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Something as simple as a well-made agility ladder can prove to be quite a handy tool for anyone looking to hone their footwork and get a good burn going. Agility ladders — also referred to as speed ladders, sprint ladders, or workout ladders — are rudimentary pieces of equipment, typically constructed of nylon, plastic, or rubber. Paired with a proper agility ladder workout, they can help athletes build leg skills and muscle memory while improving their endurance, while also helping the formerly injured regain their motor functions and improve their balance. It’s a pretty stellar piece of equipment, but how do you know which one is right for you?

Allow me to lend a hand with our buyer’s guide to the best agility ladders around. From long ladders to compact models for tight living spaces, we’ve got everything in between, including individual ladders and multi-piece ladder sets. Regardless of your need, we invite you to scroll through and take a gander at the best agility ladders the market has to offer.

Best Overall

The GHB Speed Ladder is an agility ladder set that delivers more than enough gear for a bargain deal. Included are 13 pieces, including the 20-foot nylon and plastic ladder with stakes, 10 cones, a resistance parachute, and a carrying bag for it all. Yes, other kits include more, but the GHB set is as near-complete as can be for less than $30. The nylon straps mean the ladder deploys with ease, while the plastic rungs are easily adjustable, enabling you to set up as wide or narrow as you want. As basic and rudimentary as the materials sound, they’re reportedly quite stout, with sports players having no issue continuously training with this set.

The GHB set is perhaps the most well-rounded entry here, yet there’s always room for improvement, such as the use of nylon straps that can tangle quite easily when stowed. Other agility ladder sets will include more items for a more complete kit, but they will obviously cost more, emphasizing the GHB’s strong value.

A word of caution for buyers is to always thoroughly inspect your kit upon arrival. One buyer noted that their set was missing the resistance parachute, a key component in the kit.

Product Specs
  • Length: 20 feet
  • Materials: polyester, steel, nylon, plastic
  • Pieces included: 13
  • Number of rungs: 12
Why It Made The Cut
  • The GHB Speed Ladder is the most well-rounded, jack-of-all-trades bundle deal on sale, and its strong value proposition reinforces its status as an Amazon’s Choice and customer favorite.
PROS

Bundled with additional exercise equipment

Adjustable rungs

Strong value

Carrying bag included

CONS

Straps can easily tangle in storage

Other agility ladder sets include more

A few reported hiccups in ordering and shipping

The Yes4All Ultimate Agility Ladder highlights itself in a busy segment with the knockout starting price of $10. Yes4All aids in personalizing the buying experience by giving consumers a choice of rung counts, which alters the ladder length from a compact 11 feet to a take-this-thing-dang-thing-outside 25 feet. Like the vast majority of its peers, straps are nylon and support adjustable plastic rungs. As expected for such a simple item, the Ultimate Agility Ladder has proven to be a quality, well-received product for the money and has found much use with recovering patients, physical therapy attendees, and even pets. Yes, really.

The strikes against the Ultimate Agility Ladder are unavoidable nitpicks, such as how value gradually diminishes as you climb in length and rung count. The 25-foot agility ladder retails for just under $20, which, while still easily affordable, is encroaching on the price range of some multi-item agility ladder sets.

Product Specs
  • Length: 11, 15, 25 feet
  • Materials: nylon, plastic
  • Pieces included: 1
  • Number of rungs: 8, 12, 20
Why It Made The Cut
  • A clear, undeniable bargain, Yes4All presents this barebones agility ladder and nothing more for the thrifty starting price of $10. The change in your car’s cup holders is probably worth more.
PROS

Low cost of entry, even for 20 rungs

Choose your color

Adjustable rungs

Perfect for basic, essential drills

CONS

Just a ladder and nothing more

Adding rungs gradually diminishes value

Nylon straps can easily tangle

Honorable Mention

The SPRI Roll-Out Agility Ladder is a yoga mat that found new meaning in life and decided to pursue another career. This entry is less of an actual agility ladder and more of a roll-out mat designed to quell some flaws in most of them. Its fairly hefty 11-pound weight paired with its textured rubber surface mitigates sliding on slippery surfaces, lessening the likelihood of the ladder getting knocked out of place by a misstep. The painted-on rungs also mean there’s no chance of adjustable rungs getting knocked out of their set spacing, either.

