The SML-2 Rogue 90” Monster Lite Squat Stand is the best squat stand on the market today, but our other great options may better suit your needs or budget.
So today, we will discuss the best squat stands for your home gym, 7 of the best examples on the market, and what to look out for.
Best Squat Stands
- Best Overall Squat Stand: SML-2 Rogue 90” Monster Lite Squat Stand
- Best Budget Squat Stand: Sunny Essential Power Squat Stand
- Best Squat Stand with Bench Included: Fitness Reality Squat Rack & Weight Bench Combo
- Best Independent Squat Stand: Valor Fitness BD-9 Independent Power Squat Stands
- Best Squat Stand for Low Ceilings: Titan Fitness T-3 Series Short Squat Stand
- Most Versatile Squat Stand: HulkFit Multifunction Adjustable Power Rack
- Best Wall-Mounted Squat Stand: Rogue RML-3W Fold Back Wall Mount Rack
Best Overall Squat Stand: SML-2 Rogue 90″ Monster Lite Squat Stand
Sturdy, durable, high-quality fixtures, and a 1000 lb weight capacity - more than enough even for the strongest home gym enthusiasts.
The Rogue SML-2 is a free-standing, twin-linked squat stand that offers a 90″ height with plenty of machined holes for any training.
This makes it suitable for even the tallest people and ideal for most rooms with great size and stability.
The fixtures are very well made – in line with Rogue’s excellent reputation.
This makes the SML-2 one of the most dependable and sturdy racks on the market, bringing together some of the best features of a squat rack and free-standing squat stands.
This squat stand establishes itself as a winner with the sturdiness of its steel gauging and its spotting arms’ effective length and stability. These are some of the best on the market and provide better peace of mind even when lifting heavy weights.
The 1000lbs capacity is a great upper limit and provides enough strength for almost anyone on the planet.
There are very few people who need more than 1000lbs of squat rack capacity!
This also means better durability, high-quality fixtures, and spotter arms with a weight rating to match – keeping you safe while you go heavy.
Best Budget Squat Stand: Sunny Essential Power Squat Stand
The overall training value of this squat stand relative to its price is absurd. It offers the best bang for your buck of any training equipment on the market.
This is a slimline, minimalist squat stand for those who want to add a range of exercises to their at-home weight training but don’t want to invest too heavily – or lack space.
It’s a streamlined option but offers surprisingly good function with a top brace and a good footprint.
It also maximizes on space use with built-in weight pegs for added utility and better stability/balance during use.
This set of squat stands even comes with added band pegs, and the top brace doubles up as a pull-up bar – though it’s not the most stable we’ve ever tried.
The overall training value of this squat stand relative to its price is absurd. It offers one of the best bang-for-your-buck options of any training equipment on the market.
This model also includes two upgrade sets – one with additional rear bracing, band pegs, and spotter arms. The second upgrade set offers a heavier frame with a built-in landmine attachment.
Though the original, ‘essential’ setup is the best value on the market and stands on its own as a fantastic budget squat stand for home gyms.
Best Squat Stand with Bench: Fitness Reality Squat Rack & Weight Bench Combo
When it comes to value for money, it's hard to beat the addition of the adjustable weight bench to help you get more workouts from one purchase.
The Fitness Reality Squat Rack & Weight Bench Combo is a bundle of the two items: a twin-linked squat rack with an upper brace and the fitness reality adjustable weight bench.
The rack is similar to the Sunny Essentials squat stand but has a more solid overall build quality and heavier-duty design.
The squat rack comes with an 800lbs weight capacity, making it a great choice for just about anyone – and offering excellent value for money.
When it comes to value for money, it’s hard to beat the addition of the adjustable weight bench to help you get more workouts from one purchase.
This makes it easy to bench press and expand your workouts with tons of other options, all at a great price.
It also means you can get started with a set of weights, a bar, and this Fitness Reality Squat Rack & Weight Bench Combo.
This is one of the best value choices on the market, with a great set of squat stands, even before the bench is considered.
Adding the bench just makes for one of the most convenient and accessible additions to any home gym and probably the best place to start lifting weights at home as soon as possible!
Looking to buy a bench separately? Then check out our guide to the Best Foldable Weight Benches.
Best Independent Squat Stand: Valor Fitness BD-9 Independent Power Squat Stands
The price is great on these products, offering excellent value with all the benefits of portability, easy storage, and simple use.
The Valor Fitness BD-9 is the best pair of independent squat stands on the market, offering a strong core experience and a great range of attachments and moving parts.
This makes it an excellent option for multi-purpose squat stands for your home gym.
The added set of j-hooks along the tubing makes it a convenient choice for benching, while additional weight pegs come as standard.
