Sitting at your desk all day is literally a pain. It’s terrible for your posture and takes a toll on your physical and mental health, gradually morphing you into a hunched-over keyboard gargoyle. Theoretically, you could take walking breaks away from your screen, but even then, you’re still spending a lot of the day on your butt. Plus, it’s freezing out.

Unlike bulky and almost always noisy treadmills, walking pads are slim (often portable) machines that can slide under your standing desk or fit anywhere in your home, letting you rack up steps while working, binge-watching, or just avoiding the winter. I’m also convinced walking pads make me more productive. Not only do you crush your daily steps, but regular use also boosts your energy levels, mood, and cardiovascular health. Walking on an incline also strengthens and tones your lower body muscles, so you can even get a decent workout in.

There are tons on the market, with varying speed capabilities, extra features like built-in desk platforms and wheels, and durability. Our remote testers clocked serious hours walking, working, and sometimes jogging to find the best walking pads worth the space and money. For more WFH gear recommendations, check out Best Standing Desks, Best Laptop Stands, and Best Office Chairs.

Updated February 2026: I’ve added Urevo SpaceWalk 5L Smart Walking Pad and Lifesmart TM2202 3-in-1 Treadmill to our Honorable Mentions. I’ve added a product comparison chart and an FAQ section that includes our testing methodology. I’ve added more specs, pros and cons to all products and updated prices and links.

Best Overall

Most walking pads feel the same and have similar capabilities, but the Urevo CyberPad stands out. It offers a 14-percent incline, which is the highest I’ve seen on a walking pad. With the ability to tackle steeper walks, I felt like I could actually get a major sweat going without sacrificing my focus on work, unlike when I try to push the pace, which makes it harder to type.

It was ready to use right out of the box and easy to set up (a huge win in my book—I do not dream of fitness-equipment assembly). It’s a bit heavier than some other options on this list, so moving it around isn’t as easy, but the wheels help. The speed tops out at 4 mph, and the incline stops at level nine, which can be either a 9- or 14-percent incline, depending on how you position the machine’s feet.

The CyberPad has a Bluetooth remote and app that are easy to connect to the machine, allowing you to control it. The app also offers workouts, if you want to virtually walk in some pretty scenery. As long as you open the app at some point during your walk, it’ll log your workout data from the machine, so you can keep track of daily step counts over time. You can also view your current workout metrics on a screen at the front of the machine.

With a solid feel underfoot and a comfortable belt, I’m confident in this pad’s durability. One thing to note: The incline capability makes it taller and harder to store. It also has fun lights along the side rails (think car underglow). You can turn them on in the app and set the color and patterns to whatever inspires you to get on and walk. It’s the little things. —Kristin Canning

Best Budget

This little guy is a top pick on Reddit and a bestseller on Amazon. Weighing just 27 pounds, it’s incredibly lightweight and durable, with a maximum weight capacity of 350 pounds. It’s easy to carry and assemble. Reviewer Kristin Canning said she had it out of the box and running in just minutes. Because it’s only 3.5 inches tall, she was able to slide it under her couch or prop it against a wall when not in use.

The remote control and Sperax Fitness app (iOS, Android) sync well with the machine, which is more than we can say for some of its competitors. This is also one of the few walking pads we’ve tested that doubles as a vibration plate, with its built-in massage mode. The company prides itself on its quiet motor, claiming the noise level falls below 45 decibels, but Canning noted that the Sperax walking pad is actually quite noisy, enough to make her believe it was a leaf blower in the distance.

Canning also didn’t appreciate the app so much. It doesn’t log your step count from the machine, which also tends to start over if you take a break. You can use the app to stroll through the world, but the immersive video only plays on your phone, which can be annoying. The machine also doesn’t turn off right away if you step off, which is a safety issue. I’ll continue to test this walking pad for long-term durability and will report back with updates.

Best Foldable Walking Pad

This is a much longer and heavier walking pad; it’s 57 inches (32.5 inches when folded), which means it’s a good choice for taller folks or anyone who has a long stride. The deck feels stable, though not as springy or as padded as the Sperax. This machine was a bit of a pain to set up. Getting the Bluetooth remote and KS Fit app to connect with the pad was a struggle initially. I also didn’t like that when you first start using the machine, you have to spend time walking at slower speeds before you can “unlock” the upper end of the range.

I like the level of control and the tracking capabilities of this device more than the Sperax, though. You can adjust the speed via either the remote or the app, and you can use the pad without the app. You can check your time, speed, distance, calories, and steps on the large display. The app is a little wonky; if you don’t start a workout with the app, your progress won’t be tracked or logged, and it doesn’t sync later. It also saves each walking session separately, so if you take a break, you start from zero again, but you can see your daily steps on KS Fit if you do a little digging (that is, if you’ve been using it with the app).

The app also offers workouts, which auto-adjust the speed to your pace via sensors under the belt. It felt awkward, since I couldn’t figure out how to slow the pace without the device totally stopping. You switch between modes within the app or on the display, and you can stop and start the machine using the app or remote. I like to use the machine in manual mode, and I tend to use the app more than the remote, because the remote connectivity is inconsistent.

