The Rogue Monster Lat Pulldown Machine is the best lat pulldown machine on the market.
But it’s not for everyone so we’ve listed up our top picks for different needs and budgets so that you can make the best purchase for your home gym.
Best Lat Pulldown Machines
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Best Commercial Quality Lat Pulldown Machine: Rogue Monster Lat Pulldown Machine
If you’ve got the money, we definitely recommend this as the most rock solid, premium+ quality around!
- Commercial quality for excellent results and the best experience on the market
- Justifies the cost by providing amazing benefits for decades to come
- Premium quality cable pulley systems and attachments
- Most expensive option on our list
Commercial quality lat pulldown machines like the Rogue Monster Lat Pulldown bring the premium gym experience to your home gym.
They offer peak quality and comfort, as well as the durability and quality you’d expect from a gym membership – but with savings and convenience.
The Rogue Monster Lat Pulldown machine is a stand-alone lat pulldown machine with a stack-loaded cable pulley system.
It has double pulley actions with a 300lbs stack, which goes up in 10lbs increments for the most versatile option on the market.
This is a premium product that can be used for almost every kind of upper body exercise, and some specialist lower body movements like the terminal knee extension or glute kickback.
This is a lat pulldown but also a cable machine for all kinds of accessories, bodybuilding exercises, and amazing core training.
Final Verdict
This is the best product on the list – the only question is if you can justify the cost to yourself with the investment it offers.
If you’ve got the money, we definitely recommend this as the most rock solid, premium+ quality around!
Best Plate Loaded Lat Pulldown Machine: Titan Fitness Plate Loaded LAT Tower v2
This is the best plate-loaded cable machine on the market and stand-alone lat pulldown, offering amazing value for money, and free shipping if you buy direct.
- Plate loaded to save tons of cash
- Free shipping
- Rounds out any barbell-based home gym, for example
- Great fundamentals bolted to a cable-loaded pulley system
- Doesn’t have the commercial quality of others on the market
- Requires plates
- Doesn’t have the smoothest pull compared to stack-loaded
This is the best plate-loaded cable machine on the market and stand-alone lat pulldown.
It’s a dual-function option that has the same dual cable pulley system that you’d get from the Rogue option but uses weights that you already own to provide resistance.
This is the easiest way to save yourself huge amounts of money while still getting excellent results and training options elsewhere in the product.
The rest of the features that aren’t the stack are outstanding: it’s durable, stable, and moves with the best smoothness that we’ve seen in a plate-loaded lat pulldown.
It’s got a lighter frame than some other options around the price but still has excellent stability and a smooth pulley action that has put it very high on our list.
We love the balance of quality and value here, with one of the best affordable lat pulldown builds on the market.
The steel is a little low-gauge but the smart design and footprint let this product punch above weight and offer value better than many more expensive or feature-rich options.
Final Verdict
This is a great option for saving money and getting great benefits but doesn’t go toe-to-toe with the stack-loaded options.
This is the best affordable product on the list, and offers amazing value for money, just with a lower cost and feel than Rogue’s.
Best Budget Lat Pulldown Machine: Merax LAT Pulldown and Low Row Cable Machine
The Merax Lat Pulldown and Low Row Cable machine is the best way to save money and get all the training options you need. It’s a perfect choice for a small home gym that needs more options but without spending a ton of cash.
- Complete feature set with excellent pulley basics
- Stack loaded for well-calibrated and smooth pulls
- Excellent total feature set relative to the price
- Still more expensive than a rack-mounted or plate-loaded cable machine
The Merax Lat Pulldown and Low Row Cable machine is the best way to save money and get all the training options you need.
It’s a perfect choice for a small home gym that needs more options but without spending a ton of cash.
It’s a stand-alone lat pulldown machine but is plate-loaded to save you money on the stack-loaded weights. This saves a ton of extra weight, cost, and even shipping costs.
The features themselves are strong for this kind of system, with a stable footprint and double pulley system for low rows and a wide range of cable exercises.
This gives the Merax a complete feature set. The stack loading really is the only difference you’re going to notice between this product and most of the options on the market at a higher price.
The main features like the handles, cables, chains, and pads are all high quality, which gives you a surprisingly plush experience for the price tag!
This is what defines this product: the whole experience is very good while the price is low.
