidance: not specifically for this gun; warranty: 18 months for official website purchase
What we love
Extended handle is great for hitting hard-to-reach areas
What we don’t love
A bit plastic, lacking power and finesse
Hyperice Hypervolt Go 2
Hyperice
Hypervolt Go 2
from £119
What we love
Punchy and portable with impressive staying power
What we don’t love
Only two heads, no carry case or connected smarts
Best for: a mid-weight massager
Punchy and portable, the Hypervolt Go 2 is a gym-bag-friendly smooth operator with an angled handle for better control. Despite its size, I was impressed by the strength and staying power of this three-speed gun. It’s a step up from the mini guns, giving plenty of soothing pressure. You can really work the toughest, most resistant areas without stalling.
It only ships with two interchangeable heads – a larger flat and a bullet head. There’s no pressure sensor, and it lacks connected app smarts, although you can still follow guided massage routines in the app. The routine library isn’t as well organised or as comprehensive as Theragun’s, though, with some odd esoteric names such as “Cooldown glide flush”.
It didn’t make the final cut because … it comes with only two heads, there’s no carry case and it lacks connected smarts.
Weight: 680g; amplitude: not listed; speed levels: three (RPM not listed); quoted battery life: up to three hours; attachments: two; tested noise level: 23-86dB; app guidance: yes, but not connected; warranty: one year
Hyperice
Hypervolt Go 2
from £119
What we love
Punchy and portable with impressive staying power
What we don’t love
Only two heads, no carry case or connected smarts
Renpho Mini Thermal Massage Gun 2026
Renpho
Mini Thermal Massage Gun 2026
£89.99
What we love
Good value for a heated-head gun
What we don’t love
Bulky carry case isn’t gym bag friendly
Best for: lightweight relief
This update to Renpho’s mini thermal massage gun shoots for portability and value, and its improved grip makes it even easier to wield. You’ll struggle to find a cheaper heated-head gun, even if that warmth from the smaller heads is quite mild – think a cup of tea that’s cooling down rather than a fresh mug. It’s solid for a smaller gun, though.
It offers four speeds with a decent top speed and 50lb of stall force, but it won’t take heavy pressure. The four smaller cover-style heads are light and easy to transport: great for more sensitive areas, but not as powerful or penetrating on your big muscle groups as the Theragun Mini.
It’s light even for a mini gun, slimmer and easier to hold than the Bob & Brad Q2 Ultra and the Theragun Mini. I loved how easy it was to use, with a soft, grid-textured silicone casing that’s really grippy. You can swap between two different colour sleeves to personalise your gun, which I found handy for cleaning and durability.
It didn’t make the final cut because … although the gun itself is travel-friendly, the bulky protective carry case was too much for my gym bag.
Weight: 378g; amplitude: 6mm; speed levels: four (1,800-3,000 RPM); quoted battery life: up to four hours; attachments: four; tested noise level: 41.6-72.1dB; app guidance: no; warranty: one year
Renpho
Mini Thermal Massage Gun 2026
£89.99
What we love
Good value for a heated-head gun
What we don’t love
Bulky carry case isn’t gym bag friendly
Bob & Brad Q2 Ultra
Bob & Brad
Q2 Ultra
£79.98
What we love
Good choice of smaller heads for hitting smaller tight spots
What we don’t love
It only does hot, there’s no cold head
Best for: a mini massage gun that offers soothing heat
The infrared-heat-packing Q2 Ultra is slightly heavier than the Renpho Mini Thermal, but it’s still compact, gym-bag friendly (without the bulky case) and easy to use. The soft silicone grip feels nice and luxe, and the handle is well suited to smaller hands.
The Q2 Ultra uses a combination of infrared waves and heat. The heat isn’t powerful enough to penetrate gym gear, but it added a soothing touch when I used it on bare skin. I’m not convinced it improved my recovery more than a regular massage gun, though. It ships with a good range of heads, which are all as small as you’d expect on a mini gun. As with other minis, that’s great for hitting smaller tight spots such as plantar and lower calves, but less effective at getting stuck into the bigger muscles like your quads.
It didn’t make the final cut because … there’s no cold head.
Weight: 430g; amplitude: 7mm; speed levels: five (1,800-3,000 RPM); quoted battery life: up to three hours; attachments: five; tested noise level: 22.7-83.8dB; app guidance: no; warranty: two years
Bob & Brad
Q2 Ultra
£79.98
What we love
Good choice of smaller heads for hitting smaller tight spots
What we don’t love
It only does hot, there’s no cold head
Power Plate Pulse
Power Plate
Pulse
from £199
What we love
The punchy, pro-level massage hits deep and goes long
What we don’t love
Heavy and harder to wield. Carry case is also huge
Best for: big pummel power on a budget
With a wide selection of six speeds, six heads and a top-class six-hour battery life, Powerplate is a capable, heavy-duty knot buster. At nearly 1kg, with a carry case the size of a small briefcase, it’s good for home use but bulky to be truly portable.
