Compare home vibration plates: SoftGym, LifePro and Merach

Start with the weight limit. A plate rated well above your weight runs without strain at the top speeds and leaves room for a dumbbell or a second person in the house. The SoftGym plate is rated to 450 lb, the LifePro Waver to 330 lb and the Merach CV40 to 440 lb, as each brand lists it.

Then look at how the speed is set. More levels do not make a plate stronger, they make the steps between speeds smaller. Our 120 levels come with remote keys that jump to 30, 60 and 90, so fine control does not mean pressing a key a hundred times.

Last, open the box in your head. Bands, a remote and a cord come with all three, and with our plate the color you pick decides which bands: both sets with Black, Gray, White, Pink and Blue, the handle bands with the ring and bead-row plates, five loop bands with Midnight Bluetooth. The plates shelf lays out all ten, and every color sits in SoftGym vibration plates at one price.

What none of these tables can tell you is how a plate will change your health, and we would be wary of any that tries. Our guide to lymph and vibration plates goes through what medical centers and published reviews actually say.