For glute growth
For glute growth, the two are close. Barbell hip thrust rates slightly higher: more of the work on the glutes.
Hip abduction machine is easier on the joints.
Both are good choices, and they train the glutes differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed. (Fonseca et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2021)
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Hip Abduction Machine. Works the side of the glutes (gluteus medius and minimus). Easy to load, with a small stretch.
Barbell Hip Thrust. Grew the glutes about as much as squats in a head-to-head trial, despite loading them mainly when shortened.
For glute growth, the two are close. Barbell hip thrust rates slightly higher: more of the work on the glutes. Hip abduction machine is easier on the joints. Both are good choices, and they train the glutes differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed.
About the same: both are easy to learn.
Hip abduction machine needs a machine, so for most people it’s a gym exercise. Barbell hip thrust needs a barbell and a bench, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
Hip abduction machine: it rates Excellent for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Strong for barbell hip thrust.