9 best pull up bars for home workouts

Pull up bars are one of the best bits of home workout kit available.

They provide a great strength and core workout, and are generally cheap and very low maintenance.

However, there are lots of different types of pull up bar out there, and it’s important that you understand how each one works, and what kind of assembly/installation is required before you make a purchase… Because picking the wrong one can cause big headaches!

So, I’ve put together my list of the 9 best pull up bars for home, with detailed info on each one.

And underneath the list is a buyer’s guide, showing you exactly what to look to get the perfect bar for your training and home.

Ultrasport 2-Way Pull-Up Bar for home

The Ultrasport 2-Way Pull-Up bar is an adjustable pull up bar that is designed to support a wide variety of upper body exercises. It is simple to hang in a doorway, is inexpensive and can be put up and taken down in a few seconds. The bar is constructed with steel tubing and is complete with a foam grip for comfort. Maximum user weight is 100kg which is almost 16 stone.

Bar type: Hang in door

Set-up effort: Easily done in a few minutes

Do you need to drill holes in your wall/door? No, but you have the option if you’d prefer the extra security, or want to support more than the 100kg limit

Best feature: Quick to adjust

Biggest limitation: Only one type of grip

UMI. Essentials Door Pull-up and Chin-up Bar

The UMI Essentials Door Pull-Up Bar is an incredibly well-built home pull up bar. In terms of price it’s towards the premium end of the market, but the price tag is well-deserved based on the build quality (it’s made from 3mm stainless steel tube) and effectiveness of the bar. It is incredibly easy to set up, can support up to 200kg (30 stone) in user weight and requires no drilling. It’s adjustable as well so can be taken to different places to train.

Bar type: Hang in door

Set-up effort: Easily done in a few minutes

Do you need to drill holes in your wall/door? No

Best feature: Incredibly sturdy – huge maximum user weight

Biggest limitation: Only suitable to a maximum 36 inch width door frame

HAKENO Doorway Pull Up Bar

The HAKENO Doorway Pull Up bar is another absolute triumph in the home exercise market. It’s a rock-solid and well-built pull up bar that has a maximum user weight of 200kg. It’s also a unique bar in the end that it’s thicker than most – something that has been linked to improved arm muscle recruitment. The bar is fully adjustable, easy to hang and is incredibly sturdy. It’s unique wall grip design means it’s actually better for heavier users.

Bar type: Hang in door

Set-up effort: Easily done in a few minutes

Do you need to drill holes in your wall/door? No

Best feature: Thicker than most, so recruits more arm muscle during pull ups

Biggest limitation: Thicker grip may be unsuitable for kids/women with smaller hands

ONETWOFIT Pull Up Bar for door frame

ONETWOFIT’s home pull up bar is a good mid-range offering that has a number of key features that make it a useful addition to a home gym. It comes with a few different setup and security options that offer varying levels of stability. The maximum user weight is 150kg when screwed in, but this drops significantly when other methods are used, dropping to only a 45kg maximum user weight when relying on the friction grip method. If you are an adult user, you can only really use it properly if you screw it into the frame with the heavy duty screw method.

Bar type: Hang in door

Set-up effort: Some assembly required if you want to use it properly.

Do you need to drill holes in your wall/door? Yes – again, if you want to use it properly

Best feature: Multiple security options

Biggest limitation: Limited user weight unless you fully screw the bar in

Sportstech 4in1 Pull-up Bar – Wall Mounted Chin Up Bar

The Sportstech 4 in 1 Pull Up bar is a bar for the more serious home exerciser. It’s an incredibly well-build wall-mounted pull up bar that has a multiple grip set up. It’s a fixed bar and will require more in the way of installation, but it’s so well constructed it’d even be suitable for commercial use. As well as multiple grips there’s a loop for a punch bag and a suspension trainer, giving you additional possibilities. It’s pricey and require more setup – but it’s a far superior product to most home pull up bars on this list.

