7 Best Red Light Therapy Mats For Home Use

It can feel impossible to sort through a seemingly endless list of at-home red light therapy mats, all of which look the same. We’re going to help you choose the best red light therapy mat for home use in this guide, making sense of the stuff that actually matters:

• LED counts
• Wavelengths
• Materials
• Total coverage area
• Warranty length
• The real cost per session

You’ll feel confident picking the perfect red light therapy mat for whatever it is you need it for - discomfort, sleep, skin, recovery, or anything in between! We handpicked the top brands and models on the market right now. Elevate your ritual with red light therapy today. 

Compare the Best Red Light Therapy Mats For Home Use

Overview of Red Light Therapy 

Red light therapy has exploded in popularity over the years. It’s easy to see why. It’s a versatile addition to any self-care regimen. There are so many things it can do for you. But the specific wavelengths a red light therapy mat utilizes dictate exactly what it can do.

You’ll notice every mat we highlighted on this list uses the same two wavelengths: 660nm red and 850nm near-infrared. These have tons of clinical evidence supporting them. 

According to board-certified dermatologist Dr. Hallie McDonald, “It isn't magic, but it's legitimate science. Used consistently, it can modestly boost collagen, calm inflammation, and support hair follicles.¹ This stuff isn’t “hype.” Researchers at Harvard Medical School have published over 400 peer-reviewed papers on photobiomodulation. The findings are pretty conclusive. Red and near-infrared wavelengths bring down inflammation and support recovery.²

But, you need the BEST red light therapy mat for home use to actually tap into this potential.

Our Criteria For Narrowing Down These At-Home Red Light Therapy Mats

Wavelength is just one piece of the puzzle as it pertains to red light therapy. We took a close look at all the other details like LED count and density, total coverage area, build materials, warranty length, return policy, and the actual cost per session.

Long story short, the best red light therapy mat for home use gives you the right wavelengths - and enough actual light for them to deliver a therapeutic dose. Perhaps most importantly, though, the mat comes from a brand that’s there for you long after the sale.

7 Best Red Light Therapy Mats for Home Use

There are so many great red light therapy mats on the market, but there were 7 in particular we wanted to highlight because the build quality and support were just in a different league than the rest. These aren’t cheap Amazon mats that leave you frustrated and disappointed after a month. They’re the best of the best, and you’ll agree after buying one and seeing what it can do for you.

1. Elaris Red & Infrared Light Therapy Mat

The #1 choice when it comes to value for the money and actual results. That’s what matters most in a red light therapy device, right? You’re getting more LEDs than a lot of other competitors, yet you’re paying dramatically less.

The mat delivers 1,290 dual-wavelength LEDs across a 71" x 31" surface, with 660nm red and 850nm near-infrared light penetrating 8-40mm into tissue. It takes just 20 minutes for a full session, so you can easily incorporate the Elaris device into your daily routine. There are no complicated settings to navigate and you don’t have to reposition halfway through. 

The transformations customers have seen using Elaris speak for themselves. 91% reported less daily discomfort, while 87% felt as if they got better rest. 

You get a full 2-year warranty, and you can help cover the purchase with HSA and FSA funds. You get free shipping on your order, and you can purchase with peace of mind thanks to a 60-day return policy. 

2. Megelin Red and Infrared Light Therapy Mat

The Megelin mat is often called the best red light therapy mat for home use, but it comes with some caveats. Some big ones at that. The appeal, obviously, is the highest stated LED count of any mat on this list: 7,560 across a 71" x 32" surface at 120 mW/cm2 irradiance.

But given how high that is, Megelin not making it clear if those are individual chips within multi-chip LEDs or total diodes makes it hard to know what you’re really using. Our assumption is that it’s an inflated count given how affordable the mat is at just $729.

You get both 660nm and 850nm wavelengths, and the device is FDA-registered. It has a 1-year warranty, which is half the length of Elaris, but you do get the same 60-day return window. There’s one other red flag we want to mention - and we say this to encourage you to do your due diligence. The device can get pretty hot at maximum output during longer sessions. 

3. Hooga Red Light Therapy Acupressure Mat

The Hooga is a little different from the first two mats we highlighted so far. It’s not full-body. Whether that’s a good thing or a dealbreaker depends on your goals with red light therapy. It means you can spot-treat the areas that are giving you grief. But it also means you need to do multiple sessions to target multiple spots. That’s the trade-off to weigh.

At any rate, the 26” x 18” device features 144 LEDs to help treat your back, legs, stomach, or anywhere in between. You ALSO get 3,024 acupressure spikes built right into the device for multiple treatments in a single session. It’s one of the cheapest devices on the list at under $200, too. Hooga also produces zero EMF at the surface. 

