The Best Under-Desk Treadmill

Senior staff writer Kaitlyn Wells has covered everything you need for a home office, including file organization tools, laser printers, paper planners, and standing desks.

For this guide, Kaitlyn researched the differences between traditional and under-desk treadmills, and she considered popular models beloved by influencers. She also scoured fitness blogs to get a variety of takes on the benefits and shortcomings of the desk category. To test these machines, she compiled a team of more than 30 testers with various fitness levels, remote work experience, and body types.

She also spoke with Alicia Flach, a licensed physical therapist and the director of UofSC Rehab Lab, to learn the safest way to use an under-desk treadmill. And she consulted Wirecutter’s fitness writer, Seth Berkman, for this guide.

There’s no denying the benefits of walking. A daily walk can reduce the risk of breast cancer, protect the joints most prone to osteoarthritis, calm some sugary food cravings, and boost the immune system, Harvard Medical School reports. Plus, spending most of the workday sitting increases the chance of dying early for any reason by 16% and of cardiovascular disease by 34%, according to a roughly 13-year study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open in January 2024.

Scary statistics aside, finding time for exercise can feel like a chore. In fact, one in four Americans aren’t getting their hearts pumping, according to a 2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. The reasons are multifaceted—from limited funds and free time to lack of safe open spaces, such as parks. For those stuck indoors, by choice or necessity, an under-desk treadmill (often called a walking pad) makes quick work of adding movement to the day.

An under-desk treadmill looks similar to a traditional treadmill—with a belt and a speed that tops out at the slowest of running paces (usually around 5 miles per hour). But, unlike traditional treadmills, under-desk models don’t typically have folding mechanisms or grab bars, incline settings, or large touchscreens.

The appeal of a walking pad is being able to fit movement into your day while simultaneously completing a few work-related tasks. And since they’re so compact, walking pads can fit comfortably under most desks, or they can be tucked beneath a bed frame when not in use. Thanks to this portability, an under-desk treadmill may stand a better chance of living out its days as gym equipment, rather than turning into a pricey laundry basket.

Until you get the hang of walking while you work, we recommend that you maintain a slow pace and avoid mentally taxing tasks. While using their walking pads, our panelists found it easy to complete less-intensive tasks, such as answering phone calls and emails on their walking pads. Others struggled to juggle drafting long documents, moving between multiple browser tabs, and messaging their colleagues—without holding onto their standing desks for dear life.

We browsed online retailers, read fitness blogs, spoke with friends, and studied fitness-influencer recommendations to compile a list of 24 under-desk treadmills for consideration. We compared features like LED displays, remote controls, mobile apps, handrails, and Bluetooth connectivity. We noted each model’s speed range, belt size, overall dimensions, horsepower, machine weight, weight capacity, warranty, and owner reviews.

Ultimately, we found that under-desk treadmills aren’t decked out with as many features as their traditional counterparts. They don’t offer things like 60-inch belts, adjustable inclines, deck descriptions, and higher running speeds. After all, these walking pads are designed for, well, walking while you work. The fewer distractions and the smaller the footprint, the better. So our established guidelines for picking and testing treadmills often fell short here.

In general, we selected models with longer and wider belts, speed ranges from 0.5 to 4 miles per hour or more, and a mix of onboard features, like a remote control and display screen.

We also ruled out treadmills that weighed more than 70 pounds and were harder for someone to lift solo. We disqualified models that couldn’t accommodate at least 200 pounds, or the average weight of a person assigned male at birth in the United States. And we dismissed any models that had a slew of negative reviews pointing to long-term durability issues.

That left us with eight contenders for group testing:

• Egofit Walker Pro M1
• Goplus 2 in 1 Under Desk Treadmill
• GoYouth 2 in 1 Under Desk Electric Treadmill
• Sperax Walking Pad
• Urevo Strol Lite 2 in 1 Folding Treadmill
• WalkingPad P1 Walking Treadmill
• WalkingPad A1 Pro Walking Treadmill
• WalkingPad C2 Folding Treadmill

Before bringing these models to our panel of testers, we tested the minimum and maximum speeds and onboard features. We also practiced lifting and moving the under-desk treadmills from a desk to a storage area in a basement. And we worked from and walked on these treadmills over two weeks.

