The 6 Best Foam Rollers of 2025 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Seth Berkman, Ingrid Skjong and Amy Roberts

After a new round of testing, we’ve added the Roll Recovery R4 Body Roller as a pick.

Foam rolling: These days, it seems like everybody’s doing it. A growing body of research and an increasing number of bodywork pros — physical therapists, massage therapists, and personal trainers alike — extol the soft-tissue benefits of self-massage for improvements in muscular flexibility and reduction in stiffness (and even pain).

To find the best foam rollers for at-home use, we whittled down hundreds of options and enlisted experts (as well as members of our paid tester panel) to spend around 50 total hours kneading and compressing.

We discovered that the ubiquitous firm-density foam rollers made of expanded polypropylene (EPP) aren’t much different from one another, at least in terms of the therapeutic benefits they can deliver. But the Amazon Basics High-Density Round Foam Roller stood out from the EPP foam pack as the best basic roller, proving you don’t have to spend a lot to get relief.

This roller provides the firm density experts recommend — with a slight surface texture to prevent slipping — at an affordable price.

Regularly more expensive than our top pick, this foam roller is otherwise highly similar to it.

For rolling newbies (or those looking for a softer touch), this medium-density roller has a bit more give than a firm EPP roller like our top pick or runner-up, but it still maintains its shape under pressure.

This roller has a diamond-shaped pattern of ridges that allows you to address knots in specific muscle groups with precision. It’s only available in a 13-inch length.

At 18 inches, this textured roller provides more room for deep SMR and has a dedicated center space for spine and neck targeting.

This rolling massage stick has a plastic core encased in finely textured, dense foam. Although it’s lightweight, it can really dig into tight spots.

Most firm-density foam rollers are made of expanded polypropylene, which should provide sufficient firmness for most self-massage applications.

A standard, 36-inch long roller is useful for most body parts. But smaller models may better suit your needs if you need a more targeted massage.

This roller provides the firm density experts recommend — with a slight surface texture to prevent slipping — at an affordable price.

For self-myofascial release (SMR) as well as for use in certain exercises, the Amazon Basics High-Density Round Foam Roller does as good a job as other foam rollers, at a lower price. Made of EPP foam, the cylinder has a slightly rough surface texture that keeps it from slipping against clothes or the floor, and the 36-inch size allows for techniques that smaller rollers don’t, like stretches that involve lying along its length. The only caveat is that people who are new to foam rolling or sensitive to the pressure of self-massage (it can hurt!) might find the very firm density — like that of just about any EPP foam roller — to be too intense.

Regularly more expensive than our top pick, this foam roller is otherwise highly similar to it.

Costing a bit more than our top pick, the EPP OPTP Black Axis Firm Foam Roller is considered the gold standard for alleviating muscle tension and knots. We’ve been testing it for five years, and it continues to deliver.

For rolling newbies (or those looking for a softer touch), this medium-density roller has a bit more give than a firm EPP roller like our top pick or runner-up, but it still maintains its shape under pressure.

When you’re new to rolling, it can hurt. The Gaiam Restore Total Body Foam Roller, made of polyethylene foam, is less dense and therefore less intense on muscles than the EPP foam of firmer rollers. But it isn’t so soft that it immediately warps under weight, and its full 36-inch length makes it useful for all sorts of rolling and exercise purposes. However, due to the nature of the material — as well as the fact that your muscles will eventually adapt and may need a firmer pressure — it’s unlikely to be useful for as long as a standard roller ought to be.

This roller has a diamond-shaped pattern of ridges that allows you to address knots in specific muscle groups with precision. It’s only available in a 13-inch length.

The textured TriggerPoint Rush Roller is ideal for targeted, deeper work on areas like glutes, hamstrings, and calves. At just 13 inches long, it isn’t as versatile for spanning the length of larger muscle groups, such as the upper back. But as a complement to a longer, smooth roller — or a compact option that allows for both rolling and sustained trigger-point work — its pattern of diamond-shaped ridges addresses knots with a degree of control (and an intensity) that we struggled to access with other highly textured rollers.

