What a year for new massage chairs!
2024 for massage chairs can be summed up in 3 words: More for Less. This year brought a ton of innovation from massage chair manufacturers. Many massage chairs are better than a massage therapist without the $100+ a massage price tag.
A number of exciting features were released. Some of the most exciting were: AI body scanning technology as well as new dual track massages.
How We Broke Down The Best Massage Chairs Of 2024
We broke down categories based on our personalized massage fitting experience. After 27 years in the industry, we have some good insight with what people want in their massage chair.
Here are our massage chair categories:
- Massage Chairs For Athletic Recovery
- Massage chairs under $3,000
- Massage chairs under $5,000
- Massage Chairs Made In Japan
- Luxury Massage Chairs
Without further ado, let's get into the top picks of 2024.
The best chairs are broken down by price as well as features.
Best Massage Chairs For Athletes
When the focus is on recovery for massage chairs, you need a variety of intensity settings to help reduce soreness in the body. The focus is around improving blood circulation and reduce delayed onset muscle soreness. Here are a couple that are focused on athletic recovery:
Positive Posture Brio Sport
The Positive Posture Brio Sport was made specifically for athletes to aide in the recovery of different muscle groups. The Brio Sports choreography is designed to improve your physiology. After a long run, you're able to come home and sit in an incredibly comfortable massage chair to help improve lymphatic drainage. It will feel like human hands helping you recover.
You'll notice with the massage the precise heat feature which aides in reducing inflammation while you're sitting in the chair. The entire experience is centered around getting you ready for your next workout.
Human Touch Super Novo 2.0
Human Touch knows a lot about massage chairs with more than four decades of experience. The Human Touch Super Novo 2.0 is an extension of that experience. The Super Novo 2.0 does a great job at focusing on full body coverage and is an excellent choice for relief from muscle aches. A number of professional athletes choose the Super Novo 2.0 for this specific purpose.
The Super Novo 2.0 is one of the best chairs to replace a massage therapist. The intellitrack massage rollers will perfectly align to your spine after the body scanning set-up. You'll then have a variety of settings to help your entire body recover.
Best Massage Chair Under $3,000
Ador Allure 3D Massage Chair
The Ador Allure has the same amount of features as most massage chairs priced around $5,000. The massage therapy is excellent at the neck and shoulder massage. It's also particularly good with bigger shoulder and upper body types. The Allure is wider in the shoulders than most massage chairs. The chair's features include 5 levels of adjustment, 3 stages of zero gravity reclining, and specialized foot rollers. The Allure has a stronger massage that will leave you feeling relaxed and rejuvenated.
You'll notice the Allure has a number of high performing features and does a great job with deep tissue massage. It's one of of the only quality chairs you can get for a few thousand dollars.
Kyota Genki M380
The Kyota Genki has a comprehensive 360-degree, 4-node massage mechanism providing various techniques, including kneading, tapping, shiatsu, and knocking. This helps you loosen up areas from the neck down to the glutes. Another standout feature is total sole reflexology and calf oscillators. These features are great for soothing tired legs and helping you rejuvenate. These unique features are usually only found in higher end models.
Top Massage Chair Picks For Under $5,000
Kyota Yosei M868
The Kyota Yosei M868 has some stretch features you can't even get with a professional massage. The Kyota Yosei does an incredible job with its decompression stretch and waist twist function. This is an excellent selection if you have sciatic nerve pain. One of our favorite aspects about this massage chair is the spinal correction feature.
The Yosei has great heat therapy to loosen up sore muscles in the lower back area. It's an incredibly versatile massage chair with its vast stretch programs and massage styles. It's an excellent pick under $5,000. Also a good choice for taller users.
Inner Balance Jin 2.0 Massage Chair
The Inner Balance Jin 2.0 is a tough massage chair to beat at the $3,499 price point. With the ability to fit users of all sizes and a wide variety of variable massage intensity programs, you'll quickly see the value.
What impresses us most about the Jin 2.0 was the ability for the calf massage to fit so many different body types. A stocker user was able to adjust the calf massager for a perfect fit. We found the same adjustment ability for both petite and taller users.
Mix in the therapeutic effect massage benefits and you have a definite winner in the market.
Osaki OS Highpointe 4D Massage Chair
As we've written before, the Osaki OS Highpointe has one of the best deep tissue massage chairs on the market. The level of intensity is usually reserved for massage chairs with a higher price tag.
The Highpointe also has the advanced 44 full body air massage system. So you will be able to mix and match your massage therapy session at a variety of intensities. I love how this chair helped loosen up my lower back.
The Highpointe comes with a 5 year extended warranty, which is much better than the three year warranty of most chairs in its class.
High End Luxury Massage Chairs
High end massage chairs will take the full body experience to the next level. 2024 brought a number of high end innovations like dual track technology to save you time and AI body scanning technology.
Luxury massage chairs are now going beyond what a licensed massage therapist can offer in a single massage session.
