Five Best Treadmills for Home Use 2023
| Model | Rating | Motor | Speed | Incline | Folding? | List Price | Pricing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  NordicTrack |  Rating: 98% | 3.5 CHP | 0 - 12 mph | -3 - 15% |  | $2,299 | See Best Price |
| 2 |  NordicTrack | Rating: 97.2% | 3.0 CHP | 0 - 12 mph | 0-12% | | $1,399 | See Best Price |
| 3 |  Sole | Rating: 97% | 3.5 HP | 0.5 - 12 mph | 0-15% | | $2,799 | See Best Price |
| 4 |  NordicTrack | Rating: 96.8% | 4.25 CHP | 0 - 12 mph | -3 - 15% | | $2,499 | See Best Price |
| 5 |  ProForm | Rating: 96.6% | 3.25 CHP | 0 - 12 mph | -3 - 12% | | $1,499 | See Best Price |
A Guide to Treadmill Parts and Warranties
Shopping for a home treadmill is easier when you understand the “big picture.” Here we describe standards for belt size, horsepower, speed and other treadmill features. This guide can help you choose the best value for your budget, style and exercise needs.
Size of Walking/Running Area
The size of a treadmill workout surface is a key consideration for careful shoppers. If the workout surface is too small, you won’t be able to take full strides. If the workout surface is too large, you’ll have paid for unused space.
Health club treadmills typically have track workout areas measuring 20″ wide and 60″ long. These standard dimensions provide enough room for just about anyone to run at top speed. The best home treadmills for runners typically have these dimensions too. For larger trainees though, some top brands make machines with another couple of inches in one or both directions. The largest home treadmill workout space is the 22” x 63” of the Landice L8 . But if you just want a treadmill for walking, you could opt for a treadmill with a shorter track to save money. Good treadmills for walkers generally have walking surfaces that measure 20” wide and 55” long.
Got limited space? You could still get the benefits of a 60″ long track by choosing a folding treadmill. These machines are equipped with comfortable cushioning, powerful motors and automated inclines, just like the best non-folding alternatives.
Track Incline
The best home treadmills let you benefit from incline training. Exercising on a slanted track, you can rev up your heart rate and your metabolism. Simulated hill training also helps sculpt your lower body because at each different workout angle, your muscles move in different ways. And there’s a fourth benefit of incline training: Walking or running even with a slight incline removes some pressure from over your knees and ankles. Your weight naturally shifts to allow exercise that’s gentler on your joints.
Incline is one of the most popular performance features, and it’s become common for machines in all price brackets. The quality of incline varies. On the cheapest treadmills with incline, the angle can only be adjusted manually. Typically there are two or three settings. On better treadmills with incline, the angle is power-adjustable and has many settings. The incline can be automated by preset programs and also controlled with buttons on the console. Additionally the best treadmills have incline controls built into their handlebars.
A common maximum incline setting is 15% or 20%. Low-budget treadmills sometimes max out at 10%. The steepest slopes are available on treadmills built specifically for incline training, such as Bowflex Max Trainers. Max Trainers have maximum 40% inclines. With that steep a slope, you can actually just walk to get the same calorie burn rate as a runner.
Finally, a small minority of these machines support downhill training too. The maximum declines are rarely greater than 6%. A popular mid-priced example of a treadmill with both incline and decline features is the ProForm Pro 2000.
Heart Rate Monitoring
Most treadmills support heart rate monitoring. Some monitors are more accurate than others. With better accuracy you can be sure to exercise within a target heart rate zone, which is important for getting the best treadmill workouts in terms of efficiency. Also with better accuracy you’ll be able to track your cardio improvement over weeks, months and years. Some of our favorite cardio trainers can automatically export your heart rate info and other workout data to FitBit and other mobile fitness apps.
The highest-rated treadmills have wireless heart rate receivers. These tend to be more than 99% accurate. Usually a wireless cardio receiver works with a chest strap, which could be included with the treadmill price or sold separately for about $50-$100.
Treadmills can also measure heart rate through contact sensors. On cardio trainers at all price points, contact sensors are built into the handgrips. Some contact heart rate monitor systems are better than others. Accuracy varies by brand, plus it tends to decrease as you exercise at higher speeds. The wireless heart rate monitor option is most convenient if you want continuous feedback during a workout.
Finally, beyond the convenience, wireless heart rate monitoring can actually control your fitness machine. In response to your heart rate information, some of the best treadmills for cardio workouts can increase or decrease the challenge (speed and incline) to help you maintain a preferred workout intensity.
Treadmill Display Screens and Workout Programs
Treadmills are the most popular home fitness machines in America, but some owners lose motivation to follow through with exercise plans. A treadmill’s display and workout programs can make the difference! Even among cheap treadmills, many options support digital entertainment and give you lots of training guidance. The best treadmill brand for you might supply a Bluetooth connection for exporting your workout data too. By tracking your stats, you can see results that keep you moving.