At 18 inches, this textured roller provides more room for deep SMR and has a dedicated center space for spine and neck targeting.

The Roll Recovery R4 Body Roller is 5 inches longer than the TriggerPoint Rush Roller. Its diamond-shaped pattern is also smoother, but it still has enough of a contoured design to allow for deep work. We also enjoyed the curved center that is useful for targeting the spine and neck.

This rolling massage stick has a plastic core encased in finely textured, dense foam. Although it’s lightweight, it can really dig into tight spots.

The rolling-pin-like Tiger Tail Original is made of foam-covered plastic with comfy rubberized handles. Given its petite size, it’s great for travel, as well as for digging into smaller spots on the body — particularly the neck and calves. On the flip side, it’s not nearly as good at SMR for larger muscle groups. Because you simply can’t get the same level of pressure or expansiveness with this model as you can by lying on top of a large foam roller, the Tiger Tail Original is best used as a supplemental tool.

Seth is a writer covering fitness and the author of Wirecutter’s guides to massage guns and massage chairs, among others.

For this guide:

Foam rolling is for pretty much anyone. (Some conditions contraindicate the practice, however; when in doubt, check with a professional.)

A foam roller is a massage tool, and foam rolling is a technique of self-myofascial release (SMR), or self-massage, to help lengthen the fascia that covers the muscles, which, when restricted, can cause muscle tightness and adhesions (knots). By targeting muscle groups and using both gravity (placing the muscle atop the roller) and friction (the rolling action), you can effectively break up and ease out tight tissue.

It takes time to notice results, though. Whitney Vail, assistant athletic director for sports medicine at Baruch College, said you shouldn’t expect “any noticeable differences from hopping on a roller here and there,” and that you need to “build it into your routine to get the best effects.”

Matthew Smith, an instructor of physical therapy and human movement sciences at Northwestern University, cautioned against foam rolling for anyone who has an acute injury or experiences muscle strain. “You don’t want to keep going over that tissue if it’s not healthy enough,” said Smith. “The goal isn’t to feel pain.”

Michael Murray, a physical therapist in the department of physical therapy and occupational therapy at Duke University, added that you should limit rolling over bony spots like hips, knees, and ankles. “You want to stay in the meaty parts, for lack of a better way to say it,” Murray said. “That’s how people get bursitis in their hip, by rolling too hard on their hip, or they can really hurt the ligaments and tendons. Any bony part that sticks out, just stay away from that.”

The experts we consulted for this guide agree that a smooth-surfaced, 6-inch-diameter, 36-inch-long roller is generally the best tool for SMR: It’s versatile for larger and smaller muscle groups alike, and you can also use it as a prop in your workouts.

Short rollers will do the trick for some areas of the body. But only long rollers allow you to, for instance, lie comfortably along their length to gently roll your back muscles, or stretch the front of your body. And in most cases, you want the firmest material you can tolerate to go as deep as you can.

Firm rubber balls or specialized rollers are also available and are great for very specific purposes — but because of their specificity, we didn’t look at those for this guide.

Foam rollers are often made of polymers like expanded polypropylene (EPP) and polyethylene foam, which are technically recyclable, though neither are highly recycled in recycling systems.

Rollers made of softer materials, like the aforementioned polyethylene foam, have the potential to warp over time, particularly when used frequently. Unless you’re sensitive to the pressure of SMR, consider rollers made of sturdier EPP (like our top pick and runner-up), which have the potential to last longer. Rollers made of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA, a foam often found in the soles of running shoes) or PVC are also hardier and built to sustain higher-volume usage.

Altogether, we’ve tested 27 foam rollers since 2016.

Over the years, the three authors of this guide, as well as experts including physical therapist Matthew Rector and massage therapist Polina Savelieva, have each tested at least 10 rollers to help us reach the conclusions here. In 2025, we also had members of Wirecutter’s paid tester panel try 10 different rollers. With each contender, we considered:

This roller provides the firm density experts recommend — with a slight surface texture to prevent slipping — at an affordable price.

As it turns out, the ubiquitous firm-density black foam rollers made of expanded polypropylene (EPP) aren’t much different from one another, at least in terms of their therapeutic benefits. What sets the Amazon Basics High-Density Round Foam Roller apart from others is twofold: its bargain price and its atypical texture.

