We get it. Standing on a platform and shaking yourself fit might sound a bit sketchy but the best vibration plates, sometimes called vibration platforms, vibration machines or power plates, allow you to incorporate whole-body vibration (WBV) as an additional component to your exercise routine.
“These devices typically consist of a platform that vibrates at various frequencies measured in Hertz (Hz),” Amanda Place, personal trainer and founder of Sculptrition tells us. “You can stand, sit, or lie on the platform while it vibrates, causing muscles to contract and relax multiple times per second.”
And, as the long list of research studies shows, all this shaking and vibrating can boost your health and wellness — and in more ways than one. According to a 2018 review, WBV can result in increases in muscular strength, power, flexibility, and gait speed. You might also see improvements in bone mineral density and balance which results in a decreased risk of falls. While a meta-analysis found that WBV can increase circulation. Researchers even discovered these nifty plates could help combat osteoporosis.
Why should you use a vibration plate?
Along with helping to shake up a stale fitness regime and helping to better your balance, vibration plates can provide a low-impact exercise option if you have limited mobility or joint issues. “The gentle vibrations will help maintain muscle activity without putting excessive stress on the joints,” Place explains.
“While not a standalone solution for weight loss, vibration plates can be used as part of a comprehensive fitness programme in a shorter amount of time,” Place says. “This will contribute to calorie burning and muscle toning when combined with a healthy diet and aerobic exercise.”
However, it’s important to flag: if this is your first time using a vibration plate, or you have a health condition or concern, do speak to a personal trainer or your GP first.
What features should you look out for?
Decided to invest in a vibration plate? You might want to consider the following.
- The platform size: this will ensure that the platform size is sufficient for your exercise needs. “A larger platform provides more space for various exercises and greater stability,” Place reveals.
- The weight capacity: different plates can hold different weight capacities.
- If there are any pre-set programmes: pre-set workout programmes are designed for specific fitness goals, such as weight loss, muscle toning, or flexibility. Place explains: “This can add variety to your workouts and make it easier to use, especially if you’re just starting out in your fitness routine.”
- The display and controls: the easier the vibration plate is to read, the easier it will be to use and the easier it is to use, the more likely you are to stick with it. “This makes it simpler to adjust settings during your workout,” Place adds.
Long gone are the days you’d have to travel to a gym and wait eager-eyed and quick-footed to nab your spot on a vibration plate. Like many 21st-century pieces of exercise kit, these unique devices have had a smaller, more consumer-friendly makeover so there’s a wide variety of at-home options now available.
No matter whether you plan on lunging, planking or just standing on your plate, keep scrolling to discover the best vibration plates on the market right now.
Best vibration plates at a glance:
- Best for budget: EVOLAND Vibration Plate - £96.40, Amazon
- Best for a clear display: Vibration Plate Whole Body Workout Vibration Platform - £89.99, Home Fitness Code
- Best for total health and wellbeing: Bluefin 3D Vibration Plate - £249, Amazon
- Best for comfort: Reviber Vibration Plate Exerciser with Seat and Push Up Bar - £199.99, Reviber
- Best for a splurge: Personal Power Plate - £1356, Amazon
- Best for state-of-the-art home gym: Power Plate My5 - £3,995, Currys
- Best for bright and bold colourful design: LifePro Waver Vibration Plate - £149, Amazon
- Best for small space: Bodi-Tek Slim Vibration Plate - £140, Argos
- Best for 4D motion: 4D Bluefin Vibration Plate - £389, Amazon
- Best for balance and stability: Bluefin Fitness Vibration Plate - £210, Amazon
- Best for a range of vibration levels: Reviber Super Slim Vibration Plate - £160, Argos
Bluefin 3D Vibration Plate
Best for: Total health and wellbeing
Dimensions: 79.5cm x 50.55cm x 21.34cm
Accessories: Resistance cords, resistance bands, nutrition guide and workout poster
Weight capacity: 150kg
You are honestly spoilt for choice when it comes to Bluefin’s 3D Vibration Plate. You’ll get a full lifetime warranty on the dual motor which gives you the choice to choose from horizontal oscillation, linear vibration and a combined 3D motion. Meaning? You get the best of every world.
There are five auto-set programmes to pick, each of which lasts for 10 minutes and is designed with specific goals in mind. Whether you intend to build strength, lose fat, massage your achy body, boost circulation or better your bone density. But there’s more. Bluetooth lets you blast your tunes while working out, resistance cables help level up your session and you’ll also get diet and nutrition guides in the box.
