16 Best Massage Guns, for Every Budget

If you haven’t tried percussive therapy, where have you been? The best massage guns are all over Instagram – hit #recovery and you’ll find everyone from boxers to runners pummelling their muscles in the quest for peak performance.

They may look intense, but they’re a super effective tool for bringing tired muscles back to life. In the age of self-care, this science-backed method increases blood flow and loosens up tight spots, ideal for combatting DOMS and making your rest days work as hard as you are (it’s only fair, right?).

What Is the Best Massage Gun?

The Men’s Health Lab put a ton of top tools to the test to find the best massage guns you can buy. Our Men’s Health editors have also chipped in with their own suggestions after using percussive therapy to recover from home HIIT sessions and sub-optimal WFH conditions.

Why Should I Buy a Massage Gun?

Invest in a high-quality massage gun and you can use it before training, to prime your muscles for a session, or post-workout to ward off any potential DOMS. It’ll help you recover faster, boost your circulation and lymphatic drainage, increase your flexibility and extend your range of motion – ultimately improving your performance across the board. Think of it as foam rolling turned up to eleven.

“Theragun Percussive Therapy has a variety of benefits from aiding in preventing body aches and pains, greatly reducing muscle tension in seconds, increasing mobility and range of motion, increasing blood flow to the area to reduce soreness, tightness and pain,” explains Dr Jason Wersland, chiropractor and Therabody founder. “It can assist with accelerating the repair and growth of tissues.”

How Do I Use a Massage Gun?

It’s the definition of simple. Just point the gun at your fleshy target – around an inch away from your skin over whichever muscle you’re trying to loosen or warm up – and hit the trigger for instant relief.

Move slowly up and down the length of the muscle for around 30 seconds – if you find a particularly sore spot (or ‘trigger point’), spend a little more time on it, but there’s no need to apply more pressure. Try not to wince.

Keep your gun away from your neck (decapitation ain’t the aim here lads) and avoid bone and any sprains. Start on the lowest setting and build up once you get the hang of it. Don’t overdo it – a few minutes at a time is plenty – or your muscles may end up sorer.

What Should I Look for in a Massage Gun?

When you’re browsing the best massage guns, ideally your purchasing priorities should centre on noise, battery life and quality.

Generally, a higher price tag will indicate a more reliable product and, when fully charged, a decent massage gun should go for a few days to a week without a charge, based on around 15 minutes’ use per day.

Men’s Health Lab Approved

Our expert at the Men’s Health Lab tested the mettle of the best massage guns on the market. And, as the list below shows, they were more than up to the challenge.

Each massage gun was trialled for a three-week period, used to prime and recover our expert’s muscles around their fitness-filled schedule of weightlifting, HIIT, running, yoga and more.

They were judged on how easy they were to control, the impact they had on sore muscles, their ability to move across skin and muscle smoothly, and the effectiveness of the interchangeable massage heads they came with. The design (how ergonomic the handle was), portability and any other innovative features were also taken into consideration when deciding the final hierarchy. You’ll find our winning massage guns have the Men’s Health Lab Approved logo below.

However, our MH recommendations don’t end there. Our editors have also shared which massage guns soothed their legs and loosened their lumbars after some challenging gym sessions.

So, if you’re ready to banish your foam roller for good, read on as we’ve picked a total of 16 of the best massage guns money can buy. Allow us to drill into the details…