30+ Best Cheap Exercise Equipment For Home Use That Works

In this article, we will list more than 30 affordable pieces of equipment and machines that fit in every budget.

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They are portable

You can practice almost everywhere even in your small apartment.

They are versatile: 

You can use them for multipurpose exercises such as muscle building, weight loss and body toning, strength and weight training, resistance and endurance training, self massage or rehabilitation.

They are easy to use

Set up in a few minutes and practice lessons are not complicated. Some of the equipment is easy to DIY such as pull-up bar, agility ladder, plyometric box…

They are cheap

You can buy for yourself and also for those who love to exercise as cheap fitness gifts for less than $5, $10, $20, $50 and under $100, both for him and for her.

Under $5

1. Hand exercise ball

   Also known as stress ball as people use it to relieve tension and pressure on arthritic joints. Softer balls offer less resistance level so if you want to strengthen and build hands muscle, head for stronger ball and start the exercises by squeezing it. Choose the ball that fits perfect in your palm so that your finger tips can touch all over the sides of the ball. 

2. Theraband

   Aka Ailyo, falls into the wide flat band group vs resistance bands, which are of tubular bands. Both groups offer resistance training for the muscles and overall body.

3. Resistance band

   Or gym bands. As their name suggests, they help build resistance and endurance as well as “muscle-toning”. Another great benefit is that they are for those who are in the process of rehabilitation. They come in many sizes and colors at surprisingly cheap price.

4. Dumbbell 

   No one can deny the vast benefits of a pair of dumbbells (sometimes you may need only one piece) comparing to the price they cost. Dumbbells serve multiple purposes from body toning, weight training to muscle group strengthening.

5. Yoga block

   These tools are simple yet effective during your yoga training session as they help you to perform yoga poses better with greater balance especially in standing poses when you can’t reach the floor. If you have tight hips or knees you may risk the chance of bone injury when performing sitting or seated poses on the mat when you don’t have the required flexibility, then simply fix this by using yoga blocks. These tools are lightweight to carry around and cheap to purchase.

6. Massage ball

   (aka massage therapy balls including lacrosse ball and golf ball), it is a tool commonly used for muscle relief and blood circulation (self-myofascial release) for areas such as hands, forearms, feet, shoulders…

7. Foam Roller

   This is also a form of self-myofascial release or self massage release technique that is used to relieve muscle sore and tightness by rolling method. After heavy workout, you can recover faster by using foam roller. The practice is simple as long as you know how and where to roll correctly.

Under $10

1. Ab wheel

   Also known as ab roller, this compact equipment can bring so many benefits than you can imagine from helping build strong muscle core, create six pack abs to biger triceps. The exercises are easy to practice at home as long as you know how to roll the right way.

2. Hand grips

   Are small and portable equipment that help strengthen lower arm and forearm muscles in general by squeezing practice. Once your hands and arms are strong, you will be able to perform in sports that work with endurance and weights. A simple example of hand grip benefits is you can carry heavy objects easier and longer than before just by practicing your hands with those grips because not just hands, but your fingers and wrists also get stronger. Not only athletes but also musicians, typists, golfers… who want to improve their fingers strength, enjoy using hand grips. And guess what, they are impressively cheap.

3. Jump rope

   It is also called skipping rope. No one can believe that jump rope is a must for fat burning purposes. No need to go for expensive exercise equipment while you can burn calories like crazy with this old school piece of equipment. It is cheap yet so efficient and versatile. A 10 minute session with jump rope can burn more than 100 calories, as much as 30 minutes of running. It works for lungs, legs and lower body muscle in general, this tool is great for Crossfit as well. Tips to choose the right jump rope size: 9ft for those with heights under 5’11’’, 10 ft for those under 6’6’’ and 11ft to those whose heights are above 6’7’’.

4. Kettlebell

   Usually made from steel or iron material, kettlebells are durable equipment for strength and weight training. You can do so much with the kettlebells from swing, row, snatch, twist, press to deadlift or simply increasing grip strength or endurance in the lower back, legs, and shoulders.

5. Push-up bar

   Also referred to as parallettes. You may think that why we need push-up bar when you can perform the exercises with your own hands? Comparing vs regular pushup this simple piece of equipment take push-ups to another level and you can benefit more per training session. The practice is pretty simple, just as you normally do with your hands but they can also help you to perform from your knees. Those who just begin to push up may risk their wrists to be injured and push up bar can protect your joint better. However the bar is not for those with shoulder injury as it requires your shoulders to work harder.

6. Exercise floor mat

   Buy this for safety purpose during workouts. The mat protects you when you accidental fall by providing cushion or even protect your floor from damage when you drop weights on it. Gym floor mats are usually made from foam.

7. Yoga Mat

   Compared to workout mats, yoga mats are cheaper, usually made from PVC material and less thick.