The benefit per dollar is off the charts, offering a different type of value to the rogue monster lat pulldown, but with the same total benefit per dollar.
Final Verdict
This is the best value for money on the market for anyone who doesn’t have $$$$ for a Rogue cable pulley.
It’s a stack-loaded option that has all the best budget options for saving money – and you may not notice the difference in a home gym, depending on your experience and needs!
Best Home Gym Machine with Lat Pulldown: Bowflex Xceed Home Gym
The Bowflex home gym machine is a system that offers a versatile training experience in one item. This is a great value play because it’s a whole home gym machine that offers a complete lat pulldown build.
- Full home gym machine
- Uses power rod tension for better calibration and pull smoothness
- Many training options all in one
- Good price compromise for total, but not premium, quality
- 210lbs significantly lighter than others on the market
- More expensive than plate-loaded, less effective than stack-loaded!
The Bowflex home gym machine is a system that offers a versatile training experience in one item.
The whole system is attached to a cable pulley system that uses tension rods to provide resistance – and this lets it offer a lower resistance load but with a much lower cost than a hard-cast stack loaded lat pulldown and cable machine.
This is both a lat pulldown option, but also a cable machine that can allow you to train the cable row, curls, tricep extensions, and many more.
This is a great value play because it’s a whole home gym machine that offers a complete lat pulldown build.
This is a cheaper option than your typical stack-loaded double pulley. This means that the versatility for the price is huge, and the only real compromise is that it’s a smaller total unit and runs the unconventional Bowflex tension-resistance system.
This is a different type of training to the kind you’d typically get in a gym.
This is quite difficult to get used to initially, but offers more weight-per-dollar than a stack-based system – if you’re ready to play with the Bowflex patented power rods – up to 210lbs.
Final Verdict
This is a niche choice but might be the best option if you’re stuck between plate and stack-loaded options.
The weight capacity can be relatively low for larger men, or very strong women, and does offer a lower limit than others – but it makes up for this on cost and training options per dollar!
Best Weight Stack Lat Pulldown Machine: Titan Fitness Lat Tower
This is one of the best value offerings, cutting a significant amount of cash off the asking price but still giving you the same raw weight as a commercial quality machine.
- Weight stack ensures a total commercial quality experience
- As heavy stack as Rogue but at a lower cost
- Great total quality, even with a lighter weight design
- Free shipping (when bought direct)
- Doesn’t offer the durability and dependability of Rogue’s more heavy-duty design
- More expensive than other options on this list
This is a powerful, commercial quality lat tower that comes with many of the same virtues as the Rogue system.
It doesn’t have the same premium+ build quality and is clearly designed for home gym use, but still offers excellent quality and an experience that wouldn’t be out of place in the local gym.
The stack-loaded system means that there’s a consistent and by-design relationship with the cable machine and pulleys.
This is a huge deal since it allows smooth operation around the pulleys, and none of the lag that you typically experience with weight peg, plate-loaded cable machines.
The Titan Fitness weight stack goes up to 300lbs in 10lbs increments, just like the Rogue machine.
The other features like the steel and the design aren’t as strong, but the price is significantly lower which makes this a more affordable home gym stack-loaded cable machine and lat pulldown tower.
Final Verdict
This is one of the best value offerings, cutting a significant amount of cash off the asking price but still giving you the same raw weight as Rogue.
This is a great product – it’s not as good as Rogue on a feature-for-feature basis, but it costs significantly less and does (functionally) the same thing!
Best Value Lat Pulldown Machine: Valor Fitness CB-12 Lat Pulldown Machine
Overall, this is a real contender with the other plate-loaded options, costing more but offering some specific value-added options like the back pad and low footplate.
- Great value-added extras like the back pad and footplate
- Cheap but effective, with great total benefits and value for money
- Offers some specialist benefits that may be hard to find elsewhere
- Weight pegs and other items as standard
- Not as cheap as other plate-loaded cable pulley systems on the market
- May not offer real benefits if you’re not specifically interested in these exercises
Valor Fitness’ lat pulldown machine is a plate-loaded system and offers many of the main features we’ve seen with the Titan option, but has some excellent features that put it in a different niche.
This feels more like a full home gym machine, much like the Bowflex option, but without a weight stack.
Lacking an intrinsic weight system does make it more difficult to use because it lacks the calibrated smoothness of a stack-loaded cable machine.