More than 30 testers later jogged, walked, and worked on these treadmills at our Long Island City, New York, office over the course of three weeks. They noted each model’s relative ease of use, belt responsiveness, noise level, and overall performance. They let us know if their height, weight, or gait made using the machines easier or more difficult. And they multitasked, walking on these pads while using our standing-desk picks.

Then we used the highest-rated walking pads from group testing for two months. We kept detailed notes on each machine’s performance and contacted customer service if any issues arose. We synthesized our data with an analysis of hundreds of customer reviews to make our picks.

The Goplus 2 in 1 Under Desk Treadmill provides a comfortable and safe ride. But, like all of the under-desk treadmills we tested, it lacks the more-robust features of a traditional treadmill, and its warranty is surprisingly short. This model has collapsible handrails and dual front wheels, so it’s easy to slide under a desk or a bed when not in use.

Setup is a breeze. We unboxed, aligned, and connected this treadmill in under 10 minutes, without any hiccups. Its intuitive remote controls the belt speed, and we found it easy to use.

It has some advanced features. The Goplus walking pad comes with a built-in Bluetooth speaker for streaming music. Bluetooth and streaming capabilities are often found among $2,000 conventional treadmills. But those features are uncommon among the $150 to $500 walking pads—and even a pricey $2,500 under-desk treadmill—we researched. Of the eight models we tested, only the GoYouth 2 in 1 (our also-great pick) and the WalkingPad C2 Folding Treadmill offer Bluetooth connectivity.

The Goplus treadmill also has a phone stand hidden within the collapsible handrail. Other models with handrails, such as the Urevo Strol Lite 2 In 1 Folding Treadmill, do too. But you can use the phone stand only when the handrail is engaged. Still, we think you’re better off keeping a mobile device at your desk and streaming movies or workout videos from a laptop, since that provides a bigger screen for a more-comfortable viewing experience.

It offers a smooth ride. Most panelists thought the Goplus 2 in 1 treadmill offered a fair amount of traction while still allowing them to move seamlessly. And, unlike the WalkingPad models we tested, the Goplus model didn’t start whirring or screeching after three months of regular use. However, the belt did start to shift to the side, like half of the other models we tested. We were able to readjust the belt with the included Allen wrench.

The belt (measuring roughly 40 by 16 inches) offers enough space for most people to walk without feeling cramped at their desk. That said, our tester who weighs around 290 pounds found the belt too narrow to comfortably use. Testers with wide gaits or who wore hefty, foam-soled shoes (such as Brooks or Hokas shoes) had similar complaints.

It’s sturdy. Our testers described this under-desk treadmill with terms like “solid” and “definitely stable,” and they said they felt secure using it while multitasking at their desks. “It has been a game changer for my productivity,” one panelist noted.

It places an emphasis on safety. This walking pad can accelerate up to 7.5 mph, so it’s useful both for walking and for running indoors. But it can surpass 2.5 mph only with the collapsable handrail engaged. The handrail is a bit sticky to unfold. But, unlike that of the Urevo Strol Lite 2 In 1 Folding Treadmill, the Goplus’s handrail remains steady once it’s locked into place, and it comes with a safety string.

It has a weight capacity on a par with that of most rivals. This treadmill can support someone who weighs up to 265 pounds, which is average for the category. Our other pick, the GoYouth 2 in 1 Under Desk Electric Treadmill, can only support up to 220 pounds.