The footprint of each stand is set up for better stability when un-racking and re-racking weights, and the rubberized design is great for stability and safer floors.
The price is great on these products, offering excellent value with all the benefits of portability, easy storage, and simple use. It’s a great economy choice and offers all the best training options at a good price and simple setup.
Best Squat Stand for Low Ceilings: Titan Fitness T-3 Series Short Squat Stand
Excellent stability, great price point, and with a height of only 72" - perfect for a basement gym.
The Titan T-3 squat stand by Titan Fitness is relatively similar to Rogue SML-2 when it comes to design and features. You can say that Titan mimics Rogue, offering decent equipment at a lower price.
The T-3 Short Squat Stand has a 1000 lbs weight capacity and is made with 11-gauge steel tubes, which means you can expect good stability and longevity.
The tall model is 92 inches high, but the shorter, 72-inch version is perfect for basements or other low ceiling situations.
T-3 squat rack has Westside hole spacing in the bench/pull zone, which means that holes are closer together in these zones, allowing more precise adjustments.
Also, both uprights have side holes too, which gives you more options for accessories. This number of holes lets you adjust the rack to your needs, making exercising optimal for your body proportions.
Titan T-3 Series Squat stand comes with J-hooks, but that’s it. You will still need to purchase some essentials such as safety hooks separately, which adds to the price.
Check out our guide to the Best Power Rack Accessories & Attachments.
This is definitely an excellent value option, bringing good stability at a great price point.
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Most Versatile Squat Stand: HulkFit Multifunction Adjustable Power Rack
The HulkFit Adjustable Power Rack is a highly versatile, multi-functional rack, with a great design, all at a relatively low price.
The HulkFit Adjustable Power Rack is a versatile piece of kit.
It includes a landmine attachment, multiple pull-up handles, band pegs, dip bars, and weight storage pegs as standard. It also features barbell holders, a T-bar row platform, and an optional cable pulley attachment.
This is a great design bonus, especially at the relatively low price.
The result is a rack that offers a unique approach with a range of features without a huge price tag. It is also rated for 1,000 lbs, which means that the fundamentals – like steel quality and hooks/pins are solid.
HulkFit are clearly catering to the all-in-one workout space option. That’s why it’s our multi-function product of choice: you get a fantastic range of fundamentals and features at a great price. Excellent option.
The HulkFit Adjustable Power Rack is perfect for those wanting an affordable, all-in-one workout option.
Check on HulkFitCheck on Amazon
Best Wall-Mounted Squat Stand: Rogue RML-3W Fold Back Wall Mount Rack
The Rogue RML-3W is the best wall-mounted squat rack you can buy. The benefits are clear – sturdy, US-made, with terrific build quality and foldability.
The Rogue RML-3W is built of 3×3” 11-gauge steel bars. That means you can expect excellent stability, even if you load the rack with a fully loaded barbell. The same goes for doing pullups. Stability is even further enhanced if you opt for Rogue stringers.
The Rogue signature, powder-coated black finish, looks incredible. It also makes the rack more durable and resistant to scratches.
This rack has Westside hole spacing in the bench area. That means that holes are placed very near, allowing you to secure the bar in a perfect position. Above and below this area, holes are spread 2” apart, which is also excellent.
There are two depth options, 21.5” and 41.5”. The 21.5” version is a better choice for most home gym enthusiasts, and it has an advantage as it folds flush to the wall.
The 41.5” version offers more space inside the rack, but it takes up more space when folded.
The rack “clicks” in place when opened and is safe to use, thanks to Rogue’s unique hinge-and-pin system. Likewise, it is easy to fold the rack once you finish using it.
The Rogue RML-3W comes with a pair of J-hooks, a built-in pullup bar, and all the necessary hardware needed for rack installation. But, you can opt for some extras too.
Besides choosing the rack depth, Rogue recommends buyers purchase their custom-made stringers. These will further stabilize the rack and make it incredibly easy to fold perfectly. They are intended for wood stud walls.
Other Monster Lite accessories are compatible with RML-3W, such as storage plates, dip bars, and similar. You can also opt for safety bars.
Check out our guide to the Best Power Rack Accessories & Attachments.
The Rogue RML-3W is, in our opinion, the best wall-mounted squat rack you can buy. The benefits are clear – sturdy, US-made, with terrific build quality and foldability.
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Read more about our favorite wall mounted squat racks here.
How We Chose the Best Squat Stands
There are a lot of squat stands 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:
- Stability
- Construction
- Weight Capacity
- Size & Footprint
- Attachments & Accessories
- 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, through reading user reviews, checking product manuals, assessing overall brand quality and reputation, and checking the current prices.
What is a Squat Stand?
Squat stands are a piece of exercise equipment that lets you suspend a barbell off the floor – they’re called squat stands because they allow you to squat.