Weird? Definitely. But it’s an admittedly nifty item that has quickly found a home on many slick surfaces such as tiling, wood, or hard gym flooring. It’s worth a look if your CrossFit routine is primarily indoors. However, there are also clear reasons why the SPRI isn’t the most common site with sports teams and boot camp gyms.

For starters, it’s pricey. Allow me to rip the band-aid off because it’s $69. There is no kit and no additional equipment. Just a $69 mat. Additionally, the 11-pound weight, while handy in action, will make moving to storage more of a chore.

Product Specs
  • Length: 15 feet
  • Materials: rubber
  • Pieces included: 1
  • Number of rungs: about 15
Why It Made The Cut
  • A simple yet unique take on agility ladders, this rollout mat creates a non-slip cardio platform for use on particularly slippery surfaces such as gym flooring, tile, or wood.
PROS

Non-slip for a variety of indoor flooring

No straps to tangle or stakes to punch in

Rapid deployment and storage

CONS

Poor value proposition, even when discounted

All-rubber construction makes it heavier

Rung markers could wear off

The MLCINI Agility Training Equipment kit is the most content-rich agility ladder set around and is perfect for those willing to spend a little more. You get a whopping 25 items with his bundle, which throws in two carrying bags, a jump rope, yoga and resistance bands, and four adjustable hurdles. The 20-foot, 12-rung ladder, cones, and resistance parachute comprise the base package as with most other sets. This allows athletes to tailor their cardio any way they want, whenever they want, creating a variety of workouts to challenge the body consistently. After all, throwing your body for a loop with varying routines is an excellent way to keep that dreaded plateau at bay.

Perhaps the biggest complaint one could have is the lofty price of $70. At the time of writing, the item was discounted to $54, which still placed it as the second most expensive item by 10s of dollars. Additionally, this immense level of kit is perhaps unnecessary overkill for inexperienced athletes or physical therapy patients simply looking for a basic agility ladder to hone their balance and motor skills. Less expensive, single-piece agility ladders will suit them better and be far less intimidating.

Product Specs
  • Length: 20 feet
  • Materials: steel, PVC, nylon
  • Pieces included: 25
  • Number of rungs: 12
Why It Made The Cut
  • Of all the kits and bundles available, the entry MLCINI Agility Training Equipment is the most complete and diverse set for the money.
PROS

A complete package for sports and CrossFit

Most included items are highly adjustable and configurable

Carrying bags included

CONS

On the pricier side of this guide

Could be overkill for the ill-experienced or newcomers

The Alphaworx Agility Ladder is another unique take on the agility ladder design, one that’s proven to be easy to store, easy to deploy, and easy to place anywhere. Constructed of spring steel and polypropylene (a resilient thermoplastic polymer), it’s highly durable and also quite reconfigurable, able to be laid flat or raised into small hurdles. The rigid material still retains a degree of flexibility, meaning it can be folded into a neat bundle that’s easy to deploy.

This agility ladder is among the most compact of its kind, measuring 10.5 feet in its base configuration and 15.7 feet at its longest. Regardless of the ordered length, the ladder can split at its Velcro seams into four-rung segments measuring 5.25 feet.

Like the SPRI, however, the Alphaworx ladder is a bit pricey, ringing in at $30. Those looking for better value can purchase complete kits or find a simpler but far longer agility ladder for the money.

