Disclaimer: Our reviews are unbiased, objective and non-sponsored. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Best Mini Massage Guns of 2021: Can The Smaller Guns Put In A Good Shift?
ByGreg
In this best mini massage gun guide for 2021, we look at why the small massage guns have been generating quite a buzz lately. We share with you the best options in ‘small massage gun’ and ‘mini massage gun’ categories, as well as make the selection process a bit easier.
In a hurry?
In a hurry and can’t keep reading? How about you check out the Ekrin Bantam. Bantam will offer you unmatched portability, best power-to-size ratio and a lifetime warranty (a rarity).
Mini Massage Guns – The Latest Craze
Massage guns have gone mainstream in 2021. They’re no longer the experimental gadgets that science meant for physiotherapists. Everyone’s now either looking to buy or has bought one of these vibrating devices.
But why the craze? We’ll tell you the obvious reason we think they’re such a big deal. Superstar athletes! That’s why. Something else maybe, but seems everyone wants a taste of what celebrities are having.
Two years ago just a handful of companies bought into the massage gun idea. But now everyone seems to either be making or selling them. The craze is such that there are so many sellers it’s hard to keep track of all of them.
However, you can only milk a situation for so long. With many options comes fierce competition and consequently the need to stand out from the crowd.
Obviously you’ll expect different companies to have different selling points. But the selling point that’s dominating this market now is the scaled-down version of the fuller massage gun. Or simply put, mini massage guns.
The smaller it is the more likely it’s going to sell. This seems to be driven by the fact that more and more people just want something they can carry around easily and also use comfortably at the gym, in the office, or on a hiking trip.
That’s why in this post we’ll be pointing you to the best mini massage gun. We may not exactly give you a straightforward answer, but we’ll share enough information to make your choice a little easier.
If you’ve checked out some of our massage gun reviews you must’ve noticed how thorough we are with the details. No one does it quite like we do. We’re addicted to massage guns and hopefully we can get some of you hooked into our habit as well.
So, let’s kick things off, shall we?
Criteria For Selecting Best Mini Massage Gun
If you thought picking one was hard, try selecting the best from 25 different brands. A needle in a haystack suddenly isn’t so hard to find. That’s how thorough we can get. Our criteria is exhaustive. Here’s a bit on what we look at in best mini and small massage guns:
- Size: Naturally, we only take mini-sized and small-sized massagers into consideration;
- Performance: Here we look at a number of things;
- Stall Force: This is the ability of the massage gun motor to continue working under a certain amount of pressure when pressed on to the body. It affects how effective a gun can be. Basically how deep a massage you can get.
- Amplitude: Also known as the stroke length, it is simply how far the head travels back and forth. The longer the better, and the deeper it hits.
- Percussion Range: This is how many hits per minute the massage gun can give.
- Brand Trustworthiness: How a brand interacts with its customer is crucial to us and we don’t pass up a chance to speak directly with the seller. Customer support has to be on point.
- Accessories Included: We check for the number of attachments and if a travel case is included.
- Battery and Charger: A good battery means a good product. Convenience in charging is a plus for us as well.
- Warranty: We prefer lifetime warranties, but some have at least a 1-year warranty.
- Value for Money: A small gun should at least be sold at a reasonable price.
More to read: We will look at these parameters in detail in the guide section below.
Our Best Mini Massage Gun Picks for 2021
If you chose to read on, then we’re glad to let you know that you’ve made the better decision. Here we take a sneak peek into 5 of the best mini massage guns of 2021. Don’t bat an eye, it will be over before you know it.
Ekrin Bantam – Best Mini Massage Gun
Ekrin gave us two magnificent massage guns in Ekrin B37 and its beautiful sequel, the B37S. They also introduced us to excellent customer support and unbelievable faith in their products with a lifetime warranty for everything they sold us.
You better believe we were eager to lay our hands on their mini massage gun. The Bantam is a darling to us here.
It’s basically if the B37 and the B37S had a child it would be the Bantam. Everything they gave us with the full size guns they simply replicated into the Bantam. The only difference being the size.
It’s super compact and perfect in size. In fact, if there ever is an on-the-go massage gun, this is it.