They consist of two vertical posts which are sometimes joined at the top and or base. To learn more, check out our guide to Half Racks vs Full Racks.
You can also use squat stands for bench press, overhead press, and various other exercises that would be impossible without them.
This has made squat stands a central piece of home gym building and is one of the most popular and worthwhile investments for weight training at home.
It opens up a world of exercises, comes in a range of prices, and costs less than the power cage or squat rack.
Benefits & Limitations of Squat Stands
The benefits of a squat stand are relatively simple, but they’re all incredibly powerful.
First, the squat stand is the most economical and easiest way to equip your home gym for weight training. It’s a simple and effective piece of equipment at a price point that other items simply can’t rival.
This is perfect for your first home gym experience or with anyone who has limited money. The squat stands offer the major utility of a squat rack without the price.
Even using iron plates without a platform it’s a good option for submaximal squat training.
Squat stands are also a more minimalist design and lack some of the larger pieces’ safety and versatility features. For example, you typically won’t get reliable spotter arms or landmine attachments. Still, they take up nearly no space and are perfect if you’re using bumper plates and a platform.
This makes it a great choice for saving space and money and gives you a collapsible squatting option that you can easily tidy away when you need the extra space.
Types of Squat Stands
Standard Squat Stands (Twin-Linked)
These are the free-standing, paired squat stands with a single back-bar linking them together. Check out our top pick, the SML-2 Rogue 90” Monster Lite Squat Stand, to see what these look like.
This is perhaps the most useful all-purpose choice as it provides a compromise on stability and portability. It also maintains a squat stand’s cheap price and space cost, which is perfect for home gyms.
Standard squat stands are typically best for less-experienced trainees where the independent style may be a little fiddly.
However, if you’re getting into squatting at home for the first time, this is probably the right choice for you.
Independent Squat Stands (Singular)
A pair of independent squat stands is an alternative to the raced full stands.
See the Valor Fitness BD-9 Independent Power Squat Stands for what these look like.
It offers a more portable, cheaper, and easy-to-store alternative. Of course, it comes at the cost of lateral stability, but that’s a compromise many experienced lifters are happy to make for cheaper and more accessible stands.
Independent stands come in cup-shaped and upright formats.
The cupped stands are typically more expensive but offer a more stable and certain experience. In addition, they have wider bases and tops and better support of the bar when it has plates – making for a very sturdy experience.
Normal, upright squat stands offer less stability than their larger, recessed alternative and save more space and money. Due to simpler – and fewer – materials, they are likely to cost around half as much or even less in the case of particularly intense workmanship.
Wall-Mounted Squat Stands
The wall-mounted squat stands are both stable and super convenient, but they are also likely to be more expensive than free-standing ones. This is compounded by the need to affix them to a wall for the long term.
A wall-mounted squat rack is collapsible, offers the most space-efficient option, and is one of the most stable choices.
On top of this, it provides immense stability, as it is literally hard-bolted to the wall. This makes for the most usable and secure option – especially if you invest in extra cross-bracing or added wall fixtures.
Check out the Rogue RML-3W Fold Back Wall Mount Rack or see some of our other favorites at Best Wall Mounted Folding Squat Racks.
What to Look for in a Great Squat Stand for your Home Gym
Stability
Stability is a key factor for basic useability. It ensures that you’re not going to lose control of the barbell.
This is a significant factor for stands, particularly where the risk of instability is higher due to the smaller footprint – especially on independent single squat stands.
The paired stands are more stable, while the wall-mounted kind are most stable.
These typically trade directly with the amount of space they take up, as the size, footprint, and fixtures provide stability to squat stands.
You can get this from a heavy, large, or fixed product. Additional cross-bracing and streamers also contribute to better stability and a stronger overall product. High-gauge steel tubing will also help, where it contributes to both size and weight.
You should also look for out-angled legs on a squat stand to provide better stability – especially on single stands. Additional H- or Square-shaped feet can also reduce wobbling and instability when re-racking weights.
Construction
The construction quality of a squat stand is an important factor for everything else.
If it’s poorly made, you’re more likely to run into problems while using it or when reviewing stability, capacity, and attachments.
Squat stands are typically cheap, so you can get a good quality product at a relatively low price. An investment of even 10% on price can significantly improve the quality of construction.
Pay particular attention to the quality of materials and design on the moving parts.
The locking mechanisms used to adjust height and width for free-standing squat stands should be of good quality.
For wall-mounted squat stands, the main focus is on the wall fixings and other small parts – where the difference will show up due to the stress on these parts.
Size: Height & Footprint
A squat stand’s size and space demand will matter when you try to fit it into a home gym with limited square footage. It’s an important consideration and may decide what style of squat rack you buy.
