We build Plyomat, so we will say it plainly: no mat wins every category. This is a first-party buyer's guide that puts Plyomat next to the real competition with fair pros and cons, then recommends by use case. Where a rival is the better fit, we say so. This guide is contact and switch mats only; for lasers, force plates, and jump-and-reach devices, see our vertical jump tester guide.
Before price, decide what you need to measure. A simple field check might only need jump height. Strength and conditioning work usually wants ground contact time and the Reactive Strength Index (RSI) too, since reactive strength is where plyometric progress shows up. A mat that only reads jump height, with no contact-time sensor, cannot give you RSI.
Then sort by budget tier. Among mats, open-source platforms start around a few hundred euro (laptop-tethered), portable switch-mat systems land between roughly $200 and $1,400, and premium subscription mats run higher. Decide early between own-it-once hardware and a subscription model, because a yearly per-mat fee changes the true multi-year cost considerably.
Portability and workflow matter more than spec sheets suggest. Ask whether a test needs a laptop, a phone, or runs on-device. For testing a full team quickly, an on-device screen or a fast phone app beats tethering to a PC. A one-piece wireless mat is faster to deploy than a multi-piece cabled setup.
Finally, weigh accuracy and validation. Optical systems are the sub-centimeter reference and force plates are the kinetic gold standard; affordable mats trade a little precision for portability and price, and the better ones publish validation data. One honest caveat applies to every switch or contact mat: they can underestimate flight time for elite jumpers above roughly 0.70 m, so for that population an optical or force-plate reference is the safer call.
A force-sensing switch mat paired with the Controller 3.0 and the free Plyomat 3.0 app. It reports jump height, contact time, RSI, and DRI, shows results on an on-device screen so you can test without a laptop, and ships with published force-plate validation (ICC 0.85, r≈0.97, about 1 cm vs an AccuPower plate). Full disclosure: this is our product.
Price: ~$950 system · mats from ~$200 · no subscription.
Best for: coaches who want affordable, portable, validated RSI testing with no recurring fee. See the jump mat and RSI calculator.
The legacy analog contact mat many programs grew up on. It is simple and familiar, but it offers no app and no RSI, and its switch timing is known to inflate flight time (commonly about 4 to 7 inches higher than reference). Useful mainly where you already own one.
Price: ~$700 to $900 (estimate, varies by reseller).
Best for: programs with legacy Just Jump data to preserve. Plyomat can keep that history comparable, see the Just Jump alternative.
A one-piece, fully wireless contact mat with a carry handle and Bluetooth, bundled with a free cloud roster and athlete tracking. The built-in cloud database is a genuine Skyhook strength and a current Plyomat gap, so if rosters in the cloud are central to your workflow, it earns the look.
Price: ~$1,099 to $1,389 (varies by retailer).
Best for: teams that want built-in cloud rosters out of the box. Full breakdown: Plyomat vs Skyhook.
A heavy steel-plate contact mat that measures real bilateral left/right asymmetry, which most contact mats cannot do. That capability is a real advantage for clinical and return-to-play work, and we will concede it. The trade-off is a high price plus a per-mat yearly subscription, and the plate is heavy to move.
Price: ~$2,576 plus ~$149 per mat per year (estimate).
Best for: ACL and return-to-play asymmetry testing. Alternative view: EzeJump alternative.
An open-source, laptop-tethered contact platform with free software and very low hardware cost. It is expert and DIY in spirit, so setup and interpretation lean on the user, but for a budget-conscious lab or academic group the price-to-capability is hard to beat, which we concede.
Price: €70 to €339 (hardware) · free software.
Best for: research labs and budget academia. More: Chronojump alternative.
Contactless lasers (OVR Jump, Dashr), optical LED systems (Optojump), force plates (VALD ForceDecks, Kistler), and jump-and-reach devices (Vertec) all measure vertical jump too, but they are not contact mats, so they sit outside this guide. If you are open to those methods, we compare them honestly elsewhere.
Best for: buyers weighing fundamentally different measurement methods, not just mats.
See the full vertical jump tester guide.
| Price (approx.) | Measures RSI | App | No subscription | Portable | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plyomat | $950 system / mats $200+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Just Jump | $700–$900 | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Skyhook | $1,099–$1,389 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Swift EzeJump | $2,576 + ~$149/mat/yr | Yes | Yes | Subscription | Heavy plate |
| Chronojump | €70–€339 | Yes | PC software | Yes | Laptop-tethered |
Prices are approximate and several are estimates that vary by region and reseller. "Measures RSI" requires a mat that times ground contact, which is why the legacy analog Just Jump reads No. Lasers, optical systems, force plates, and jump-and-reach devices are covered in the vertical jump tester guide.
Our pick is narrow on purpose: Plyomat is the value choice for affordable, portable, force-plate-validated RSI testing with no subscription. If you want jump height, contact time, RSI, and DRI on an on-device screen without a laptop, and you would rather own the hardware than rent it, that is the lane we built for.
We will not pretend it wins every mat category. If built-in cloud rosters are essential, look at Skyhook. For true bilateral asymmetry in return-to-play, Swift EzeJump is purpose-built. For an open-source, budget-lab setup, Chronojump is hard to beat on hardware cost. And if you have legacy Just Jump data to preserve, prioritise an upgrade that keeps it comparable. If you are open to non-mat testers (lasers, force plates, optical, jump-and-reach), see our vertical jump tester guide. Pick the tool that matches what and where you test.
Vertical jump, contact time, RSI, and DRI on a force-plate-validated mat with an on-device screen and the free Plyomat 3.0 app. Own it once, US-built, no recurring fee.
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