Comparison · 3 picks
Best Pickleball Paddles Under £100 UK 2026
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The sub-£100 band has matured: you can now get composite and even raw-carbon faces without touching three figures. One honest pick per profile below - and one former pick has been promoted out of the band entirely.
Picks are drawn from cross-referenced manufacturer spec sheets, UK retailer listings and independent paddle reviews rather than single first-person impressions. Prices and availability were checked against UK retailers on 10 July 2026; where an item links to one of our product pages, the price shown updates automatically. For the decision framework itself, see how to choose a pickleball paddle.
At a glance
All 3 options side by side.
| HEAD Boom Team EX 2024 |  | Aixo P11A Scorpion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £49.99 | £30 | £74 |
| Best for | 16mm core, comfortable feel and honest all-court behaviour. | in-store nationwide, 365-day returns, and genuinely capable for social play. | spec-sheet features from £150 paddles in budget territory. |
| Review | Read review → | Read review → | Read review → |
| Buy |
The picks in detail
HEAD Boom Team EX 2024
Bottom line. An established racquet brand's composite paddle at half its original price: 16mm core, comfortable feel and honest all-court behaviour. At £49.99 (down from £100) it is the band's best pound-for-pound buy.
Pros
- £49.99 against a £100 RRP at PDH Sports
- Comfortable 16mm core suits the dink game
- HEAD build quality
Cons
- 2024 model - stock will not last forever
- Composite face gives moderate spin
Decathlon Perfly Decathlon Pickleball Paddle 100
Bottom line. The £30 answer: in-store nationwide, 365-day returns, and genuinely capable for social play. Buy it to find out whether pickleball sticks, then upgrade with confidence.
Pros
- £30 is unbeatable for a first paddle to test whether pickleball sticks
- Decathlon UK retail makes it the easiest pickleball paddle to buy in the UK
- Returns policy via Decathlon's standard 365-day window
- Light enough for first-time players to swing comfortably
- Functional for casual social play
Cons
- Fibreglass face provides minimal spin vs carbon-fibre alternatives
- Not USAPA-approved - not legal for tournament play
- Build quality reflects the £30 price point - 6-12 months of regular use before noticeable degradation
- Sweet spot meaningfully smaller than mid-tier paddles
- No 13mm vs 16mm core options
Aixo P11A Scorpion
Bottom line. Raw 3K carbon and a 14mm thermoformed core at around £64-£74: spec-sheet features from £150 paddles in budget territory. USAPA-approved, so it is tournament-legal too - the improver's pick.
Pros
- Raw carbon + thermoformed core under £75
- USAPA-approved for sanctioned play
- Six colourways via Central Sports
Cons
- 14mm core is faster but less forgiving than 16mm
- Smaller brand; less resale recognition
What happened to the JOOLA Hyperion?
Earlier versions of this guide included the JOOLA Hyperion CFS 16 as the near-£100 upgrade. Its current verified UK price is £152.99, which puts it a band up - see our main paddle guide for the premium tiers. If your budget is genuinely capped at £100, the three picks above are what the band honestly offers.
Also in this band, and the approval check to run
Two more paddles we have reviewed sit inside this band, and both are worth a look if the three picks above do not match how you play:
- Onix Z5 - the original wide-body composite. The most forgiving sweet spot of anything in the band, and the one to choose if your contact point is still inconsistent.
- Gamma Mirage - a balanced elongated composite at the top of the band, aimed at 3.0-3.5 all-court players who want a little more reach without moving to a premium paddle.
Whatever you buy in this band, check it is on the approved list if you intend to enter sanctioned tournaments: paddle dimensions, surface roughness and construction are all set by the sport's governing body in the USA Pickleball official rules, which UK tournament play follows. Budget paddles are not automatically excluded - Decathlon's is approved - but unbranded imports frequently are.