It measures just 6.5” by 4.5” by 1.9. Just about the same height as iPhone 12 Pro and noticeably smaller than the Hypervolt Go, for instance.. It has superb ergonomics with its 15-degree angled handle and weighs only 1.1 lbs. The build quality is impressive. It feels durable.
Obviously being a smaller gun you’d expect some compromises. That’s why the stall force is 35lbs. and not 56lbs. like the bigger guns. Still this is very impressive power for a miniature massage gun. It also has a respectable amplitude of 10mm – you won’t need more.
Rpms are impressive as well, running at 2000-3200rpm with 3 gears to separate the intensity. This is standard percussions range for most guns in this category, but it feels slightly more stable. It’s a quiet device as well, with only about 50-58dB noise level.
Other things you may want to know include its superior built-in Samsung battery that’ll give you 3-5 hours of battery juice. Unlike its bigger counterparts, the Bantam has a USB-C cord charger.
It comes with 4 attachments and a very informative instructional manual on how to use the heads. You’ll also be pleased to learn that it comes in a nicely done travel case.
It costs $159 but you can use our coupon code MGA20 that gives you 20% off so you can have it at only $127.9 in Ekrin’s store right here. Lifetime warranty included!
More to read: Ekrin Bantam review
WODFitters Mighty Mini Percussion Massager
Wodfitters isn’t a top banana in the bunch. At least not as far as mini massage guns go. But they probably built a good reputation with their training bands.
Their Mighty Mini gun is “tiny Mighty” if you will. It’s perhaps even smaller than the Ekrin Bantam. However, it has a rather unique build compared to it. They say it’s made with aircraft grade aluminum. We’ll give them that because, anything but plastic, right? A lot of these massage guns are made with plastic.
Onto serious business, and we noticed they don’t disclose the information on stall force (a bit of a bummer). But we figured it out for you. It’s somewhere between 22-25lbs. which is good enough to treat sore muscles, provide relaxation after a workout, and also if you are just looking to have a semi-intensive massage.
It has an amplitude of 8-9mm which again is okay if you consider the size of this gun. Percussion range is 1800-3200rpm with 4 built-in speeds. This is normal range stuff as far as most massage guns go. Even so, it’s a rather quiet gun – much better than what we’ve seen so far – with 30-55dB noise levels. Hushed!
We checked the stats on the battery and our jaws almost dropped. 11 hours is super impressive don’t you think? But hold on a minute, we realized it only goes that long if you were using it at the lowest of speeds. If you go a bit more intensive, you’ll run out of juice in about 5-6 hours. Which is still very impressive.
It may be a tiny gun but “The Mighty Mini” comes with four attachments unlike Theragun Mini. They have a superb customer support system and we had a smooth buying experience. They offer a lifetime warranty just like Ekrin.
If you want to buy it you’ll only part with $99 if you use the coupon SUPERDEAL that gives you a massive $200 off. Valid only in Wodfitters online store right here.
OYeet NEX
If you love extra small massage guns then you will love the OYeet NEX. It’s slightly bigger than Wodfitters’ Mighty Mini, but only just.
It’s nicely built, looks awesome in that Ferrari-red color and feels premium in hand.
What got us excited were its very impressive performance stats. The company listed the stall force at a whooping 40 lbs. but by comparison with Bantam, we figured it’s somewhere in the mid 30lbs, which we must say is more than enough (feels like Bantam). If that doesn’t convince you, it has an amplitude of 10.5mm. That’s very decent in our opinion.
The percussion range is massive us well. Revving up to 3500rpm. You combine that with a 10mm amplitude and you’ve got yourself a very impressive device. Even so it’s a very quiet gun rattling in just 45-55 dB of noise.
The battery is good enough as well . One charge they say will give you up to 4-5 hours straight. But they probably tested that at the lowest of intensities. Realistically though you’ll use it for about 3-4 hours before you run out of juice.
The best place to buy this device would be through OYeet’s own store where the normal price ($129.99) is slashed greatly to $89.99, which you can check right here.
More to read: Oyeet Nex Massage Gun Review
Bob and Brad Q2 Mini
Bob and Brad have dubbed themselves as the best physical therapists on the internet. It’s not hard to see why because they have a YouTube channel with over 2 million subscribers. They help people with actionable advice on how to diagnose muscle problems and treat them.
They also offer very good advice on massage guns. They have been selling their Bob & Brad branded products on Amazon. They recently started selling percussion massagers, and the Q2 Mini is one of their exquisite massage guns (the other is the bigger C2 model).