However, it’s still an excellent option and provides a great mid-ground between the Bowflex home gym machine and the Titan plate-loaded pulldown.
The back support pad and the footprint are both excellent – among the best on the market – with a good steel construction design.
The low row plate and dual pulley systems ensure you get complete access to the range of different exercises, and it comes with weight peg storage as standard, which is nice.
Overall, this is a real contender with the other plate-loaded options, costing more but offering some specific value-added options like the back pad and low footplate.
If you’re looking for a cheap but comprehensive option, Valor could be the best for you.
Final Verdict
This is one of the best cheap lat pulldowns on the market, with a low price and a diverse feature set.
The benefits are excellent – and it might be better for you if the extra pad and footplate are appropriate for the training you’re most interested in.
How We Chose the Best Lat Pulldown Machines
There are a lot of lat pulldown machines on the market nowadays. Trust us – we know, we looked at them all to pick our best list.
Narrowing it down was no easy feat. To help us rank the options, we used the criteria in the Buying Guide section below – including:
- Quality
- Weight capacity
- Comfort
- Low pulley
- Attachments
- Price
Why You Should Trust Us
At Home Gym Boss we pride ourselves on being impartial and only recommend products we would use ourselves.
Sometimes it is not possible to try all the different products, so we do our research by talking to athletes, strength coaches & personal trainers, reading user reviews, checking product manuals, assessing overall brand quality and reputation, and checking the current prices.
Lat Pulldown Machine Buying Guide
What is a Lat Pulldown Machine?
A lat pulldown machine is a cable machine that lets you perform the lat pulldown, which requires a high cable pulley.
These can be either plate- or stack-loaded and offer a wide range of exercises that are useful for the upper body in particular.
The lat pulldown itself is a cable-loaded exercise to build the latissimus dorsi. This is perfect if you’re trying to build up pull-ups or other movements, or simply build a commanding V-taper.
You can also use the Lat pulldown and cable pulley machines to perform other exercises.
All of the options on our review list today are good examples: a dual pulley system with a low cable attachment is one of the best ways to open up more training options with a single piece of equipment.
What Exercises can you Perform on a Lat Pulldown Machine?
You can perform almost any exercise on the lat pulldown machine, but they mostly revolve around the pulldown itself.
This vertical pulling motion is perfect for building up the lats, rhomboids, lower traps, and biceps.
Other exercises include the cable curl, tricep pushdown, cable rows, face pulls, and more.
These are simple but impressively powerful options, and they can be a perfect tonic to a barbell and squat rack setup, letting you train your upper and lower body comprehensively.
You can perform far more options with the lat pulldown machine if it has a low pulley cable, which is a huge benefit for just about any purpose.
You can train almost any muscle group on a cable tower, especially if you’re willing to get creative – some just require different attachments and handles!
What are the Training Benefits of a Lat Pulldown Machine?
A lat pulldown machine is perfect for upper body training in home gyms that only use free weights.
It’s a single purchase that can combine perfectly with a power cage and barbell, as a way to provide isotonic constant-tension exercises for the lats and other hard-to-get muscle groups.
This is also perfect for rehabilitation – especially in under-trained areas. The lat pulldown machine is a great option for face pulls to develop the rotator cuff, terminal knee extensions for knee health, and the development of the glutes and adductors.
These are all areas that benefit from direct development, helping you stay healthy and counter-acting various other strong-but-tight muscle groups.
This is something more people should do, and one of the most effective ways to round out your physique in a home gym.
How to do a Lat Pulldown
Types of Lat Pulldown Machines
There are 3 main types of lat pulldown machines: plate loaded, stack loaded, and rack mounted.
Rack-mounted pulldown machines can use either form of resistance, but they’re typically a whole genre unto themselves since they do require a compatible squat rack or power cage.
Plate-Loaded
Plate-loaded cable machines and lat pulldowns are less smooth in their operation, but significantly cheaper. These are a huge savings option, especially in combination with a home gym built around free weights already!
Stack-Loaded
Stack-loaded lat pulldown machines offer a commercial quality experience but also come with a premium price tag. They’re perfect if you’re investing in a quality experience and have some cash to invest for better training.
Rack-mounted
Rack-mounted lat pulldown machines save you money by offloading the footprint and stability to an item you already own. If you’ve got a compatible rack, this is going to be the cheapest and space-economic option for your home gym.
