Great Yoga Mats for $50 or Less
They can cost over $100, but we found mats that were just as good at much lower prices
When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. Learn more.
Dropping $100 or more for a mat at yoga-focused stores like Alo, Liforme, or Lululemon can seem daunting, especially for beginners. But if you know what to look for, there are plenty of low-priced, high-quality mats.
Yoga mats designed for travel (which generally means they’re thinner and more portable) or mats that can do double duty for a variety of exercises—not just yoga—tend to be a little less expensive than mats designed specifically for yoga.
Here are great yoga mats from our tests that currently retail for about $50 or less.
Great Budget Travel Mat: Manduka Eko Superlite
The travel yoga mats we’ve tested have less cushioning than other mats because they’re generally thinner and lighter for traveling. If you’re taking your mat with you to a yoga class, you can give yourself more cushioning by layering your mat on top of one offered by the studio.
Manduka Eko Superlite Travel Yoga Mat
This mat dries quickly and has an excellent grip on the floor. Its top surface when dry also offers excellent grip. It has minimal cushioning.
An Affordable Cork Mat: Gaiam Performance
Cork mats offer a similar amount of firm cushioning to cushion mats, but the top surface is made of a thin layer of cork. The surface is easy to clean, but when dry it can be a bit slippery. You can increase grip by spritzing the mat with water before you practice or by wetting your hands and feet.
Gaiam Performance Cork Yoga Mat
This mat is very quick to dry and offers a middling amount of cushioning. It has only a fair amount of grip on the floor and on its top surface.
A Versatile Cushion Mat: BalanceFrom All-Purpose
Cushion mats are often cheaper but they tend to have less grip on their surfaces. “Grip is important for poses where your points of contact are not directly beneath your center of gravity—think downward dog as opposed to, say, lotus,” says Bernie Deitrick, who tests yoga mats at CR. There’s not much you can do to improve the grip on the top of the mat, but putting your mat on a carpeted surface will reduce slippage against the floor.
BalanceFrom All-Purpose 1/2-Inch High Density Foam Exercise Yoga Mat
This model is very quick to dry and offers a high level of cushioning. It offers a fair amount of bottom grip and a good amount of grip against hands and feet while dry.
A Folding Exercise Mat: ProsourceFit Tri-Fold
Exercise mats are not only meant for yoga; they can be used for other floor exercises, like crunches.
ProsourceFit Tri-Fold Folding Thick Exercise Mat
This mat offers plenty of cushioning and dries quickly. But it provides only a fair amount of grip on the floor or on its top surface, so it might not be ideal for yoga. It folds into a 24-inch square for storage.
