The Best Foot Massagers of 2024 (2024)

A good foot massage is heaven on earth. Whether it’s simply a way to unwind after a tough day or a means of therapeutic recovery, treating your feet is one of life’s purest pleasures and a great way to appreciate all that we depend on them to do for us.

Our experts have been writing about footwear, fitness tech, massage devices, and other gadgets for over a quarter century. During that time, personal massage products have gone from being nice-to-have luxuries to must-have gear for use before, during, and after our adventures.

For this buyer’s guide, we conducted online research and identified the leading foot massagers ranging in price from $23 to $999. After careful consideration, we narrowed down the candidates and tested them in real-world conditions.

Below are the best foot massagers based on our testing. To help you more easily find the best massager for your feet, we’ve included a comparison chart, a buyer’s guide, and a section.

Editor’s Note: For our November 18, 2024, update, we added the excellent Hyperice Normatec Elite compression boots, as well as a Price & Value section.

  • Weight: 25 lbs.
  • Vibration: Yes
  • Heat: Yes
  • Massage Style: Kneading, rolling
  • Dimensions: 18 in. x 18 in. x 17.5 .in

Pros

  • Nice foot and calf coverage
  • Several modes and intensities
  • Blends kneading and rolling with pulsing vibration
  • Adjustable tilt
  • Removable, washable sleeves

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Bulky and heavy
  • Awkward hot air mode

Scott Tharler

We went into testing the Humantouch Reflex SOL Foot and Calf Massager ($349) with high hopes. After all, Humantouch’s five-figure top-tier chairs integrate foot and calf therapy into their ridiculously thorough repertoires. Suffice it to say, our high hopes were justified.

Before we attempt to describe how good a massage this thing delivers, a quick word about the setup. In addition to a power button on top with the rest of the controls, it has a power switch in the back (presumably to save electricity when not being used), which took a beat to find, but no worries after that. Also, to counter the product’s natural tilt, we engaged the handy adjustable tilt bar underneath, allowing us to relax and sink back into our chair of choice.

Ready to go, we cycled through a few of the programs. The two modes marked “manual” just continuously repeat the same motions — which feel good, with nice rolling underfoot, soothing pneumatic compression on both sides of the feet, and rolling behind the mid-calves. The three “automatic” modes incorporate staccato pulsations in the compression and abrupt starts and stops in the movements, which took a little getting used to, but we did.

Turning on the vibrations in an automatic mode is where things really got interesting. It’s not just a constant mindless hum, but rather a vibration that changes in strength and duration along with the compression and rolling. To us, it made the whole program feel syncopated.

The biggest thing we didn’t like about this massager was its “warm air” mode. Living in a warm-weather climate, we didn’t have much need for it, but we pursued it anyway for the sake of being thorough. And we’re sorry we did, because it’s loud and cannot be disengaged without hitting the home button and starting over. (As opposed to the vibration that can be turned on/off at any point.)

Like the kind of massage therapist you’d eagerly return to on a regular basis, the Humantouch Reflex SOL Foot and Calf Massager provides a nice, thoughtful touch. It takes a soft yet firm approach and offers plenty of options.

  • Weight: 8 oz.
  • Vibration: No
  • Heat: No
  • Massage Style: Rolling
  • Dimensions: Ball diameter: 2.6 in., Rope length: 50 in.

Pros

  • Simple
  • Lightweight
  • Versatile
  • Inexpensive
  • Pocktable

Cons

  • Only hits a limited area at a time
  • No kneading, vibration or other mechanical massager features

Scott Tharler

It doesn’t get much simpler than the Tiger Ball 2.6 Massage-on-a-Rope ($29). It’s essentially a (hard) lacrosse ball with a hole and a rope that goes through it.

Mind you, it works just fine without the rope. In fact, when used solely on the feet, it’s better on its own. From a sitting or standing position, just put some weight on it and roll it around the underside of your foot.

If you like more pressure, you’ll want to stand up, so you can lean into it more. And you’ll probably want to use it on a harder floor, since carpet lessens its impact. But it’s a little easier to hit more precise spots on the front and sides of your feet while sitting down.

The rope is more handy if you intend to use it on other parts of your body, such as with your back up against a wall. But because it’s aglet-clad, the rope is easy enough to thread through the ball and remove when you don’t need it.