The Q2 impressed us more than the latter and we chose to include it in this guide as a result. The smaller of the two and fits here perfectly.
Talking of fitting perfectly, this device will literally fit in your pocket – hopefully you’ve pockets that can fit a 5.7”x 3.4 x 1.8 massage gun. It’s so small, you may have trouble believing it’s not a toy. But at 0.95lbs it is sizable enough to deliver as a true mini massage gun.
It has a rather unique shape compared to the rest here. It’s a rounded shape that’s more oval than anything else.
We would recommend this for people who want to have a massage gun that can relieve slight pain in muscles, break lactic acid build-up, or just get a much needed session after a long day at the office. You’ll find the 32lbs. stall force quite useful.
The amplitude is a bit of a let-down because it’s only 7mm. But the percussions per minute range is impressive and will give you up to 3000 hits. You get 5 speed gears to go with the high percussions. You probably won’t get a harder punch, but you’ll definitely get a thorough massage.
It comes with 5 attachment heads, which is awesome because with a full set there’s more to your massage session. The battery is powerful enough, parking just the right capacity of juice – 2500mAh. You can use it for 3-4 hours before you think of charging it again. A USB-C charge cord is provided. If you love traveling bags, this one comes in a tiny nice carrying case.
If you’re absolutely tight on budget, or if you are just looking for something to work with after a workout, then this gun will serve you well. It will not offer you the best in power but it’s very low-priced.
Lifepro DynaFlex Mini
Last but not least, the Lifepro Dynaflex Mini is an interesting compact massage gun. Interesting because in terms of size, it’s slightly bigger than all of the guns we’ve looked at, but compared to the full-sized guns it’s smaller.
It’s obviously bigger than perhaps “Mighty Mini” or the Bob and Brad Q2. It’s also probably slightly bigger than some other guns with this size range e.g. Minirex.
It has an interesting build as well with its rotating adjustable arm that will help you reach parts of the body that otherwise would be difficult to get to. It’s compact and weighs just 1.3lbs.
It has a stall force of a big gun; 45lbs. of motor strength is magnificent. None of our other picks even comes close.
It has a 9mm amplitude. Slightly disappointing that you won’t get a stronger punch but compared to say, the Bob ad Brad C2 or the Wodfitters’ Mighty Mini, this one can be pressed much harder to the body without stalling the motor.
In terms of vibrations, you’re getting something similar to what you find with the Theragun Mini – 1800-2450rpm. Obviously slightly less than the others but with such a powerful motor we would say it’s okay.
The battery isn’t as juiced as most the guns we’ve looked at – just 2000mAh – but you can use it for 2-4 hours. It has a dedicated charger, which means it’s the only one in our list that isn’t USB-C compatible.
It comes with 6 different attachments which means more muscle groups can be targeted. It also comes in a pretty decent carrying case – you’ll love it.
The best part is that it sells for $79.99 but you can get it for 10% less if you use the code MGA10. You then get it for only $71.99. You won’t pay the shipping cost because it’s free!
The device has a lifetime warranty. It doesn’t get better than that!
More to read: Lifepro Dynaflex Mini review.
What about Theragun Mini and the Hypervolt Go?
By now you must have noticed that both these household names are missing from our list. Don’t they stand a chance at all?
We’ve chosen not to simply skip over them but tell you what we think and then you can make a wise choice. That’s all we want for you. So take a look:
Theragun Mini
To be fair we have mixed feelings about the Theragun mini. On the one hand, being a premium product it has some unique features. We’ll call those,
Pros
- First, we’ve not seen that design before. It’s interesting to hold as well. But it’s not our favorite hold. We’re just not sure if this kind of handle is the best for a massage gun.
- The amplitude is massive for a mini gun. Its 12mm stroke length is impressive to say the least. If we were to judge all our picks by this, then it’s the clear winner.
However, that’s just about the pros that this gun has over the others. Otherwise, there are plenty of cons in comparison:
- Only max. 20lbs of stall force. It’s one the weakest in this respect.
- Percussion range is unimpressive – only 1750-2450rpm. It’s on par with the Lifepro Dynaflex Mini here but the Dynaflex beats it hands down with its powerful motor of 45lbs.
