Best Elliptical 2026: Tested & Ranked for Home Gyms

Quick Answer: The best elliptical in 2026 is the Sole E35 ($1,400) — a 20-inch power stride, a heavy 25 lb flywheel, and a 375 lb weight capacity make it smooth and rock-solid for nearly any user, with no subscription required. The NordicTrack FreeStride Trainer FS14i ($2,000) is the best premium pick thanks to an adjustable stride up to 32 inches, power incline, and iFit guided workouts. For value, the Schwinn 470 ($750) delivers 25 resistance levels and a 20-inch stride for roughly half the price, while the ProForm Carbon EL ($600) is the best true budget choice. For small rooms and HIIT, the compact Bowflex Max Trainer M9 ($1,800) packs the most intensity into the smallest footprint, and the Sole E25 ($1,000) is the best elliptical under $1,000.

An elliptical is the home-gym cardio machine for anyone who wants treadmill-level conditioning without treadmill-level joint stress: your feet never leave the pedals, so there’s no impact on the knees, hips, or lower back. The category sorts mainly by three specs — stride length (how natural the motion feels), flywheel weight (how smooth and steady it is), and whether the stride and incline adjust. We ranked the best of 2026 on those specs plus build quality, console features, and price. Pair a good elliptical with rubber gym flooring to protect your floor and a treadmill or rowing machine if you want to vary your cardio.

Our top picks at a glance

1. Sole E35 — Best Overall

The Sole E35 is the elliptical most home-gym owners should buy. Sole pairs a full 20-inch stride with one of the heaviest flywheels in its class at 25 lb, and that combination is what makes the E35 feel so good underfoot — the long stride lets even tall users move naturally, and the heavy flywheel carries momentum so the pedal stroke is glassy-smooth instead of clunky. The frame is rated to 375 lb, well above most competitors, so it stays dead still when you push the pace. You get 20 resistance levels and an adjustable incline ramp to shift emphasis toward the glutes and hamstrings, plus Bluetooth and a straightforward console that works fully without any paid subscription — a real advantage over the iFit- and JRNY-locked machines. It’s not the cheapest option here and it’s heavy to move once assembled, but for build quality, stride feel, and long-term durability, nothing else at this price matches it. Set it on rubber flooring and it anchors a complete low-impact cardio corner.

2. NordicTrack FreeStride Trainer FS14i — Best Premium

If budget isn’t the constraint, the NordicTrack FreeStride Trainer FS14i is the most versatile cardio machine here. Its defining feature is a floating, rail-free stride that NordicTrack says ranges from roughly 18 to 32 inches depending on how you move — short and steppy for a stair-climber feel, long and flat for a runner’s stride — all on the same machine, which makes it ideal for households where a 5-foot-2 and a 6-foot-3 user share one unit. Add 0–10% power incline and 26 resistance levels that iFit trainers adjust automatically through the 14-inch touchscreen, and a single workout can swing from low-intensity recovery to brutal hill intervals without you touching a button. The trade-offs are price, a large footprint, and an iFit subscription to unlock the guided content (it still runs in manual mode without it). For a do-everything, joint-friendly cardio centerpiece, it’s the standout. Pair it with our best treadmill picks if you want a dedicated runner alongside it.

3. Schwinn 470 — Best Value

The Schwinn 470 is the best value elliptical and the smart pick for anyone who wants a full 20-inch stride without spending four figures. Schwinn gives it 25 levels of micro-adjustable magnetic resistance plus a motorized incline ramp, so you get the same two core tuning tools as machines costing twice as much — the long stride means taller users aren’t cramped the way they are on budget 18-inch units. The dual-track display shows your metrics on one screen and program data on the other, with 29 preset workouts, Bluetooth tracking, USB charging, and a built-in fan. The 300 lb capacity and slightly lighter frame mean it’s not quite as immovable as the Sole E35 under all-out sprints, and the console isn’t a touchscreen, but for the money the feature set is hard to argue with. It’s an easy way to add low-impact cardio to a setup built around adjustable dumbbells and a power rack.

4. ProForm Carbon EL — Best Budget

For shoppers who want a brand-name elliptical without breaking $700, the ProForm Carbon EL is the best budget pick. ProForm fits it with an 18-inch stride, 16 digital resistance levels, and a 10-degree incline ramp — a genuinely useful feature set at this price, and the 325 lb weight capacity is surprisingly high for a budget machine. The 18-inch stride is its main limitation: it suits users up to about 5 feet 9 inches well but feels a touch short for taller athletes, who should stretch to the Schwinn 470 or Sole machines. The console is Bluetooth-enabled with a tablet shelf and ships with a 30-day iFit trial, so you can follow trainer-led sessions before deciding whether to subscribe. It’s lighter and less rigid than the pricier picks, but as an entry into low-impact home cardio it delivers far more than the no-name folding ellipticals in the same price bracket. Lay down protective flooring and it’s a complete starter cardio station.

