Today we’re on the hunt for the very best treadmill under £1000 on the market in 2024.
If your budget for your new running machine is around or just under the thousand pound mark, there’s some cracking treadmills up for grabs in this price range. This guide will focus on UK machines and dive into their build quality, feature set and all the other important bits to help you find the very best one for your money.
So sit back and enjoy the guide!
Quick View – The Top Running Machines For Under £1000 in 2024
What we look for when reviewing treadmills
What can you expect to get for your money in the £1000 (ish) range?
Having previously reviewed and rated the top treadmills under £200, and the best running machines for under £500, it was great to be given a higher budget of £1000 for our next round of testing. Stepping up to this higher-budget price range gets you even more in terms of quality, stability and features.
Things we’re looking at in this price range:
- Build quality – £1000 (or thereabouts) is a decent budget for a treadmill and at this price level we’re looking at build quality with a fine-tooth comb. No wobbling, creaking or just flimsy quality.
- Running track – A lot of super-cheap runners will compromise heavily on running track size. For the £1000 range, we want to see a track that’s got at least 48cm width and a stride length that will accommodate even tall runners, without feeling cramped.
- Size – There’s some shall we say ‘compact’ treadmills on the market. In this guide, we want something serious – a real sturdy, good-sized treadmill, with plenty of space to stretch our legs.
- Upper speed – We’re looking for a treadmill with a reasonable upper speed limit – 16km/h – 20km/h range ideally.
- Folding – Although many people won’t be storing their treadmill at this price range, the majority of treadmills we review do still ‘flip up’ – at least providing a bit of space in your gym for other things. We looked at how easy each treadmill was to fold up and store.
- Powered incline – Pushing into the higher-tier treadmills, these machines should all have powered incline that can be adjusted via the console, and during the workout programs.
- Console and display – One thing cheaper treadmills suffer from is very shoddy quality displays. At this price point we looked more closely, with a less-forgiving eye, at the quality of the LCD display. We looked into the info on display, the amount of info on screen at a time, and exactly what was being tracked.
- Live services and online connectivity – While not everyone’s ‘thing’, online connectivity and hooking up your tablet are a huge thing right now with treadmills, so we’ll be looking at how each machine uses this kind of tech.
So, what are the best treadmills up to £1000?
For this respectable budget, expect a really good machine that will be a trusty training partner and last a long time. Here’s the treadmills we found were actually worth the money, starting with the top pick first.
£1000 Treadmill Buyer’s Guide
AKA how not to get stuck with a treadmill you HATE
One of the key staples of fitness is cardiovascular training, and one of the simplest and best ways to get that is running.
But running from home isn’t easy, especially in 2024, with everything going on in the world. This is why sales of home treadmills have spiked in the last few months.
But making the choice can be hard, especially with the sheer variety of options out there. We wrote this guide to help you make an informed choice. Here’s what you need to know.
Why own a treadmill?
There’s a reason treadmills are such an iconic and enduring icon in the fitness world.
They work.
At first glance, treadmills are simple. After all, you just get on them and run, right? But they’re actually a deceptively effective and nuanced piece of training equipment.
Whether you’re using your treadmill to warm up and get your body moving, starting your workout with some light cardio, burning your muscles with intervals, or building endurance with long distance running, almost any goal can benefit from the use of a treadmill.
When we’re looking at treadmills, there are several key criteria that we’re measuring them by, including:
The running deck
A quality running deck is important because it’s the part of the treadmill you’re actually interacting with. So spending a little extra money and getting something decent here is more than worth it, in the long run.
Bigger running decks give you more room and hugely improve overall comfort. Longer running decks give you more forward space and let you take much longer strides without risk of falling off or hitting your feet, and width is mostly a comfort thing, but no one likes running while feeling tightly constrained.
The second thing to consider with running decks is padding, or cushioning. It’s not a secret that long term running can lead to achy joints, and a padded running deck can really help with that, by absorbing some of the impact of every step.
The motor and speed
The motor is what drives everything on the treadmill therefore a more powerful motor means a higher top speed. Most of us aren’t professional athletes, so under most circumstances, you’re not going to need a ridiculously powerful motor, but having the option to push it is always useful. Anything less than around 2hp is generally not good, with some quality treadmills tripling that.
But there’s also another reason for a strong motor, which we discuss in our next point.
Incline and decline
If you’ve never run on a treadmill before, an incline is literally just the treadmill angling itself upwards, like you’re running uphill.
It doesn’t sound like much, but even a relatively gentle 5% incline can quickly start your calves burning. More expensive models will push the incline up to 15-20%, perhaps higher.
Inclines come in manual, meaning you have to set it by hand before jumping on the system, or automatic, where it’s all controlled and powered by the motor. If you want an automatic incline, you’ll need a stronger motor, as the incline puts additional strain on it.
The multimedia options and online training
Lastly, we look at what you can actually do on your new purchase.
We’re not going to lie, for a lot of people, the idea of running on a treadmill for an hour seems quite boring. Because it can be.
Which is why every big brand in the business has begun to embrace virtual or streaming training technology.
Put simply, these let you bring a gym class right into your home, generally to a tablet or TV that’s linked to your treadmill.
This lets your treadmill automatically change settings based on the workout, and also gives you a huge boost of motivation because you’re working out in front of a trainer, and alongside other (virtual) people.
The nice little extras
A couple of super-basic things we like to see on treadmills, that aren’t especially vital – but are handy:
- Somewhere to put your bottle. Even better if there’s two cup holders as the other one can always be used to stash phones, keys and other bits ‘n’ bobs.
- A tablet holder. It’s amazing that otherwise excellent treadmills can often neglect make space for a tablet. A little shelf is always appreciated.
See our guide how to pick a treadmill for more info on getting it right.
Tell us about your treadmill
Got a cool running machine you want to shout about? Please let us know in the comments if you’ve found a good treadmill that’s not mentioned here, or about any of your own experiences with these popular fitness machines.
References & Further Reading
- What’s the best treadmill for under £500?
- Just getting started? Don’t make these treadmill mistakes
- Harvard – Get smart about treadmills
- Spine Health – Advantages and Disadvantages of Treadmill Use for Exercise and Pain Relief
- NCBI – The effect of treadmill-based and track-based walking training on physical fitness in ankle-sprain experienced young people
- NHS – Running for beginners
- Which is better – Treadmill or elliptical?
- Free PDF – Exercise treadmill test