- It only has 3 speed gears to choose from. The same as the Ekrin Bantam though but all the others have 4 or more.
- Perhaps the heaviest; weighs 1.4lbs.
- Just the one attachment (ball). This doesn’t give you many options unless you have a bigger Theragun with more attachments.
- The battery isn’t as juiced, giving you just 2-2.5 hours of continuous use.
- Does not come with a USB-C cord.
- Comes in a pouch rather than a carrying case.
- Has just 1-year warranty
- By far the most expensive. It’s way overpriced to be fair.
More to read: Here you will find our dedicated Theragun mini review.
Hypervolt Go
Unlike the Theragun mini, we didn’t have any mixed feelings with this one. This one doesn’t have any clear advantage(s) over the others. At least the Theragun gave us the unique design and a 12mm amplitude. We’ll share some points about how we feel:
- It has 10mm amplitude which is the same as the Bantam.
- It has a disappointing stall force of only about 12-15 lbs (our estimation). It stalls very easily, unfortunately, and it’s feels very underpowered compared to say, the Dynaflex Mini.
- Not really a unique design – tons of guns look the same i.e. it borrows a leaf from Ekrin’s design book as far as the ergonomics go.
- It weighs 1.5lbs. Possibly the heaviest of them all.
- They also don’t get any points over any of the others as far as portability. It’s worse really, no pouch, no case, nothing!
- It comes with only 2 attachment heads.
- No USB-C charging cord option.
- Just the 1-year warranty.
- Sells at a hefty price point. Definitely not a great option if your budget isn’t as flexible.
You see why it doesn’t make our list, don’t you?
More to read: our in-depth Hypervolt Go review
Choosing the Best Mini Massage Gun – What You Should Look For?
With massage guns, big is better. At least if you really want to get results. But small is just as good if not better. They will not give you intensive percussion therapy, but they will offer you just about enough to keep you going. They will work to:
- Improve your blood flow.
- Provide relief to sore muscles by breaking up the lactic acid accumulation especially after a workout session.
- Reduce tension or inflammation.
- Improve muscle performance. You can do this by having a quick massage before a workout session. It’s even more effective when you have one after.
More to read: There are even more benefits of massage gun therapy.
The full-sized massage guns will still give you all of these, or perhaps even better, but the important thing here is the portability the little percussive devices offer you instead.
But perhaps that’s just about the only great thing about a mini percussion massager will give you. Unlike their full-size counterparts, the mini massage guns;
- Won’t give you a really deep tissue massage. This is because their less than enough stall force and amplitude won’t get the job done.
- Because of this, regular sized guns are a better choice for people with massive body sizes or muscles, athletes, bodybuilders or those looking for intensive percussive therapy.
So What Do You Look For?
Even though you may not get as intensive massages as the regular sized guns, it’s important that your choice will serve your purposes just as well. Here are key things to pay attention to as you make your choice:
Size and Weight
Quite obviously, when you shop for a mini massage gun the size and weight are two very important factors. You should know that although most massage gun brands tend to call small massage guns as ‘mini’, there are two main types as far as size is concerned.
- Smallest devices, which we like to call as mini. These are Ekrin Bantam, Wodfitters Mighty Mini, OYeet NEX and Mini Plus, as well as the Bob & Brad Q2.
- Slightly bigger, yet still very compact ones. We call them small instead of mini. Example devices are Rexogun Minirex and Lifepro Dynaflex Mini.
When it comes to two industry darlings, Hypervolt Go and Theragun mini, we would classify the former as small and the latter as mini (as the name suggests).
Weight Comparison (lbs.)
Conclusion: the lightest on our list is Bob & Brad Q2, but it’s the least powerful one (stroke length). Ekrin Bantam has the best weight & size to performance ratio.
Stall Force
This is the amount of pressure needed to stall the motor of any given percussive massager.
This is measured in pounds (you’ll notice we always abbreviate it as “lbs.”). A stronger motor will not stall easily when pressed down hard on the body.
It’s important that the compact massage gun you choose has a stall force of at least more than 20lbs.
We prefer going for the ones that are listed as having 30-plus pounds of stall force. This is because there are many cheap devices bearing the same title that are listed as having only 10lbs. stall force. We are sorry to say that those aren’t really offering percussive therapy but vibration therapy.