However, the extra bulk has a purpose: delivering a punchy, pro-level massage that hits deep. It’s not as ergonomic as many of the guns I tested, but the reward for managing the weight is top levels of percussive power and a good, strong massage that can target just about everything, from your sensitive plantar to an irritable iliotibial band.
It’s surprisingly quiet for such a big gun, and it comes with interchangeable plug adaptors if you ever decide to haul it on your travels.
It didn’t make the final cut because … it’s not as ergonomic or easy to wield, and the carry case is huge.
Weight: 980g; amplitude: 12mm; speed levels: six (1,300-2,800 RPM); quoted battery life: up to six hours; attachments: six; tested noise level: 46.9-89.1dB; app guidance: no; warranty: one year
Power Plate
Pulse
from £199
What we love
The punchy, pro-level massage hits deep and goes long
What we don’t love
Heavy and harder to wield. Carry case is also huge
What you need to know
What makes a good massage gun?
You can spend anywhere between £50 and £500+ on a massage gun, but you might not need to shell out top whack to get a percussive device that best suits your needs. Here’s how to suss out your priorities.
When you’re choosing the best massage gun, one of the most important things to consider is the combination of amplitude and speed.
Amplitudes – essentially how deeply the head penetrates the muscle – can range from 6mm to 16mm, with speeds anywhere from 1,250-3,000 RPM. Top-end (and bigger) massage guns commonly offer higher amplitudes, faster top speeds and more speed settings so you can fine-tune your therapy. In other words, they’ll give you a harder-hitting massage but also more flexibility.
It’s worth noting the stall force, too. Guns with a higher stall force can withstand more pressure before cutting out, sometimes offsetting a lower amplitude.
Another big consideration is portability. The most powerful guns tend to be bulkier and tip the scales to more than 1kg. Mini massage guns, meanwhile, trade massage power for their gym-bag-stashing ability. The smaller guns can also be easier to handle.
If you live alone and you’re wondering if you can still use a massage gun, the answer is yes. The smaller guns can be easier to handle while triangular-handled models tend to offer more varied ways to grip the gun, making DIY treatments – reaching the hard spots – that little bit easier. However there are some spots, like the middle of your back, that are tricky for most guns unless you’ve got a willing helper.
When it comes to battery life, most guns now charge via USB-C and offer between two-and-a-half and four hours on a single charge. A decent massage gun should last for a few days to a week, based on 15 to 30 minutes of use a day.
Finally, the more advanced massage guns now offer clever extras such as heated heads and app-connected routines with automatic speed controls, pressure sensors and video guidance to take the guesswork out of your treatments.
Do massage guns work and are they good for you?
Massage guns are still a relatively new phenomenon, but they’ve become increasingly popular. So do they actually work? That depends on what you’re hoping for.
The research is still limited, but there’s a growing body of evidence to support the claimed benefits of a good pummelling, particularly for flexibility, recovery and general relaxation.
One 2023 systematic review found that massage guns were effective at boosting blood flow, reducing muscle tension and soreness, enhancing recovery and promoting relaxation. Those who used percussive therapy also appeared to have an improved range of motion.
However, the same review concluded that when it comes to strength, balance, acceleration, agility and explosive activities, they “either did not have improvements or they even showed a decrease in performance”. So, while being more flexible and recovering faster may help boost your performance in the broad sense, there’s little evidence to suggest massage guns can make you sprint faster or jump higher.
How to use a massage gun
The best massage guns come with partner apps to walk you through the tekkers, with advice on which heads to use to target different areas of the body, best speeds, technique and duration for each routine. My pro tip: even if your cheaper gun doesn’t, the apps tend to be free, so you can still download, follow and quickly learn how to optimise your time under the gun.
As a rule of thumb, less is more. To activate muscles pre-workout, a quick 30-second pulse at a faster speed works well. Rotating through muscle groups for two to three minutes is sufficient to unlock the recovery benefits post-exercise. In fact, many guns come with 10-minute automated cutoffs to prevent overuse. It also pays to start with gentle pressure and slower speeds and move up, tuning into what your body tells you.
Some words of caution: if you’re injured, experiencing muscle pain beyond the normal post-workout grumbles or nerve discomfort, seek professional help before ploughing into those painful areas.
Expectant mothers also need to approach with care. While regular massage has been shown to relieve some pregnancy-related discomfort, there’s no specific research on the positive or negative effects of percussive massage. So it’s highly recommended that you consult your doctor before using a massage gun.
For more:
The best running shoes for men and women
The best treadmills, tested
The best fitness tech and gadgets, according to experts
Kieran Alger is a running, fitness and health journalist who splits his time between testing, training and tapping out reviews
