Buying a treadmill is a big commitment. Even the more affordable models are pricey. They take up a lot of space, and if you’ve ever come across a busted belt or a broken screen, you know how frustrating they can be. That being said, having a cardio machine in your house that works makes exercising so much more convenient. I definitely run more (and stick to my marathon training plans better) throughout the winter months because of various treadmills I’ve had at home over the years. They can also make interval training a bit easier, and help you practice hills if you don’t have access to much challenging incline outside.

If you’re in the market for one, you probably know there are tons of options at all kinds of price ranges out there, and it can be hard to know what’s really worth splurging on. To help you narrow down your search, we tested all the treads below, seeing how they held up through countless long distance runs, hill workouts, and sprinting intervals. Here’s what you should keep in mind as you shop, and our top picks for the best treadmills of 2024. Don’t see anything you like? Don’t forget to check out the rest of our buying guides, including the Best Action Cameras and the Best Sunglasses.

Table of Contents

1. How to Pick a Treadmill
2. Best Overall: NordicTrack 1750 Commercial
3. Best for Hill Training: Bowflex Treadmill 22
4. Best Midrange Treadmill: Horizon Fitness 7.0 AT Treadmill
5. Best Budget Treadmill: Sunny Health & Fitness Foldable Auto Incline Treadmill
6. Best Streaming Workouts: Peloton Tread

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How to Pick a Treadmill

Of course, budget will probably be the biggest factor. Beyond that, here are a few other things that you might want to consider in your search:

• How much space do you have? Most companies recommend that you leave at least two feet of clearance on either side of the treadmill and six feet behind, in case you fly off while running at high speeds.
• What is the machine’s weight capacity?
• Which metrics do you want to measure? Do you want to measure pace, distance, or heart rate? Do you want a built-in display or do you have your own wrist computer?
• Do you want built-in fitness programming, or do you have your own workout plan?
• Do you need a machine that you can all-out sprint on, or one that will allow you to practice running on steep inclines and declines?

Best Overall

In SNL’s Stefon’s voice: This treadmill has everything. A solid top speed of 12 mph (a roughly five-minute per mile pace), incline and decline options, a springy running deck, fans, a 16-inch pivoting touchscreen you can use to stream shows, and two water bottle holders. Not only is this a durable, well-built machine, it has some seriously cool features in terms of programming. NordicTrack uses iFIT, which features a library of 10,000 workouts, including running, walking, hiking, and even off-tread activities like strength training and yoga. (You’ll need a subscription to access the majority of the workouts—there are two options at $15 or $40 a month.) You can follow a trainer through gorgeous mountain and beach landscapes, and you can opt to have the treadmill automatically adjust your speed and incline throughout the workout.

Another feature, called Smart Adjust, will tweak the speed and incline to match your fitness level over time, based on changes you made in your past workouts. Using the free wearable monitor that comes with the tread, your machine can track your heart rate, and Active Pulse can also auto-adjust your workout’s intensity to keep you in your ideal heart rate zones throughout. Even the fans can adjust automatically during workouts to give you more breeze when you’re really suffering. If you like workout variety and following along with digital training—versus running your own workouts—you’ll get a lot out of this treadmill.

When I tested the 1750, I was following a training plan for the Kerlingarfjöll Ultra, a trail series held in the Highlands region of Iceland, in which I was running the 22 km race. I did a lot of my own workouts on this tread, and it was well suited for manual training, too. I used it to do several interval sessions, and I appreciated how quickly it moved between speeds. You can change the speed and incline manually via up/down buttons on the front of the machine under the screen, and by pressing numbered buttons on the sides of the screen.

I would have loved to have the option of speed and incline dials for quicker and easier adjusting, but the buttons worked well enough. The fans are well-placed. The deck on the 1750 was also bouncier underfoot than other treads I’ve tested (in a good way). I got a good energy return without feeling unstable. It was also lighter and easier to fold and move around than many of the other options I tested, though still not exactly easy for me at 5’4”. The 1750 also just looks and feels really nice, even though it’s by no means the most expensive option out there. It’s the one I wanted to keep coming back to for workouts.

Best for Hill Training

I’m a long-time user of Bowflex equipment, and the Treadmill 22 is equally solid. You can go just as fast on this machine as the NordicTrack (12 mph), but your incline and decline ranges are much larger (-5 to 20%). I recommend this one for hill-specific training. I found it super useful leading up to my trail race when weather conditions wouldn’t let me run safely outside (or it was late at night and I didn’t have time to drive to a trailhead). If you live in a flat area and want to prime your body for a hilly course, this treadmill can really give you the grades you need.

