Quick Answer: Buy the Ekrin B37 if you want the most performance per dollar — at $229.99 it delivers 56 lbs of stall force (per Ekrin), up to 8 hours of battery, and a lifetime warranty, beating the similarly-priced Theragun Prime on power and battery. Step up to a Theragun — specifically the $529.99 Theragun Pro — if you want a deeper 16mm stroke, an OLED screen with app-guided routines, a rotating arm, and the strongest 60-lb stall force on the market. For most people the Ekrin B37 is the smarter buy; Theragun is worth the premium only if the ecosystem and deep amplitude matter to you.
Theragun essentially invented the consumer percussion massager, and Therabody’s guns are still the most recognizable name in recovery. But the price has always been the sticking point — a flagship Theragun Pro runs $529.99, more than double what challengers charge. Ekrin Athletics built its reputation as the value alternative: the B37 costs $229.99 and, on paper, out-muscles most of the Theragun lineup. So is the Theragun name worth the premium, or does the Ekrin B37 quietly win where it counts? We compared them on the specs that actually change how a massage gun feels — amplitude, stall force, noise, battery, and warranty.
Theragun vs Ekrin B37 at a glance
| Spec | Ekrin B37 | Theragun Prime (6th Gen) | Theragun Pro (5th Gen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $229.99 | $329.99 | $529.99 |
| Amplitude | 12 mm | 16 mm | 16 mm |
| Stall force | 56 lbs | 30 lbs | 60 lbs |
| Speed range | 1400–3200 RPM (5 speeds) | 1750–2400 PPM | 1750–2400 PPM |
| Battery life | ~8 hours | ~2 hours | ~5 hours (2 swappable) |
| Screen / app | No | App + LED | OLED + app + rotating arm |
| Warranty | Lifetime | 1–2 years | 1–2 years |
| Weight | ~2.2 lbs | ~2.2 lbs | ~2.9 lbs |
Specs per each manufacturer’s published figures (Ekrin Athletics and Therabody), 2026. The Theragun Elite (16mm, 40-lb stall force) sits between the Prime and Pro but was discontinued as a new product by Therabody in early 2026.
Power: the Ekrin B37 punches above its price
The two numbers that decide how a massage gun feels are amplitude (how far the head travels — depth) and stall force (how hard you can press before the motor bogs down).
On amplitude, Theragun wins cleanly: every current Theragun uses a 16mm stroke, versus the Ekrin B37’s 12mm (per each brand’s specs). That extra 4mm is why a Theragun feels like it reaches deeper into big muscles like the glutes, quads, and back.
On stall force, though, the story flips. The Ekrin B37 delivers 56 lbs of stall force, according to Ekrin — more than the Theragun Prime’s 30 lbs and the discontinued Elite’s 40 lbs (per Therabody). Only the flagship Theragun Pro beats it, at 60 lbs, and that gun costs $529.99 — more than double the B37. In plain terms: if you like to lean into a massage gun with real pressure, the $229.99 Ekrin holds up better than the $329.99 Theragun Prime and only narrowly trails a gun costing $300 more.
Bottom line on power: Theragun goes deeper (16mm vs 12mm), but the Ekrin B37 resists stalling under pressure better than every Theragun except the $530 Pro.
Battery, noise, and everyday use
Battery life is a quiet blowout. The Ekrin B37 (v2) is rated for up to 8 hours per charge on its brushless motor with USB-PD charging, according to Ekrin. Theragun’s Prime is rated around 2 hours, and even the Pro manages about 5 hours — though the Pro offsets that with two hot-swappable batteries. For anyone who hates charging cables, the Ekrin’s marathon battery is a genuine day-to-day advantage.
Both brands run quiet by percussion-gun standards. Theragun’s newer generations are far quieter than the older models that earned the brand its “jackhammer” reputation, and the Ekrin B37 uses proprietary sound insulation that reviewers at MassageGunAdvice and Recovatech consistently rate as whisper-quiet for its class. Neither will disturb a room; call this one a tie.