Easily the most useful and pocketable foot massager we tested, the Tiger Ball 2.6 Massage-on-a-Rope is an easy call for best bargain, due to its low price and great versatility.

  • Weight: 3.2 lbs. (per boot)
  • Vibration: No
  • Heat: No
  • Massage Style: Compression
  • Dimensions: Varies

Pros

  • Full leg massage
  • Cordless
  • 3 hour battery life
  • Excellent traction
  • 7 compression levels

Cons

  • Pricey
  • No vibration or heat

Scott Tharler

Okay, technically, these are full-leg massagers, but we love the Hyperice Normatec Elite ($999) so much that we had to add them to the list. These full-leg compression sleeves envelop your legs from hip to toe and provide different levels of compression to compress sore muscles after a hard workout or a long run.

According to Normatec, the sleeves deliver varying compression to five overlapping zones on your legs, mimicking the way your body moves blood in and out of your legs to help increase circulation, reduce muscle pain, and help aid your recovery.

Bottom line: These compression boots feel amazing. We’ve been testing these for months, throwing them on between events at CrossFit competitions, recovering after long runs, or just relaxing at the end of a long day. The compression is just shy of too much, which was perfect for getting the blood moving in our legs and getting us ready to move again.

We’ve tried other compression boots before, and one of the aspects that makes the Normatec Elite stand out is that they’re totally cordless. Instead of untangling a power cord and a bunch of air hoses, each boot comes with its own onboard air pump that you recharge with a USB-C cable.

You just slide them on, hit the power buttons, then enjoy your massage. The fact that they don’t need an outlet also makes these boots perfect for taking on the road to races and competitions.

At $999, these are very pricey, especially if you’re just looking for a foot massager. But if you’re an athlete who wants a top-tier leg (and foot) recovery device, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better one than the Normatec Elite.

  • Weight: 4 lbs., 1.6 oz.
  • Vibration: Yes
  • Heat: Yes
  • Massage Style: Water, bubbles, rolling
  • Dimensions: 15.7 in. x 13.4 in. x 6.7 in.

Pros

  • Water gets plenty hot
  • Selectable bubbles and/or vibration
  • Automatic timer
  • Electrically safe
  • Comes with pedicure tools

Cons

  • Takes a while to heat the water
  • Bubble mode is loud
  • Requires regular cleaning

Scott Tharler

Rather than kneading your feet with pneumatic compression, the Renpho Foot Spa Bath Core ($200) lavishes them with warm water and bubbles. In that way, it’s a welcome departure from all the other foot massagers on this list.

The big thing to get used to is the time it takes to heat up the water. Starting with water at 78 degrees Fahrenheit filled just over the minimum level, it took about 22½ minutes to heat it up by 30 degrees to a delightful 108 degrees Fahrenheit, our temperature of choice. (We heated it another 14 minutes to hit its max of 118 — despite the website’s claims of 125 degrees — but that was scalding hot, so we let it cool back down to 108.)

Hitting the spa button cycles through bubbles, bubbles with vibration, just vibration, and nothing (but soothing hot water). The rollers on the bottom offer some texture, but don’t provide a real satisfying rolling massage. It’s more about the spa experience.

Speaking of which, the pumice stone is positioned in a way that only your heels can benefit from it. But in case you’re itching to flay away unwelcome dead skin from the rest of your foot, Renpho provides a plastic case with a few pedicure tools for manual exfoliation.

The overall experience is very nice. It’s safe, thanks to a dedicated GFCI terminal on the power cord. The buttons are toe-tappable, as advertised. It has a selectable timer for auto-shutoff of durations up to an hour — which seems like an awfully long soak. And it beeps to tell you when it’s reached the desired temperature.

We wish the bubble mode wasn’t so loud that it could easily be heard in the next room. Only in that way, a mere bucket with salt and hot water might be better. But given all the functionality you can dial into the Renpho Foot Spa Bath Core and the fact that we’ve seen it recently on sale for as ridiculously low as $60, it seems like a great way to treat your feet.

  • Weight: 1 lb.
  • Vibration: No
  • Heat: No
  • Massage Style: Rolling
  • Dimensions: 5.5 in. x 2.5 in. x 2.5 in.