Wall-mounted squat stands can be folded away to almost nothing and typically offer the best size.
The footprint of other types varies.
It directly trades off with stability, making it a question of how comfortable you are with less-stable stands and how much room you have to spare in your home gym.
The height is a problem for taller people, but squat stands typically don’t need to be any taller than your shoulder level. While some squat stands are very tall, the height you need will typically only be 5-6 feet, depending on your height.
The stands will need to be taller for some very-tall people, but that’s a personal preference concern. Some products, such as Titan T-3 Series, offer specific tall variations.
Weight Capacity
The capacity of squat stands is important for durability and stability. Still, it only becomes more important as you use them longer.
In addition, gaining strength and lifting more weight will mean you need more weight capacity from your rack and makes the total weight rating more critical.
If you’re already a heavy lifter, you want to ensure your squat stands can support your training. This means getting plenty of capacity on top of your best lifts and giving yourself headroom for how strong you may get over the next 5-10 years.
This makes weight capacity a crucial investment – especially for bigger and stronger people.
This is an especially important factor on spotter arms, typically dealing with a combination of weight and momentum.
Extra strength here is both a safety and training feature, where it allows you to do more with the rack and give you better options for rack pulls and pin presses (for example).
If you plan to be lifting real heavy, then we would recommend upgrading to a half-rack or power rack.
Attachments
More attachments can be a major value addition to certain squat stands.
For example, the wall-mounted squat stand can significantly benefit when adding a landmine attachment which will open up considerable training options.
Check out our guide to the Best Power Rack Accessories.
This small investment opens up a range of exercises without requiring the space or money to get dedicated equipment and can offer you enormous value for money.
This kind of attachment – and any others that add value without more spend – are a great choice for improving the bang for your buck.
Price
This is obvious – you want to get more squat stand for less money. It’s a simple but deceptive factor in getting a good product.
You want to spend less, but not if that means a worse product or buying twice further down the line.
The important part is getting the best for your money in the long term. Sometimes that means spending more money to get a better product and avoid the consequences of a lower-quality squat stand.
Good value comes from a vague unit of “value-per-dollar.”
If you’re paying $10 more for a much better product, for example, the more expensive choice will have the best value. When reviewing, we’ve put value first – and price second.
Squat Stand FAQs
What is the difference between a squat rack and squat stand?
A squat rack is more stable and larger but also costs more and is harder to fit into more spaces. This trade-off defines the comparison of the two for most people.
Squat racks will also offer more training options with better safety catches and pins and added features like pull-up bars.
On the other hand, squat stands are compact and offer a ‘core’ training experience at a much lower price.
If you want a squat rack, we’ve reviewed those too – and you can find a list of the best squat racks and power cages on the market.
Can you bench press using a Squat Stand?
Yes – you can bench using a squat stand, and it may be one of the best choices. The smaller safety catches of a squat stand can be a great choice for benching.
Most racks collapse down to a low enough minimum size to suit most flat utility benches.
You can bench using a squat stand, but you should be careful. Wall-mounted and twin-linked squat stands will be best due to the greater stability they provide.
Is a Squat Stand Worth it?
Yes – a squat stand is one of the best choices on the market for adding utility to your training experience at home at a great price.
Squat stands can open up exercises like squats, lunges, presses, bench press, and countless others with a single piece of equipment.
If you have the right wall setup and time in a single property, the wall-mounted squat stand is also an excellent choice for this purpose.
If you can make it work in your home gym, it’s a perfect choice for stability on a budget and costing very little floor space.
Best Squat Stands
- Best Overall Squat Stand: SML-2 Rogue 90” Monster Lite Squat Stand
- Best Budget Squat Stand: Sunny Essential Power Squat Stand
- Best Squat Stand with Bench Included: Fitness Reality Squat Rack & Weight Bench Combo
- Best Independent Squat Stand: Valor Fitness BD-9 Independent Power Squat Stands
- Best Squat Stand for Low Ceilings: Titan Fitness T-3 Series Short Squat Stand
- Most Versatile Squat Stand: HulkFit Multifunction Adjustable Power Rack
- Best Wall-Mounted Squat Stand: Rogue RML-3W Fold Back Wall Mount Rack
Related Resources
- Best Functional Trainer
- Best Lat Pulldown Machine
- Best Budget Power Racks
- Best Power Rack Accessories
- Best Power Racks with Lat Pulldown
- Best Half Racks
- Best Wall-Mounted Squat Racks
- Best Home Gym Cable Pulley
Conclusion
Squat stands open up a world of training options – and they’re the perfect choice for a home gym.
From our experience, the SML-2 Rogue 90” Monster Lite Squat Stand is the best squat stand on the market, but you will be well served by any of the squat stands on our list.
