Seeking a Low-Impact Home Cardio Workout? We Tested 15 Ellipticals To Find the Top Ones (2024)

Key Specs

Dimensions: 49.2 x 30.5 x 65.1 inches | Weight Capacity: 300 pounds | Stats Offered: Time, calories burned, heart rate, resistance, distance | Warranty: 3 years (frame), 3 years (mechanical parts), 1 year (electronics and HD touchscreen), 90 days (labor) | Our Overall Rating: 4.9/5

Who It’s For

Best for people looking for smooth transitions between resistances and streamable workouts.

Why We Love It

After testing 15 ellipticals, Bowflex’s Max Trainer M9 came out on top as the best overall option. This elliptical is durable and offers many excellent free workouts. Its heavy flywheel offers 20 total resistances, and an included fitness assessment helped us determine what ranges to stay in while exercising. We appreciate that it comes with free access to the JRNY app, which lets you stream all sorts of workouts from the 10-inch touchscreen. We like that JRNY offers both HIIT and endurance workouts on the elliptical. We found the workouts to be challenging but still low-impact.

We love that Bowflex’s M9 has no time lag when shifting between resistances, which makes the process very fluid. Plus, it comes equipped with a phone holder, a bottle holder, a heart rate monitor, and both stationary (for heart rate) and movable handlebars. Bluetooth connectivity lets you play your favorite music directly from the machine.

Potential Flaws

• This is a tedious option to build, taking us 3.5 hours to assemble, and it is certainly not a one-person job.
• When it goes to sleep, you have to log back in with an email and password to turn it back on.
  

Key Specs

Dimensions: 46.9 x 30.5 x 65.2 inches | Weight Capacity: 300 | Stats Offered: Workout, time, calories, distance, rpm (revolutions per minute), resistance, speed, burn rate, and heart rate | Warranty: 10 years (frame), 2 years (mechanical parts), 1 year (electronics), 1 year (labor) | Our Overall Rating: 4.8/5

Who It’s For

Best for the apartment dweller with limited space and noise-sensitive neighbors.

Why We Love It

Bowflex’s Max Trainer SE is our pick for the exerciser who is limited on space but doesn’t want to sacrifice a quality workout. It’s one of the smaller options we tested, but still feels stable and doesn’t wobble when we use it, even at high intensities. It’s also light and features wheels that make it easy to move around and store when not in use.

With 16 resistance levels and clearly labeled buttons, this option allows for a versatile workout with smooth transitions between levels. While it’s smaller than others we tested, it still features add-ons like an LCD display and a water bottle holder. Plus, it’s super quiet, making it a good choice for people who don’t live alone or apartment dwellers with noise-sensitive neighbors.

Potential Flaws

• Despite having easy-to-follow instructions, this still took about two hours to assemble, and it took about an hour to unpack the boxes it shipped in.
• This option may not work for taller people because it has a shorter stride length.
  

Key Specs

Dimensions: 49.3 x 30.8 x 65.7 inches | Weight Capacity: 300 pounds | Stats Offered: Time, distance, speed, calories burned, heart rate, resistance | Warranty: 3 years (frame), 3 years (mechanical parts), 1 year (electronics), 90 days (labor) | Our Overall Rating: 4.8/5

Who It’s For

Best for intermediate to advanced exercisers who are ready to invest in a quality option that lasts.

Why We Love It

Bowflex’s Max Total 16 is a particularly sturdy option that never shakes, even when we push our workouts to the limit. With 20 resistance levels, it’s built for all fitness abilities. Advanced exercisers can challenge themselves with heavier resistance, and beginners and intermediate exercisers have room to grow. The machine’s adjustable dial offers a smooth and gradual transition between the different resistances.

When coupled with the JRNY membership (an added expense), this elliptical offers some amazing perks, including a fitness assessment, scenic instructor-led workouts, Netflix and Hulu streaming capabilities, and more. A built-in heart rate monitor on the handlebars and an included Bluetooth heart rate monitor armband offer biofeedback. We also like that the handlebars feature six grip options.

Potential Flaws

• It doesn’t include a water bottle holder.
• You’ll need a JRNY membership to enjoy the best features, like the trainer-led workouts.

Key Specs

Dimensions: 69 x 25 x 71 inches | Weight Capacity: 300 pounds | Stats Offered: Distance, time, speed, calories burned, and incline and resistance levels | Warranty: 10 years (frame), 2 years (parts), 1 year (labor) | Our Overall Rating: 4.6/5

Who It’s For

Best for people who like incline workouts and want to experience a scenic, trainer-led hike from their living room.

Why We Love It

What sets NordicTrack’s AirGlide 7i Elliptical apart from others on our list is that it boasts an incline/decline feature—you can adjust the decline to -5 degrees and incline up to 15 degrees. Plus, it offers 22 resistance levels and feels stable and smooth, no matter how fast you’re striding.

The elliptical comes with a 30-day free trial of iFit, a subscription platform that offers versatile, trainer-led workouts in scenic places—we particularly like trekking on the beach! With an iFit membership, you can also take advantage of the auto-adjust feature that will automatically adjust your incline and speed based on your virtual trainer’s instructions or your target heart rate.