Pros

  • Compact and lightweight
  • Asymmetrical design hits varied plantar fascia
  • Can also be used as a small back roller
  • FDA-registered medical device
  • Affordable

Cons

  • Only treats one foot at a time

Scott Tharler

The Roll Recovery R3 Orthopedic Foot Roller ($35) looks like what would happen if a foot roller tried to swallow a lacrosse ball, only for it to get stuck partway. However, that asymmetrical nature is actually what makes the R3 special.

Not to be confused with the R1 (a percussive massager, also from Roll Recovery), the R3 combines the inherent curvature of a ball with the steadiness of a roller. The way one side of its iconic off-center bulge dips lower than the other means that after rolling out one foot, you can flip the device 180 degrees, roll that same foot again, and hit different spots.

We’ve used and enjoyed other foot rollers, such as the Tiger Footsie, but they just don’t address everything the R3 can. It’s a subtle but crucial design difference in targeting and stretching out the plantar fascia.

Truth be told, we don’t suffer from pain in that part of our foot. But it still feels good to roll our inner, middle, and outer feet from left to right as we roll the R3 back and forth. And then, as we said, flipping it around is key.

Based on our experience, the Roll Recovery R3 Orthopedic Foot Roller does everything it claims to do. It’s compact, stable, and feels great on the soft tissues of our feet as we roll them in every direction.

  • Weight: 1.6 oz.
  • Vibration: No
  • Heat: No
  • Massage Style: Acupressure
  • Dimensions: 16 in. x 15.5 in.

Pros

  • Exhilarating
  • Super easy to use
  • Great for those at sitting and/or standing desks
  • Extremely lightweight

Cons

  • One-trick pony
  • A little awkward to transport

Scott Tharler

None of the other foot massagers we’ve tried feel anything like the Tiger Tail Acupressure Energy Mat ($30). In fact, it’s a bit hard to describe the sensation of stepping onto thousands of tiny, sharp, plastic points, other than to say it’s invigorating.

The roughly 16-inch square orange mat houses 132 small white circles. Each of those 1-inch-wide circles brandishes 27 tiny triangular points. That creates a field of over 3,500 points to step on. So what’s the point?

If you suffer from neuropathy, this could either be sensory overload or just the right amount of stimulation. For us, it felt like a weird mix of painful and ticklish — but in a good way, if that makes any sense.

Most often, we would use this first thing in the morning as a way to quickly wake up our feet. We’d step right on fully with both feet and then shift our weight around in a way reminiscent of making long, slow downhill skiing turns. But instead of just side to side, we’d very slowly lean forward and backward as well, shifting our weight around in a circle. After just a minute or so of doing that, we felt great.

The Tiger Tail Acupressure Energy Mat is a polarizing product. Folks are likely to describe it either as a torture device or the greatest thing ever. (We’re in the second camp.) So if you want to stimulate your feet — and, in the process, the rest of you—we double-dog dare you to give it a try. Combined with a roller, it’s a great tool to have in your foot massage arsenal.

  • Weight: 4 lbs., 9.6 oz.
  • Vibration: No
  • Heat: No
  • Massage Style: Rolling, percussion
  • Dimensions: 20 in. x 4.25 in. x 4.25 in. (without stand)

Pros

  • Wide rolling surface
  • Adjustable, reversible speeds
  • Versatile
  • Includes stand

Cons

  • Must hold down button to operate
  • A bit loud
  • Takes practice to keep foot on

Scott Tharler

The Chirp Wheels Rolling Percussive Massager (RPM for short, $250) looks like a super cool foot massager. And in some ways, it is. But it takes a little patience and practice.

Chirp knows a thing or two about rolling recovery devices, having made a name for themselves with its uniquely wheel-shaped foam rollers. So it’s not surprising that they’d create a rolling foot massager. But in doing so, they made some interesting design choices.

First, it consists of eight independently spinning, 7-inch-wide bars. When you turn on the rechargeable RPM and sit it snugly in its “hands-free” stand, that hides the power button on the bottom of the handle. To activate the device, you need to hold down the start trigger on top of the handle, presumably with your big toe. It took a little getting used to this slightly awkward safety measure, but we got it.

The knobby bars felt good, though a little ticklish in our subjective opinion. It’s nice to have five different speeds and be able to reverse the spinning direction. But it was tricky sometimes to find the happy point for placing our foot with the right amount of weight onto the device while it was loudly whirring around. Too far forward or back (depending on the direction it was spinning), and our foot slipped right off.