With smaller budgets, you might need to choose between machines with great workout consoles and machines with powerful drive motors. If you spend more, you can get a home treadmill that scores well in both areas.
The Display: This year’s most advanced treadmill displays have full-color touchscreens. Many of these screens can show the Internet as well as workout programs. Screen widths of 7″ and 10″ are most common. The biggest screens in our treadmill reviews for 2017 are 22” wide and high-def.
The less cutting-edge treadmill displays use older LCD or LED screen technologies. Some have very small data windows but some have large screens. The best treadmill LCD/LED windows have backlighting for easy reading. Although these windows won’t support the web or video, many modern treadmills provide a “media shelf” for docking your own tablet computer or a magazine.
The Workouts: Treadmill workout programs can make your exercise time more efficient and interesting. They’re designed according to fitness pros’ recommendations to automate the workout challenge (speed, incline and duration) to help you meet goals for calorie burn, endurance, interval training and more.
Just about every home treadmill has built-in training programs. The quantity, quality and variety vary greatly. Some treadmills let you design and save your own programs too.
Additionally some treadmills let you add new workout programs, usually through web downloads. Some let you train with virtual reality or mixed reality for simulated outdoor exercise around the world. Your view of real landscapes will adjust to your speed. The best-known virtual video workout platforms in our treadmill reviews are iFit (see NordicTrack and ProForm), Passport Video (Horizon Fitness), and RunFit (compatible with Nautilus treadmills).
Durability
With durability in mind, we recommend choosing a treadmill with a workout belt that’s two-ply or thicker. Low-priced home treadmills tend to have single-ply workout belts. These might be just one millimeter thick. One disadvantage is that these belts wear out quickly. Sometimes they snap or rip. More common is belt stretching, which leads to your needing to recalibrate the machine. A second disadvantage of a thin belt is more potential for noise; when a belt is heavier, it has less opportunity to make a “flappity-flap” sound as it moves. And a third disadvantage is the need for regular maintenance. You might need to wax the belt often to help keep it running smoothly. The best treadmill belt is maintenance-free except for occasional dusting.
Other durability-related components to consider are the rollers, which help move the tread belt. Better treadmills have more rollers and larger, heavier rollers. On budget treadmills the rollers might be smaller than 2″ in diameter. On better home treadmills they’re about 2.5″ in diameter or larger.
Another component to consider for durability is the belt motor. Treadmill motors are usually under lifetime warranty, yet a 2.0 CHP motor with lifetime warranty still isn’t as durable as one with a 4.0 CHP motor. Our standard is 3.0 CHP for jogging and 4.0 CHP for more than casual running. The larger the user, and the more frequent or intense the training, the more important the motor becomes.
Warranty
Treadmill warranties can be great hints about durability. They shouldn’t be your only reference, but basically a warranty shows how much confidence the factory’s insurance company shows in the product.
The most important part of a treadmill warranty is the “parts” section. A good treadmill brand will include electronics coverage in the parts warranty. Electronics coverage is valuable, as a console could cost hundreds of dollars to replace. Here are some general guidelines:
- Very cheap treadmills have parts warranties valid for one year or less.
- Many entry-level treadmills for home gyms are protected for one or two years.
- For treadmills priced around $1000 or more, parts warranties of three years or longer are common.
Most treadmill warranties provide lifetime coverage for the motor and frame. The deck or running surface might also have a lifetime guarantee. The best treadmill warranty comes for Landice. Landice is the only brand to include lifetime coverage for the parts as well as the frame.
The last section of a treadmill warranty is for labor. Very cheap treadmills are sold with six months or less of free repairs. As prices increase, the labor warranties become more generous but rarely exceed three years. Some manufacturers, such as Sole Fitness, provide labor in-home. Others will require you to ship a broken machine for repairs… so choosing a durable treadmill from a reputable manufacturer can really help you avoid hassles.
Final Word on Finding the Best Treadmill for You
Knowing the parts of a treadmill can help you make a wise buy. Remember though that a treadmill is more than the sum of its parts. To get an idea of how well the components work together, and how they might stand up over time, be sure to check reputable sources for treadmill reviews before you make your choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the best brands of treadmills?
Right now we really like Sole, NordicTrack, ProForm, and Bowflex. - What is the best treadmill for home use?
We’re rating the Sole F80 in the top spot right now. - What is the best treadmill for the money?
Probably the NordicTrack EXP 7i, for $1,099. - What are the best treadmills for small spaces?
Compact treadmills and desk units. - How long do the best treadmills last?
The best treadmills can last more than 10 years given proper care and maintenance. - Do the best treadmills need maintenance or lubrication?
Absolutely. Instructional videos are online to assist with the specifics for each make and model. Proper care can increase the lifespan of a treadmill considerably.