This pick also has comfortable handlebars and oversized pedals that work for different foot sizes. When it came to assembling it, we opted for white glove delivery, which took between 30-45 minutes. Once built, transportation wheels made it easy to move around.

Potential Flaws

• Taller people may find the stride length to be too short for them.
• There is no stand for placing a tablet, and we wish the display were larger (it’s only 7 inches)
  

Key Specs

Dimensions: 50 x 23.5 x 62 inches | Weight Capacity: 220 pounds | Stats Offered: Time, speed, distance, calories burned, pulse rate | Warranty: 3 years (frame), 90 days (parts) | Our Overall Rating: 4.6/5

Who It’s For

Best for beginners or those on a budget looking for an entry-level, affordable elliptical machine.

Why We Love It

Although it’s a more affordable pick, EFITMENT’s Magnetic Elliptical Machine still performs at a high level. Even though it’s not foldable, it’s compact, not overly heavy, and easy to move around with two transport wheels. It only weighs 80.5 pounds, is also highly stable, and doesn’t wobble or shake when we use it.

With only eight resistance levels, this lighter option is best for beginners or those who want an easy-to-use elliptical without an overload of information or extra features. Transitioning between resistance levels feels fluid and easy. We also like that it’s easy to assemble.

Potential Flaws

• Not suited for advanced users who need more resistance options.
• It has no built-in programs or classes and is truly a no-frills option.
  

Key Specs

Dimensions: 70 x 31 x 70 inches | Weight Capacity: 350 pounds | Stats Offered: Time, speed, distance, calories, pace, incline level, resistance level, heart rate | Warranty: Lifetime (frame and flywheel), 2 years (parts and wear items), 1 year (labor), 90 days (cosmetic items) | Our Overall Rating: 4.6/5

Who It’s For

Best for people with noise-sensitive housemates or neighbors who want a quiet elliptical machine.

Why We Love It

Our three teasers, who have uniquely different body types and shapes, all say they’re impressed by Sole’s E35 sturdiness and quiet operation. It offers 20 resistance levels and 20 incline options, allowing you to get a truly versatile workout. Unlike some options on our list, this one features an emergency stop button that you can press to halt the machine immediately. This is a crucial safety feature, especially for beginners.

We like that the E35 features a spacious water bottle holder and a stand for your iPad. Plus, you can stream music from the machine via Bluetooth connectivity, and the machine comes with a free app with hundreds of classes that you can stream without a membership.

Potential Flaws

• This elliptical took six hours to build, longer than any other machines we tested.
• All the pre-programmed workouts are 20 minutes long, so you have to select a second workout if you wish to stride for longer following the first workout.

Key Specs

Dimensions: 48 x 25 x 62 inches | Weight Capacity: 400 pounds | Stats Offered: Speed, distance, calories burned, time | Warranty: 1 year | Our Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Who It’s For

Best for exercisers looking for a no-frills option that covers the basics.

Why We Love It

Niceday’s Classic Elliptical Machine comes mostly assembled and took us only 1.5 hours to set up. While not foldable, it has front wheels that make it easy to move. Despite being more compact than others on our list, it still has a high weight capacity of 400 pounds and stays stable when in use.

It’s classic design is easy to use, and the monitor displays basic metrics, including time, distance, and calories. Despite having a no-frills design, this option still boasts 16 resistance levels, which rivals other, more expensive ellipticals. The handlebars are comfortable to grip and the pedals are large enough to fi multiple foot sizes. It’s also quiet and sturdy.

Potential Flaws

• Like others on our list, this one has a shorter stride length, which isn’t ideal for taller users.
• It doesn’t have a water bottle holder.

Key Specs

Dimensions: 58.1 x 33.9 x 68 inches | Weight Capacity: 330 pounds | Stats Offered: Time, distance, calories, speed, and heart rate | Warranty: 10 years (frame), 2 years (mechanical parts), 1 year (electronics), 90 days (labor) | Our Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Who It’s For

Best for exercisers looking for a small space-friendly machine, or for taller people looking for an elliptical with a longer stride length.

Why We Love It

Unlike other options, Schwinn’s 490 has a flywheel in the front of the machine instead of between the pedals like other options, resulting in a smaller footprint. While more compact than others, it’s stride length actually feels longer than other options we tested, which makes it great for taller users. We also like that you can adjust the resistance and incline from the handlebars and that itt has built-in workout programs that are 8-, 16-, or 30-minutes long. Schwinn’s 490 also comes with a 2-month free JRNY membership that lets you stream additional workouts from your smartphone.

It features 16 resistance levels and a decline/incline option from -5 up to 15 degrees. The elliptical feels sturdy even when we use it on its highest resistance and incline levels.

The pedals are large enough to accommodate different foot shapes and sizes, and there’s a stand for a tablet or phone, which is an added bonus.

Potential Flaws

• The 2-month free JRNY app membership only lets you stream workouts from your smartphone and doesn’t allow you to stream them on your elliptical’s display.
• It’s not easy to figure out how to input your personal data into the machine to get more personalized sats, even though the elliptical claims it offers this feature.