The Chirp Wheels Rolling Percussive Massager has some nice features. And perhaps its unmatched versatility and portability (when out of the stand) speak to you. But given a slightly bigger budget, we’d prefer to buy both the Roll Recovery R3 already discussed above and Humantouch Reflex PopUp just below, to achieve the combination of both portable and rock-steady mechanical underfoot rolling.

  • Weight: 11 lbs.
  • Vibration: No
  • Heat: Yes
  • Massage Style: Kneading, rolling
  • Dimensions: 16 in. x 13 in. x 7 in. (folded)

Pros

  • Compact, easy to store
  • Three automatic massage modes
  • Excellent rollers
  • Fully encompassing
  • Comes with a small remote

Cons

  • Intensities not intuitive
  • A little pricey
  • Could use a handle

Scott Tharler

Don’t judge the Humantouch Reflex PopUp ($249) for being less than half the size of its bigger brother, the Reflex SOL. It does a surprisingly great job, given how compact it is.

Slide the unit out from underneath the bed or couch under which you store it, press down the lever to pop the top, slide in your feet, close the lid, and this 7-inch high foot massager is ready to take you to town. With the tap of a button on the unit itself or its included credit card-sized remote, you can adjust the massage program, rollers, and/or intensity. You can even add heat, if you like.

Honestly, despite liking the Reflex SOL enough to crown it our champ for this roundup, we weren’t expecting to like this Reflex PopUp as much as we did. It provides nice compression and top-notch underfoot rollers, with just the right impact and intensity. But it does so in a way that fully surrounds the feet as no other selection from this list does.

Arguments could be made for the foot spa doing something similar with its aquatic immersiveness, but that’s sort of like the difference between sitting in a hot tub and lying under a weighted blanket. Both feel nice, but the blanket just imbues safety and comfort in a more fulfilling, encompassing way. Honestly, once we figured out what each of the colored lights means for the various modes and intensities, we didn’t have any major quibbles with this device.

If massaging your calves isn’t a must-have option, the Humantouch Reflex PopUp is a great foot massager — especially given that lately we’ve spotted it online discounted by almost 50 percent. But even when it’s not on sale, we highly recommend it.

Foot Massagers Comparison Chart

Foot MassagerPriceWeightVibrationHeatMassage StyleDimensions
Humantouch Reflex SOL Foot and Calf Massager$34925 lbs.YesYesKneading, rolling18 in. x 18 in. x 17.5 .in
Tiger Ball 2.6 Massage-on-a-Rope$298 oz.NoNoRollingBall diameter: 2.6 in., Rope length: 50 in.
Hyperice Normatec Elite$9993.2 lbs. (per boot)
NoNoCompressionVaries
Renpho Foot Spa Bath Core$2004 lbs., 1.6 oz.YesYesWater, bubbles, rolling15.7 in. x 13.4 in. x 6.7 in.
Roll Recovery R3 Orthopedic Foot Roller$351 lb.NoNoRolling5.5 in. x 2.5 in. x 2.5 in.
Tiger Tail Acupressure Energy Mat$301.6 oz.NoNoAcupressure16 in. x 15.5 in.
Chirp Wheels Rolling Percussive Massager$2504 lbs., 9.6 oz.NoNoRolling, percussion20 in. x 4.25 in. x 4.25 in. (without stand)
Humantouch Reflex PopUp$24911 lbs.NoYesKneading, rolling16 in. x 13 in. x 7 in. (folded)

Our Expert Testers

The GearJunkie staff demands a lot from our feet. In fact, from hiking to cycling to bouldering and other cross-training, we pretty much punish them on a daily basis. So it was absolutely no problem feeling motivated to find sweet relief for our precious, hard-working tootsies.

For our November update, Affiliate Managing Editor Billy Brown, a regular runner and CrossFit and powerlifting competitor, added his favorite foot massager to the list. He has been covering fitness and recovery for over a decade, and he was happy to put his chronically aching feet to work.

Our Testing Process

During several weeks of glorious real-world testing, we kicked back with 9-foot massagers. (Hey, somebody has to.) For the analog (non-electronic) devices, we tried them on both carpeting and hard floors. And for all the devices (except the foot spa), we used them with and without socks.

None of the products flat-out failed. But we did narrow down the list to make it as concise and non-repetitive as possible, leaving seven highly functional foot massagers that speak to a wide array of solutions.

