Best treadmills for home use 2022

If you’re on the hunt for one of the best treadmills, but aren’t sure which model suits your needs and lifestyle, rest assured you’re not alone. From the budget-friendly to eye-wateringly expensive, the choice of running machines can easily overwhelm even the most experienced exercisers. Luckily, we’ve spent hours testing the best pieces of equipment so you can find a running machine that perfectly aligns with your requirements.

The best treadmills are the cornerstone of every well-equipped home gym. Beginners and seasoned cardio enthusiasts alike use these machines to build their stamina, aid with weight loss, and support cardiovascular health. Running machines can give you a tough workout regardless of weather conditions, while providing you with detailed feedback on your performance, streaming services and on-demand fitness classes. 

Even the most budget-friendly treadmills, like the Mobvoi Home Treadmill, will track your calories burned, distance and speed. More advanced ones, like the Peloton Tread, will automatically adjust your incline and guide you on your workouts through a big HD touchscreen.        

Whether you are after a foldable design, shock-absorbing running belts, or hi-tech features, there is a huge range of machines to choose from. Many models now offer walking and hiking workouts with beautiful real footage of famous trails and mountains too, as well as floor-based exercises from yoga and Pilates, to HIIT and weight training. 

Not interested in treadmills? Our round-up of the best rowing machines or best exercise bikes will help you find cardio equipment more suited to you.    

Best treadmills in our tests

Forget the Peloton Tread, the NordicTrack X22i is one of the most impressive home treadmills we’ve tested and it’s packed with smart features that will keep you coming back for more. You are literally spoiled for choice with thousands of motivating on-demand workouts, as well as daily live classes (iFit subscription needed), a cinematic 22” HD touchscreen and a -6 to 15% decline/incline range.

With joint-friendly Reflex Cushioning, a meaty 4CHP (continuous horsepower) motor — which is surprisingly quiet — and seemingly limitless iFit virtual content, you can work your way through studio classes, instructor-led virtual routes and off the treadmill training like Pilates or yoga. The only downside to this we found was the screen is a bit hard to see when you’re not on the treadmill so we had to rely on audio cues to know what to do next. You can tilt the screen slightly, but it would be good if you could angle it into a more practical position.

Another thing worth mentioning: this is a beast of a treadmill and would be better suited to a garage or home gym than the corner of your living room. The plus side of this monster of a treadmill is it has a 22” by 60” belt, so even our tallest tester (6ft 3”) could enjoy a proper run. It’s not cheap either, but it’s definitely one of the best treadmills we’ve ever tried, so if you’ve got the funds, you won’t regret the investment.

• Read our full NordicTrack X22i review (opens in new tab)

A decent treadmill will usually set you back by around $1000, but this budget alternative from Mobvoi is surprisingly powerful and comes in at less than $400. It has a maximum speed of 12km/h, which is ideal if you want to do daily gentle jogs and runs. You can also add or remove the rails on either side of the machine, allowing you to slot it under a desk and use it as a walking treadmill. 

At this price, you won't get flashy extras like a dedicated digital running platform with upbeat classes displayed on a HD screen. But there's a handy slot for your tablet or phone at the front of your device, which allows you to watch shows while you workout. 

During our testing, we found the belt sturdy and smooth — a lot of cheaper machines tend to 'jerk' at higher speeds, but that wasn't the case here. We were also fairly impressed with the in-built Bluetooth speakers, which allowed us to blast tunes while we ran. If you prefer a quieter session, then the Mobvoi is great too; it was whisper quiet during our testing period. 

You can navigate the different controls on the machine using either the LED dashboard or a handy remote. And because it's so compact, it easily slots underneath a sofa or bed for storage. 

We did find the belt felt a little thin and it's quite narrow too, but for this price you can't really complain. 

• Read our full Mobvoi Home Treadmill review (opens in new tab)

At $1,299, the Echelon Stride isn't exactly cheap — but it's by far our favorite when it comes to balancing a good set of features with a mid-range price tag. It's the ultimate space-savvy machine, with a compact running belt and fully foldable design — ideal for storing under a bed or behind a sofa. And it seems the saying “good things come in small packages” rings true, with the tread delivering an impressive performance on test (in spite of its diminutive dimensions).

It offers speeds of up to 12mph and incline settings as high as 10%. We found the base felt sturdy and secure, with only slight wobbling at the highest paces and gradients, and though it only has a 1.75 horsepower motor the belt moved smoothly with no juddering underfoot. 

