The Best Yoga Mats on Amazon, According to Hyperenthusiastic Reviewers

This BalanceFrom yoga mat is hands down the most popular option on Amazon. It has 4.3 stars across a whopping 16,811 ratings, with a five-star tick of approval from more than 10,000 people. We’re long-term fans at the Strategist, as this mat is also our best-rated overall pick for U.S. buyers. Why is it so popular? The main draw is comfort. Hundreds of reviewers praise the mat’s extra-thick build — at 12 mm, it’s double the thickness of a traditional yoga mat. There are 120 reviews which compliment the mat’s comfortable feel: Its softness makes it particularly popular among beginners to yoga and pilates, as well as folks with sore joints, sensitive backs, or arthritic conditions. (One reviewer, who has been a therapeutic yoga teacher for 35 years, says they recommend this mat to their older students.) Joints aside, 60 customers add that the mat is great for anyone who works out on cold or hard floors. It’s also versatile. Beyond yoga, customers describe using it for camping, physiotherapy exercises, and at-home strength workouts.

This Bionix mat is one of Amazon’s top-three best sellers for yoga mats among U.K. customers, and it has an impressive 4.7 stars across over 700 reviews. At 10 mm, the mat is not quite as thick as our best-rated option, but it is slightly longer and wider — good for taller people. It attracts similar praise to the BalanceFrom mat: 200 customers call it comfy and 16 praise the cushioned feel, recommending it for those with sensitive backs, wrists, and knees. But most people say that the factor that sets this mat apart is price. According to one reviewer, this is among the cheapest yoga mats on Amazon — still, they say, the quality is there. Fifty customers call the yoga mat great value and more than 20 compliment its durability, especially at an affordable price. As a bonus, 20 customers describe the mat as lightweight, saying it is easy to carry to and from the studio or gym. One other reviewer (who uses the mat for workouts five times a week) is so pleased that they say they wish they could give the product ten stars.

This Proworks mat is another best seller among U.K. customers across both yoga and pilates categories. It has 4.5 stars from almost 2,000 ratings, including five stars from nearly 1,500 people. Value and comfort are the keywords here, and customers say that the mat strikes the right balance between feeling lightweight and being adequately padded. It’s relatively thick, at the 10 mm mark, which customers say makes it useful for yoga and strength workouts, but perfect for pilates and core-focused workouts. More than 70 people say that they’re pleased with how the mat has performed during their pilates sessions, providing ample grip and back support. Many praise the mat’s generous size and soft feel, and several pilates fans say that this mat has been the perfect replacement for the old or thin mats provided at their gym. (One man, who purchased the mat for his wife, says that he has since had to buy two more for her best friends, and is awaiting even more purchases on behalf of their envious gym buddies.)

This Heathyoga mat is a popular choice among self-described yoga rookies as well as experienced yogis. Like the Yoga Design Lab mat, 80 percent of its reviews are five stars. It gets top marks for grip and stability, but the mat’s most distinctive factor is its clearly marked “alignment lines.” Seventy customers call these markers useful or helpful: Dozens mention that the symmetrical lines have helped them to centre themselves on the mat, correct their form throughout yoga sessions, and even perfect their downward dog and warrior poses. Dozens of people say that the mat lasts well over time, including several who say they have used their mat for intensive exercise sessions, several times a week, for months. This includes a French yoga teacher who invested in eight of the mats for their studio. A handful of people also recommend this mat for hot yoga and Bikram yoga, and one customer (who has bought three of the mats to share with family) says they’re equally good for high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions. Heathyoga also markets this mat as particularly ecofriendly: It’s made of SGS-certified and biodegradable thermoplastic elastomers.

Although there are several extra-thick mats on this list, this 13 mm Prosource mat is particularly well-loved for its ability to absorb impact. The mat has over 2,000 reviews and 4.5 stars overall. It’s made of “comfort foam,” which buyers describe as thick and springy, providing a supportive, spongy base for all types of exercise. Two top reviewers describe this as the ideal mat for people who are recovering from injury. Both of them describe struggling with recurrent injuries until finding this mat, which they say reduces pain and absorbs impact (including when jumping). One of them says the mat is helping them to strengthen and recover from a recent injury; the other says it is a lifesaver, as it doesn’t flare up long-term injuries.

If you’re after something even thicker, customers are very complimentary about this yoga mat from TNP Accessories. At 16 mm, it’s the deepest mat on this list, and it comes highly recommended by buyers with sore feet and aching joints. (The word squishy is used in more than ten glowing reviews — one customer writes that, finally, it’s their muscles and not their bones that ache after a workout.) Another reviewer — a personal trainer — says that the mat is thick enough to workout comfortably on a concrete floor. They also recommend the mat for multipurpose use (like as a kneepad when cleaning or gardening), and a further 20 people say that it makes a perfect camping mat. The mat has 4.6 stars from more than 1,200 ratings.

This two-in-one mat is made by the same company as our best-rated pick for hot yoga — this is their travel-size version. There is a lot of praise in the reviews section, but the top-rated review is concise: This mat folds easily into a backpack or suitcase and is light, grippy, attractive, and effective. In short, they say, it’s a highly impressive yoga mat for travelling. Several customers add that the mat is easy to machine wash, simple to pack up, and great for bringing to and from the gym. At 1 mm thick, it’s the thinnest mat on this list, but it can be used alone or thrown over other yoga mats (for extra padding or for hygiene purposes). Like the other Yoga Design Lab mat, this mat works best when wet: It’s made of a microfibre material that is best suited for hot yoga or practicing in warmer environments (although, as several reviewers say, sweaty palms or a water spray bottle can do the trick). The travel mat has 4.2 stars across almost 400 reviews. It is available in a range of printed and patterned designs, from palm trees to colourful mandalas. [Editor’s note: This product is currently out of stock.]

Strategist contributor Natalya Lobanova has been doing yoga at home for ten years. She bought these blocks when she decided to perfect her splits, “and they’ve honestly made such a difference. You really need something sturdy and just the right height to help you relax into a pose effectively.” She also uses them as laptop stand when she’s not on the mat.

We asked 11 fitness experts about the best workout leggings. This pair by Lululemon were recommended by three of our panel. Fi Clark, yoga teacher at FLY LDN teaches yoga six days a week and says they “are the only leggings I feel comfortable in.”