Having one of the best rowing machines available in your home gym is a guaranteed surefire way to boost your fitness game, helping you improve your endurance, heart health, and calorie burn (among many, many other things).
Compared to a lot of other cardio machines, rowers work your back, core, and shoulders, without burdening your bones and joints or taking up a ton of space.
However, the plethora of rowing machines in the market can often feel overwhelming. There are everything from small, foldable models to water-rowers that are both substantial and really expensive.
If you need low-cost choices, you can buy from us and you will not go wrong, we have the best rowing machines of 2024.
You will find a good and durable rowing machine that will fit well in your home, and you can row vigorously, but buying beginner-friendly rower or top rowers is a perfect option for fitness enthusiasts.
Or if indoor rowing is just not for you, check out our pick of the best exercise bikes to get your sweat on at home.
And please check out our roundup of the best fitness trackers, as well as the fitness tech buying guide.
5 Best Rowing Machines for Your Home Gym
Hydrow Wave Rower — incredibly intuitive interface and high-tech bells & whistles make this our favorite across the board Indeed, from the very first time we put it to use, we noticed its stability: it never budges, rocks, or wobbles.
One of the reasons we loved it so much was the soft-touch feel of the padded seat and rubbery handles. Moreover, the broad, adaptable footrest can fit a wide range of foot and sort of shoes perfectly.
Although we also enjoyed the ultra-smooth rowing experience, we found it helpful to track how hard we were working, the calories we were burning, and more on-screen.
Hydrow has what is a really sleek rowing machine by itself, but what really makes the Wave worth the investment is how they visualize creating beautiful workout videos at higher resolution.
If you are new to rowing and have only done it at the gym, or you are an experienced rower with thousands of hours on the water, this machine provides a great full-body workout, all while you can virtually row anywhere in the world.
✯ Pros:
Extremely stable.
Superior rowing feel.
Fun and useful videos and courses.
✯ Cons:
Pricey subscription.
Non-adjustable screen.
Our favorite for a commercial-grade rowing machine would be the RowErg Indoor Rowing Machine by Concept2.
The smooth flywheel system, combined with adjustable resistance levels allows the ease of customization according to your own fitness stage, making it a nice compact workout.
We also admire the airflow control, which changes the sensation of each stroke, with flexible footboards, a comfortable handle, and a choice of two charge heights, it fits rowers of all ability levels. It assembles too in just 20-30 minutes.
Its screen clearly shows you stats from your current workout, like pace, stroke rate and calories burned.
Under the screen, a built-in device holder sits and will easily cradle your smartphone or tablet.
Put Concept2’s ErgData app, another fitness platform, even Netflix, on constant loop to keep pushing through the session.
The RowErg, however, separates into two pieces and can be stored upright on its built-in wheels to save space.
✯ Pros:
Have customizable resistance.
Built-in device holder.
Two height options is available.
✯ Cons:
Large footprint is available.
From Echelon’s base model rowing machine, the first thing we noticed is the super comfy cushioned seat, adjustable to fit your length, along with the larger than life foot pedals.
The 32 magnetic resistance levels are some of the quietest, and most challenging, we’ve found in the models we’ve tested.
It does without the jumbo high-tech displays found on many a spin bike these days, but we didn’t miss them much.
Instead of a built-in display, it also features a swivel/flip device holder so you can use off-row workouts on your smartphone reign.
✯ Pros:
Wide selection of workouts on the Echelon Fit US app.
Dual two-inch speakers.
Folds for easy storage.
Extra-Large Ergonomic Seat & Adjustable Footrests.
Great price.
✯ Cons:
Limited weight capacity
Streaming classes without a built-in display
If you want a full-featured machine with a slim, space-saving footprint, our top pick is the Echelon Row-S.
It folds in half and can be placed in a closet at the end of a workout, making it useful for apartment dwellers or anyone with limited space.
Its padded seat is very comfortable and fitted with dual water bottle holders, and provides 32 resistance to offer users a real workout.
The Row-S has a 22-inch HD display, which shows a variety of metrics (for example: rowing time, calories burned).
Plus, that screen flips around to face down on the floor for floor workouts with an Echelon FitPass ($12 month) or Echelon Premier Membership ($40 mo).
There is something for everyone with options from scenic rows to live classes and everything in between.
If you love the design and performance of the Peloton Row but are looking for a more space-efficient offering then the Echelon Row-S is a great option.
✯ Pros:
32 resistance levels.
Adjustable screen.
Two water bottle holders.
✯ Cons:
Handles based resistance controls might be a turnoff for some.
Nothing designated for devices.
If you want the performance of the Peloton Row or Echelon Row-S but at a lower price point, the NordicTrack RW900 Rower is hard to beat.
In testing, we found the rowing motions smooth and torque, which makes you feel as if you are actually rowing in the water. It’s also significantly stable, and quiet when used at high speed.
The 22-inch HD screen is also adjustable meaning it can tilt and pivot for a better workout setting.
What It Has: Choose from rowing or running workouts with a wide range of options; an iFit membership ($39 per month) allows access to a library of classes across modalities.
We also like that there is a mixture of shorter, quick sessions and some longer drills at various levels of challenge.
Whether you do split system training or try some of the new home workout routines, you can perform it all with the RW900 and all the necessary features to reach your goals.
✯ Pros:
Stealthy with a little noise under the hardest workout.
Screen tilts for best viewing angles.
Wide range of workouts with a subscription.
✯ Cons:
Less intuitive app interface than some competitors.
Cannot Store Upright or be Collapsible.
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