The Ultimate Home Gym Pullup Bar Showdown

Which home gym pullup bar is best for you? There’s only one way to find out: Pit them all together and let them fight it out!

If there’s one thing the fitness community can agree on (and it doesn’t seem to agree on much), it’s this: A home gym without a pullup bar just isn’t complete.

I’d go a step further. Not only every British home gym, but also every home in the UK (and anywhere else in the world, for that matter) should have a pullup bar.

If I had things my way at home, I’d have a pullup bar in every room. The pullup is such an OP exercise in so many ways, and this fact just cannot be overstated.

Home Gym Pullup Bar Basics

A good pullup bar lets you do so much besides the pullups and chinups. It’s also great for dead hangs, muscle ups (if you’re into that sort of thing), and leg/knee raises. And you can also use a home gym pullup bar as an anchor point for resistance bands, DIY cable setups and gymnastic rings.

As a father, I love the fact that kids can use this piece of equipment safely, and with confidence.

Kids tend to have a lot of strength and low body weight, so it doesn’t take much practice for them to start excelling at pullups. And that’s a great entry point for young lifters.

But with so many different types of pullup bar out there, which one should you choose? Let’s rank and score some popular bars – and see if one bar will emerge victorious!

1. Doorway Bar

Pros:

This kind of bar is as cheap as chips. Few others compare if you are on a tight budget.

It doesn’t require much in terms of space. You just attach it to the frame of a door and adjust it to the doorway’s width.

You can also install it in a room you spend a lot of time in, to help reduce the friction of working out. You may find it easier to motivate yourself to move three metres to your bedroom door than to venture out into a freezing cold garage in winter.

Cons:

You need to permanently attach these things onto a door frame, which can mess up paint and woodwork.

These bars are no-frills and don’t tend to have multi-grip options. If you are a fan of neutral grip pullups, you might not be a fan.

I’m sure there are some sturdy models out there, but I have also seen lots of these fail, bow and even fall down mid-set. Some use cheap plastic brackets that clearly aren’t designed for the heavier lifter. That means you also can’t really use them for weighted pullups.

They aren’t really suitable for taller folks, and depending on your ceilings and doorframe construction, they might not be suitable for your house at all.

Score: 2/10. Don’t waste your time.

2. Door Frame Leverage Mounted ‘Clip-on’ Bar

Pros:

These often have wide-grip and neutral grip handles, which helps add variety and options to your training.

Unlike almost every other option on this list, you can take these off and store these bars when you aren’t using them.

These are also very inexpensive bars.

Cons:

They take up a lot of space if you do want to take them down and store them.

They are also prone to failure.

They can also end up making a mess of your doorframe – and again may not be suitable for all doorways.

Score: Another 2/10. You can do better than this.

3. Wall-mounted Bar

Pros:

These are often modular, with hooks for bands and pulleys – meaning you can turn them into an unattractive but highly effective DIY cable station.

A properly wall-mounted pullup bar is about as heavy-duty as they come. Use the right fittings and rhinos will be able to dangle from this thing without it budging an inch.

Cons:

These are an absolute pain to install, and if you’re buying a heavy bar, you may need two people to put it up.

Once you’ve drilled all the holes and put this thing up, it has to stay wherever you’ve put it. Taking it down is a hassle and will result in a wall full of ugly holes.

Only really suitable for installation in a very sturdy wall – ideally concrete or breeze blocks.

Score: 9/10. Irritating to install, but worth the effort and should last you a lifetime.

4. Rack-mounted Bar

Pros:

If you’re buying a conventional power rack, you usually get this for “free” – meaning you don’t need to find space for, buy and install a dedicated pullup bar.

These bars are usually very sturdy. I’ve never seen or heard of anyone having any sort of issue with them, providing they are properly installed.

If your rack is bolted into the floor, you can use these as an anchor point for resistance bands and possibly very basic DIY cable stations.

Cons:

Depending on the height of your ceilings, these may not be suitable for taller athletes.

In many cases, racks tend to come with straight bars only, which doesn’t give you much of an option for neutral grip work.

Unless you have a very tall rack, you may struggle to get good a gymnastic ring setup with these bars.

Score: 8/10. You can’t really go wrong with a bar like this.

5. Free-standing Power Tower

Pros:

These are usually very light, cheap, easy to install, and can fit in the corner of any room – making them ideal for anyone who isn’t really sure about the idea of creating a “home gym.”