Its slightly rough texture is a plus. The roller’s surface — sort of like those nonskid grips you’d affix to a tub — helps keep it from sliding out from under you, whether you’re rolling or using it for exercise.

This roller is extremely durable. It has held up for some of our long-term testers for almost a decade. A Wirecutter staffer who’s had the roller since 2016 said theirs “looks like new.” Another staffer who’s had it for four years said it’s “held up pretty well save for a few nicks, and its density is still intact,” showing no compression in the middle.

It’s available in various sizes. The 36-inch version is the ideal length for the widest variety of uses, but the Amazon Basics roller also comes in 24-inch, 18-inch, and 12-inch sizes for portability. (One good reason to stick with the longest size is that it will support your entire spine if you’re using it parallel to your body.)

As an entry-level option, this roller may be too firm for some people. If you’ve never foam rolled before, this roller might feel too hard. If you want to start with a softer roller, we suggest a polyethylene foam roller, like the Gaiam Restore Total Body Foam Roller.

It’s a bit slick, and it’s best used on a mat. One of our long-term testers noticed the Amazon Basics roller was slick enough that it rolled around on a wooden floor during use. Sarah Ostop, a doctor of physical therapy at the University of Pittsburgh, suggested rolling on a yoga mat to help with traction.

Regularly more expensive than our top pick, this foam roller is otherwise highly similar to it.

The OPTP Black Axis Firm Foam Roller is the same size (36 inches) and density (firm) as our top pick, but it costs a bit more.

It’s the foam roller of professionals. Our expert testers said the OPTP Black Axis Firm Foam Roller is commonly found in gym or PT settings, thanks to years of high standards of durability.

To some testers, it felt slightly softer than our top pick. Like our top pick, this roller is made of firm, black EPP. In 2025 testing, Seth noted the OPTP roller felt a bit softer than the Amazon Basics roller, although not as soft as a polyethylene foam roller. It was still firm enough that it provided great stability when rolling and targeting the back.

It’s almost twice the cost of our top pick. While OPTP is the brand of choice for rollers in professional settings, you’ll likely be just as happy with the quality of our less expensive top pick from Amazon Basics for home use.

Some buyer reviews note chipping. A few recent reviews on Amazon claim bits of OPTP foam rollers began falling off after minimal use. We have not experienced any such flaking but will continue to monitor the durability of the OPTP roller.

For rolling newbies (or those looking for a softer touch), this medium-density roller has a bit more give than a firm EPP roller like our top pick or runner-up, but it still maintains its shape under pressure.

Foam rolling hurts — or, at least, it can be pretty uncomfortable, especially for a novice or anyone recovering from an injury. If this describes you, you’ll likely prefer the Gaiam Restore Total Body Foam Roller. Made of polyethylene foam — which, unlike EPP, is frothed with air rather than compressed — it provides a softer texture than our top pick or runner-up.

It’s more durable. The Gaiam roller is similar in density to foam packing material and will have a bit more longevity both in your routine — before you’re ready to upgrade to a firmer model — and, most likely, in life. One long-term tester has two of the Gaiam rollers, one purchased as far back as 2017, and hasn’t had to replace either. “They’ve held up great and look and work like new,” the tester said. “They’re a huge help because I am an oversensitive baby, and regular foam rollers hurt too much to use.”

It’s good for certain areas where you may have difficulty rolling with an EPP roller. Seth noticed rolling around his shoulders and upper back was much more comfortable with the Gaiam roller than with one made of EPP. It also doesn’t feel like it’s putting as much pressure along the spine, if you’re sensitive to a firm roll along your back.

It may warp over time. This softer type of foam is likely to compress and warp with long-term use because the air is eventually pressed out.

This roller has a diamond-shaped pattern of ridges that allows you to address knots in specific muscle groups with precision. It’s only available in a 13-inch length.