Bar type: Wall mounted

Set-up effort: Will take a while to set up

Do you need to drill holes in your wall/door? Yes

Best feature: Very sturdy, multiple grips, huge variety of workouts

Biggest limitation: Wall mounted so can’t be adjusted + expensive

Perfect Fitness Multi GYM Pro – White pull up bar

The Perfect Fitness Multigym Pro is a versatile home pull-up bar with a multitude of different exercise options. It’s lightweight but relatively strong, is cheap to buy and requires essentially no set up. It’s suitable for almost any doorway and simply hangs over your door frame – it also has 3 different grips you can use. You can also position on the floor for press ups, and the bottom of your door for situps.

Bar type: Hang in door

Set-up effort: Easily done in a few seconds

Do you need to drill holes in your wall/door? No

Best feature: Set up takes a few seconds – can be put up and down immediately.

Biggest limitation: Feels slightly cheap and flimsy (although the manufacturer says it will support over 20 stone of weight)

Kabalo Gym Exercise Pull Up Bar for Door

The Kabalo Gym Exercise Pull Up Bar is similar to the bar reviewed above, it’s towards the cheaper end of the market but is still perfectly good for a range of pull up exercises. It’s another of the multi-grip bars that can be hung up or taken down in seconds, so offers a really convenient option for exercising at home.

Bar type: Hang in door

Set-up effort: Easily done in a few seconds

Do you need to drill holes in your wall/door? No

Best feature: Versatility of grips

Biggest limitation: Can’t be adjusted to fit other doors

Sportstech 7in1 Power Tower PT300 as dip station

If you have the space and you’re looking for a versatile exercise station, the Sportstech 7 in 1 Power Tower is perfect for you. It has multiple exercise options built in, but it also provides hanging stations for other kit such as a suspension trainer. The Power Tower is very solid, well-built and more than suitable for heavy home use. The pull up bar is adjustable for different size users. Just make sure you have sufficient space and budget!

Bar type: Freestanding

Set-up effort: Will take a while to set up

Do you need to drill holes in your wall/door? No

Best feature: It’s very versatile

Biggest limitation: Large, so needs a lot of space

AmazonBasics Dip Fitness Bar

The AmazonBasics Dip bar is slightly different to most bars, as it is a cradle type piece of equipment which sits on your home gym floor. Its sturdy construction and tall design it’s useful for more than just dips – leg raises, knee raises and rows are all possible on the bar set up. It’s easy enough to put together and is remarkably strong – the weight capacity is nearly 300kg, so is fine for everyone to use! The bar is easy to use and assemble and comes with floor and hand protection. It’s light in construction so easy to move around within a room, but be warned – it doesn’t fit through doorways easily!

Bar type: Freestanding

Set-up effort: Easily done in a few minutes

Do you need to drill holes in your wall/door? No

Best feature: Exercise versatility

Biggest limitation: Can’t do hanging pull ups – only rows

Why choose a home pull up bar?

A home pull up bar is an excellent and convenient tool for home training.. Here are some of the core benefits:

Allows you to effectively train your back and arm muscles, with the “pull up” being a staple of muscle building exercises
Huge variety of exercises possible, especially when the bar has multiple grips
Small and convenient item of kit that’s easy to store (in most cases) – no cumbersome weights to lug around
Not too expensive – suitable for all budgets
Great for bodybuilding, cardio and weight loss

Different types of pull up bar

There are a number of different pull up bars, each with their pro’s and con’s. You’ll need to consider the type of pull up bar you go for and your decision should be based on factors such as space, budget, weight, exercise requirements, DIY ability and whether or not you are allowed to screw holes into your door frames.

Inner doorway pull up bar (no screws)

The inner doorway screwless pull up bar is a bar which slots into the inside of a doorways, and has a mechanism that pushes into the door frame in order to secure it – it doesn’t require you to screw holes into the door frame.

Pro’s

Quick and easy to fit and secure
Supports 200kg if you buy a good one
Doesn’t require screwing into a doorframe
Quick to remove if you need to

Con’s

Can damage the doorframe of you’re not careful – may be a problem for renters
Can be slippery and dangerous if not fitted properly

Inner doorway pull up bar (screws required)

If you screw the pull up bar into the doorframe, you improve the stability of almost all the bars. It takes a cheaper bar and makes them much more stable and suitable for a wider variety of exercises. This is a way to potentially save some money on a more expensive bar, but maintain the stability.