If you need a machine that can hold more weight, we recommend investing in a conventional treadmill, designed to hold at least 300 to 325 pounds. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find many under-desk models with similar capacities. The Sperax Walking Pad we tested supports up to 320 pounds, but it performed poorly during testing, and it had the narrowest belt of the bunch.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• Weighing 70 pounds, the Goplus under-desk treadmill is the heaviest model we tested. But it’s equipped with dual front wheels, which make lifting and sliding the machine easier for those who are comfortable moving such weight.
• The deck’s LED display rotates between calories, distance, speed, and time while you exercise. If you’re impatiently waiting for a specific tracker to appear, this can get annoying.
• The no-frills machine doesn’t feature a cupholder, a fan, or an incline, as traditional treadmills do.
• This walking pad has only a 90-day warranty, while other models offer a one-year warranty. It took days for Goplus’s customer service to respond to email inquiries, but this was the case with most of the under-desk treadmills we tested. But when we described hypothetical performance issues, to gauge the usefulness of its customer service, Goplus proactively sought solutions.

If you have trouble lifting heavy objects, or you don’t plan to run while at your desk, get the GoYouth 2 in 1 Under Desk Electric Treadmill. It’s lighter and more maneuverable, and it has a longer warranty than our top pick, the Goplus 2 in 1 Under Desk Treadmill. But the GoYouth model can’t reach running speeds or support as much weight.

It’s the easiest to maneuver of our picks. This treadmill weighs just 51 pounds—almost 20 pounds less than our top pick. So during testing this model was easy to slide along its dual front wheels from a desk to storage. (Of the treadmills we tested, only the Sperax Walking Pad weighs less, at 45 pounds.)

This under-desk treadmill isn’t designed for running. Like most models we tested, this machine can’t hit running speeds, and it tops out at just 3.7 mph (that’s 3.8 mph slower than our top pick can do).

Still, panelists thought this treadmill provided a comfortable ride. They described the belt as “smooth” and “a little bouncy,” and said it “totally lives up to my expectations.” Some testers slightly preferred walking on the GoYouth treadmill’s belt over the Goplus’s. Although both treadmills offered a smooth ride, several panelists thought the Goplus belt was a tad too heavy underfoot. WalkingPad models with speed limits mirroring that of the GoYouth treadmill felt “clunky” and “hard” underfoot.

It supports less weight than our top pick. Though some marketing materials suggest this walking pad has a weight limit of 300 pounds, customer support confirmed its real weight capacity is 220 pounds. Our top pick can support up to 265 pounds.

As expected for treadmills in this category, long-term durability isn’t guaranteed. The GoYouth treadmill’s belt started to fray after just a couple of months of use. The minimal fraying was normal wear and tear that we could not repair, and it didn’t impact the belt’s performance. And, as with those of other under-desk treadmills, its one-year limited warranty doesn’t cover normal wear and tear (just mechanical defects the manufacturer describes as “non-human factors”).

Most of our testers did not enjoy exercising on the Egofit Walker Pro M1’s short, 34.5-inch belt. They said the belt was stiffer and rotated more slowly than belts on other models we tested, even after several adjustments. And they said they had to take more-frequent breaks, due to this walking pad’s fixed incline.

Despite the Sperax Walking Pad’s bare-bones look, it offered a smoother ride than half of the models we tested. But at 16.5 inches, the belt was the narrowest of the bunch, making it harder for people with wide gaits to use. Plus, the belt shifted after every session, and no amount of tension adjustment helped.

The Urevo Strol Lite 2 In 1 Folding Treadmill offered a smooth ride, but testers said the belt was too loud. No one liked how the handlebars shook during use, and they wished this model came with an emergency pull string, like traditional treadmill models do.

Our testers liked the modern look of the three WalkingPad models we tested: the A1 Pro Walking Treadmill, the C2 Folding Treadmill, and the P1 Walking Treadmill. But they found the automatic mode (which adjusted the walking speed, depending on where they stepped) to be clunky. Sometimes it wasn’t responsive, and other times it jerked too quickly at startup. These models fold in half for better storage, but the belts don’t tuck seamlessly into the frames when folded. Some testers believed that made it easier for the belts to become loose on subsequent walks. And after just a few weeks of use, the treadmills all made worrisome whirring noises, which didn’t quiet after belt adjustments or oiling.

This article was edited by Ben Keough and Erica Ogg.