The short version: fractional plates - sometimes called micro plates - are small barbell plates that weigh a fraction of a pound each, usually from about a quarter of a pound up to a pound or so. They exist for one job: to let you add a tiny amount of weight to the bar. On lifts that improve slowly, like the overhead press, the smallest normal jump can be too big to repeat week after week, so you stall. A cheap set of fractional plates fixes that. They are not a first purchase for a beginner, but once your lifts start to stick, they are one of the best-value upgrades you can buy.
What fractional plates actually are
A fractional plate is just a very light weight plate. Where your normal plates might be stamped at 45, 25, 10, 5, or 2.5 pounds, fractional plates fill in the gaps below that - a quarter of a pound, half a pound, three-quarters, a pound, and so on. They slide onto the barbell exactly like any other plate, and you load one on each side to keep the bar balanced. Because you use them in pairs, a set of half-pound plates adds one pound to the total, and a set of quarter-pounders adds half a pound. That is the whole point: they let you make the smallest weight increases possible on a barbell.
You will see them sold as small individual discs or as a boxed set that combines several sizes so you can mix and match. They are inexpensive and last forever - there is nothing to wear out. If you want to understand how they fit into a complete plate collection, our guide on how to choose weight plates covers the standard sizes first, and fractional plates simply sit at the very bottom of that ladder.
Why the standard weight jump is too big for some lifts
Here is the problem fractional plates solve. When you load a barbell, the smallest common plate most people own is 2.5 pounds. Put one on each side and you have added five pounds to the total. If your smallest plate is a 5-pounder, the smallest jump you can make is ten pounds. For your big, strong lifts - like the deadlift or squat - a five- or ten-pound jump is nothing, and you can keep making it for a good while.
But not every lift is strong. The overhead press uses your shoulders and triceps, small muscles that fatigue fast and get stronger slowly. Early on you might press an empty or lightly loaded bar, so a five-pound jump could be a big percentage increase all at once - too much to add every session. You hit the weight, fail, try again next time, fail again, and get stuck. That is a stall, and it is frustrating because you were doing everything right. The jump was simply too big. This is the exact situation where our how to overhead press at home guide runs into its ceiling, and where fractional plates quietly save the day by letting you add a pound or two instead of five.
Who benefits most from them
The biggest winners are anyone who presses overhead. It is the slowest of the main barbell lifts to progress, so the ability to add small amounts matters more there than anywhere else. Bench press is the next most likely to need them, since it also climbs in smaller steps than the squat or deadlift once you are past the easy beginner phase.
Smaller and lighter lifters benefit too. If you weigh less, a five-pound jump is a larger share of the weight you are already lifting, so those jumps feel harder to make and you stall sooner without a way to add less. And honestly, everyone benefits eventually. The early weeks of lifting deliver fast progress where big jumps are easy - what people call newbie gains. But that pace always slows, and when it does, the ability to add a pound at a time is what keeps the bar moving up. This is the heart of progressive overload: adding a little weight consistently over time. Fractional plates just make the "a little" much smaller and much more sustainable.
Do adjustable dumbbells need them?
No - and this is worth understanding, because it explains when you do and do not need fractional plates. Fractional plates are a barbell accessory. The barbell has the coarse-jump problem because you load it with discrete plates. Adjustable dumbbells solve the same problem a different way: many models let you dial a weight only a couple of pounds heavier than the last setting, so you already have small increments built in.
That means if your training leans on adjustable dumbbells rather than a loaded barbell, you can usually progress in small steps without buying anything extra. Fractional plates come into their own specifically when you own a barbell and are chasing steady progress on the pressing lifts. If you train with both, you might use adjustable dumbbells for your accessory work and keep a small set of fractional plates for your barbell press - the two tools cover different halves of the same goal, which is to never get stuck adding weight.
When to buy a set (and what to get)
Do not rush out and buy fractional plates on day one. When you first start, you can add regular weight faster than you will believe, so the tiny increments are wasted. The right time to buy is when you hit your first real stall - usually on the overhead press - and find that a five-pound jump is more than you can add. That is the signal. At that point a single modest set is cheap insurance against months of frustration, and it will serve you for years.
When you buy, look for a boxed set that includes a few different sizes so you can combine them into small totals, and make sure the center hole matches your bar - Olympic bars use a larger hole than standard bars. Beyond that there is not much to overthink; fractional plates are simple, and a basic set does the job. Pair them with a solid main plate collection like the one we cover in our CAP bumper plate set review, and you will have every weight increment you need from the tiniest nudge up to your heaviest working sets.
How to actually use them in a workout
Using fractional plates is simple once you see the pattern. When you hit your target reps on a lift with good form, you earn a small increase next session - so instead of jumping the whole bar up five or ten pounds, you add the smallest total the plates allow, load one on each side of the bar to keep it balanced, and try again. Because you are only adding a pound or two, you can usually make that jump for several sessions in a row before you stall again, which is exactly the slow, steady climb you want. That is the practical face of progressive overload: keep the increases small enough that you almost always succeed.
A few practical tips save headaches. First, you do not need fractional plates on every lift - reach for them on the movements that have actually stalled, usually the overhead press and bench, and keep making normal jumps on your squat and deadlift while they still come easily. Second, keep the plates together in one spot, because they are small and easy to misplace, and a set is much less useful when you can only find half of it. Third, you can combine sizes to build the exact total you want, so a mixed set gives you more flexibility than a single size. None of this is complicated - the whole appeal of fractional plates is that they make progress feel effortless right when it would otherwise grind to a halt.
The verdict
Fractional plates are not essential, and they are not a beginner's first buy - but they are one of the smartest small purchases you can make once your lifts start to stall. They turn a frustrating five-pound wall into a manageable one-pound step, which keeps you progressing on the overhead press and other slow lifts long after you would otherwise have gotten stuck. Cheap, durable, and quietly powerful, they are a great later addition rather than a starting point. If you are still assembling the core of your first setup, put your money toward the essentials first - see where the plates and weights fit alongside everything else in the $1,000 Build, then add a fractional set when your progress tells you it is time.