Product Specs
  • Length: 10.5, 15.7 feet
  • Materials: spring steel, polypropylene
  • Pieces included: 1
  • Number of rungs: 8, 12
Why It Made The Cut
  • For those tight on space, look no further than this compact agility ladder capable of rapid deployment and easy storage, available in lengths that won’t eat up a ton of real estate.
PROS

Compact sizing

Can be reconfigured into mini hurdles

No ropes or straps to get tangled

Rapid setup and storage

CONS

Pricey for a single piece of equipment

Things to consider before buying an agility ladder

Sets, kits, and bundles

Who doesn’t love a good bundle, right? Thankfully, nearly half the agility ladders online sell as  multi-piece sets, which can include an entire gift basket of gym-bro goodies to amplify your routine. Just about all agility ladder drills can be done with the ladder itself, but having these sets will allow you to mix it up for a more significant challenge. Most agility ladder sets come with plastic cones for creating your legwork course and a resistance parachute for further building strength and endurance. Some well-sorted bundles will also throw in a jump rope, mini hurdles, and carrying bags to lug it all around. They’re often inexpensive, but can start climbing for 10s of dollars as the kits get stuffed with more equipment.

Size and portability

How long are the agility ladders, and how easy are they to store? Nearly all designs measure a foot or two wide but can significantly vary in length; some can be as short as five feet while others can stretch five times that length. Portability will obviously see gradual downturns as larger items equal more weight and material to wrap up for storage, but many agility ladder sets thankfully include carrying bags to help with that. 

Generally speaking, most agility ladders are quite portable, even the largest and heaviest, and can fold into incredibly tight wads of plastic and nylon. This enables them to live practically anywhere, from the corner of your home gym to under the bed.

FAQs about agility ladders

Q. How much do agility ladders cost?

A: Relative to many pieces of workout equipment, agility ladders are reasonably inexpensive, save for a few unique designs. Many agility ladder sets sticker between $25 and $60 depending on their content, while individual ladders can sticker for $20 or less. Our Best Value winner in its shortest length rings in at $10, while the rubber SPRI mat tips the scale at $69. Our Best Overall, GHB Speed Ladder, splits the difference at $30. 

Q. What are agility ladders used for?

A: Agility ladders can serve multiple purposes based on the user. They’re generally used as part of a trick cardio routine to hone a person’s motor functions, speed, and balance as they navigate their way through the rungs. They’re commonplace in helping football or soccer players practice footwork via the many agility ladder drills available.

Q. How effective are agility ladders?

A: Paired with effective agility ladder drills, they’re arguably highly effective in training an athlete’s muscle memory and skill or repairing a physical therapy patient’s movement. There’s been a study among youth athletes that suggest otherwise, but most sources can attest to their usefulness. Side benefits also include the strengthening of joints and ligaments.

Final thoughts

The GHB Speed Ladder takes the cake for delivering a well-rounded, content-rich agility ladder set at a highly-agreeable price. Those interested in the quality and functionality of a single item should eyeball the SPRI Roll-Out Agility Ladder, especially if fitness is an indoor affair for them. Consumers offended at the thought of paying dozens for rubber or plastic will love the cheap and cheerful Yes4All Ultimate Agility Ladder. Buyers living in tight spaces without much room to run their agility ladder workouts will find our Best Compact-winning Alphaworx Agility Ladder to be a high-quality pick that doesn’t compromise. And rounding out our guide is the MLCINI Agility Training Equipment bundle deal, hands down, the most complete and featureful set on the market. 

Methodology 

Our buyer’s guide on the best agility ladders has been primarily curated through lengthy, in-depth research complete with thorough peeks into manufacturer specs and the all-valuable consumer ownership experiences. The best agility ladders were resilient, usable products that were effective in their mission without proving cumbersome or a hindrance. In a field of near-identical products mirroring each other in specs and performance, being a strong value helped significantly unless their design proved unique and highly beneficial. 

Amazon continued to serve as our primary hub or manufacturer and consumer information for this guide. However, some products on this list, including their variants and rivals, could also be found from other major retailers, including REI, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Walmart. As always, readers are always encouraged to learn more about how we at Task & Purpose generally curate our buyer’s guides.