User Review
( votes)The best bumper plates for a home gym in 2023 don’t have to cost you a fortune. In fact, there are some budget-friendly options that provide low-bounce, solid build factors, IWF standards, and even stylish looks to spice up your garage gym.
When examining the best budget-friend bumper plates of the year, we wanted to ensure we included several important features. Obviously, the price was a big factor, but so were the materials used to make the bumper plates, the actual build factors that make up each product, each bumper plate’s bounce factor, and the overall design.
Let’s dive in and take a closer look at the best bumper plates of 2023, the budget-friendly edition.
Table of Contents
REP Black Bumper Plates – The Best Entry-Level Option
The Rep Fitness Black Bumper Plates are among our favorite budget-friendly options. In fact, we gave them a 4.2 out of 5-star review. In our review, we cheered the product’s low bounce (for the price) and it’s thicker than normal 10-pound plates. The thickness of the smaller plates was designed specifically to avoid “tacoing” AKA bending or “waffling,” when dropped alongside heavier-weight plates.
Rep Fitness ships a 45-pound pair of bumper plates for just $209.99 with free shipping. If you’re starting out on your weightlifting journey, 10-pound pairs will only cost you $69.99 with no additional shipping charges.
If you want to save even more money, the company offers some pretty steep discounts on 160lb to 370lb bumper plate sets.
Rep Fitness has really moved up in the ranks of the weightlifting industry over the past few years, which means their quality has continued to improve. The Rep Black Bumper Plates feature virgin rubber, which connects to a hooked steel insert that has held up to thousands of drops during my various lifts. I drop my weights on a 1-inch thick rubber floor that sits on top of my garage’s cement floor, and even overhead drops have caused zero damage after almost two years of regular use.
Rep Black Bumper Plates offer a weight tolerance of +/- 1%, a solid promise even among the market’s more expensive bumper plate options. Even more impressive is that Rep Fitness used to rely on a 3% tolerance, but their continued efforts to improve their products year-over-year have proven fruitful.
With a 6-month warranty on the 10-15 pound options and 3 years on the 25lb+ options, you’ll definitely get your bang for every buck spent.
Be sure to check out the excellent Rep Bumpber Plate reviews HERE.
Pros
- Surprisingly great +/- 1% guaranteed weight tolerance.
- Hooked inserts provide excellent durability and longevity.
- The steel insert is “hooked” into rubber.
- White contrast raised lettering
- Buying sets can greatly reduce the cost of stocking up on weights.
- Lower weights are designed to avoid bending when dropped alongside higher-weighted plates.
Cons
- The warranty is on the lower end of higher-priced bumper plates.
- The center ring isn’t made with stainless steel
- The bumper plates are a little bit thicker than the higher-end options.
Titan Fitness Elite Bumper Plates – The Best Budget Competition Option
The Titan Fitness Elite Bumper Plates might not seem like a budget-friendly option next to standard plates, but for a competition-ready product, they are shockingly well-priced and surprisingly well-made.
If you’re familiar with competition plates, you’re likely aware of several important factors; bounce, thickness, and durability.
First, the bounce rate on these competition bumper plates is excellent. We don’t know the durometer rating, but the plates feature a low bounce that shouldn’t hop around when dropped.
The Titan Elite Bumper Plates also feature a thickness of just 2.16″ on the 20kg option. That thin form factor allows nearly 700 lbs of bar weight to be applied. If you’re lifting heavy but still want to protect your floors, these bumper plates are a great option.
Adding to the weight accolades, Titan Fitness promises a tolerance accuracy of +/- 10 grams. You are going to be hard-pressed to find a better tolerance promise on the market.
As you’ll probably notice in the photo above, all of the plates feature a large hub that is made from chrome. The hub also features six hub bolts, providing a very durable experience. Those are both options that we usually see on much higher-priced plates. Plus, the bumpers feature a raised edge which helps proven metal-on-metal contact.
With vibrant colors and easy-to-read weight lettering, the Titan Fitness Elite Bumper Plates are easy to spot in the gym, adding to the fact that they are an absolute pleasure to use.
