Best Pickleball Paddles for Beginners

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In anticipation of writing this article, I purchased over 20 beginner pickleball paddles to test and provide you feedback.

Now, I am a pickleball paddle fanatic (after purchasing 25-50 total pickleball paddles just this year), and I was a beginner not too long ago, so I thought it would be helpful to share the best pickleball paddles for beginners to you. Especially due to the fact that there are thousands of paddles out there to choose from. Do you choose a 14mm or 16mm pickleball paddle? Do you spend $5 or $200 on a paddle?

In my opinion, your first most important question to yourself is: Do I think I will like pickleball or I have no idea?

1. If you have no idea whether you like the game, I would probably opt for a very inexpensive beginner pickleball paddle to minimize your investment.
2. If you think you are going to enjoy the game, then it may make sense to go with a pickleball paddle that is higher quality from the beginner.

Let’s look at the list.

4 Top Pickleball Paddles for Beginners

1. Best Overall ($10 off with code: bepickleballer): Vatic Pro Prism Flash 16mm
2. Best Runner Up: Anything Sports Carbon Fiber Paddle
3. Best <$10: Litakon Premium Fiberglass Pickleball Paddle
4. Best $50 – Franklin Sports Pickleball Paddle
5. Best Beginner Set: Selkirk Pickleball Paddle Set (One of my favorites is the Costco set, which is slightly different from this set)

Let’s go through my deep dive for each beginner pickleball paddle. Also, these are my personal ratings for the paddle(s).

Where To Purchase Beginner Paddles

The best two places that I’ve found to purchase beginner paddles are JustPaddles, Amazon or directly on the company’s website.

JustPaddles is my overall favorite as they provide a 10% coupon code that even be used for used and blemished paddles. If you are looking for a very cheap paddle, I found that Amazon generally has the best selection of cheap paddles in addition to expensive paddles.

Now, let’s look at my favorite beginner paddles that helped take me to the next level.

1. Best Overall: Vatic Pro Prism Flash 16mm

I rate my favorite beginner pickleball paddles based on 4 key components to beginner pickleball paddle including: 1) value 2) paddle size 3) paddle weight and 4) paddle ability.

This is my favorite beginner pickleball paddle that has been beating out my Joola Ben Johns Hyperion and my SixZero Double Black Diamond. I have started to win more games against friends that I previously never beat.

The paddle has a great carbon fiber face, and provides both power and control in my play. Carbon Fiber paddles can last 3+ years, which is significantly longer than wood and fiberglass paddles.

This paddle is just under $100, and you can use the Vatic Pro discount code: BePickleBaller for an additional $10 off the final price. I also appreciate that the paddle comes with a nice cover.

If you do consider the Vatic Pro Prism paddle, you have a decision between a 14mm vs 16mm paddle. That defines the thickness of the paddle, and if you are intermediate or advanced player, you may ops for 14mm while a beginner may opt for a 16mm thickness.

When I first purchased this paddle, I purchased the 16mm thickness, but I just ordered the 14mm thickness today, so I’ll plan to write an article covering that.

2. Best Runner Up

I really love the carbon fiber 16mm as a beginner pickleball paddle. I have the 14mm, but I would do a 16mm if you are a beginner.

At the time of this writing, the Anything Sports Carbon Fiber paddle is under $30 on Amazon. Now, on Amazon, this paddle gets a solid 4.4, but I was curious why it would get anything less than a 5.0.

This is a carbon fiber paddle in the $30 – $40 range!

While the paddle height and width is not as large as my other paddles, I appreciate that you get to test out a carbon fiber face at a fraction of the price.

The paddle plays really nicely, and even the reviews mention that this paddle used to be in the $70 range, so around $30 is a huge improvement.

Two of the most negative reviews mention the grip, which I will give it to them. I wouldn’t purchase this paddle for the grip, but I personally value the face of the paddle over the grip, and it plays so nicely for the low price.

Let’s look at my favorite beginner cheap paddle.

3. Best Beginner Very Inexpensive

The Litakon Premium Fiberglass Pickleball Paddle or Racket, Lightweight Polypropylene Honeycomb Core, Cushion Comfort Non-Slip Grip is one of the least expensive pickleball paddle that I could find, which means that you can test out pickleball at a very low price.

Please note that this paddle is nothing to write home about although it still maintains a 5.0 rating on Amazon.