It can be tricky to achieve deeper SMR with a smooth foam roller. Nubs, knobs, and ridges can help reach stubborn knots or areas that warrant deeper manipulation. The TriggerPoint Rush Roller is a 13-inch roller textured with a diamond-shaped pattern of ridges, which the company says contributes to a shearing effect (essentially oppositely directed parallel forces acting on a muscle).

It works particularly well as a supplement to a smooth roller. We turned to this roller when we wanted a deeper, more precise focus on knots in calves, glutes, or hamstrings — though the TriggerPoint roller would also serve those who simply want more intensity in their daily rolling routine.

It’s easy to use for long durations. Made with a layer of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), a closed-cell foam, over a hollow plastic core, it’s less aggressively textured than other deep-tissue rollers we tried. The ridges do the job, though, and the TriggerPoint roller’s smooth roll and sturdy construction make it easy to use. We felt a difference after using it in comparison with other textured rollers, mostly because we were able to use it longer. And though it delivers on intensity, it isn’t so aggressive as to be prohibitively painful.

This roller is small but packs a punch. It’s shorter — and more expensive — than our other picks, but it still covers a wide area. One long-term tester, who is 5-foot-9 and described themselves as having a narrow back, said they could still roll across the entire width of their midback and most of their shoulders on the TriggerPoint roller (“I also like using it as an under-desk footrest!”). This tester also bruises easily and was surprised the TriggerPoint roller hasn’t left any bruises.

It’s more portable than traditional 36-inch foam rollers. While it is not the most portable of our picks, one long-term tester has traveled with this roller. “I pack things into the hollow center of the TriggerPoint Rush, and it can fit in a carry-on,” she said. Another tester praised the TriggerPoint roller for alleviating knots in the quads and calves, and they also travel with it for short distances. “I have thrown it in a large tote with yoga blocks to take with me for weekend trips and that works fine,” they said.

The roller is often sold out. Over the past year, we’ve noticed that the TriggerPoint Rush Roller is sometimes unavailable for extended periods of time. If it’s sold out, we recommend another textured roller for deeper SMR: the larger Roll Recovery R4 Body Roller.

At 18 inches, this textured roller provides more room for deep SMR and has a dedicated center space for spine and neck targeting.

If you want a contoured roller with more length, consider the Roll Recovery R4 Body Roller, which is made with EVA foam. It’s 5 inches longer than the TriggerPoint Rush Roller and, like with the TriggerPoint roller, its diamond-patterned ridges allow for deeper work than a traditional foam roller. We found it particularly helpful for leg and neck work.

A center groove cradles your spine and neck. Most dense foam rollers can feel quite hard against the neck, a particularly sensitive area where you do not want to create undue pain. The Roll Recovery R4 roller is designed with a groove in the middle that should align with most necks.

The rest of the roller adequately covers larger body parts. Seth particularly liked how the textured design didn’t cause slippage when rolling his legs and how his shoulders lined up over the center groove to hit the meaty center of the roller’s sides.

It’s heavier than our other picks. Weighing nearly 3 pounds, it may be more difficult to carry to classes or the gym.

The grooves are less pronounced than on other textured rollers. The TriggerPoint roller has more-pronounced grooves, and while we still felt the Roll Recovery R4 roller gave us a deep SMR experience, if you prefer more-rigid rolling, the TriggerPoint roller is a better choice.

This rolling massage stick has a plastic core encased in finely textured, dense foam. Although it’s lightweight, it can really dig into tight spots.

If you don’t want your roller to take up significant real estate in your gym bag or suitcase, look to the handheld Tiger Tail Original, our pick for a smooth-surface portable roller. Its small diameter allows for more-targeted trigger-point work, yet the length is generous for most parts of the body. (We also tried a couple of rollers designed for travel, but neither won us over completely.)

It’s a good option if you have mobility issues. Michael Murray, a physical therapist at Duke University, said a handheld roller like the Tiger Tail is a good choice for older patients who have difficulty getting on the floor and using a foam roller but can still put adequate pressure on their muscles using a handheld device.

Smaller muscles are easier to get to with a handheld roller. Not only is the Tiger Tail great for portability, but it’s good for hitting harder-to-reach areas like the neck or ankles. It’s also an option for partner work, if you’re lucky enough to have someone who’ll use the roller on you.

