Homedics Dual Shiatsu Foot Massager with Heat review: an excellent and affordable foot reviver

The Homedics Dual Shiatsu Foot Massager with Heat features four rotating massagers – two on the left and two on the right – with three massage heads apiece, and those massagers rotate underneath the ball and heel of your foot to help you relax. There's also a heated option that glows cosily red and feels great on tired feet or on cold days. 

It's based on very similar technology to that found in the Homedics ShiatsuMAX 2.0 Massage Chair and Homedics portable gel massage cushion, but this time focused on delighting your digits and tickling your toes. 

It's one of the more affordable foot massagers on the market, and while it lacks some of the features of more expensive rivals it delivers an excellent massage experience without any fuss. It's a strong contender for one of the best foot massagers around. Read on for our full Homedics Dual Shiatsu Foot Massager with Heat review.

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Homedics Dual Shiatsu Foot Massager with Heat review: design

The Homedics Dual Shiatsu Foot Massager isn't very big – it hides happily under our Ikea footstool, works well as a footrest under a computer desk and it's easy to store, with a thoughtful design that enables you roll up the power cord and stash it underneath your massager before you put it away. But despite its relatively small dimensions it's big enough for even the largest feet. That's because unlike some foot massagers it isn't enclosed: your feet sit on top of it rather than inside it. Its four rotating massage motors are fixed in place, so while they rotate in two different directions they don't move up or down your feet like a massage chair would move up and down your back: if you want to focus on a different spot, you do it here by moving your foot.

The design here is simple and straightforward: it's not the prettiest thing you'll ever see in its dark grey plastic and lighter grey fabric, but then it's going to spend most of its life either underneath your feet or tucked out of the way somewhere. 

Homedics Dual Shiatsu Foot Massager with Heat review: operation

The Dual Shiatsu Foot Massager has a single button, which has been designed to be operated with a toe so you can change the programme without having to get up. It works perfectly well but there are just two programmes to choose from: shiatsu massage with heat, and shiatsu massage without. If you want a deeper massage, you can achieve that by pushing down a bit onto the massager; conversely if you just want something gentle you can just rest your feet lightly above the massage heads and watch your toes moving up and down.

Homedics Dual Shiatsu Foot Massager with Heat review: heat function

The heat option is a big plus here: it's great at any time of year because it really soothes tired and aching feet, but it's also really nice on the kind of cold day when you wear your thickest socks to try and keep warm. It's strong enough to penetrate fabric such as socks or tights, but not so strong that it's uncomfortable on bare skin. There's only one setting, on or off, but we didn't find that a problem: it was neither too warm nor too cool.

All powered massages make some noise but the Homedics is relatively quiet: while you can hear the massage heads revolving it's not so loud that you'll need to raise your voice or turn up the TV. That makes it well suited to working from home: you can grab a sneaky massage during a Zoom meeting without alerting the other attendees.

Homedics Dual Shiatsu Foot Massager with Heat review: verdict

The Homedics Dual Shiatsu Foot Massager is a sensible buy for many reasons: it's relatively cheap, it works with feet of all sizes and you can stick it under your desk at home or in the office. It doesn't have lots of features and it only works the underside of your feet, but it's very pleasant and the optional heat is particularly good. If you're looking for a no-frills, low-noise treat for your feet, this is an excellent option.