Sure, they aren’t going to stand up against some of the higher-end options from Rogue Fitness or Eleiko but for their price, they are an excellent option.
Pros
- Pricing that’s hard to beat for competition bumper plates.
- Excellent tolerance promise of +/- 10 grams
- Very low bounce for safety and precision.
- Full-size chrome hub with six bolts.
- Very thin profile for ~700 pounds of weight.
Cons
- The 1-year warranty is low for the industry.
- The look is nice but still lower quality than other competition plates on the market.
Titan Fitness Urethane Bumper Plates – The Best Priced On The Market
I have my fair share of Titan Fitness products in my gym, and over the years, my collection has grown as the company moves toward more premium-type options. A quick glance at my Titan Fitness Functional Trainer review explains why I use it every day of the week.
Titan didn’t cut any corners with its Urethane Bumper Plates. Take for instance the +/-% weight tolerance which provides for an industry-standard promise.
The plates are also IWF qualified with a 2″ collar opening and a 450mm diameter. What’s even more impressive is the company’s 2″ thickness on its 45lb plate, which is among the thinnest on the market. Thinner plates mean more room to add additional weight.
While there is no durometer rating listed for these plates, they feature a very low bounce which provides for additional safety during even the most heavy of lifts. A low bounce is also important if you’re performing Crossfit or other HiiT exercises that have you lifting weights and dropping them down from chest or even above head levels.
Just as impressive is the fact that Titan Fitness offers a 10lb/5kg Urethane plate which is not the case with all manufacturers. The smaller urethane plate features a 415mm diameter, ensuring that the lower-weighted plates don’t war during drops with heavier plates.
While the raised lettering doesn’t match the aesthetics of some higher-end urethane plates, the colors are still pretty vibrant, match IWF protocols, and are easy to spot from across the gym.
Just like other bumper plates on our list, the center of these urethane plates also features a fully chromed-out center hub that should do a great job standing up to repeated use, especially since it’s fully reinforced to avoid separation between the center ring and the plates Urethane.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to its smaller size, the 10lb urethane bumper plate does not have the same reinforced chrome insert as the 25-55lb plates.
Pros
- A very thin profile allows for more weight on your bar.
- A hard chrome center hub should withstand the test of time.
- +/-1% weight tolerance activity.
- Pounds and Kilograms are offered.
Cons
- Not as stylish as some other urethane options.
- The weights are slick compared to virgin rubber options.
- Still expensive compared to standard rubber bumper plates.
Bells Of Steel Crumb Bumper Plates – The Best Budget Weights For Noise And Shock Absorbency
The commercial-grade rubber material used in these plates is designed to absorb shock, which makes them especially suitable for lifters without a platform.
While the plates are black, they feature flecks that make for easier weight identification, an important consideration when considering that the raised lettering matches their black rubber design.
While the Bells of Steel Crumb Bumper Plates might fall into the entry-level category, they still offer a very nice build factor. Among the plate’s build are 3 anchor points that provide superior durability and noise reduction for the price.
With an IWF standard diameter of 450mm and weight tolerance of +/- 1%, these Bells of Steel Bumper Plates provide a nice option if you need something budget friendly that is also shock absorbing had quiet.
Just keep in mind that crumb rubber bounces a lot; in fact, it’s that bounce that allows these weights to remain relatively quiet when dropped. If noise is an issue where you live, this might be your best budget-friendly option.
With a 90-day warranty on its 10lb and 15lb weights and 1-year on the remaining 25lb, 35lb, 45lb, and 55lb options, it’s not the best warranty promise on the market, but for the price, it’s hard to go wrong.
10lb weight pairs started at just $69.99, and you’ll have even more money if you purchase a weight set that ranges from 160 pounds to 520 pounds.
Pros
- Low noise factor.
- Softer on your floors when dropped.
- Colored flecks allow for easy weight spotting.
- A 3x enforced center ring provides surprisingly good durability.
Cons
- A higher bounce isn’t ideal.
- The warranty leaves something to be desired.