Buy now £249.00, Amazon
Vibration Plate Whole Body Workout Vibration Platform
Best for: a clear display
Invented back in the late 1890s, vibration plates have been popular in the fitness world for a while now with claims of enhancing weight loss through high-vibration shaking. Benefits are said to range from strengthening muscles to improving recovery as well as a speedy way to warm up or cool down by stimulating the muscles at a higher rate. At the very least, it encourages circulation and reduces stress on the joints. This model available at Home Fitness Code has an LED display that monitors time, speed and distance.
Buy now £89.99, Home Fitness Code
EVOLAND Vibration Plate
Best for: Budget
Dimensions: 32cm x 54cm x 13.5cm
Accessories: Resistance bands and remote control
Weight capacity: 136kg
Kickstarting this guide off is the Evoland Vibration Plate which is big on features but little on price. At just over £90, it’s the most affordable vibration plate in our lineup and it deserves a special mention because you get a lot of bang for your buck. It’s kitted out with five 15-minute pre-set functions, including a relaxing, mild, jogging, fast running and brisk walking setting. But it does give you the option to set the time and speed you’re after yourself.
It also connects to smartphones via Bluetooth so you can play music and it comes with resistance bands that clip onto the machine at the bottom. The sturdy vibration plate can give your body a condition at less than 55 decibels (so equivalent to the sound of your fridge). Whether you want to stand, sit or plank on it, this is an affordable option for those on a budget.
Buy now £96.40, Amazon
Reviber Vibration Plate Exerciser with Seat and Push Up Bar
Best for: Comfort
Dimensions: 76cm x 32cm x 44cm
Accessories: Resistance cords, padded seat and push-up bars
Weight capacity: 150kg
The British-designed Reviber Vibration Plate Exerciser looks a little bit different to all of the other vibration plates on the market but for a handy reason: it comes with a push-up bar and a seat. In our opinion, the removable Ab Workout Seat makes completing your crunches, sit-ups and ab holds much more comfy. Similarly, the removable push-up bars give you a steady base to perfect the compound move, all the while reaping the many rewards the oscillating powered vibration plate brings.
If you take the plunge on this product, you can also use the upper body resistance bands to strengthen your arms, shoulders and back. The versatile piece of home gym kit comes in handy whether you’re just starting out on your fitness journey or you’re a seasoned pro.
Buy now £199.99, Reviber
Personal Power Plate
Best for: Splurge
Dimensions: 70cm x 47.5 x 15.7cm
Accessories: Strap Set (set of 2), rubber mat and remote control
Weight capacity: 120kg
If you’re a gym goer, you’ve probably spotted some sort of Power Plate addition lurking in the corner next to all the resistance bands or floor mats - and it’s for very good reason. Power Plate is one of the world’s leading brands behind whole-body vibration products and its Personal Power Plate is no different.
It’s smaller, more compact and lightweight than most gym variations and this makes it a handy alternative for at-home workouts. This product uses the patented PrecisionWave Tech which works to activate the body’s ‘natural reflexive response’ to help accelerate training benefits and it’s all backed by science.
It’s important to note: you won’t be able to increase or decrease the hertz of this machine - it comes with a set frequency of 35Hz. But you can choose from a 30 or 60-second timer, depending on what takes your fancy. However, at just over £1,500, all this power does come at a price.
Buy now £1356.01, Amazon
Power Plate My5
Best for: A state-of-the-art home gym
Dimensions: 68cm x 92cm x 148cm
Accessories: Hand straps, set of three rubber mats, remote control, exercise poster and dust covers for the column and platform
Weight capacity: 136kg
Taking it up a notch or three is Power Plate’s all-singing all-dancing My5 which, at £3,995, is by far the most expensive vibration plate on our list - but hear us out. It’s just over double the amount of the Personal Power Plate above but it does come with lots of power and additional features that help raise the fitness stakes.
This includes three different frequency options between 30-40Hz, a handled-column so you can keep your stability on point while performing exercises, pre-programmed quick start buttons which make ticking off your workout even easier and a higher max load. Like the Personal Power Plate, it’s also fitted with the brand’s trademarked PrecisionWave Technology so the benefits are seemingly never-ending. If you take the hit on this, your purchase will include an exercise poster, hand straps, three rubber mats and a dust cover so you can look after your bit of kit. Plus, if it’s good enough for Serena Williams, Mark Wahlberg and Hilary Swank…
Buy now £3995.00, Currys
LifePro Waver Vibration Plate
Best for: Bright and bold colourful design
Dimensions: 38.86cm x 69.34cm x 14.99cm
Accessories: Remote control, resistance cords and resistance bands
Weight capacity: 149kg
You can always count on a product being top-notch when it’s racked up a hard-to-come-by 4.5 out of five stars on Amazon and from more than 13,000 ratings. The LifePro Waver Vibration Plate comes with an under £150 price tag and if you purchase this product, you’ll get two corded bands which you attach to the underneath of the vibration plate, four bands which you can wrap around your legs to help add some more resistance and 99-speed settings to choose from.
