Buying the best treadmill for your home gym 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) 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 prices, and it can be hard to know what’s really worth splurging on. To help you narrow your search, we tested all the treads below, seeing how they held up through countless long-distance runs, hill workouts, and sprinting intervals. Our top picks are the NordicTrack Commercial 1750 ($1,999) and the Aviron Victory Treadmill ($2,599), but we have many more below.
Here’s what you should keep in mind as you shop. Is a garage treadmill too much for you? You might want to consider our guide to the Best Walking Pads instead. And don’t forget to check out the rest of our health and fitness buying guides, like the Best Fitness Trackers and the Best Smart Scales.
Updated June 2025: We added the Aviron Victory Treadmill and the Wahoo Fitness Kickr Run. We also updated links and prices.
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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.
