The Best Folding Treadmills to Run in Any Room

Wellness > Fitness

$2999

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$2699

$1999

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By Heather Mayer Irvine

So you’re looking for the convenience of a treadmill, but don't have the room for it. Or do you? Sure, these gym staples have a large footprint, but thanks to models with folding capabilities, you can reclaim much of your floor space after a heart-pounding workout.

Gayle Goddard, a certified professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy, says it's more common for treadmills to be located in a home office or spare bedroom than a home gym. So it's no surprise that the biggest advantage to a fold-up treadmill is its ability to save space, says Raj Hathiramani, a certified running coach with Mile High Run Club, an indoor treadmill fitness studio in New York City. "And in general, treadmills are effective in helping you get a workout in very conveniently."

A great folding treadmill will give you the workout you need—a brisk walk on a steep incline, a 5K-paced interval session or a long, slow run—without taking up as much precious real estate as a model that doesn't fold. Over the course of several weeks we narrowed down our test pool to two top picks that should fit the needs of most at-home runners. Our in-person testing confirmed that NordicTrack's Commercial 2450 Treadmill and the Horizon Fitness 7.8 AT are the best folding treadmills for small spaces.

$2599 at NordicTrack

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The household name in at-home workout equipment offers an impressive library of classes with a sleek Peloton-like design and folding capabilities.

It was a no-brainer to seek out a NordicTrack treadmill for testing. After all, the brand is known for its at-home fitness equipment, which means it's also not a huge surprise it's our top pick. The Commercial 2450 model has a similar design to the Peloton Tread (which is not a folding model) in its sleek frame; large, vivid monitor; and access to thousands of preprogrammed workouts.

We immediately felt at home on this treadmill. The ride was smooth, with a bouncy belt underfoot. Compared with treadmills like those at a midprice gym, the Commercial 2450 performed much better in terms of stability and smoothness. It outperformed the other units we tested, too, when it came to sleek design, comfort, a pleasant ride and instructor-led workouts.

The transitions in incline and speed are seamless, particularly during preprogrammed workouts that adjust the belt and incline automatically. Like most models, its slow belt adjustment isn't great for workouts with short intervals.

We really like the decline feature, particularly during a preprogrammed workout, to better simulate the featured routes, which include Mirror Lake in Oregon and Mexico City, to name just two of thousands.

Our favorite feature when using the iFit workouts is the Smart Adjust, which not only automatically changes the speed and incline to match the terrain, but also uses your previous workouts to guide the pace. As you get stronger and faster, so will your workouts. (There is an option to opt out of this and use the original workout.)

When it comes to folding this unit, it's easily a one-person job (I’m 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weigh 113 pounds, and I had no issues). That said, the storage latch used to release the treadmill can be a little finicky, and users might need assistance in rolling the treadmill to another location. When folded, the treadmill gives back some floor space, but the deck is stored at an angle so it's not flush with the mast and console.

Setup, as with 75% of the models we tested, was a beast, and it included a FaceTime with tech support to rework a grommet that was poorly placed. It took more than four hours with two people. This is why we highly recommend paying for the white glove delivery and setup—$299 for professional installers to deliver the unit to any room and assemble it.

One thing that fell short of our expectations from a brand like NordicTrack is the ability to quickly adjust speed and incline with a tap of our finger. The buttons are touch-screen-esque and often require you to slow down or hold the crossbar to allow you to successfully engage them. Other models we tested (including our runner-up) have either knobs or handrail buttons for quick adjustments.

To access NordicTrack's massive workout library, you need to register an account and pay for an iFit subscription. (The registration process on the machine was arduous, and we recommend doing it at iFit.com from your phone or computer.) There are three iFit subscription plans: a yearly family plan for up to five users ($396 a year and requires a one-year commitment), a monthly family plan ($39 a month) and a yearly individual plan ($180 a year). If you opt out of the subscription service you’ll have access to a limited number of iFit workouts and still be able to use the treadmill for manual workouts for which you adjust speed, incline and duration.

Although you do not need Wi-Fi access to set up manual workouts, you need a good connection for any of the iFit workouts and including software updates. The machine, like a computer or phone, requires time to boot up and load—something we’re not totally used to when trying to "just run."

The streamlined design doesn't offer much in the way of storage for accessories like your phone or headphones; however, other models seemed to offer more than enough storage with additional, bulky storage bins.

$1999 at Horizon Fitness

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At-your-fingertips speed and incline knob adjustments, and impressive Bluetooth speaker audio.

On paper, the Horizon Fitness 7.8 AT Treadmill could trump the NordicTrack Commercial 2450 Treadmill: It has a higher CHP and a higher max allowable weight. But the 7.8 AT doesn't have a decline or a built-in screen, and the ride isn't as smooth. And while it wasn't the top priority in our testing, it doesn't have the extensive workout library that the NordicTrack offers. That said, we were impressed with the unit overall, and it beat out the other models we researched and tested, making this the second-best pick.