Stall Force Comparison (lbs.)
Conclusion: As far as size is concerned, Ekrin Bantam has a lot of power while being mini-sized gun. Lifepro Dynaflex Mini is more powerful, but it’s a small gun (not a mini).
Stroke Length (Amplitude)
This is also known as the stroke length. It refers to how far the massage head will travel as the device vibrates.
The head hits the part of the body you’re trying to massage rather than just vibrate over it. With this one, the longer the length, the better performance you’ll get. A longer amplitude punches harder and gets the job done much more effectively.
Most mini massage guns will have about 7-9mm amplitude. This is the accepted standard here. Anything lower than that and you’re probably just buying a vibrating tool rather than a percussive therapy device.
You’ll notice that our picks fall under the 7-10mm threshold with Theragun mini going up to impressive 12mm.
Stroke Length Comparison (mm)
Conclusion: Amplitude is the only one feature when Theragun mini shines, with its 12mm. But sometimes you’ll want to sacrifice more head travel for more no-stall force.
Percussion Range
This is the measure of how much faster the device can hit. However, these aren’t really the magic numbers.
Just because a gun has more hits per minute doesn’t mean it’s the most effective, at least not always. This is because sometimes the manufacturer may choose amplitude over percussion range. In that case the device isn’t hitting faster, but hits deeper.
For example the Theragun Mini may have only 2400rpms but it makes up for the reduced speed with a 12mm long stroke.
Therefore, here, instead of just looking at how fast the device works, factoring in the amplitude is recommended.
For example, you’ll do well to pick a device with 3000rpm but with 10mm amplitude, rather than one with 3500rpm but only 7mm stroke length.
Speed Options
How many speed options is good enough? Most mini massage guns come with 3-5 speed options.
On the lower end look for at least 3, but you’ll probably need 4 or at most 5. Sometimes however, it’s not surprising to find devices that have over 15 speed options.
In our opinion this is ridiculous (all pun intended). How many times do you think you’ll have to press the button on the device to find the right range?
Noise Level
A mini massage gun’s motor will make a certain amount of noise when it’s turned on. There’s tolerable noise and then there’s madhouse noise levels.
You can get any of these depending on what device you pick. However, since you are probably looking for something to use in the office or at the gym without drawing unnecessary attention, we’d recommend less noisy guns.
The optimum noise level for us would be less than 65dB. Mini massage guns tend to be quieter than their full sized counterparts, so this shouldn’t be much of a hassle.
We’ve made the choice easier here because none of the guns in our list are loud. They wouldn’t make the list if they were.
Anything Else Worth Noting?
Apart from what we just explained above, sometimes the cherry on the top doesn’t do any harm at all. So here are a few cherries you might want to consider when making a choice:
- Number of attachments: One or two attachments on any device just isn’t enough for us. Get a device that has at least 4 attachments. This gives you more options to massage different parts of the body.
- Battery capacity: You’ll rarely find a mini massage gun that won’t run for at least 2-3 hours on a single charge. You’ll probably only need to charge them once in a week.
- Charger type: Smaller massage guns should at least afford you with a convenient charging means. A USB-C is much more suitable than a dedicated charger.
- Travel case: You want a device that at least gives you the option to carry your massage gun around easily.
Best Mini Massage Gun: Conclusion
We’ve come to the end of our best mini massage gun guide. Hopefully you have enjoyed the ride and will be a lot wiser when you pick your next mini percussion massager. You’re saying “I still need help”. Don’t worry we’ll give you the help you need.
The Ekrin Bantam is our top pick in the mini category with superb ergonomics, more no-stall force, lifetime warranty and wonderful customer support from the company. It doesn’t get as comprehensive as this! But If you need something that’s compact but not as mini as the Bantam, then consider the Minirex.
Please drop a comment below if you have any questions or need more information. We’ll be glad to help.
Till next article, thank you, and goodbye!
Disclaimers
The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.
All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement.
It is our policy to make every effort to respect the copyrights of outside parties. If you believe that your copyright has been misused, please provide us with a message stating your position and we will endeavor to correct any misuse immediately.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we may receive an affiliate commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps us keep this website alive. Learn more here.
Greg
Articles: 30
Amazon Disclosure
massagegunadvice.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Please refer to our Privacy & Affiliate Policy for details.