Ergonomically, the Ekrin B37’s 15-degree angled handle makes it easy to reach your own back and shoulders without straining your wrist. Theragun counters with its signature triangular multi-grip handle and, on the Pro, a rotating adjustable arm that reaches awkward spots more flexibly than any fixed handle. If self-treating hard-to-reach areas matters, the Pro’s arm is the most versatile design here.
Ecosystem and extras: where Theragun earns its premium
This is Theragun’s home turf. Step up to the Prime or Pro and you get the Therabody app with Bluetooth connectivity, on-screen speed feedback, and guided routines that walk you through where to work and for how long — genuinely useful if you’re new to percussion therapy. The Pro adds an OLED screen, a force meter, and swappable batteries for unlimited runtime.
The Ekrin B37 skips all of that. There’s no app, no screen — just five speed buttons, an LED battery indicator, and four attachments. For experienced users that simplicity is a feature; for beginners who want hand-holding, Theragun’s guided ecosystem is worth something.
Where the Ekrin claws value back is the lifetime warranty — no Theragun matches it. Therabody covers its guns for one to two years depending on model; Ekrin covers the B37 for as long as you own it. On a device whose motor and battery are the first things to age, lifetime coverage is a real long-term win.
Theragun vs Ekrin by the numbers
| Spec | Ekrin B37 | Theragun Prime | Theragun Pro Gen5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amplitude (percussion depth) | 12 mm | 16 mm | 16 mm |
| Max stall force | ~56 lb | ~30 lb | ~60 lb |
| Battery life | ~8 hrs | ~120 min | ~150 min ×2 (swappable) |
| Noise level | ~35–55 dB | ~55–65 dB | ~55–65 dB |
| Warranty | Lifetime | 1 year | 2 years |
| Typical price (2026) | ~$230 | ~$299 | ~$599 |
| Effect of percussion on ROM | Significant ↑ range of motion, no strength loss — Konrad et al., J. Sports Sci. & Medicine, 2020 | ||
The numbers tell the story: the Ekrin B37 delivers the longest battery life (≈8 hours), a ~56 lb stall force that beats the Theragun Prime’s ~30 lb, and a lifetime warranty — all for about $230, per Ekrin’s and Therabody’s published specs. Theragun answers with a deeper 16mm amplitude and its app ecosystem, and percussion research (Konrad et al., 2020) confirms even a single five-minute session significantly improves range of motion regardless of which brand you pick.
Which should you buy?
- Buy the Ekrin B37 if: you want the most performance per dollar, prioritize stall force and long battery life, want a lifetime warranty, or simply don’t want to spend $330–$530 on a massage gun. At $229.99 it out-muscles the Theragun Prime on the numbers that matter for $100 less.
- Buy the Theragun Prime if: you want the deeper 16mm amplitude and the Therabody app’s guided routines, and you’re okay trading stall force and battery life for the brand’s ecosystem and design.
- Buy the Theragun Pro if: you want the most powerful, most feature-rich gun here — 60-lb stall force, a rotating arm, an OLED screen, and swappable batteries — and the $529.99 price isn’t a dealbreaker.
The bottom line
For most people, the Ekrin B37 is the smarter buy. It matches or beats the mid-range Theragun models on stall force and battery for $100–$300 less and adds a lifetime warranty — you’re paying for performance, not branding. The Theragun lineup justifies its premium only if the 16mm depth, the app-guided ecosystem, and — on the Theragun Pro — the rotating arm and class-leading 60-lb power are worth the extra money to you. There’s no wrong answer, but the value gap is hard to ignore.
Still weighing your options? Our best percussion massager roundup ranks both brands against the wider field, and Theragun alternatives covers every gun worth buying instead of the premium brand. If you want to see how Theragun stacks up against the other big name, read our Theragun vs Hypervolt comparison, or see where Ekrin’s value pick lands against Hyperice in Hypervolt vs Ekrin. Training hard? The best massage gun for athletes guide covers which gun holds up to heavy use.