There is an LED console on the handlebars with several interval sessions of varying difficulty on offer. However, we think it’s well worth investing in the Echelon Fit app which – for a monthly subscription fee – allows you to link the treadmill with your phone or tablet and access a huge selection of engaging classes. During testing, we discovered even those sessions labeled advanced proved on the easier side, but there is a huge selection of on-demand studio classes, live workouts and more to explore.

So, if you’re a running newcomer looking for a compact, affordable option, the Echelon Stride is the best treadmill for you. 

• Read our full Echelon Stride Auto-fold Treadmill Review (opens in new tab)

The Peloton Tread is a sleek and well-made treadmill that offers a satisfying running experience for all fitness abilities. It comes in Peloton's signature black and red colors and has a striking minimalist design. During testing, we particularly liked the machine's fuss-free touchscreen, which is easy to navigate. 

Speed and incline dials are positioned on the handrails, so there is really very little to distract you from that shiny display. It doesn't have any kind of base at the front of the tread, so you can run along its full length—useful if you have a particularly long stride. 

The machine doesn’t have quite as many features as we'd like to see at this price point, as it's lacking a decline option or in-built fan, both of which you can find in the slightly cheaper NordicTrack model above. You will also need a Peloton app subscription to access those famous virtual classes. All of that aside, it is a satisfyingly compact, stylish and quiet machine for runners of all ability. 

• Read our full Peloton Tread review (opens in new tab)

ProForm has taken a minimalist approach to design with the ProForm Pro 9000, using a black and silver palette that gives the tread a slick and subtle look. There’s nothing subtle about the size or price tag of this model though, so you’ll need some cash and space to house it.

The 9000 comes complete with inbuilt dual speakers, fans, and iFit capability which provides access to a vast array of workouts and classes from top-notch coaches and trainers in the game. The 22” eye-catching crisp color touchscreen display will certainly suck you in, and with so much workout choice available, this tread can quench the thirst of even the fittest of running fanatics. The speed and incline quick controls are splashed across the dashboard to offer fuss-free on-the-go adjustments, and you can choose between -3% to +12% incline/decline, as well as up to 22 km/h of speed – all of which can be automated by your trainer during workouts. 

While this treadmill does offer an immersive training experience, we found some of the tech tricky to master when we tried it out. There are a couple of tech fixes that could make this model more competitive for the top spot, especially when pitched against models like the NordicTrack X22i. 

• Read our full ProForm Premier 9000 review (opens in new tab)

The LifeSpan Fitness Treadmill TR3000i has everything a traditional treadmill should. We found it benefits from a stable, cushioned running deck, a maximum speed of 12mph and incline settings up to 15%. Yet, with the multitude of mod cons crammed into newer running machines, its traditional approach struggles to keep pace with its smarter competitors. 

The 7in touchscreen feels tiny and, while it’s fairly responsive, the display is a bit grainy. It feels wholly unnecessary too, as the machine only has a scattering of preset programs to choose from – a figure that pales in comparison to the thousands of live and on-demand classes on offer from the likes of the Peloton Tread and NordicTrack X22i. 

It took us almost an hour to set up, with the upright handles needing screwing into place and the monitor requiring an overcomplicated (not to mention fiddly) wire-matching exercise before it would work. Yet it costs over $1,000USD, meaning you’re still spending a considerable chunk of money on a treadmill that lacks the innovations of other modern models. 

Seasoned runners may appreciate the simplicity as, once the treadmill is set up, a quick start session allows you to get running with minimal fuss, adjusting your incline and speed settings as you go. But anyone looking for a piece of fitness kit to transform their home workouts will be better served elsewhere. 

• Read our full Lifespan TR3000i Folding Treadmill review (opens in new tab)

How we test treadmills

We tested all treadmills in our purpose-built testing center (with the exception of Mobvoi, which was tested out at home) completing a longer run, an intense shorter session, and (where applicable) several workout classes on each machine. We also checked any claims made by brands, including the machines’ functionality at their maximum speed and incline settings, before awarding each one a score out of five for the following categories:

• Set-up and usability
• Design and display
• Features
• Performance
• Value for money 

These figures were used to calculate a final score out of five, and decide which running machines made our roundup of the best treadmills. 

Bianca Grover

Bianca Grover is a certified exercise physiologist, medical exercise specialist and personal trainer. She holds several certifications and specializations from the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association. Her specialities include functional training, strength training and orthapedic considerations.