The 6 Best Foot Baths of 2023

How We Selected the Best Foot Baths

To find the best foot baths, we asked podiatrists to tell us what to look for and avoid when choosing an at-home foot spa product. Our experts include:

• Sidney Weiser, DPM, president of Quality Podiatry Group in Boca Raton, Florida
• Patrick McEneaney, DPM, founder and CEO of Northern Illinois Foot & Ankle Specialists

They suggested a combination of features to consider, told us what types of things can be added to foot baths to maximize your experience, and made some important safety notes.  

With that advice, we scoured the internet for crowd-favorite foot baths with features like vibration, massaging nodes, and temperature-controlled heating. We also tried to find a variety of foot baths for every budget, from simple-but-effective basins to luxurious, at-home spa machines.

What to Look for in a Foot Bath

Size

Keep your own foot size in mind when choosing a foot bath; make sure you check the dimensions and measure your feet, if necessary, before deciding on a product. This isn’t just for comfort, either—a foot bath can’t be effective or give you the results you want if it’s too small for you.

“Foot baths need to be big enough to place both feet inside, and water should be able to cover above the ankle,” says Dr. Weiser.

Obviously, if you want even more coverage, you’ll have to keep the height of your foot bath in mind, too. Some are designed to be taller than others, allowing you to fill them more (and soak more of your leg) than shallow baths.

Water Temperature and Heating

No one wants to stick their feet into a chilly basin of water unless they’re icing an injury, so any electric foot bath you purchase should have a heating element to keep the water warmed up. But not all foot baths have the same type of temperature regulation, so make sure you know what you’re getting; for safety purposes and different types of therapy, it may be better to choose one that lets you decide how hot the water will get. 

“Find a foot bath that allows you to regulate the water temperature—some let you control the water temperature, and some don't,” says Dr. McEneaney. “If you have muscle pain that's not acute, a warm bath will be good, [but] cold water will be better for joints.”

Added Features

Most foot baths on our list have some added features like vibration, rolling massage, bubbles, and pumice stones, which may be particularly important depending on your personal needs.

“If you have healthy feet and are just looking to use [a foot bath] to relax, it comes down to what you prefer and how much you want to spend,” says Dr. McEneaney. “There are really basic foot baths on the market that could do the job you need it to do, and then there are really sophisticated, expensive ones.”

If you’re not planning on using your foot bath much but want to relieve occasional pain or pre-treat for procedures like nail debridement, a basic basin you fill yourself is probably all you need. On the other hand, if you have chronic foot pain and plan to use the bath frequently, it makes more sense to splurge on one that can give you the full spa experience at home.

Safety

Both doctors note that their recommendations only apply to people with healthy feet. You should not use a foot bath if you have open sores on your feet or if the source of your foot pain is undiagnosed.

“If you're using a foot bath to try to treat a foot or ankle ailment or injury, it's best to see a doctor first because trying to treat things at home like this can actually make a problem worse,” explains Dr. McEneaney. “That way, you don't risk exacerbating any injury or ailment by mistreating it—and you can be confident that the foot bath is actually going to be useful in addition to feeling good.”

Why We Don't Recommend Ionic Footbaths

Without getting too much in the weeds here, proponents of ionic foot baths claim that these treatments can remove toxins with the use of a low-voltage electrical current; the ionization charges atoms in the water that attract toxins in your body and pull them out through your feet.

“The theory is that the ionization will detoxify the body, as opposed to a regular foot bath which has whirlpool jets that just move the water around,” says Dr. Weiser.

There is no body of evidence proving these claims or widespread studies showing their effectiveness—and some people should definitely not use an ionic foot bath, says Dr. Weiser, including people who have pacemakers or defibrillators, people on blood thinners, and diabetics.

Why Trust Verywell Health

Sarah Bradley has been writing health content since 2017—everything from product roundups and illness FAQs to nutrition explainers and the dish on diet trends. She knows how important it is to receive trustworthy and expert-approved advice about over-the-counter products that manage everyday health conditions, from GI issues and allergies to chronic headaches and joint pain.