Titan Fitness Bumper Plates – The Best “Big Weight” Option And The Best Value
Okay, hear me out. A 100-pound bumper plate. That’s an option you can take advantage of when you purchase entry-level Titan Fitness Bumper Plates.
Even better? A 100-pound pair is just over $200. You can check out current pricing HERE.
Aside from the comically large 100-pound bumper plates, Titan Fitness offers a basic set of plates with no-thrills and basic functionality.
These bumper plates have more bounce than the others on our list but they also start at just $59.99 for a standard 10lb pair and shipping is always included.
The weight tolerance of +/-3% might not be great for accuracy and there’s no durometer rating, but honestly for a simple set of bumper plates, those features are not much of a concern.
If you’ve used hi-temps bumper plates, then you know exactly what to expect from the Titan Fitness Bumper Plates.
The 45lb plates feature a rather thick 3″ build which means your only going to get about 450lbs of total bar weight, which is more than enough for most of us.
This is a no-thrills bumper plate set, but for the price, that’s 100% okay.
Pros
- The price point is almost impossible to beat.
- Titan Fitness offers very affordable full-weight sets.
Cons
- The lettering is hard to read.
- The bounce is high.
- A lower-end steel collar isn’t likely to stand up to time like higher-end bumper plates with Chrome hubs.
Vulcan Strength Bumper Plates – High Quality And Low Priced
I’m a huge fan of the Vulcan Bumper Plates; in fact, the company, in general, makes some really high-quality garage gym products that don’t break the bank. The company’s bumper plates are a testament to the craftsmanship the company delivers.
Vulcan Strength Bumper Plates start at $84.99 for a 10-pound pair and then end up at $279.99 for a 55-pound pair. That’s less than $3/pound, which is a bit of a steal in today’s marketplace.
The first thing you’ll notice about the Vulcan Bumpber Plates is that they feel harder than some of the other bumpers on this list and probably harder than others you have used. The company uses a dense rubber compound that allows for a solid plate that is much thinner than others on our list.
In fact, the Vulcan Bumper plates are so dense that they promise no bending even with their 10-pound and 15-pound weights. Vulcan is focused on CrossFit, and its products are built to be repeatedly dropped.
Each of these well-produced bumper plates is forged with rubber anchored into solid steel inserts. While this is now standard practice, Vulcan quickly points out that it pioneered it and has been improving upon it since 2011.
Because Vulcan Strength Bumper Plates are produced for repeated drops, it should be no surprise that they feature a dead blow and low bounce.
One of the things you will immediately notice when lifting our bumper plates is how snugly they fit together on the bar as well as the dead blow/low bounce effect they exhibit when dropped. It’s a very noticeable sound compared to the clanking rattling noise and basketball-like rebounding you will experience with lesser brands.
Vulcan bumper plates are so well made that its 25, 35, 45, and 55 pound plates have an amazing three-year warranty! Even its 10 and 15-pound options feature a decent one-year warranty.
WARRANTY: 3 YEARS ON 55 LB, 45 LB, 35 LB, AND 25 LB. 1 YEAR ON 15 LB AND 10 LB
Pros
- IWF approved (450mm) with 2-inch steel inserts.
- Low bounce produces a safer result.
- Tested for 30,000 drops from a height of 9 feet.
- Forged Hardened Steel insert is very secure.
- Weight tolerance of +/- 1%.
- Excellent 36 month warranty on 25+ pound weights.
Cons
- A little more expensive than other budget-friendly options on our list.
The best bumper plates for 2023 include some excellent budget-friendly options. Whether you care more about a low bounce, a fresh design, thinner plates that allow for more weight on your bar, or the price of your bumper plates, there’s something for everyone.
While I regularly review weights, the Rep Fitness Bumper plates review I posted last year still showcases my go-to choice for budget-friendly 35-pound plates. After two years, I have had zero issues with my Rep Fitness plates, with that being said, my Bells of Steel and Titan Fitness bumper plates have also held up very well. At the end of the day, you really can’t go wrong with any the choices on this list.