4. Novaa Light Pad XL

Novaa’s Deep Healing Pad (XL) brings you more irradiance than any other device at 200 mW/cm2 at contact. The company packs 1,200 light chips into a 20” x 24” flexible wrap. It weighs less than 2 lbs, so you can put it on and go about your day, getting stuff done around the house or working at your desk.

Like the Hooga, though, this is not a device you treat your whole body with in one go. It’s a targeted treatment for a specific ailment. That could be a bad knee, a sore back, aching hips, or something else. It works really well for getting concentrated red light therapy. Is it the best red light therapy mat for home use when you want to maximize coverage, though? Definitely not.

Still, it’s FDA-registered and CE + RoHS certified. It comes with a 1-year warranty that can be extended to 3 years if you want extra peace of mind. It’s a good comparison for the Hooga device if you just need spot treatment. 

5. HigherDOSE Full Body Red Light Mat

HigherDOSE is the most well-known brand name in this space, so it should come as no surprise this is considered the best red light therapy mat for home use by many people. It’s also the biggest mat we evaluated at 79" x 41". That comes at a cost, though - it’s the most expensive device we are comparing today at just under $1,200.

What you get for that price is 1,000 LEDs, an irradiance of 90 mW/cm2, and a 40Hz near-infrared pulsing mode specifically designed to maximize recovery. It’s a really well-made mat. The question is whether it’s worth the money. One issue we have is the LED configuration. 825 of those 1,000 LEDs are red-only single-chip diodes. Only 175 have the dual-chip 660nm/850nm setup that a lot of people are drawn toward.

Nevertheless, HigherDOSE makes a solid device and you can actually find it stocked near you at Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s if you want to see it in person. It has a 1-year warranty.

6.  Nicebeam Full Body Red Light Therapy Mat

The Nicebeam red light therapy mat competes really well on paper. You get 3,840 LEDs packed into a 71” x 32” mat with 130 mW/cm2 irradiance at only $799. That’s impressive on its own. But Nicebeam also features adjustable brightness from 1% to 100%, with a 1-60 minute timer for unparalleled session control. The LED lifespan is rated at nearly 100,000 hours, too.

So why is it the second-to-last pick we chose to highlight? The biggest issue is a lack of a satisfaction guarantee. The brand’s official policy page says items must be returned in unused condition. In other words, you can’t test the mat and return it if you’re underwhelmed. We do see a 60-day return policy in some places online, but it’s hard to say what’s accurate. The brand itself is newer, too, with far fewer reviews than a lot of other options. 

7. Comfytemp Red Light Therapy Mat for Body

We saved the cheapest option for last. Only $160 for a 42” x 26” mat equipped with 560 dual-chip LEDs, four light modes, and three adjustable power levels. Its irradiance is 167 mW/cm2 on the highest setting. There’s a 20-minute auto-shutoff to protect you, too. 

That’s pretty impressive given the low price. So what’s the catch? Simple. It’s not a full-body mat. It covers your back and not much else. It’s also worth noting that Comfytemp actually built its brand on heating pads before moving into red light therapy, so this isn’t their life’s work by any means. 

You get 30-day returns and a 1-year warranty. This is a low-risk starting point. But is it the best red light therapy mat for home use if you want to treat your whole body? Not by any means. 

Which is the Best At-Home Red Light Therapy Mat For YOU?

Every mat was picked for a reason. But it all depends on what you’re looking to get out of your treatment. Here are some quick tips to consider. 

Start By Narrowing Down Size

Your real options for full-body coverage are Elaris, Megelin, HigherDOSE, and Nicebeam. Everything else on this list is a targeted pad or partial-body mat. So you have four really solid choices if you want to treat your back, legs, shoulders, and neck simultaneously without repositioning between areas.

On the other hand, you can target specific areas with the Hooga, Novaa, and Comfytemp devices at a lower price. But it’s nice to be able to use a mat across your whole body. It’s one of those things you’d rather have and not need, than need it and not have it. 

Seamless User Experience

20 minutes on the mat is all it takes with something like Elaris. It’s so easy to incorporate into your daily routine. Other devices take longer because you have to reposition the device to get your whole body. There’s no learning curve to worry about. 

But user experience extends to what happens in the unlikely event something goes wrong, too. You need access to good customer service. Spending $500+ on a device that’s supposed to help you feel better, just to be left hanging when you need help, is frustrating. 

Build Quality and Certifications

Elaris is actually the only device with a 2-year warranty. Everything else has a 1-year warranty. You get double the coverage, and double the peace of mind. But you should also look into certifications like FDA registration, CE, and RoHS.

References

1. Dr. Hallie McDonald, board-certified dermatologist. Quoted in Real Simple, "We Asked 3 Dermatologists If Red Light Therapy Is Worth It." Real Simple / Yahoo Health
2. Hamblin, M.R. "Mechanisms and applications of the anti-inflammatory effects of photobiomodulation." AIMS Biophysics, 2017; 4(3):337-361. PubMed