5. Bowflex Max Trainer M9 — Best for Small Spaces / HIIT

When floor space is the constraint, the Bowflex Max Trainer M9 fits the most cardio into the smallest box. It’s a hybrid that blends the up-and-down motion of a stair-stepper with the smoothness of an elliptical, and Bowflex builds it on a compact frame around 46 by 26 inches — far smaller than a full-size elliptical, so it tucks into apartments and spare-room corners. The tight vertical arc and 20 resistance levels are tuned for high-intensity intervals: short, hard sessions that spike your heart rate fast, guided by the JRNY adaptive coaching on the HD touchscreen. The trade-off is that the stepping motion is steeper and more demanding than a traditional flat stride, so it’s less suited to long, easy zone-2 sessions, and JRNY’s best features need a subscription. But for time-crunched HIIT in a tight room, nothing else here is as efficient. It complements a resistance band and adjustable dumbbell setup for a complete small-space gym.

6. Sole E25 — Best Under $1,000

The Sole E25 is the best elliptical under $1,000 and the pick if you want the Sole feel without the E35’s price. It keeps the thing that matters most — a full 20-inch stride — and pairs it with a 20 lb flywheel, so the motion is still smooth and natural and tall users aren’t cramped, which is unusual at this price where 18-inch strides dominate. The 350 lb weight capacity and heavy frame give it the same planted stability Sole is known for, and like its bigger sibling, the console works completely without a subscription, so there’s no ongoing cost. Compared with the E35 you drop a bit of flywheel weight, a few resistance refinements, and the powered incline, but the core experience is close enough that the savings make sense for many buyers. It’s the value-minded way to get a genuinely good elliptical, and it slots neatly into a complete home gym build alongside your strength gear.

Ellipticals by the numbers

• 20 inches — the stride length that fits most adults, including taller users, without feeling cramped; budget machines often drop to 18 inches, per Sole and Schwinn specs.
• 324 calories — roughly what a 155-pound person burns in 30 minutes of moderate elliptical training, according to Harvard Health; heavier users and harder efforts burn more.
• 25 lb — the flywheel weight on the Sole E35, among the heaviest in its class; a heavier flywheel carries more momentum for a smoother stroke, per Sole.
• 0% impact — your feet never leave the pedals, so the elliptical delivers cardio comparable to a treadmill with far less stress on the knees, hips, and back.

How to choose an elliptical

• Stride length: aim for a 20-inch stride if anyone using it is 5 feet 8 inches or taller; 18 inches is fine for shorter users and budget builds. Adjustable-stride machines suit multi-user households.
• Flywheel weight: heavier flywheels (20–30 lb) carry more momentum and feel smoother. Light budget flywheels can feel jerky at higher resistance.
• Resistance and incline: more resistance levels let you fine-tune effort; a powered incline ramp shifts emphasis to the glutes and hamstrings and adds variety.
• Weight capacity and frame: a higher rated capacity (300–375 lb) usually signals a heavier, more stable frame that won't rock during hard efforts.
• Subscription: Sole consoles work fully offline; NordicTrack (iFit), ProForm (iFit), and Bowflex (JRNY) lock their best guided content behind a paid plan — factor that ongoing cost in.
• Footprint: full-size ellipticals are large (about 6 feet long). For tight rooms, a compact hybrid like the Max Trainer M9 saves real space.

The bottom line

The Sole E35 is the best elliptical of 2026 — a 20-inch stride, a heavy 25 lb flywheel, a 375 lb capacity, and no subscription make it the smoothest, most durable all-rounder for the money. Step up to the NordicTrack FreeStride Trainer FS14i for an adjustable stride, power incline, and iFit coaching, or save with the Schwinn 470, which delivers a full 20-inch stride and 25 resistance levels for about half the price. The ProForm Carbon EL is the best true budget pick, the Bowflex Max Trainer M9 crams the most HIIT into the smallest footprint, and the Sole E25 is the best elliptical under $1,000. Whichever you choose, an elliptical is one piece of a balanced setup — pair it with a treadmill or rowing machine for cardio variety, rubber flooring underneath, and see our full home gym equipment guide to build out the rest.