Which of these suits your budget and priorities are down to your training, budget, and what you already own!
What to Look for When Buying a Lat Pulldown Machine
You should look for quality, weight capacity, pulleys, attachments, and price when it comes to finding the best lat pulldown machine for your home gym.
Quality
Better builds last longer, perform better, and are a better investment of your cash. All things being equal, better quality is THE most important factor for buying a lat pulldown machine.
Weight capacity
More weight capacity means more top-end performance, better durability, and the development of stability and frameworks that can handle more stress. They also let you progress for longer in more exercises!
Comfort
Pad design and quality are important for comfort, as are proper angles by design and the handles with which you’re provided. These define the feeling of the product – and this also applies to the smoothness of the pulley system.
Low pulley
A huge factor that provides enormous training versatility with an enormous range of exercises that you can’t get from a high pulley. The cable row, alone, is worth the money – especially with variations like single-arms.
Attachments
The more attachments you get as standard, the better the value. This is a simple way of getting more exercise options for the same items, the same price, and so on. Value for money depends on attachments among equally well-built lat pulldown machines.
Price
Every home gym purchase has to justify the money it costs. This means you want more benefits per dollar, and a price that is justified by the features, build quality, and design of the product all at once.
These will be important based on your priorities – focus on the best possible product for the things most important to you.
Short on space? Compact lat pulldown machines.
Short on cash? Affordability and the value for money come first.
Lat Pulldown Machine FAQs
Is a Lat Pulldown Machine Worth It?
Yes – a lat pulldown machine that offers good value for money is worth it. Some products don’t and are worth avoiding.
However, all the lat pulldown machines we’ve reviewed today justify their cost.
They come at different prices, but they all offer something useful to provide more training options for the cost and expand the value of your home gym as a whole.
What Muscles Does a Lat Pulldown Work?
The lat pulldown works the latissimus dorsi, the rhomboids, the lower traps, the rear delts, and the biceps.
You can also develop grip strength with this exercise depending on how you grip the handles, and which handles you use.
These are all important for the silhouette of the upper body and transfer well to other sports. They’re also some of the most neglected and under-trained muscles in the body that provide real value for time and effort!
Power rack with Lat Pulldown vs. Lat Pulldown Machine
The main difference is cost: a dedicated lat pulldown machine is better for building a big upper back but will cost you significantly more money.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, a power rack with a lat pulldown costs very little (by comparison) but does offer a wider range of training features – albeit fewer premium ones.
The real difference is in the pulldown itself and the feel of the product.
A dedicated lat pulldown machine will feel better and more like a commercial gym product. The rack-mounted pulldown will feel less smooth and jerkier.
The difference can easily be hundreds of dollars, however. Many good lat pulldown machines cost more than a rack with lat pulldown attachments by themselves – despite offering a far more limited training experience.
If you have the money, get a high-quality lat pulldown. If you don’t, or don’t care that much, just get a power rack with a lat pulldown built-in.
Check out our list of best power racks with lat pulldown attachments.
Best Lat Pulldown Machines
- Best Commercial Quality Lat Pulldown Machine: Rogue Monster Lat Pulldown Machine
- Best Plate Loaded Lat Pulldown Machine: Titan Fitness Plate Loaded LAT Tower v2
- Best Budget Lat Pulldown Machine: Merax LAT Pulldown and Low Row Cable Machine
- Best Home Gym Machine with Lat Pulldown: Bowflex Xceed Home Gym
- Best Value Lat Pulldown Machine: Valor Fitness CB-12 Lat Pulldown Machine
- Best Weight Stack Lat Pulldown Machine: Titan Fitness Lat Tower
Related Resources
- Best Functional Trainer
- Best Power Racks with Cable Crossover Attachments
- Squat Stand Vs. Half Rack vs. Power Rack
- Best Budget Power Racks (under $500)
- Best Smith Machines
- Best Power Rack Accessories & Attachments
- Best Half Racks
Conclusion
A lat pulldown machine is a serious investment even for the most well-equipped home gyms.
But if you buy well, the training benefits do justify the cost.
Lat pulldown machines come at different prices, but they all offer something useful to provide more training options for the cost and expand the value of your home gym as a whole.
We think the Rogue Monster Lat Pulldown Machine is the best lat pulldown machine but it is also the most expensive so check out some of our other recommendations too.