We rated the remaining entries based on such factors as design, ease of use, versatility, price, and special features. We’ll continue to cull and assess additional foot massagers for future iterations of this guide.

Why You Can Trust Us

Here at GearJunkie, our motto is: play hard and recover harder. So whether we’re squeezing into tight climbing shoes to tackle a vertical route or walking dozens of miles to rigorously test flip-flops or sandals, we rely heavily on — and aren’t always the nicest to — our feet, but we try to make it up to them.

Our lead tester, Scott Tharler, has been writing about fitness gadgets and every other manner of consumer electronics for over 25 years. Throughout that time, Tharler has attended CES more than two dozen times — which is relevant in two ways.

First, he’s logged enough 14,000-step days to truly appreciate the massage-related respites sprinkled throughout the show floor. And second, those many sojourns have given him the opportunity to audition a wide range of massage devices, from cheap vibrating standing pads to top-of-the-line $15,000 luxury chairs.

Over that same span, we’ve tried out countless other relaxation and recovery products, including percussive massagers, pointy wooden rollers, wireless compression boots, little spiky massage balls, and heated foam rollers. So, we know a thing or two about personal massage devices.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose the Perfect Foot Massager

The world is filled with many shapes and sizes of feet, literally being put through their paces on a daily basis. Just imagine, for all those feet and all those use cases, there are devices out there to help them feel better.

All that to say, selecting a foot massager can be a daunting task. Some are small and affordable — epitomized by a simple lacrosse ball — and others are complicated electronic machines running into the hundreds. Thus, making an informed decision about finding the right foot massager requires dedicated thought and research.

Fortunately, this guide packs all the essential info you’ll need to choose the best foot massaging solution for you. You’ll learn why you should and shouldn’t consider particular types of foot massagers and which features matter most. Practically speaking, it’s everything you need to know about purchasing a foot massager that’ll do your dogs right.

This article focuses exclusively on foot massagers. For more recovery gear, check out our roundups of the best massage guns and the best foam rollers.

Massage Actions

Ultimately, all foot massagers aim to aid relief by increasing blood flow using various methods. Here are a few of the more common ones.

Kneading

This is the kind of squeezing and stretching you might associate with a manual foot massage. Machines achieve this through pneumatic compression. Essentially, combinations of air pockets expand and contract around your feet, putting varying amounts of comfortable, soothing pressure on them.

Rolling

Usually, with this method, your foot moves over a rounded device, such as the Roll Recovery R3 Orthopedic Foot Roller, Tiger Tail Footsie, or a ball. But in some cases, such as with the Chirp Wheels Rolling Percussive Massager, your foot stays still, and the device moves around.

In either case, one of the benefits of these devices is that you can incrementally adjust the pressure to fit your needs based on how much or how little body weight you put on the device while using it.

Vibration

Though not all foot massagers utilize this method, it’s one of the most effective ways to stimulate blood flow. So it’s a nice feature to be able to turn on (or off) in massagers that feature it.

Heat

When dealing with inflammation, you don’t want to add heat. But for many other types of aches and pains, it’s blissfully soothing — especially when combined with other actions on the list, such as vibration and/or water, which is one of the reasons we love the Renpho Foot Spa Bath Core.

Water

After a long day of pounding the dusty trail, just the mere thought of dunking your feet in water could be enough to evoke an ecstatic sigh. Aside from softening and temporarily moisturizing your feet, water submersion is a great way to fully surround and coddle them in a uniquely tactile way.

Acupressure

Stimulating specific reflexology points has both direct implications for the feet themselves and indirect implications for other parts of the body. Taken to the max, the Tiger Tail Acupressure Energy Mat is composed of thousands of sharp, tiny, plastic points that invigoratingly dig into your soles as you put weight on them.

Although mechanical foot massagers sometimes offer “shiatsu,” a highly specialized modality based on activating pressure points, that term can also be generically applied to just about anything that massages your feet. In other words, don’t expect the same targeted results as from a professional shiatsu practitioner.

Analog or Machine

When it comes to gadgets and gear, sometimes simpler is better. Whatever gets the job done, right? So you may decide to go with a foot massager that doesn’t need to be plugged in or recharged. We have a few on this list — and we’re big fans. They tend to be easy to use, highly portable, versatile, and less expensive.