Pro’s

Improves stability of a cheaper bar
Allows you to use it for more exercises
Doesn’t rely on simply a grip for support

Con’s

Damages the door frame with 2 holes
Requires a knowledge of DIY and access to a drill
Takes a lot longer to set up
Can’t be removed easily

Hang over doorway

The hang over doorway pull up bar is the quickest and simplest to set up. Once the frame is screwed together, it simply hangs over the doorway where it can be put up or taken down in seconds. It doesn’t screw into the doorframe at all, so creates no damage at all

Pro’s

Quickest and easiest to fit
Supports 100kg if you buy a good one
Doesn’t require screwing into a doorframe
Quick to remove if you need to
Allows variety of exercise, including floor exercises

Con’s

Can’t support as heavy a weight as the more expensive bars
Not suitable for more explosive exercises

Wall mounted

The wall mounted pull up bars are the strongest and most stable of them all. They have to be bolted to the wall, so are more difficult and time consuming to set up, but they’re the best overall quality if you can get them. You can use them to hang other equipment off such as a punch bag or suspension trainer, increasing your workout variety further. You do need to make sure the wall you’re bolting it to is strong enough.

Pro’s

Best quality and most supportive of all
Supports all users
Can be used for other exercises
Other equipment can be hung from it
Usually contains multiple grip options

Con’s

Need a strong wall to screw into
Can’t be put up or taken down easily
Screw holes will damage a wall so may not be suitable for renters

Free standing Pull Up Bar

The free standing pull up bars are large towers which simply stand on the floor, and have a number bars and grips to hang from. Typically they cost the most and are the largest and heaviest of all, but they offer a lot of exercise variety and great build quality. Most of the good quality free standing pull up bars will offer a variety of pull up options, dips, abdominal options and also hooks to hang other bits of kit off, most notably a suspension trainer. The downside of course is the amount of room needed for the equipment.

Pro’s

Great quality equipment – very sturdy
Can be used for other exercises
Other equipment can be hung from it
Usually contains multiple grip options

Con’s

The largest of all options – you need plenty of space
More expensive than other bars
Takes more setting up

What to look for in a home pull up bar

A home pull up bar has to combine stability, variety and quality in order to be completely suitable for your home gym needs. There’s no point buying something that just won’t be suitable, be it because of fitting type, versatility issues or weight support. Here’s my advice on what to look for in a pull up bar..

Best type for your home

Ask yourself… Do you have enough space for a free standing pull up bar? If so, that may be the best option. Are your walls strong enough to hold a wall-mounted pull up bar? That may be the best option if you’ve got block or brick walls, or do you only realistically have space for a door hanging bar.

Grips

The best pull up bars offer a variety of grips – these allow you to do wide grip, close grip or neutral pull ups. You can also do chin ups (where your palms are facing you). The grips will be covered in a slip-proof and sweat proof coating, making the bar more suitable for use. The more grips a bar has, the more muscle groups you can work.

Durability

Build quality is important, because a pull up bar has to be able to support your entire body weight. The bigger and stronger you are, the more durable the pull up bar has to be because it’s likely to undergo heavier use. If you do lots of pull ups, consider a free standing or wall mounted pull up bar.

Sturdiness

This is another factor that dictates the safety of the bar. If you’re a bigger guy who is likely to be doing a lot of pull ups, you’ll have to seriously consider the more expensive of the inner doorway pull up bars, or the free-standing and wall mounted bars. The extra money will be worth it for the safety and sturdiness of the bar.

Price

Most of the pull up bars are relatively cheap compared to other exercise equipment. If your budget and space allows then the freestanding or wall-mounted pull up bars may seem more expensive, but they’re so much more versatile that they more than justify their price point. Even if you can’t afford (or don’t need) the free standing or wall mounted bars, you can get a very good inner doorway bar for around £50.

Best pull up bar for home – conclusion

As I said earlier, the pull up bar is one of the bits of kit where you almost always get what you pay for. If you can afford it and have the space, I’d always go for the wall mounted or free standing pull up bars because they’re a versatile and brilliant addition to any home gym. If space and budget isn’t on your side, you can still get a great bar for around £50. Just make sure you take the time to make sure it has been set up and secured properly before use.