Infinity Luminary Syner-D Massage Chair
The Infinity Luminary massage chair is a standout in the high-end category for its wide range of intensity settings and its Syner-D® Dual Back Massage Mechanism. This chair offers an incredible calf and foot massage with Infinity's Complete Calf™ Kneading + Oscillation.
The Luminary constantly scores high in comparison reviews for the quality of massage, stretch programs, and heat therapy. The focus of of the Luminary is to be able to provide a wide range of massage techniques for a whole family of users.
Osaki Duomax 4D Massage Chair
The Duomax is always one of our customer favorites. One of our favorite things about the Duomax is the diversity in the full body massage therapy settings. You can focus on stress relief and relaxation, or you can sit back in zero gravity mode and get one of the best deep tissue full body massage experiences on the market.
This Duomax chair offers Osaki's Dual Track rollers. So you'll be able to get a set of massage rollers on your upper back as well as your glutes at the same time. The Duomax comes with a massage cushion back pad as well, which will allow you to back off the intensity if needed.
We love this chair. There's a reason many consider it the best massage chair on the market.
Panasonic Mak1 Massage Chair
The Panasonic Mak1 calling card is an incredible deep-tissue massage driven by Panasonic's Real Pro Ultimate Human Intelligence Massage Mechanism. With over 1080 accupoints on the back, the Mak1 gets a high resolution image of your back then goes to work.
The Mak1 does a great job at real time responsiveness to aches and pains. After a session you'll leave with less stress in a zen like state. Just what you would expect from a company that is over 100 years old.
Best Japanese Massage Chairs
Massage chairs made in Japan have a very distinct massage experience. Japanese massage chairs are very zen like in nature. Meaning the choreography is more methodical compared to other chairs on the market.
The best way I can describe it if you go to a Zen Garden, you'll notice that all the details are planned out. From the wood materials to where each tree is placed. They believe that less is more. The same holds true for Massage Chairs from Japan. These chairs don't add additional features unless it contributes to the overall massage experience. So you get a iPhone like simplicity and massage modes to help you relax.
Here are the Best Massage Chairs Made In Japan
Synca JP3000 Massage Chair
The JP3000 Massage Chair has the distinct feel of a Japanese massage chair product. When you sit in the chair you notice slower and more methodical movements compared to other models that can be somewhat jerky. You understand the JP3000 ultra premium massage chair is designed for serenity and also carries the ability to do an incredible deep tissue full body massage with heat therapy.
This chair does an incredible job in the upper neck and shoulders. There are so many other well thought out features like the foot sole shiatsu massage. Just what you would expect from the world's best Japanese massage chair.
KOYO 303TS Massage Chair
The Koyo 303TS chair is an excellent 4D massage chair that does a great job with lower back pain. This chair is great if you have a sore back from sitting. A highlight is the shiatsu massage on the neck and shoulders. With the Koyo 303 you'll get a variety of massage techniques that will help soothe muscle aches.
This is an outstanding choice if you want to improve the health of your spine and elevate your wellness routine.
Thoughts About Choosing the Right Massage Chair
These days you have an incredible selection of massage chairs with more features and customizable settings than ever.
How do you pick the right one?
Here are a couple key questions to consider:
Decide what budget you are willing to spend and what massage programs you need
You can get a great 4D massage chair for under $5,000 these days. Generally speaking, chairs with more settings and top of the line features can be $8,000 or more.
Make sure you pick a chair that has the right massage intensity settings. One of the biggest issues is people who don't like their massage chair is it's too intense or not intense enough. If you are unsure, get a massage chair with a large degree of variability settings.
Check the weight capacity and dimensions to ensure it fits your space
Most massage chairs are able to fully recline with just 2 inches of wall space. So space is much less of an issue. The key thing is to make sure that the massage chair will fit the contours of your body and the weight limit is not an issue.
Most massage chairs will fit people between 5'2" to 6"2 and up to 260LB. You will be able to find this information in the specifications. It's also important to know your shoulder width so you can sit comfortably in zero gravity reclining mode. If you have wider shoulders, we recommend reaching out for recommendations.
Getting the massage intensity and dimensions right is incredibly important.
Read reviews and do research to find a reputable brand
If you're shopping here, we got you covered on this one. If you notice we regularly stop carrying some massage chair brands. We feel it's our duty to the market to only carry reputable brands with a proven track record.
Why Our Reviews Are Different
Here's the truth, most of the companies who do best chairs of 2024 don't know the first thing about massage techniques or massage styles. They are paid advertisement from the manufacturer trying to sell a ton of chairs.
Our reviews are different because we are the largest online only retailer of massage chairs. We have the lowest return rate in the industry as well.
This is because our team knows the ins and outs of full body massage chairs. We also know when certain chairs have flaws or poor customer experiences. Truth is some manufacturers discontinue with us because we call it like it is. We know that's why our customers buy from us and recommend their friends.
So these recommendations are based on real customer experiences and 27 years of knowledge in the industry.
Conclusion
A massage chair is an incredible way to step back and relieve muscle tension after a hectic day. It's a great investment if you have a focus on your wellbeing. With the price of massage chairs decreasing as well, there's never been a better time to buy