Then again, mechanical massagers offer a more passive experience. Instead of having to work the foot massager, it works you … in a good way. So it’s nice to be able to throw a little roller into a gym bag. But we wouldn’t necessarily trade it for the drool-worthy experience of slipping our feet into a multi-mode machine that can melt away our problems with the push of a button.

Portability

Although many analog devices tend to be more portable and mechanical devices tend to be less so, that’s not always the case. For example, percussive massagers — including Chirp Wheel’s RPM — are small enough to toss into a gym or weekend bag. The RPM’s stand adds just enough bulk to make you want to leave that part at home, and even then, it’s too heavy to bring hiking.

But it makes a huge difference to be able to have the foot massager that you want, where you want — even if that’s around the house. One of the big detractors of Humantouch Reflex SOL Foot and Calf Massager is how heavy and bulky it is to move around. Once we found a chair with a complementary height, we left it within skooching range of that chair.

Foot and Leg Coverage

One of the main criteria to consider — especially for a mechanical foot massager — is where on your feet and legs it will and won’t cover. For instance, both the Humantouch Reflex SOL and LifePro RelaxaTilt X Foot Massager address both the feet and calves, but leave the tops of your feet open. We really like how the Humantouch Reflex PopUp cradles all around our feet, and for that, we are willing to sacrifice attending to our calves.

Ease of Use

This is where physical testing and attention to detail come into play. Most foot massagers are fairly straightforward, at least to power on right out of the box. However, how easy it is to operate all of its functionality can be a different story.

Physical Design

This can mean — as with the Humantouch Reflex SOL — building in subtle yet effective handles to make it easier to hoist. Or how well various buttons, levers, and other key functions are labeled. For instance, we’ve noticed across different brands and models that vague colors are used to indicate certain modes and options. Through trial and error, we can figure out that blue is more intense than green and red is more intense than blue. But it seems arbitrary and confusing, especially for the color blind.

Another potential source of confusion is around the tactile experience. For instance, with the Tiger Tail Tiger Footsie, you might assume that the little bumps on this roller are there for pressure point activation. Though they do feel a little nice, they’re really there more to enhance the traction between your foot and the device. All that to say, physical design plays heavily into how easy foot massagers are to use.

Active Involvement

How much focus and attention you need to give the process/device greatly affects the experience. For instance, simply stepping onto the Tiger Tail Acupressure Energy Mat and shifting our weight around is easy, while using a ball or roller involves a little more concentration.

Conversely, mechanical foot massagers just require sitting back and letting them do their thing. Neither of these solutions is right/wrong or better/worse, but you should consider how you want to (dis)engage with a foot massager.

Adjustability

It’s nice to be able to make adjustments both before and during your foot massage, whether that means simply shifting your weight or dialing the intensity up or down with a button. Then again, the more options a foot massager offers, the more complex it becomes. So, it’s all about finding the right balance for you.

Something that’s easy to use and adjustable enough, without crossing into subjectively confusing territory. So when you’re shopping around, pay attention to whether you feel relieved or stressed just by how adjustable the prospective massager seems.

Effectiveness

Try as you might, you simply can’t assess how a foot massager feels just from seeing a picture or reading a description. Many make claims — that might even be backed by user reviews — about how amazing they are. But until you put your actual feet in them, you can’t truly know if it’s relaxing, painful, or just meh. After all, how you like your feet handled is idiosyncratic. What might be light pressure to you might be seat-squirmingly intense for the next person and vice versa.

Given this subjectivity, it’s important to consider your particular use case. For instance, if you run or stand on your feet a lot, a simple soak in a spa might sound stellar. Whereas if you sit at a desk all day and don’t get out as much as you’d like, some kneading and vibration might send you soaring. Summing up, you’re more likely to get an effective foot massager, the more thought you put into how you’ll use it.

Versatility

Having said that, it can be nice to have options. One of the things we love about the Tiger Ball 2.6 Massage-on-a-Rope is that — on or off the rope — you can use it in various creative ways, on your feet and elsewhere. Likewise, the Chirp Wheel RPM feels good (if not a little ticklish) when applied to the feet, but its 7-inch wide treatment area makes it enjoyable to apply to the quads, glutes, or even shoulders.

Similarly, some foot rollers can be used on the back. So, if a foot massager can work its magic in multiple places/ways, it may be that much more valuable to you.

Special Treatments

Figuring out your specific needs is another way to align your foot massager with your specific needs. Here are a few more common foot issues/needs you may face.