Our favorite part about this treadmill is the handlebar knobs for easy incline and speed adjustment. We’ve never seen this design before, but we’d like to see more of it. The one downside to the knobs is they’re sensitive and you can accidentally bump them. We also love the speakers, which connect to your personal devices via Bluetooth and have impressive sound quality.

Like the other models we tested, this one has a handful of preprogrammed workouts that look like what you’d see on a treadmill in the ’90s, with basic graphics that simply show the hill increasing or decreasing. They’re not customizable and they’re limited, but they include hill workouts and 5K training plans, to name a couple. The console, which bears a resemblance to a spaceship dashboard, doesn't have a monitor, but you can prop up your own phone or tablet to use apps like Peloton, Zwift and Studio. The tablet stand is a little tall for shorter users.

The unit folds and unfolds easily and, with caution, can be rolled away fairly easily by one person. Like the NordicTrack, the Horizon Fitness was a bear to put together. It took more than four hours with two people for the majority of it. Unpacking alone took nearly 45 minutes because of the poor packaging design. Spring for the in-home setup, which costs $299.

The Lifespan TR5500iM Folding Treadmill checked off all our boxes: a max speed of 13.5 mph (faster than comparable models), 13% incline and 2% decline, a max allowable weight of 350 pounds and a 4 CHP motor. Unfortunately, we were not able to get our feet on a model to run it through our testing process, but we have high hopes based on these specs and the company's reputation.

We had plans to test the Bowflex Treadmill 22 after one of our experts told us Bowflex makes an impressive unit. In the end, we opted to test the BXT8J, a newly released, streamlined model from the company instead, which proved to be disappointing. Although the setup was by far the easiest and the quickest (roughly 90 minutes compared with four hours for every other unit), the treadmill left us wanting more in every area.

Although the treadmill goes to 12 mph and offers 15 levels of incline, the ride was shaky on the narrow belt, which measures two inches narrower than the other units we tested. The buttons used for the "quick" speed and incline adjustment actually require you to choose the speed or incline and then hit "enter," which defeats the purpose of the shortcut.

The console, which has a tiny display screen, feels like it's been lifted from the ’90s when Bowflex made a name for itself. The graphics are clunky and hard to follow during a workout. The unit does have 26 preprogrammed workouts, and you can access the JRNY fitness membership for a $149 yearly fee (the first year is free), which offers instructor-led workouts, JRNY radio and Explore the World routes from the Bowflex app. But all these features can only be accessed via your tablet or mobile phone since there is no console screen.

The Xterra Fitness TR150 Folding Treadmill is a lightweight—by treadmill standards—option that has three levels of incline and a max speed of 10 mph, significantly more than comparable units. The max allowable weight is on the low end at 250 pounds and its CHP is just 2.25, which is why we didn't test this model. That said, for people who are looking for a folding treadmill with no frills and a much smaller footprint than the larger, sturdier options, the TR150 has promise. For example, its length while in use is 63.4 inches compared with the NordicTrack, which clocks in at 80 inches. Reviewers indicated this treadmill is an excellent value—a high-quality piece for the price.

As a former Runner's World editor and 20-year veteran of the sport, I’ve met (and run with) a breadth of people in the running community—coaches, marathoners, elite runners, fellow editors and product managers—to understand the latest trends and product designs. Over the years, I’ve tested hundreds of pieces of gear, shoes and equipment, including treadmills.

Although I prefer running outdoors—no matter the weather—I understand the convenience and reliability of a treadmill workout. In my own treadmill experience, I want the ability to simulate an outdoor run (which can be done by increasing the incline, Hathiramani explains) and easily adjust speed and incline. There's nothing worse than being unable to quickly increase or decrease speed during an interval workout on a treadmill. To better understand what to look for when it comes to folding treadmills, specifically, I consulted the aforementioned Goddard and Hathiramani, as well as Hiruni Wijayaratne, a 2:34 marathoner, certified running coach and 10-time Sri Lankan record-holder.

Treadmill sales have exploded since March 2020 when the pandemic forced people into their homes; numbers from mid-2020 show a 170% increase in fitness equipment sales. And unless you are a regular gymgoer, it can be hard to determine what treadmill might be best for you.

Our experts—two running coaches and an organizational expert—weighed in on what to consider when choosing a treadmill, to ensure it's a piece of equipment you’ll actually use.

We understand that if someone is shopping for a folding treadmill, it means space is likely an issue. That said, very streamlined treadmills that can fit under a bed or inside a closet fell short when it came to the most important criteria, per our running experts. The models we tested fold upward and roll away to give back floor space, but they still have a large footprint. (To make the most of your space, hide your folded treadmill behind a door, Goddard suggests.)

And although we did not include "ease of setup" as a criteria in choosing a treadmill, we did assemble the units to determine how easy (or not) it was. All these companies offer white-glove delivery, which includes placing the treadmill in your specified location, assembling the machine and removing the packaging. We highly recommend opting in for this service and saving your energy for your treadmill workout.

To test the features of each unit, we ran similar workouts that included longer, slower distances, quicker speeds to test the belt's stability and the treadmill's ease in switching speeds and where applicable, preprogrammed workouts. Here's what we were looking for.