Now, anytime I read someone getting a pickleball paddle for free, I roll my eyes. I purchase all my own paddles (albeit embaressed by my receipts here) because I never want someone to tell me I rated a paddle a certain way because I got it for free.

Anyhow, I really like how this paddle is still similar to paddles in the $10-$50 range, but just doesn’t seem to be marketed as heavily as other paddles.

Did you know I purchased two different sets of paddles at different prices, just to find out that I think the paddles were manufactured from the exact same company?

Fail.

Let’s go over my favorite $50 beginner paddle next.

4. Best $50 Beginner Paddle – Franklin Sports Pickleball Paddle 

Now, this is a 10mm thickness paddle, so it’s a bit thinner than what I would go with as a beginner. That said, the grip size is 5 inches, and this paddle is made of polypropylene, which has the same feel as carbon fiber. which helps grip the ball, providing more control.

The Franklin paddle is also 8 ounches, which I find as a fine weight for beginners.

If you like paddle design, I appreciate how this paddle has a image of the sweet spot, making it potentially easier to understand where you need to hit the ball.

6. Best Beginner Set

I purchased this Costco pickleball set frrom Costco, and I have to say that the quality was much better than I anticipated. It was on the higher end of a price point that I’d want for a beginner paddle, but it’s an awesome set of 2 paddles, which is perfect for 2 beginners wanting to get started.

I don’t put much value on a free bag as they are generally poor quality, but this bag actually seemed to be overall better quality.

And generally, pickleball balls in comboniation sets appear to be poor quality, but hese also seemed to be decent quality balls.

Overall, my opinion is that this Selkirk pickleball is the perfect set for beginners.

What I Look For In A Beginner Paddle

Here are the 3 primary components that I look for in a beginner paddle.

Value

When I was a beginner, I wanted to understand whether I liked the game before making the investment. I personally didn’t want to purchase a $200+ paddle, just to have it another thing I have to store at my house.

That said, I want a paddle that is functional to make sure that the paddle isn’t detracting from my potential enjoyment of the game.

As such, I want to find the best paddle at the best value.

Paddle Size

If your paddle size is too small, you may have a difficult time hitting the ball in the sweet spot, which is the area on the face of the paddle where the pickleball ball comes off most consistently.. If you can’t hit the ball well in the sweet spot, you may be more frustrated with the game when you could have enjoyed the game.

So, I am generally looking for both a longer length and a longer width of a pickleball paddle for beginners.

Paddle Weight

Generally speaking, the more weight of the paddle may provide more power, but it may be more difficult to move around the paddle effectively.

As such, for a beginner, I would prefer a pickleball paddle that is slightly lighter or in the medium weight.

Paddle Ability

There are paddles that are inexpensive, have the right size and weight, but just don’t have the right ability. For example, I got this paddle below from purchasing a pickleball net. I generally have low expectations of a paddle if it comes with something else that I am trying to purchase (aka a pickleball net)

The paddle may look nice, but I have seriously questioned it’s ability recently.

Are You Ready For Your Beginner Paddle?

Your pickleball paddle as a beginner is a key element of your success to the game. My position is that finding a paddle that is inexpensive yet functional, and has the right weight and size can help elevate your pickleball game from a beginner into a pickle “baller” (pun intended).

I reviewed so many paddles that didn’t make the list such as the Niupipo pickleball paddle and the Head Radical Elite paddle, but there were only a few paddles that could make this list.

Finally, you may also be looking for the best outdoor pickleball balls and the 3 grips of how to hold a pickleball paddle.

Hopefully, one of these 4 best pickleball paddles for beginners can be of service to you.

My Favorite Pickleball Paddle Articles

1. 14mm vs 16mm Pickleball Paddle
2. Vatic Pro Prism Flash 14mm vs 16mm
3. Pickleball Paddle Set Costco
4. Best Pickleball Paddles For Kids
5. Pickleball Paddle Quiz
6. Head Radical Elite Pickleball Paddle Review
7. Niupipo Pickleball Paddle Review
8. JustPaddles Review
9. Friday Pickleball Paddle Review

Other Favorite Articles

1. Best Pickleball Portable Nets
2. Pickleball Drills for Kids
3. Pickleball Team Names
4. How to Play Pickleball
5. Best Material for Pickleball Paddle
6. My First Pickleball Tournament