This mini but mighty machine also has an anti-slip rubber surface and if you purchase it, you’ll get access to exclusive training videos which you can watch forever. Not a fan of blue? Choose from black, white, grey, purple and red.
Buy now £148.99, Amazon
Bodi-Tek Slim Vibration Plate
Best for: Small spaces
Dimensions: 11.5cm x 52.5cm x 31cm
Accessories: Remote control, workout guide and resistance cords
Weight capacity: 120kg
We hear you. Not all homes will have the space for a dedicated gym, but small spaces need not go without as the Bodi-Tek Slim Vibration Plate weighs under 9kg and measures just 11.5cm high, 52.5cm wide and with a diameter of 31cm. So in other words? You won’t have to sacrifice all-important floor/living room/bedroom space for this super slim vibration plate.
Sizing aside, there are lots of other brilliant features. You can connect it to your smartphone to play your top tunes, attach the resistance cords to help you condition your arms and work your way through five auto programs to help mix things up. Live in a flat? Don’t worry, the clever anti-slip rubber feet work hard to minimise vibrations.
Buy now £140.00, Argos
4D Bluefin Vibration Plate
Best for: 4D motion
Dimensions: 79cm x 26cm x 21cm
Accessories: Wearable remote control, resistance bands, resistance cords, nutrition guide and workout poster
Weight capacity: 120kg
The 4D Bluefin Vibration Plate takes your health and fitness goals seriously. It’s crafted with three silent motors to give you the choice of what vibration you’re after. This includes a vibration mode, oscillation mode and micro-vibration mode you can use separately or you can step up to the curved plate and enjoy all three at once.
Its USP is the LED Stop Light System which flashes from red, orange and green and essentially tells you how much effort you're putting into your workout. Pretty handy, right? There are also beads on the plate that offer up the benefits of reflexology, super crisp Bluetooth speakers, a wearable remote control, three program options and seven manual combinations to pick from. There’s a lot of power packed into this machine.
Buy now £390.00, Amazon
Bluefin Vibration Plate Pro
Best for: Providing balance and stability
Dimensions: 67cm x 71cm x 116cm
Accessories: Resistance cables, workout plan and nutrition guide
Weight capacity: 150kg
Another Bluefin creation enters our guide to the best vibration plates but the Bluefin Vibration Plate Pro comes with a difference. Want integrated speakers so you can blast your favourite tracks? Interested in tracking how many calories you’ve burned during your session? Worried about your balance so want a handy rail? This vibration plate has it all.
It’s kitted out with a 360-degree rotation plate so you can twist and turn during your workout and it has 10 different programmes to test. Prefer to set your own pace? There are 180 levels of vibration to get through and you can do so knowing you’re not bothering your neighbour, thanks to the handy silent drive motor.
Buy now £219.00, Bluefin
Reviber Super Slim Vibration Plate
Best for: Range of vibration levels
Dimensions: 13cm x 67cm x 38cm
Accessories: Resistance bands, remote control and exercise booklet
We bring good news: no matter whether you’re new to the world of vibration plates or you’re a pro, with 99 intensity levels to pick from, it turns out there is a vibration level for all thanks to the Reviber Super Slim Vibration Plate. What’s great about this inclusion is the fact it comes with two resistance bands to help level up your workout, a remote control to help you up the ante and a handy exercise booklet that can provide some inspo if you’re lacking.
It’s also got five preset auto programmes that automatically intensify or drop the speeds so you can focus on your practice. Honourable mention too goes to its super slim height (which is just 13cm, in case you’re wondering). This means it won’t take up more space than it needs to. Slip it under your sofa, pop it under your bed or pack it away in the box until you’re ready to use it again. Whatever way you look at it, this certainly won’t be gathering dust.
Buy now £160.00, Argos
Verdict
With its lifetime warranty on the dual motor and the ability to offer up horizontal oscillation, linear vibration and a combined 3D motion, the health and well-being benefits of the Bluefin 3D Vibration Plate are there for the taking. This is all packaged up into a reasonable and one of the most affordable price points.