Most have dip stations and angled wide-grip handles for upper back-focused pullup work. Some also have a rear bar you can use for stretching and pushup handles on the base.

One of the only bars on this list that you can move about freely.

Cons:

These feel really unstable if you do anything other than standard pullups/dips on them.

They don’t look very high-end (unless you buy a heavy-duty commercial gym-ready version). They also don’t have much of a resale value.

This bar is totally unusable as an anchor point.

Score: 8/10. An amazing entry point into the world of home fitness, but you may outgrow it as you get stronger.

6. Outdoor Joist-mounted Bar

Pros:

Unbeatable stability – as long as you cement this bar’s support posts into place.

The only bar that lets you do pullups outside – as well as resistance band work, suspension training, gym rings and the rest.

Swing, kip, muscle up, knee-raise to your heart’s content. No ceilings, walls or doorframes around to get in your way. And if you install this on the lawn, a soft landing if you fall on your bum!

Cons:

It could possibly ruin the aesthetic of your garden, if you are into that kind of thing.

Not an option if you live in a flat.

Score: 10/10. Get your vitamin D in while you’re doing your pullups. What’s not to love?

7. Ceiling-mounted Bars

Pros:

Once you get this thing set up, it’s a dream, as it doesn’t need to be in a corner or on a wall. You can put this up in the centre of your gym and it won’t take up the precious space around the walls.

Ideal for DIY pulley setups, resistance bands and particularly gym rings.

If your ceiling is sturdy, so is this bar!

Cons:

Lots of potential for ouch if you’re propelling yourself up towards a ceiling!

An absolute nightmare to install. You may need three (relatively strong) people to get the first part of the installation done.

Not really an option unless you have a very specific ceiling height that matches your own height.

Score: 6/10. For most UK home gyms, this isn’t a viable option at all.

8. Your Barbell in a Rack/Squat Stands

Pros:

Well, provided you have a squat rack and a barbell, it doesn’t cost you anything and there’s nothing to install!

If this measures up for your height, you could save yourself the hassle of buying a dedicated pullup bar.

Knurling! Most pullup bars aren’t knurled – but your barbell probably is, if that’s what you want from your pullup bar.

Cons:

Unless your rack is very tall (or you are very short!), you will likely struggle to get high enough off the ground to make this work for you.

Don’t do this in squat stands – you’ll be a gym accident waiting to happen.

I’m pretty sure your squat rack can handle your weight plus the bar, but this isn’t what bars or racks were really designed for…

Regardless of your setup, this isn’t a very serious option. Honestly, a tree branch would be better.

Score: 1/10. Just don’t.

9. Callisthenics Rigs

Pros:

A myriad of options. Swing like a monkey all day long – and get brutally strong!

You can usually find rigs that can also double as squat racks with laser-cut holes for J-cups, meaning more than one person can use it at a time.

Amazing fun – like having an adventure playground in your home gym!

Cons:

Extremely expensive and difficult to install.

Require enormous amounts of space.

For everyone except crossfitters, this setup is a bit extra. And if you’re a crossfitter, you probably aren’t working out at home anyway.

Score: 5/10. Not a serious option for anyone other than mansion owners.

10. Jammer Bar

Pros:

If you can find a second-hand shower grab rail or something similar, you can create one of these yourself. My dad has one in his shed!

A serious version of the doorway and leverage-style bar. Install it right and it won’t mess up the aesthetic of your house. Also a good anchor for resistance bands.

Again, does not require a dedicated “home gym” space. You can put it in a room you spend a lot of time in, and give yourself more opportunity to use it!

Cons:

Not everyone likes the look of doorframes with big chunky metal handles above them.

Mobility is a problem again, as is the lack of a neutral grip option. You can’t really do much except regular pullups/chinups on these.

Again, not suitable for all doorframes/houses.

Score: 7/10. A solid option if your house permits.

And The Winner Is…

There really is no doubt about this one. The outdoor bar is the S-tier home gym pullup bar choice. If you can spare the outside space, this is the option you should go for. OK, maybe the bar will be cold in winter, slippery in the rain and so on. But turn that into a David Goggins moment!

Doing your pullups in the early morning sunshine on a bar you can use to do whatever you like on, with no walls to graze your knees on, no ceilings to bump your head on – nothing beats it.

If there is to be one home gym pullup bar to rule them all, this is it!