1. The quick list ↴
2. Best home treadmill: BowFlex Treadmill 10
3. Best value: JTX Sprint-7
4. Best for guided workouts: Peloton Tread
5. Best connected treadmill: Technogym MyRun
6. Best folding treadmill: DKN EnduRun
7. Best for small spaces: Echelon Stride
8. Treadmill Buyer's Guide
9. Treadmill FAQs
Whether you’re already a keen runner or are looking to exercise more regularly, having access to your own treadmill makes it easier to establish a routine. And there are plenty of treadmill workouts you can use to keep your training interesting.
Treadmills are also part of the connected fitness revolution and Peloton has released its own treadmill, although that’s not the only option. Many of the best workout apps, such as Fiit and Apple Fitness+, include treadmill sessions, while Zwift for runners lets you race and train in a virtual world.
Below you’ll find a range of great treadmills to suit every runner and walker, whether you’re looking for a budget machine or have thousands to splash out on a gym-standard unit. You’ll also find a buyer’s guide with info on how to pick the right treadmill for you.
How I Choose The Best Treadmills
You can trust Coach We give honest reviews and recommendations based on in-depth knowledge and real-world experience. Find out more about how we review and recommend products.
My recommendations are based on hands-on experience with treadmills as a committed amateur runner with a marathon time of 2hr 28min. I began reviewing treadmills in April 2020 and have been working through as many as possible since then. I have reviewed all the treadmills below and more, giving me the experience to compare and contrast machines. I spend two to three months with each treadmill, integrating it into my training schedule.
The Quick List
Here you can see at a glance my pick of the stand-out treadmills in the most popular categories, with a quick explanation of why I rate them so highly. Click on the links to jump to my full review in the main buying guide further down the page, where you’ll also find some other top options.
Best home treadmill
The Bowflex 10 is a gym-standard machine with a spacious running belt and a speed and incline range that will satisfy all runners. The built-in screen shows the JRNY app, which is full of guided workouts and scenic runs, and can also show streaming services like Netflix.
Best value
You get a lot of bang for your buck with this treadmill, which runs smoothly even at its top speed of 12mph (20km/h) and can connect to Zwift directly, which you then view on a tablet placed in the stand on the console.
Best for guided workouts
Peloton’s guided workouts are the best available thanks to the engaging instructors and the huge 23.8in built-in screen. The open design of the Peloton Tread also makes it feel more spacious than any other machine I’ve tested.
Best connected treadmill
An excellent treadmill that takes up less space than most top-end machines. The Technogym Live app contains enough content to entertain you through a lifetime of use, including guided workouts, streaming services like Netflix, and scenic runs.
Best folding treadmill
The EnduRun offers great value given its impressive hardware, with a powerful motor and a speed range that tops out at 13.7mph (22km/h). It folds up to make it easy to move and store, and can link to the Kinomap app for guided workouts.
Best for small spaces
The Stride treadmill folds flat, making it one of the easiest treadmills to store after use and perfect for small apartments. Its small running belt helps with storage too, and the Stride links to the Echelon app for guided workouts.
The Best Home Treadmills
Best home treadmill
The BowFlex Treadmill 10 (or BowFlex Treadmill 25, as it’s called in Europe and the UK) is not cheap, but it offers a similar experience to machines that cost a lot more, with excellent hardware and software that will meet the needs of the most demanding runners. It offers a wide range of both speeds and inclines, and I found that the machine ran smoothly even when tackling long stints at high speeds.
It’s a large machine that dominates a room even when folded, and I found it too heavy to move around by myself easily, but the advantage of its size is the spacious running belt. Of the treadmills I’ve tested only the Peloton Tread feels roomier thanks to its open front.
To get the most from the machine you need a JRNY membership—you’ll get a year’s worth included with your purchase (it’s $19.99/£19.99 a month or $149/£149 a year thereafter). This opens up a host of on-demand workouts, with instructor-led video classes or audio-guided workouts you can follow while watching streaming services—Netflix and Disney+ are among those you can watch on the 10in built-in display. The BowFlex Treadmill 10 also connects directly to Zwift, though you can’t use this on the display, so you’ll have to pop a tablet on the holder. Unfortunately the treadmill monitor blocks a section of the tablet screen.