Bowflex’s fitness program is called JRNY, and with a $12-$20 subscription, you can follow along with tons of workouts (there are some free options, too). When you first sign up, you take a fitness test and the program will create custom workouts for you. Those workouts include both cardio-based and off-tread strength options, and JRNY has an Explore the World feature that I particularly liked. It’s nice to zone out and run next to elephants in Thailand.

The 22-inch touchscreen is great for streaming your own shows and movies, too. There are multiple grab handles (the 20 percent incline gets real very fast), and the lower ones have heart rate sensors. You can adjust the speed and incline via up/down buttons on one set of handles, numbered buttons under the screen, and up/down toggles on each side rail. There are two large water bottle holders near the screen, a lower shelf for anything else you want near you, and there’s a fan. It’s not as powerful as the fans in other models I tested, and you need to be kind of tall to feel it on your face. This tread is substantial and very stable; it feels good underfoot. It’s bulky though, and not the easiest to fold and move around, so I’d recommend keeping it in one spot if possible.

Best Midrange Treadmill

This treadmill is a great option for a more reasonable price. My favorite features were the speed and incline dials on the heart rate monitor handles—I find dials to be so much easier to use when I’m doing interval training and I want to move between speeds without pressing a button a million times or dealing with a lot of lag. The 7.0 AT doesn’t have a screen, but there’s a tablet/phone holder and charging port, so you can still follow along with digital workouts. There’s bluetooth connectivity for apps like Peloton and Zwift, and you can connect your Apple Watch or Galaxy Samsung Watch for more accurate and synched fitness tracking metrics.

This tread did feel less durable and stable than others I tested; there was more bounce than I’d like, though it wasn’t off-putting. There’s a fan, which is a really nice feature on a tread at this price, but I wasn’t able to feel it unless I was high up on the belt. I also found that it was very hard to move when it was folded—you have to lean the machine pretty far towards you to get it up on the wheels, and it’s heavy.

Best Budget Treadmill

If you’re looking for something affordable that will get the job done, this tread is a good choice. It’s a very straightforward machine, with simple up/down buttons that allow you to adjust the incline and speed, and a few numbered buttons to jump to various options. There’s no screen, but there is a stand for your phone or tablet, and you can connect to the free Sunny Health & Fitness app via bluetooth to access 10,000 scenic running routes and over 1,000 workouts (which feature all kinds of running and strength combos) that you can follow along with. There are two water bottle holders and heart rate monitors on the arms of the machine, too.

I really appreciated the fact that this tread comes essentially fully assembled, and the setup is extremely easy—I’m terrible at putting things together and I had it up and running in a matter of minutes. It’s also lightweight and easy to fold and move around. The downside there is that it’s not as stable as other options on this list. It was bouncy and a bit wobbly, especially at higher speeds, but if you’re not planning to do a lot of sprinting, you might not have any issues.

Best Streaming Workouts

It’s impossible to beat the workout programming you can get from Peloton. If you tend to jog on the treadmill and not try much else, taking classes with Peloton can get you out of your comfort zone and maybe even help you learn to love running. When WIRED editor Jeremy White reviewed the Tread, he said it genuinely changed the way he exercised, and that he started to crave the upbeat trainers pushing him in live classes. Of course, you don’t need the machine to get a Peloton subscription (which costs $13-$44 per month depending on tier, and offers live and on-demand cardio, strength training, and yoga classes). You could train with Peloton programming using a less expensive machine. But there are benefits to the Tread. (It’s worth noting here that we’re referring to the smaller, more compact Tread, and not the Tread+, which unfortunately was recalled after causing many injuries and one child death.)

This is easily the sleekest, most beautifully designed option on our list. It’s heavy, stable, and durable. The 23.8-inch touchscreen tilts so you can follow along with workouts off the treadmill, and the speed and incline dials make it incredibly easy to adjust during intervals. You can also opt for auto-incline, so the machine follows along with your instructor’s cues. There’s space to hold a water bottle and your phone, and not much else—a feature minimalists will appreciate.

The downsides? It doesn’t fold up, so you really need a dedicated home for it. Peloton also doesn’t allow you to stream your own shows, movies, or music through the device, a feature many other higher-end treadmills have. If you’re looking for something attractive that’s built for speed and quick transitions, this is a top-tier option. The programming is excellent, too, and pairs well with the brand’s equipment, but again, you don’t need the machinery to utilize the classes.