The Best Foot Spas in Canada of 2023

Call me a utilitarian, but I believe the best option is often the one that works for the greatest number of people. Given that feet (and their owners) are both sensitive and particular as to what feels good, the best foot spa must-have options that suit the widest range of preferences. And that summarizes the Ivation Foot Spa Massager.

This spa is packed with the features we think are most important if you’re going to spend money on a foot bath: adjustable heating, massage rollers, water jets, and a timer. What’s more, the control panel lets you individually manage each function, rather than lumping certain functions in with each other—other baths had the massage rollers and bubbles in one function, for example.

The Ivation bath has ridged massage rollers located on each side of the bath and they are tightly intertwined, unlike other baths, where the massage rollers are bumpy or have nodules that stick out. This makes the Ivation’s massage feel less like you’re being jabbed and more like, well, a massage.

The bath allows you to control the heat with a panel that displays the degrees in Fahrenheit; others simply offer an on and off button or no heat at all. When I turned on my preferred temperature, the bath quickly warmed to it and was able to maintain the temperature for the duration of my testing. The maximum temperature setting is 122°F (50°C), but Dr. Miguel Cunha, a podiatrist and the founder of Gotham Footcare in New York City, United States, suggests keeping the bath between 92° and 100° Fahrenheit (33° and 38° Celsius), especially if you have any ailments that make you sensitive to heat. “Anything above 100 degrees [Fahrenheit] is considered unsafe for people with certain conditions, such as poor circulation, diabetes, and pregnancy,” he says.

This bath is easy to carry with or without water because of the smartly designed splash guard that transforms into a handle.

This bath instructs you to wipe the interior of the basin with water and a mild detergent after each use, so I opted for a sturdy paper towel soaked in water and dish soap. I then rinsed out the basin a few times to fully remove the soapy water and then dried the inside with another towel. This method is how I cleaned all the baths, as they all displayed similar instructions, but the Ivation was one of the easiest to clean because the textured bottom has enough space in between the bumps to swipe a paper towel across the bottom; other baths didn’t have this spacing so I glided over the bumps and shredded the paper towel in the process.

Once I narrowed down the list to my four top picks, I asked four coworkers to try them out and provide their feedback. They all liked it, with three of them giving it raves. One coworker noted this bath as the most comfortable and said the massage rollers actually scrubbed the bottom of her feet for a smoother feel. To enhance the experience even more, the bath comes with a pumice stone, which you can rub along the heel, sole, and ball of the foot to soften calluses and remove dead skin.

Despite having more features than other baths on this list, the Ivation is easy to use and customizable for the user, so it’s only right to crown it Best Overall.

The HoMedics foot bath is unique among the options I tested because of its “seagrass” inserts. If you move your feet while inside the bath, the rubber inserts, which attach to the floor to avoid shifting or floating, are slightly tickling, a sensation my coworkers and I enjoyed. This bath was the most memorable to me and it's the one I'd purchase for myself.

For about two-thirds the price of the Ivation, this HoMedics foot spa has fewer features and they aren’t as customizable. A single button controls the heat booster and bubbles, which means you can’t adjust those functions independently, as you can with the Ivation. The HoMedics also lacks a digital thermostat. But while you’re unable to set the temperature, you can turn up the heat: On my tests, the bath cooled from 106°F to 103°F before I turned on the heat, then rose to 107°F in about 13 minutes (a bit high for some people, per Cunha’s recommendation, but it felt nice to me). While the bath doesn’t list vibration as one of the features, there is a vibration along with the heat and bubbles when you press the button.

Be careful not to overfill this bath (or any of them for that matter) because when the jets churn, the water leaps out of it a bit. If you have larger feet, be especially wary because the water will rise quite a bit even if you fill below the maximum line.

Because the inserts are removable, this bath is extremely easy to clean. It has a handle so you can easily carry it to the sink, wash the inserts separately with soap and water, then graze over the whole interior with a soapy cloth.

If you're looking to spend less, the Conair is your best option. For less than a third of the price of our overall pick, the Conair hits the high notes of a good foot spa, but with less nuance. Like the Homedics, the Conair has one button for heat and vibration. This option lacks bubbles, massage rollers, or inserts, making it the few-frills alternative to the pricier options without being a bucket (which we also tested; more to come on those). The heat function didn’t actually increase the heat of the bath like the HoMedics, but it did slow down the cooling process: It lost 11°F over 25 minutes, compared to a plastic bucket, which lost 16°F in the same amount of time.

Of our picks, this is the easiest to clean because the bumps on the bottom surface are practically flat and provide no friction against a paper towel, and you don’t have to work around massage rollers or clean any inserts. The splash guard is removable so it can be taken out of the way and rinsed independently. The Conair has a massage attachment situated on the top center of the spa, designed to provide extra pressure on the foot when grazed over. Several others have similar accessories but we opted not to test these, instead focusing on the main features of the bath.