Get more details in our BowFlex Treadmill 10 review
Best Value
If your budget for a home treadmill is around $1,300/£1,000 this excellent machine is almost certainly your best bet. The speed range of up to 12mph (20km/h) is equivalent to commercial machines, while the incline goes up to 12%. I found that even when running for long periods at high paces the belt ran smoothly and the machine was easy to assemble, though having an extra person on hand is vital to get the heavy base in position.
The JTX Sprint-7 doesn’t have some of the high-end features you get on more expensive treadmills, such as a built-in screen to showcase instructor-led workouts, but it does connect to Zwift directly. It will serve all your running needs very well even if you’re an experienced runner. I had no problems running for long stretches at near its top speed, and while the running belt isn’t huge, I am 6ft (183cm) tall and didn’t feel unduly cramped.
Get more details from our JTX Sprint-7 review
Best For Guided Workouts
Peloton began with a wildly successful spin bike and glossy subscription app, and it has applied that formula to indoor running. The treadmill has a huge 23.8in (60.5cm) HD screen on the console that streams an inexhaustible supply of guided workouts as well as scenic runs in exotic locations, which look stunning on the screen. You control the speed and incline on the treadmill by twisting two knobs on the sides of the machine, and it maxes out at 12mph (20km/h) and a 12% incline.
The main reason to get the machine is of course the extra motivation of the live and on-demand workouts, which remain the best I’ve come across on any treadmill. However, even if you don’t use the classes regularly it’s also a high-end bit of kit in general, with a slatted belt that gives a more realistic running feel as well as a spacious design with an open front which makes it very relaxing to run on—I normally worry about clipping the front of treadmills. Of course, this all comes at a cost: the treadmill will set you back $3,495/£3,345 with a further $39/£39 a month for a subscription to the app.
Get more details in our Peloton Tread review
Best Connected Treadmill
It may be expensive, but if you have the money the Technogym MyRun offers a complete indoor running experience. The impressive hardware includes a 3.0CHP motor, a top speed of 12mph (20km/h) and an incline range that goes up to 12%. Although it’s a compact machine that doesn’t dominate a room, it also has a reasonably large 56.3 x 19.7in (143 x 50cm) running belt that accommodated me easily as a 6ft/183cm tall runner.
Along with its small size, what sets the MyRun apart is the range of features in the partner app, Technogym Live. These include guided workouts with instructors and interval sessions where the machine’s speed and incline settings are changed automatically, so you can run them in the background while you watch one of the streaming services you can access in the Technogym app, like Netflix and YouTube. It costs $8.99/£8.99 a month to get full access to the app—but you’ll find more than enough classes to keep you busy on the free option.
Get more details in our TechnoGym MyRun review
Best Folding Treadmill
The EnduRun offers a gym-standard experience thanks to its sizable running belt, high top speed, powerful motor and easy-to-use console that includes buttons to take you directly to certain levels of speed or inclines. You can also adjust these using handily placed buttons on the sides of the machine, which I found easier to use while running, and it folds up to make it easier to move around and store when not in use.
It can also connect directly to Kinomap and the ledge on the console is well placed so you can rest your tablet there without obscuring the EnduRun’s display. When I reviewed the treadmill I was also able to connect it directly to Zwift easily, but it’s now not listed as Zwift-compatible, so that might no longer be the case.
There are 27 workout modes on the machine, several of which can be configured by the user, but the connectivity to apps means you’ll be able to access far more immersive guided workouts that way, even if the preset options are handy in a pinch.
Get more details in our DKN EnduRun review
Best For Small Spaces
The Stride connects to the Echelon app where you’ll find enough live and on-demand guided classes to last you a lifetime. The treadmill has a top speed of 11.8mph (19km/h) and the incline goes up to 10%, with a 1.75CHP motor. The guided workouts are the key selling point of the Stride (the app subscription costs $29-$34.99/£25-£39.99 a month, depending on the length of contract), but another major plus is that it folds up to just 26cm thick and 176cm tall, and I found it easy to tuck out of the way when not in use. You can either slip it under a sofa or secure it against a wall in an upright position, making it much less obtrusive than other folding treadmills.
