5 Reasons Why the Theragun Mini 3 Is a God Tier Massage Gun (2025)

When it comes to post-workout recovery, I tend to approach new products with both optimism and skepticism. Every day, I receive emails about the latest must-have self-care hacks – be it untapped supplements, revolutionary sleep tools or innovative new treatments: ‘Use this essential [insert product here], or else!’

Back in the reality of my athletically modest weekly run and gym routine, a well-balanced diet, good sleep and Thames Water’s finest H20 are enough to support my (and I think most people's) recovery needs. But as I edge towards 30, years of skipping warm ups and cool downs, failing to lift weights in my early twenties, and hunching over a desk like a moron at work have got me thinking more about the recovery aids on offer.

So, in an effort to preserve the remaining athleticism I do still have, massage guns have recently become the one tool I’ve adopted on the regular in an effort to keep my body primed between workouts. The latest ultra-portable, plenty-powerful Theragun Mini Gen 3 is my favourite one yet.

Despite its stature, the Theragun Mini 3 doesn't pull any punches. Depending on which of the three settings you choose, it delivers up to 2,400 percussions per minute (the rate at which the massage gun connects with your body) and has 12mm of amplitude (the distance the massage gun head travels as it moves back and forth).

That's the same as on the Theragun Mini 2 – so there's been no upgrade on the power front. However, when laid side-by-side, the 3 is slightly shorter at the 'funnelled' end than the 2. That shorter profile seems to give the 3 a smoother massaging experience and, as far as we (and some Reddit reviewers) can distinguish, less bounce and vibration.

Overall, I found the max setting on the 3 to be plenty powerful. On most areas, unless I pressed excessively harder than the in-app guidance, it didn't stall on me during regular use. On my glutes, quads and hamstrings, I could definitely have benefited from some extra force, with it often stalling when I'd pressed too hard. But on my lower back and shins, the max setting was plenty.

If you think you might have a higher pain threshold than me and require a device with more might, there are plenty more powerful massage guns available. The Theragun Pro Plus (Gen 6), for instance, has 16mm of amplitude and 60lbs of no-stall force, with the same max speed (2,400 PPM), and is probably a better pick if you're looking to primarily treat bigger muscle groups.

Ultimately, though, I'd say that unless you're someone who regularly uses one of the more powerful devices on the market, you won't miss out on that additional force when using the Theragun Mini 3. And, even if you do, the gains you make in terms of portability and practicality, I would argue, outweigh those concessions.

This is one area where Therabody's massage guns shine. Once connected via Bluteooth to the Therabody app on your phone, the Theragun Mini 3 syncs with the in-app programmes, recommending daily warm-up routines and muscle recovery 'workouts' to do each morning, afternoon and nighttime. It tells you when you're pressing too hard and automatically starts and stops your massage gun according to the in-app timer.

For me, I found this feature especially helpful when it came to treating specific areas and muscles that I otherwise might have missed. For example, I knew to massage my calves and lower legs, but not necessarily to focus specifically on my IT bands.

The Theragun Mini is the smallest, lightest and most compact massage gun in Therabody's percussive therapy line-up, at 141 mm x 125 mm x 49 mm. On the Theragun website, it states that it's 30% smaller than the original; for context, the Mini 2 was 20% smaller, measuring 169mm x 162mm x 66mm. In terms of weight, both the 2 and 3 are listed as 0.45kg.

Side-by-side, the Mini 3 feels more compact and refined than the Mini 2. The differences are modest, but the newer device is slightly shorter and narrower than the 2. As a result, I found it more comfortable to hold over long periods and overall has a nicer in-hand feel with better weight distribution and ergonomics.

What the Theragun Mini 3 lacks in stature, it makes up for in practicality. Like its predecessors, it's ideal for stashing in your gym bag and taking to work. It's also TSA approved, so you can take it your carry-on.

New to the Mini 3 is the travel lock feature. By triple tapping the power button, it locks the device, only unlocking when you triple tap again. That gives you peace of mind that it won't start unannounced in your bag and removes the risk of it running out of juice when you're travelling.

The Theragun Mini comes with three interchangeable massage heads: one standard ball head for all-over therapy, one dampener attachment for sensitive areas, and a thumb head for treating tight areas and trigger point knots.

This combo gives you a pretty comprehensive massaging experience. It's certainly enough for me. I tend to stick to the standard ball or dampener head, swapping it out for the trigger point attachment whenever I've needed more targeted relief.

You don't get the same choice of heads as on the flagship Theragun Pro Plus. Nor do you get the heated and cold head attachments, which deliver two types of therapy at once. If I were to nitpick, it's also frustrating that you can't fit the extra heads inside the storage pouch – to me, that's just asking for them to be misplaced. But these, I feel, are relatively minor gripes.

What I value most about the Theragun Mini is its practicality. It's ready to use straight out the box, it's simple to use, doesn't run of charge quickly (thanks to its 180-minute run time), and comes with heaps of guided routines inside the Therabody app.

Versus the 2, there aren't enough changes here to justify making the upgrade if you're already a Theragun Mini owner. Such is the natural plateau of all tech over time, sweeping upgrades during the early days of massage guns have been replaced with incremental changes which are less impactful. But in this case, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Overall, this is a classy upgrade. With the Theragun Mini 3, Therabody have given us a refined massage gun that fixes some of the limitations of the previous device without giving us a bunch of new stuff we don't need. For me, it's among the best around.

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