It’s really a supplement to your SMR routine. It’s harder to access some muscles (like the upper back) with a handheld, and you won’t get nearly as much pressure as you can from an on-the-floor model.

If you’re looking for a longer roller for deeper SMR: The TriggerPoint Grid 2.0 is a longer version of the well-known TriggerPoint Grid (13 inches long). It rolls nicely and provides a firm density and good self-myofascial release, and it feels particularly good against the neck. Although it’s 26 inches long (the original Grid roller is 13 inches), that’s still 10 inches shorter than most full-size rollers. It’s also much pricier. Both of TriggerPoint’s Grid rollers have gridded and smooth sections, so you can diversify your rolling routines.

If you want a slightly longer roller than the TriggerPoint Grid: The Pro-Tec Athletics Contoured Massage Roller is 1 inch longer, has a similar design, and is about the same price.

If you want a traditional 36-inch foam roller with just a bit more give: The somewhat spongy appearance of Spri’s EVA Full Foam Roller might make you think it’s a big softie, but don’t be fooled: The medium-density foam is a bit firmer than the Gaiam Restore roller’s polyethylene foam, but it has more give than any of the black EPP rollers. In other words, it’s a fine pick if you’re looking for something in the middle and don’t mind spending a bit more.

The following is not a comprehensive list of every foam roller we’ve tested. Here we review those that are still available.

The LuxFit Foam Roller (High Density) — available in 12-, 17.5-, and 36-inch lengths — has the same slightly textured surface and density as our top pick. Somehow, though, the roller’s material felt a bit pocked.

Like our top pick, the Yes4All High Density Foam Roller is available in various sizes, from 12 to 36 inches long, and it’s shaped like a traditional cylindrical foam roller. It claims to support 300 pounds of body weight. It felt slightly harder than the Amazon Basics roller we recommend.

The 321Strong Foam Roller (Medium Density Deep Tissue) and the Original Body Roller — both 12.5 inches long and 5.25 inches in diameter — turned out to be nearly identical, with the same textured pattern. The Original Body Roller is too light and slipped out from under us several times while rolling. The 321Strong roller had a distinct chemical smell out of its plastic that dissipated only after several weeks. We felt its deeper texture when rolling, but it was tricky to control when we tried to target areas like the calves precisely.

The dual-textured Gaiam Restore Deep Tissue Foam Roller is made of smooth, dense foam. But it feels cheaply made. We also spotted a few buyer reviews on the Gaiam website complaining of internal cracking or seams coming apart.

The Lululemon Double Roller has wavy grooves on its exterior (intended for arm and leg massaging), plus an interior roller that’s meant to target the back. When fully intact, it measures 20 inches long. We liked that it was a 2-in-1 roller that can provide both deep SMR and a softer, cushiony roll. It’s a decent option for a longer textured roller, but we found the interior roller didn’t give us enough stabilization when rolling. Some of our paid testers also noticed their clothes sometimes got stuck on the wavy design. Ostop generally advises to not wear baggy clothing when you’re foam rolling. “It’s more likely to get little folds in the fabric, which won’t feel good when you’re rolling over them,” Ostop said. “Tighter clothing is better or bare skin.”

With its aggressive-looking studs, the RumbleRoller Full-Size Original can look awesome or awful, depending on your deep-tissue needs. Either way, our experts cautioned that this isn’t the roller for people who are new to SMR — and indeed, it’s better for sustained trigger-point work over rolling.

Smooth and dense, with a texture that looks like elongated bubbles, the 26-inch Teeter Massage Foam Roller (Less Firm) isn’t wholly unpleasant, and we liked the longer length (though it’s still 10 inches shorter than many of our favorites). But we found it slippery and bumpy to roll on, and it had two pronounced seams that were fairly sharp.

The assertive looking knobs on the 26-inch Teeter Massage Foam Roller (More Firm) are intense and, for most people, would be too much for rolling. Like the RumbleRoller, this one is more suited for lingering trigger-point release.