The size of the running belt, power of the motor and top speed all make the Stride a little under-specced for the price, but it still performed well when I tested it, and the small size when folded adds to its appeal significantly. It also works well as a general treadmill even if you have no plans to use the Echelon app, though if you are going to do that there’s better value to be found in the JTX or DKN machines.
Get more details in our Echelon Stride review
Treadmill Buyer’s Guide
How much should you spend on a treadmill?
Treadmills cost from as little as a few hundred to as much as a few thousand, and how much you spend should be dictated by the kind of runner you are, rather than your budget, because it would be easy to spend more than you need to.
If you are planning the occasional run/walk session you’ll be fine with an entry-level model, but anyone who plans on just running will need to look to spend something closer to four figures to satisfy their needs.
The more you spend, the more powerful a motor you should expect, which allows the machine to run more smoothly at a higher speed for longer. The number to look for and compare across models is the CHP or continuous horsepower (plain HP represents peak power and is less relevant to everyday use).
By spending more you’ll get a higher top speed, a greater incline range and more preset training programmes. You’ll also get a larger running deck, which can be crucial, because cheaper machines with shorter belts might well force you to shorten your stride.
An increasingly common feature on treadmills is Bluetooth connectivity. While this is available across the price spectrum, it is more likely to appear on more expensive machines. The benefit is that Bluetooth treadmills can sync to companion or third-party apps (Zwift for runners is one of our favourites), which provide more workouts to follow and make the experience much more engaging. Bluetooth connectivity isn’t essential, but we expect it to become a standard feature in the near future.
Pay a couple of thousand and you should expect large built-in HD touchscreens, although often what you’re paying for is a commercial-grade machine that can handle multiple runners pounding away for most of the day. Unless you live with an extended family of keen runners, a cheaper model may well suffice.
How powerful a motor do I need?
As a general rule we like a treadmill to have a 2.5CHP motor as a minimum. This will ensure it can run smoothly at its higher speeds for long periods. The higher the top speed of your treadmill, the more important it is that it has a powerful motor to back it up. The peak power is less important than the continuous horsepower rating.
However, if the treadmill you buy has a low top speed and you’re mainly planning to use it for walking and short jogs, a 1.5CHP motor will suffice.
How big should the running deck be?
A spacious running deck is important, especially for 5ft 10in (178cm) or taller runners. A length of around 20in (50cm) will suit most runners.
Treadmill FAQs
What is the best treadmill for home use?
We’ve singled out the JTX Sprint-7 as the best home treadmill, and that’s because of a variety of key features that you can look for a treadmill for home use. One is a high top speed – around 10-12mph (16-19km/h) is useful even if you intend to run only short sprint intervals at those high speeds. An incline range that goes to 10% or more is also helpful because you can increase the challenge of your workouts in a different way.
Is running on the treadmill the same as running outside?
There are some clear differences between indoor and outdoor running, the main one being that you aren’t affected by the elements. However, when we asked experts if running on a treadmill is bad for you, they said that the science suggests that treadmill running really is broadly equivalent to running outdoors.
Some people like to add a small amount of incline – around 0.5% to 1% – in order to counter the lack of air resistance when using a treadmill. This might bring the difficulty level of running indoors into line with running outdoors, but in our experience running on a slight incline at all times can affect muscles in unexpected ways, so don’t feel obliged to stick to this rule. Treadmill running will still improve your fitness and work all the same muscles as outdoor running.
Nick Harris-Fry is a journalist who has been covering health and fitness since 2015. Nick is an avid runner, covering 70-110km a week, which gives him ample opportunity to test a wide range of running shoes and running gear. He is also the chief tester for fitness trackers and running watches, treadmills and exercise bikes, and workout headphones.
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