The benefits of massage are undeniable, as it helps relax muscles and improve blood circulation in the massaged areas of the body.

While high-end massage chairs, such as zero gravity chairs, provide the closest experience to a real hand massage, they can be quite expensive.

For information on the best zero gravity massage chair and reviews of other zero gravity massage chairs, please refer to this article.

The cheapest zero gravity massage chair will cost you at least $3,000 (excluding Chinese massage chairs, which often have poor return and repair policies). A good quality zero gravity chair can cost up to $15,000.

What can you do if you desire a decent massage chair but don’t want to spend a fortune?

In such cases, you can opt for budget massage chairs, which still offer a quality massage with fewer features but at a more affordable price range, ranging from $500 to $2,000.

If you’re looking for something even more affordable and portable, a massage cushion (also known as a massaging chair pad) could be a suitable option for you.

We have compiled a table of the most interesting models of massage chairs within this price range, making it easy for you to understand and compare different models.

For more detailed information about each model and our recommendations, please refer to the information provided after the table.

Panasonic: Urban Collection Massage Chair with Chiro Mode (EP1285KL)

Features:

•  4 Pre-set Programs: Chiro (new massage technique for better muscle relaxation and promoting good posture by helping eliminate fatigued muscles), Swedish, Shiatsu, and Quick
• 8 Manual Modes: Kneading, Hawaiian (gentle rubbing motion across the back), Compression (firmer rubbing motion across the back), Tapping, Soft Shiatsu, Full/Regional Roll, and Swedish.
• Number of rollers: 4
• 14 airbags for lower body massage
• Kneading calf massage
• Leg stretch (very mild stretch)
• “Tsubo point” neck/shoulder massage (“Tsuba points” are acupressure points)
• Massaging recliner, up to 170°

Panasonic massage chairs are good quality massaging chairs, but they very often lack the variety of features. Panasonic EP1285KL for the 2,000$+ price could have at list heat and rollers adjustment features. Though, it’s still a good massage chair with lots of massage options from intense, like kneading, to gentle, like Hawaiian.

 Osaki OS-1000 Deluxe Massage Chair, Black

If you’re looking for comparable to Panasonic quality, but lower price, consider Osaki OS-1000. Osaki is a reputable brand, so you can be sure that your massaging chair will serve you for years.

Features:

• 5 Pre-set programs: Health Care, Full Body Relax, Therapy, Neck/Shoulder, Back/Lumber
• 4 Massage Types: Kneading & Tapping, Kneading, Tapping, and Rolling
• 20 airbags for lower body massage
• Number of rollers: 4
• “Tsubo point” neck/shoulder
• Back rollers reach tailbone area
• Adjustable speed of massage
• Adjustable massage strength (6 levels)
• Adjustable width of rollers (3 different width settings)
• Vibration massage in the seat
• Recliner, up to 170°

As you see Osaki OS-1000 has a nice collection of features. They will satisfy any massage taste. You will get everything you want either it’s slow and gentle massage or fast and intense. It will accommodate any back shape with adjustable roller width and extra-long roller range (that makes it the best chair for back pain).

Osaki OS-1000 is a perfect massaging chair for the tight budget in the opinion of our experts. The only cons of this chair are that it’s bulky and can stand out from other furniture in the room. However, this could be applied to most of reclining massage chairs.

OSIM uStyle2 Massage Chair

If you care about style of your home as much as about a good at-home massage, Osim uStyle2 is a perfect massage chair for you. It has very stylish look available in different colors, and transform in the regular comfort chair with a touch of a button.

This massage chair has everything to give you personalized massage adjusted to your preferences and physic. With Osim uStyle2 you can adjust length and width of roller’s work area (aka your back), intensity and choose from 5 pre-set and 9 manual programs.

Features:

• 5 Pre-set programs: Relax, Energize, Neck & Shoulder, De-Stress and Lumbar
• 9 Manual programs: Tapping, Rolling, Kneading, Vibration and combination massages
• Adjustable shoulder position (5 settings)
• Adjustable width of rollers (3 settings)
• Adjustable massage intensity (3 settings)
• Foot vibration and kneading massage

The bottom line for this model is that Osim uStyle2 can be named the best massage chair transformer on the market.

 Human Touch iJoy-2580 Robotic Massage Chair

Human Touch iJoy-2580 is an inexpensive stylish looking massage chair. It’s not bulky and easily can be moved from one place to another. iJoy-2580 has 4 types of massage technics, which help to relieve or invigorate neck, shoulder and lower back combined in 3 pre-set programs.

You can refresh your entire back with rolling technic, relieve neck and shoulders with kneading, and release lower back with compression and percussion (rapid-tapping strokes).

Human Touch iJoy-2580 massage quality is pretty decent and an over-all rating of the massage chair by customers is high. But it has very limited amount of features and can be compared with massage cushion in functionality. It has a stylish look and could be used as a chair while not in use. But you can feel its rollers when it’s off, what makes iJoy-2580 uncomfortable for sitting in.

Bottom line, Human Touch iJoy-2580 is a good massage chair for the price, but has its drawbacks, which you should know before consider buying. This applies to most iJoy chairs.

Electric Full Body Shiatsu Massage Chair Recliner w/Heat Stretched Foot Rest 06C

BestMassage EC-06C offers you a great number of features for the fraction of the price of other comparable massage chairs.

Features:

• 3 Pre-set programs: Recovery, Relax, Refresh
• 6 Massage Types: Kneading, Rolling, Tapping, Flapping, Compression, Percussion
• 20 airbags for lower body massage
• “Tsubo point” neck/shoulder massage
• Back rollers reach tailbone area
• Vibration and airbags’ massage for the buttocks
• Heat

At first it seems like a great massage chair, with all features available and price 3 times lower than similar chair by reputable brand. But there is one huge drawback.

The biggest concern about this BestMassage chair as well as other massage chairs by this brand is unreliability and it has terrible customer service. Around 10% of people who bought this chair complain that it didn’t work out-of-box or broke within one month. That happens with reputable brands too, but you have warranty for that. Unfortunately, people have big trouble with customer service of BestMassage, when they were trying to return or repair product.

However, the majority of people who have tried this chair are satisfied with its performance.

Another budget option for a massage chair is a vibrating chair, but it is worth discussing separately. In short, vibration provides an overall relaxing experience but cannot be compared to the kneading and rolling massage techniques.

I hope you have found enough information here to help you purchase the best massage chair within your budget. As a tip for buying a chair, you can try out a massage chair in a physical store (if you can find the model you want) and then make your purchase online to ensure you get the best price.