Theragun Prime vs Pro

While the Theragun Pro is Therabody’s high-end model, the Theragun Prime is more like the brand’s mid-range massage gun. This is also reflected in the price difference between the two massagers. But do the features of the guns also justify the different prices? I’ll tell you in this product comparison. Since I tested both massage guns myself, I can draw on first-hand experience.

 

Comparison – Theragun Prime vs. Pro

 

Scope of Delivery and Attachments

You can find the scope of delivery listed above in the comparison table. As you can see, both massage guns come with quite a few accessories. However, the scope of delivery of the Theragun Pro is much more extensive. The Pro includes more attachments, an additional battery, and a charging station.

The quality of the attachments is again very high in both massagers. In addition, all attachments have a pleasant surface. So I can’t find anything to criticize here at all.

Functionality

Both massage guns have five power levels. In the case of the Theragun Prime, these are distributed over the following impact frequencies:

The Theragun Pro, on the other hand, has the following levels and shock frequencies:

As you can see, the two massage guns have nothing in common here. This is probably the same for the motor power. However, the manufacturer’s performance specifications are missing here. In my opinion, however, the massages felt similarly intense.

The stroke length also played an important role here, which describes the distance covered per stroke of the gun. The amplitude is 16 mm for both models. This is a very good value, probably even the best of all massage guns on the market. Accordingly, the deep tissue can also be processed very well.

Usability

In terms of usability, the Theragun Prime and Theragun Pro don’t have too much in common. Both massage guns have a central button that starts the motor inside. The power levels can be switched up or down via two other buttons.

There are only the following two differences between the two massagers:

1. The current level is only displayed on the Theragun Prime via small LEDs. The Theragun Pro, on the other hand, has an OLED display to show the current power level.
2. On the Theragun, one of several preset massage programs can be set by pressing a button. The Theragun Prime does not have such a possibility.

On the other hand, the guns have in common that they can be connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth. The Therabody app can then also be used to control the devices, which I find very good.

Handling

While the Theragun Pro is better in most categories, it has the edge in handling at first glance.

For one thing, the Prime is lighter. It only weighs about 2.07 lbs (938 g) without the attachment or 2.11 lbs (958 g) with the ball attachment. The Theragun Pro, on the other hand, weighs about 2.91 lbs (1,319 g) without the attachment and 2.97 lbs (1,345 g) with the ball attachment. This makes the arm much slower to get heavy when using the Theragun Prime for a longer period of time than when using the Pro.

The handle of both massage guns is very narrow. This makes it easy to grip, and it does not slip out of hand too easily due to the matte surface.

However, the Theragun Pro can catch up a bit in this category due to its adjustable arm. This can be aligned in four different positions, as can be seen in the picture below. This allows the massage gun to be adjusted very well for massaging different parts of the body. The Theragun Prime does not have this option.

Adjusting the arm is also child’s play: a button is pressed into the gun so that the arm can be moved. By releasing the button in one of four positions, the arm locks again and is fixed.

 

Power Supply

Unfortunately, Therabody does not provide much information about the power supply. Both the Theragun Prime and the Theragun Pro lack information about the battery capacity. Only the battery life is stated as 2 hours for the Prime and 2.5 hours for the Pro. These values were also confirmed in my test and are thus in the good range.

The battery of the Theragun Pro can also be replaced. An additional battery is included so that the battery runtime can be increased further.

The replaceable battery has another advantage. If the battery is defective, it is not necessary to replace the entire device, but only the battery. This is not possible with the Theragun Prime. However, both massage guns have a 2-year warranty, during which a defective battery should also be replaced under normal circumstances.

Noise

I measured the volume of both massage guns myself from a distance of 40 cm.

I determined the following noise level for the Theragun Prime:

With the Theragun Pro, on the other hand, I determined the following values:

Thus, the two massagers have two things in common. First, both guns are in a similar volume range. Secondly, the Theragun Prime and Theragun Pro are extremely loud for a massage gun. Especially on the upper levels, the volume is very annoying and prevents relaxation during the massage. This is also the biggest point of criticism that I have with all tested massage guns from Therabody (e.g. also with the Theragun mini).

 

Material and Quality

As far as this category is concerned, both massage guns are actually identical. Accordingly, there is little to note here.

In terms of material, Therabody has primarily relied on plastic for both the Prime and the Pro. Nevertheless, the massage guns make a very solid impression not only at first glance but also during longer use. The only thing that bothered me about both devices was that you could see the grease on the stroke, and it may get on your fingers.

On the other hand, I have nothing to complain about in terms of workmanship. The gaps are equally small on both pistols. I could also only find cleanly processed edges.

A chemical smell is only known from cheap massage guns from Asia, where rubber was processed. Accordingly, I could not notice anything negative here with the two models from Therabody. Instead, both guns just smelled “new”.

 

Price

I paid 248.99 € for the Theragun Prime myself. At the time of this product comparison, the pistol was available for around $230 to $300.

The Tehragun Pro, on the other hand, cost me €649. When I made the comparison, the price ranged from $400 to $600, with most of the deals being on the higher end of that range.

When you look at the price, the Theragun Prime is well ahead of the Theragun Pro. After all, it only costs about half as much. However, I can only conditionally recommend both massage guns from a price or price-performance perspective. In my opinion, there are similarly good or even better massage guns for a better price.

 

Conclusion – Theragun Prime vs. Pro

In my opinion, both massage guns are difficult to compare, as they are designed for different applications and play in different price ranges.

The Theragun Prime is designed for private use. It has a very good impact depth of 16 mm, feels good in the hand, is easy to use, and is much cheaper.

The Theragun Pro, on the other hand, is primarily intended for professional use (for example, in a physiotherapist’s practice). Thus, it combines the impact depth, operability, and handling of the Prime with an adjustable arm, more attachments, and a replaceable battery. In return, however, the Pro costs considerably more.

The two massage guns are very similar in terms of other strengths and weaknesses. That’s why I’ve listed the advantages and disadvantages of both devices here: