How Much Does a Squat Rack Cost? (18 Racks Compared)
For the majority of garage gym owners, your squat rack will be the biggest investment you make into your gains journey.
So, as you begin planning out your budget, one of the most important questions becomes, ‘how much does a squat rack cost?’.
A Squat Rack can cost anywhere from $200 to $10,000 with the average rack being around $1000. The difference in price depends heavily on the style and quality of rack. The bigger the rack, along with higher quality steel, the higher the cost.
Squat Rack styles vary all the way from squat stands to a full rack. We’ll go over each one in this article.
Before we break down each style though, I’m going to teach you how to spot the difference between a good quality rack and a cheap and flimsy death trap.
Links on this page may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase I may, at no extra cost to you, earn a commission.
The Squat Rack Specs That Matter
When searching for a squat rack to buy, it’s easy to get distracted by all the different dimensions, accessories, prices along with any number of sales hype ‘features’. Here are the two specs that you should actually pay attention to:
Column Dimensions: This is generally going to be either 3×3, 2×3 or 2×2.
What does column size mean? – Column dimensions are the width and depth of the beams of the rack. The industry standard for high quality racks is 3×3.
Why is this important? – Two reasons. Most importantly, the wider the columns the stronger and more stable they are going to be. Second, many rack attachments like J-Hooks, Dip Attachments, etc are designed to fit a 3×3 rack. If you have a 2×3 or 2×2 rack you may have a more difficult time finding compatible accessories.
When I say ‘the wider the columns are the stronger they are’ is true, but it also depends on the second spec you should pay attention to when buying a rack.
Steel Gauge: This can vary anywhere from 9 to 15. 11 gauge steel is the industry standard for a quality rack.
What does Steel Gauge mean? – The gauge of the steel is the thickness of the beam itself. The lower the number the thicker the steel.
Why is this important? – I feel like this is self-explanatory, but very simply the thicker the steel the stronger the rack. When you see racks that are ‘rated’ to handle 500lbs vs 1000lbs the difference is generally in the gauge of steel.
Bottom Line on Specs and Safety
I built my rack myself and we’ll discuss DIY Squat Rack Cost later on, but if I’ve bought squat racks for 3 different college weight rooms in my career. I can tell you with 100% certainty that if I were to buy a steel rack for my garage it would be a 3×3 11 gauge steel rack. For me, the safety of my rack cannot be understated.
I’ll include some racks that are smaller and thinner because I want to show you all the differences in price and cost, but personally, I would not buy one.
There are No Reviews Here
I want to make it clear that there are no ‘reviews’ in this article. Why? I only review products that I have personally used. The squat racks that I have used in my life are high end commercial racks from companies like Sorinex and Hammer Strength.
The squat rack I’m currently using in my own garage gym I built myself (UPDATE: After a little over a year I upgraded to a Titan T3 Squat Rack and have loved it).
This article is strictly a pricing comparison. I spent about 3 or 4 hours combing through the most reputable companies that specialize in personal strength equipment. (not cheap garbage from Amazon)
By putting all these pricing comparisons in one place, hopefully, I can save you the 3 or 4 hours that it took me to put this together.
Squat Stands Cost
Squat Stands are the most bare-bones of squat racks. Essentially, they are two columns with a small base. They are used for the sole purpose of getting weight off the ground so you can back squat.
Other exercises, like shoulder presses are also a bit more convenient, but squatting is the main focus.
On the negative side, most (not all) squat stands do not give the lifter the ability for things like bench press and pullups. They’re also much more unstable than bigger, heavier racks. They demand much more control when racking and unracking weights.
Squat Stands are popular with Olympic lifters who don’t really need a rack to perform other functions other than Back Squat.
Finally, squat stands are popular because they’re the cheapest squat rack. If all you need is a rack to allow you to back squat and you don’t want to spend a lot of money, you may want to look into squat stands.
| Brand | Squat Rack | Price | More Info |
| Titan | T-3 Series Short Squat Stand | $249.99 | More Info |
| Rogue | Rogue S-4 Squat Stand 2.0 | $365.00 | More Info |
| Vulcan | H-Basic Squat Stand | $349.99 | More Info |
| Sorinex | Squat Stand | $595.00 | More Info |
| Fringe Sport | Squat Rack w/Pull-Up Bar – Garage Series | $290.00 | More Info |
Wall Mounted Squat Rack Cost
Wall Mounted Squat Racks are my favorite design for a garage gym squat rack. By anchoring into the wall, I believe that you are able to achieve max stability with max space efficiency.
Most Wall Mounted Squat Racks give you all the versatility of a full rack, but take up much less space and don’t need to be bolted to the floor.
Some wall-mounted squat racks are even foldable, meaning the rack columns are on a hinge and can be “folded” back against the wall. If you’re really looking to maximize space, you can’t do any better than that.
Obviously, if anchoring to your wall is not an option you can or are willing to do, then a Wall Mounted Rack is not going to work.
A wall-mounted squat rack is essentially the style of DIY Squat Rack I built for my garage gym. Sooner or later, I’m sure I’ll replace my wood rack with a steel rack and when I do it will be this same style.
| Brand | Squat Rack | Price | More Info |
| Titan | T-3 Series Tall Space Saving Rack | $299.99 | More Info |
| Rogue | RML-3W Fold Back Wall Mount | $495.00 | More Info |
| Sorinex | Off Grid Rack | $399.00 | More Info |
| ETHOS | Folding Wall Rack | $399.99 | More Info |
| Get Rx’d | Wall-Mount Folding Builder Rack | $395.00 | More Info |
| Hammer Strength | Home Squat Rack | $699.00 | More Info |
Half Racks Cost
Half Racks are a step up in size and footprint from Squat Stands and Wall-Mounted Racks.
Half Racks are freestanding heavy-duty racks that allow complete versatility to any exercise you need a rack to perform.
The biggest difference between a half rack and a full rack is that a full rack completely encloses you when lifting inside the rack. A Half Rack allows you to squat close to the rack and use safety bars or step out of the rack and perform movements that need more open space.
This is the most popular type of rack that you see in collegiate weight rooms. This is because of the versatility I just mentioned and aesthetically they keep a room looking open and big. A room full of full racks can make a room look very cluttered and crowded.
Finally, they are going to be cheaper than Full Racks due to the simple rack that they are going to use less steel.
The only negative of a half rack over a full rack is that a full rack is more stable, although if you’re racking your weights under control then you won’t have an issue with stability.
One last note when it comes to half racks. Many companies like Titan and Rogue sell ‘Conversion Kits‘ where you can basically build upon a Squat Stand. Keep that in mind if you think you want to start with a squat stand, but may want to upgrade later on down the road.
| Brand | Squat Rack | Price | More Info |
| Rogue | HR-2 Half Rack | $655.00 | More Info |
| Fitness Gear | Pro Half Rack | $399.99 | More Info |
| Vulcan | Half Rack – Elite | $1499.99 | More Info |
Full Racks aka Power Cages Cost
We’re going to wrap this up with the big boys. Full Racks, or Power Cages, are the images that you envision when you think of old school powerlifting. Lifting heavy and moving big weight.
Full Racks are going to give you maximum stability which is never a bad thing when you’re moving serious weight. With the extra set of vertical beams, full racks also give you the ability to play around with a lot more rack attachments without having to constantly change out what you want to use.
On the downside, a full rack will take up quite a bit of space which sometimes isn’t ideal in a garage gym where space may be tight. Since they are the biggest style of rack by sheer size, they’re also going to be the most expensive.
I don’t think I’d ever get a Full Rack for my own garage gym, but I have complete and total respect for anyone that does.
| Brand | Squat Rack | Price | More Info |
| Titan | X-3 Series Flat Foot Power Rack | $699.99 | More Info |
| Rogue | RML-390F Flat Foot Monster Lite Rack | $795.00 | More Info |
| ETHOS | Power Rack 5.0 | $699.99 | More Info |
| Fringe Sport | Squat Cage – Garage Series | $466.00 | More Info |
Final Thoughts
There are a ton of squat rack options out there and one of the most time-consuming parts of squat rack shopping is trying to do price comparisons.
Hopefully, this page can be an easy to check resource so you can check prices regardless of what style of rack you choose.
Finally, if you’re currently going through secondary markets, like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, looking for a used rack – it’s nice to know what a new rack costs so you can see if you’re getting a good deal or not.
Good Luck on the search! Squats are in your near future!