Measuring 14 inches long, the TRX Rev Roller is covered in dozens of round trigger points that deliver an extreme rolling experience. On our hamstrings and back, we found it created a hard but satisfying roll, but it was too painful on other body parts, particularly the neck and glutes.

The Idson Muscle Roller Stick for Athletes consists of nine dimpled, hard-plastic segments that are noticeably harder than the foam-covered roller of our favorite handheld SMR tool. The dimples provide a bit of added texture, but we didn’t notice a significant difference in intensity or the ability to finesse the amount of pressure applied.

The Pro-Tec Athletics RM Extreme Contoured Roller Massager is similar to the Tiger Tail, but its foam covering is segmented, with the ability to slide the segments together or keep them apart. Unfortunately, our pros found them largely ineffective in terms of changing the depth of the massage the roller provides — and given that the Pro-Tec roller is a handheld with the obvious limiting factor of arm strength, it doesn’t bring much new to the table.

The Brazyn Life Morph Collapsible Foam Roller has a smart design: The roller collapses flat so it can be tucked into its mesh bag for travel or storage; loops on either end of the roller are pulled firmly to bring the roller back to its cylindrical shape. The mechanism held up over repeated pulls and deflates. Compared with our favorites, though, the roller felt hard and rolled clunkily. We took it on the road on a few occasions, and it was nice to have something to roll with, but it never won us over.

Like its sibling, the Gaiam Restore Deep Tissue Foam Roller, the collapsible Gaiam Restore Foam Roller (currently unavailable) didn’t feel great. Cleverly designed, it slides apart into two portable, packable sections. But it’s hard and bumpy to roll on, and a corner of the foam began to pull away from the body soon after we tried it.

We dismissed the Homedics Gladiator Vibration Foam Roller without testing because while most vibrating foam rollers are rechargeable, this one runs on four C batteries, which — with frequent use and replacement — would quickly add to its otherwise lower cost.

The 13-inch Hyperice Vyper 2.0 was the most powerful (and the loudest) foam roller we tested. We haven’t tested the Vyper 3.0.

The 12-inch Therabody Wave Roller is sleek and smooth with an upscale feel, all the way down to its cloth storage bag. Its five vibration settings range from soothing and gentle (levels one through three) to serious vibration (levels four and five). Like many of the vibrating rollers we’ve tried, it does emit a loud hum at top speed — particularly when it’s vibrating on the floor (we moved to a yoga mat to help dampen the noise). That said, it feels nice to use for short periods of time.

The VulkRoll Vibrating Foam Roller’s 17-inch length was enough for Amy to roll two legs at once (though it’s still shorter and more expensive than our top pick). Unlike the other powered rollers we tested, this one has an undulating setting, which we found soothing for sore muscles, especially along the calves.

This article was edited by Tracy Vence and Kalee Thompson.

Thomas Best, professor of orthopedics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Michael Fredericson, MD, professor of orthopaedic surgery at Stanford University Medical Center and the co-author of “Foam Roller Techniques for Massage, Stretches and Improved Flexibility”

Lindsay Lopez, owner of Form Pilates

Michael Murray, physical therapist at Duke University, phone interview, February 18, 2025

Sarah Ostop, DPT, adjunct faculty at the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, video interview, February 19, 2025

Matthew Smith, instructor of physical therapy and human movement sciences at Northwestern University, phone interview,, February 19, 2025

Whitney Vail, assistant athletic director for sports medicine at Baruch College, email interview, February 13, 2025

Seth Berkman

My beat includes home fitness equipment, outdoor athletic accessories, and a wide range of running gear. I’m particularly interested in gear designed for people trying new physical activities.

Ingrid Skjong

Ingrid Skjong is a supervising editor on the appliance team, focusing on the likes of ranges, refrigerators, dryers, and dishwashers. She previously covered fitness for Wirecutter and has been an editor and writer at various lifestyle magazines. She is an avid runner and lives in New York City.

Amy Roberts

Amy Roberts is a certified personal trainer (NASM-CPT), a running coach (USATF Level 1), and a regionally competitive runner. She also served as a staff writer for the Good Housekeeping Institute for nearly five years, working closely with the engineers and other scientists to interpret product test results.

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