8. Agility ladder

   Another simple-looking tool that actually work for foot speed and quickness training while helping maintain your body balance as well as burn fat at the same time. Most products will come with lifetime guarantee but you can also make your own agility ladder with instructions found on the internet.

9. Exercise ball

   Aka Stability/Swiss/Physio ball . These balls come with many sizes and colors and they are great for stabilization, muscle strength, and balance training exercises. Some people use stability balls instead of weight benches (of course the balls are a lot cheaper) for upper body presses. You can also use these balls instead of regular office chair to avoid back pain, correct posture and even workout in the office in your free time. It is recommended to know how to choose the right size stability ball depending on your height.

10. Medicine ball

    Also a type of exercise ball and used mostly for explosive strength and power training. There are bouncing ball and inbounding ball that are used to serve different purposes.

Under $20

1. Pullup Bar

   (aka chin up bar) this piece of equipment is great for upper body workout in general. If you want to gain muscle for the upper part and don’t know where to begin at first, pull up bar is the first thing to consider. It is versatile and convenient yet comes with affordable price. All you need is a standard doorways or ceiling to hang it on. You can also learn how to build your own pull up bar on the internet to save some bucks.

2. Gymnastic ring

    this tool used for upper body muscle and core, strength , simple, easy to carry, portable, cheap made from wood (more expensive, more durable, Rogue), plastic (more slippery, less substantial) or metal (for simple pull-ups and dips).

3. Wrist and forearm blaster

   Help strengthens and tones your hands, wrists and forearms as well as grip strength.

Under $50

1. Wrist ripper

   (or wrist roller) is used to make your forearms and wrists bigger and strengthen muscles in those areas using rolling-pulling/unrolling method.

2. BOSU Ball

   a dome shaped ball that is used for exercises that are similar to as stability balls but some believe that BOSU ball is better. It has flat surface side and round side to serve different exercises based on difficulty.

3. Wall ball

    is popular amongst Crossfit trainers. They usually use it to strengthen their glutes, hamstrings, calves, core muscles, lower back, chest muscles, biceps and triceps.

4. Step aerobics (step platform)

   is known to help with weight loss especially burning belly fat. Some people wonder if it even work but there are weight loss success stories from people who use exercises with step aerobics as long as they go on a healthy diet, reduce bad fat and sugar intake so that they can burn more calories than they can consume. One hour of step aerobics can burn from 400-600 calories depending on intensity level.

5. Corewheel

    a type of abdominal equipment, great for building six pack abs and core. It is lightweight and portable to carry around.

6. Pedal exerciser

   also is referred to as (folding) mini exercise bike, a portable machine which people use under their desk for workout at home or in the office. It is believed to help with calorie burn and weight loss as long as exercisers follow a suitable diet that makes them burn more calories than they consume. For example if you want to lose one pound you have to burn around 3500 calories per week. The lighter friction resistance controlled machine is cheaper than magnetic resistance system but they are also less durable and noisier.

7. Weighted vest

   What is a weight vest? As its name suggest, this vest is used for weight training. People wear it to add more weight while doing exercises such as walking, running, stair climbing… for better resistance, endurance and quickness/speed improvement. By this way, normal exercises seem to be more intense and it helps for weight loss as well.

8. Ankle weights

   use this to strap around your ankles when performing exercises such as walking, jogging, jumping, left lifting etc to add extra weights and increase the intensity/resistance of your workout. Are ankle weights good or bad for you? If you are not familiar with how ankle weights work then they are not for you as they may place pressure on your ankle joints when you are exercising.

Under $100

1. Plyometric box

   Made from wood, foam, plastic or steel. They are used for explosive strength and speed training in general especially jump ability. The box is great for heart, lungs, speed practice and calorie burn.If you are on tight budget, learn how to make a plyo box here.

2. Suspension trainer

   nothing can compare with suspension trainer in terms of versatility and portability. This piece of equipment can provide more 300 types of exercises your whole body can enjoy from strength training, flexibility, endurance, stability, balance… without placing too much stress on your joints. You can do it almost anywhere and it will make sure that you gain the mass and metabolism that you need.

3. Dip bar

   also known as dip station or dip stand, this equipment are usually two parallel bars that we use to pull our body while locking our hands or feet to train the muscles in the upper body parts such as chest, shoulders, triceps and keep balancing.

4. Elliptical Glider Machine

    is a kind of elliptical trainers. This one is for those who suffer from knee pain as they keep your knees and legs bend and straight when you move them back and forth during the process of pushing and pulling the handles. This machine is good for weight loss, hamstrings, quadriceps and glutes without placing too much stress on your knees. Depending on your weight and intensity of workout that you normally can burn more than 300 calories for 30 minutes of exercise provided you weight around 150 pounds.