Plantar Fasciitis

This common foot tissue inflammation can present as either just annoying or downright painful. With time, the pain may subside on its own. But in the meantime, rolling and stretching can help, along with icing and keeping your feet elevated. Also, the shoes you wear and how you walk can exacerbate this condition. So you may want to look into those.

Neuropathy

A loss of feeling in your feet can affect your footwear choices and balance, among other things. It may be caused by cancer, diabetes, and other serious medical conditions. From this list, you may want to try the acupressure mat. But if you have a form of this condition and are considering a foot massager as a treatment, it’s a good idea to consult your doctor.

Foot Spa

Foot baths can be super simple; literally just a bucket with some salt and hot water thrown in. Others offer all sorts of rollers, bubbles, heat, and vibration. As with the Renpho we tested, they may also come with pumice and other tools for trimming and exfoliating. Essentially, it’s the DIY version of a pedicure. So, if you want a spa-like experience without having to leave home, this kind of foot massager might be for you.

Cleaning

We are, after all, by definition, talking about products that touch your feet. And no judgment, but we don’t know where yours have been. So you should consider how easy it is to clean the product. For example, after just a couple of uses, the Renpho foot spa started to get a little grimy. That’s one you’d probably want to clean (almost) every time. It’d probably be fine to simply air out other foot massagers.

However, if you’re considering anything mechanical you’re putting your feet into (such as the ones from Humantouch), consider either wearing socks while using them or confirming whether their linings can be zipped out and safely thrown in the wash.

Price & Value

For what it’s worth, the average price of all the foot massagers we tested was $163 (excluding one $999 outlier). But interestingly, all the entries were either way under (around $30) or way over that figure ($200+). You’re liable to find wider price fluctuations in the mechanical foot massager category. Personally, if we found one under $150, we’d be skeptical, just as we would be about a non-mechanical foot massager over $50.

Budget

If you’re looking for an analog device like a foot roller or lacrosse ball, you would be able to pick something up for anywhere from $5 to $50. For example, the Roll Recovery R3 Orthopedic Foot Roller ($35) is a foam roller for your feet. It has contours, so you can adjust its position to hit different parts of your foot.

Mid-Tier

If you’re looking for a form of mechanical massage, you can expect to spend anywhere from $100 to $250. This often includes massage guns, soak tubs, and, in the case of the Chirp Wheels Rolling Percussive Massager ($250), an automatic roller. This cool device consists of eight independently spinning rollers, and when you place your foot on it, those knobby rollers start spinning, kneading the soles of your feet.

Premium

When you go above the $300 mark, you start to venture into the realm of massagers for professional athletes and other specialty uses. The priciest foot massager on this list by far, the Hyperice Normatec Elite ($999), is a pair of full-leg compression boots that use on-board air compressors to gently (or firmly) compress your entire leg to help increase circulation.

It’s pricey, but these compression boots were one of the most effective methods for speeding up post-run recovery. Plus, since they don’t require an external power source, we were able to take them to competitions to use between events.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are foot massagers good for you?

Yes, on several levels. First, they reduce both physical and mental stress. Second, they promote better circulation throughout your body. Third, in addition to general relaxation, they’re good for proactively addressing post-workout soreness, aches, and pains. And fourth, they just plain feel good.

How long should you use a foot massager?

It varies from massager to massager. For the acupressure mat we tested, just one minute was plenty of stimulation. But for some of the mechanical ones, their programs last 15 minutes. It wouldn’t necessarily be bad to use one for longer. But it’s probably a good idea to take breaks, get up, and walk around in between sessions.

What are the disadvantages of foot massagers?

The main disadvantage is if you get the wrong one for you based on your use case. Or get the right one and then use it improperly. In particular, pay attention to the intensity of a foot massage. Stronger doesn’t always mean better. As with all things, listen to what your body wants.

Is a shiatsu foot massager worth it?

They can be. As we mentioned above, the term “shiatsu” is sometimes used interchangeably with reflexology, acupressure, or anything that uses rollers on the underside of your feet. Either way, buying a foot massager device might be a better value than hiring a professional massage therapist who’s specifically trained in shiatsu. But don’t assume that the word on its own attests to the quality or capabilities of the foot massager, especially as compared to a human.

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The Best Foot Massagers of 2024 (2024)

References

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