The machine feels like it will have a long lifespan. Its heft makes it harder to move around than the Sperax, and while the folding capability is a win in general, if you plan to slide this under something, make sure the folded height (5.4 inches) will work. —Kristin Canning

Most Versatile

The Urevo Strol 2S Pro doubles as a treadmill and feels shockingly stable underfoot for how relatively lightweight it feels. I’ve tested several affordable treadmills, and they tend to feel wobbly at higher speeds, but this one remained firmly in place even as I ran on it at top speed and incline (7.6 mph and 9 percent). That top speed isn’t fast enough if you’re looking to really sprint, but it’s definitely ample for a good workout.

If you want to use the treadmill as a walking pad, you can keep the handrail down, which limits the top speed to 4 mph (though you can still use the full incline functionality). There’s a display on the front of the machine that cycles between time, distance, calories, incline, and speed. To access faster speeds, you have to put the handrail up, which requires you to use a hex tool to tighten it into place. The handlebar has a display as well, and you can control the machine’s basic functions from there. There’s also a tablet holder you can attach.

The machine was very easy to set up, and the remote and app connected to it right away. This app was my favorite of those I tested—it was intuitive, showed the info I wanted to see in my profile (like daily step counts), and synced well with the machine. There are some wonky translations, but nothing that bothered me or made it hard to use. As long as you open the app and connect to your treadmill at some point during your walk (even if you start and control the machine outside the app), it will log your workout data. (This isn’t the case for many of the options on this list.) In the app, you can use the Quick Start function to walk freely and adjust the settings from your phone, or you can do a virtual walk with iconic scenery.

I really appreciated how quiet this treadmill was. Overall, it seems like a durable machine that offers great value, especially with the speed and incline ranges. —Kristin Canning

Quietest Walking Pad

This walking pad had the most intuitive setup of any on this list (likely thanks to its lack of a companion app, which oftentimes isn’t really necessary). I was able to set it up in minutes, and the remote connected right away; no Bluetooth connectivity required. Like many walking pads, this one has a screen at the front that shows you your workout metrics. If you pause the machine to step off, you can pick right back up where you started, building on those metrics until you turn the machine off. One downside: It doesn’t track steps.

The Auto Incline Walking Treadmill offers a great incline range, going up to a level nine, or 12-percent incline. It’s one of the highest incline capabilities I’ve found in my testing. You can walk up to 4 mph on this machine, and you can connect your phone to play music through the speakers. The remote allows you to take on 30-minute, preprogrammed walking workouts, too, where the machine auto-adjusts the speed throughout (though not the incline). Otherwise, you can use it in manual mode and adjust the settings to your liking.

The pad felt good underfoot and was stable even at a high incline. I was most impressed by the fact that when I sat down to write this review, I had no recollection of what sounds it made, which was an anomaly in my testing. The Auto Incline Walking Treadmill was so quiet I didn’t even notice it. —Kristin Canning

Compare Top 5 Walking Pads

Honorable Mentions

Urevo SpaceWalk 5L Smart Walking Pad for $400: We’ve tested a couple of Urevo walking pads, and while the SpaceWalk 5L is decent and cheaper, we still prefer the CyberPad for Home for its 14 percent incline and the Strol 2S Pro for its speed and ability to double as a treadmill. The SpaceWalk 5L does have a larger weight capacity, maxing out at 300 pounds, with the same incline as the Strol 2S Pro (9 percent) and max speed as the CyberPad (4 mph). Its track length is a solid 39 inches, and tester Michael Venutolo-Mantovani said it’s compact enough to stash underneath a couch or loveseat.

GoYouth 2-in-1 Under Desk Treadmill for $285: This is an Amazon top pick, but it’s very bare-bones for this price. There’s no app, and the remote and controls are unintuitive. The built-in Bluetooth speaker sounds unsurprisingly crappy. But it does feel great underfoot, is very quiet, and has a higher weight capacity (300 pounds) and a slightly longer belt than the Sperax above. If you’re a larger person looking for a simple, affordable walking pad, this will work for you. —Adrienne So

Egofit Walker Pro M1 for $479: This is one of the first walking pads we’ve tested, and it has a fixed 5 percent incline that might pose some storage issues (you won’t be able to just slide it under the couch). It can be controlled via an app or a remote, but it doesn’t automatically sync if you use the remote. But it’s lightweight and easy to move around your home.

Lifesmart TM2202 3-in-1 Treadmill for $699: The 3-in-1 Treadmill gets its name from its ability to serve as a walking pad (with the rail down, the speed tops out at 3.7 mph), a treadmill (with the rail up, you can run up to 7.5 mph), and a workstation (with the rail up and desk attachment on) for multitasking. It’s easy to set up, and transitioning between the different modes is quick and simple (you just need to use a small tool to adjust the rail, which is magnetized, so it can live on the rail and never get lost in a junk drawer). The desk’s height won’t accommodate everyone; it was lower than I’d like, and I’m 5’4”. But for quick, basic work like answering emails or sitting in on a meeting, it got the job done just fine. It also doesn’t have any incline options.—Kristin Canning

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