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A full-body workout, a quality cardio machine and a price tag at or under $1,000? Yes, please! Gone are the days when you had to dip into your savings account to secure quality home workout equipment. Thanks to advances in technology and manufacturing, you can house one of the best budget rowing machines in your living room without sweating over the cost.
Budget-Friendly Rowing Machines - Our Top Picks
- Best Overall: Echelon Row Connected Rowing Machine
- Best Foldable Rowing Machine: Aviron Impact Series Rower
- Best Budget Magnetic Resistance Machine: Nordictrack RW700
- Best Budget Rowing Machine With iFIT: ProForm 750R Rower
- Best Budget Water Rowing Machine: Sunny Health Obsidian Surge 500
- Best Rowing Machine Under $500: Sunny Health Dual Function Rowing Machine
Our ACTIVE Reviews Team tested more than a dozen indoor rowing machines to find the best for your buck. We assessed the overall rowing experience and looked for high-quality features to determine our top picks for budget-friendly equipment.
Why Trust Us?
ACTIVE.com's editorial team relies on the knowledge and experience of fitness and wellness experts including competitive athletes, coaches, physical therapists, nutritionists, and certified trainers. This helps us ensure the products we feature are of the highest standard. Collectively, the team has spent countless hours researching equipment, gear, and recovery tools in order to create the most accurate, authentic content for our readers. Customer satisfaction is also a key part of our review process, which is why we only feature products that are highly rated.
Best Overall - Echelon Row Connected Rowing Machine
Rowing is increasing in popularity as a way to hit a lot of big checkmarks in a single activity, from strengthening your back and legs to fortifying your heart. The only big drawback is that unlike a trail run or spin class, it tends to be a pretty boring, lonely activity. The Echelon Fit Connected rower tackles this problem by pairing with your own phone or tablet, to join live or on-demand classes, tap into a music library of over 20 million songs, or even pull your way along scenic paddles around the world.
Though it comes in under $1000, the Fit Connected rowing machine hits several check marks of higher-end machines, and in some cases surpasses them. One is in noisiness, or lack thereof. This is one of the quietest rowers on the market, and could be used without risk of waking up anyone in the house. While solidly built, it’s also very easy to assemble and store, unlike some rowing machines that seem to assume you live in a spacious CrossFit gym. One more big plus: you can control resistance with your thumbs on the handlebar, instead of having to uncomfortably reach all the way to the flywheel down by your feet!
What We Love
- Hundred of interactive and music-driven rowing experiences in-app
- Works without app as a simple rower
- Easy to assemble, adjust, and store
BUY: Echelon Row Connected Rowing Machine
Best Foldable Rowing Machine - Aviron Impact Series Rower
It folds, it’s lightweight, and it’s on wheels—these features make the Aviron Impact Series Rower ideal if you have to do your cardio workout in a small space. The easy fold-up aluminum and steel rail means you can tuck it away when not in use to save room in your home gym, made especially easy thanks to the machine weighing less than 100 pounds.
Beyond that you get a lot out of this space-saving home rowing machine: a wide range of interactive workouts with Aviron's membership plan streamed via the 22-inch HD touchscreen, a 397-pound weight capacity, a 10-year warranty on the frame. This high-impact rower uses a combination of air resistance to mimic the drag on the water and magnetic resistance for torque. Lastly, the seat on the Aviron Impact is ergonomic for extra comfort during longer rows.
What We Love
- Unique folding design and wheels
- Interactive HD touchscreen
- 500+ workouts across 8 categories with membership
BUY: Aviron Impact Series Rower
Best Budget Magnetic Rowing Machine - NordicTrack RW700
NordicTrack has plenty of cardio machines to offer—including bikes, ellipticals, and treadmills—so it's not surprising that they also have top-of-the-line, connected rowers as well. The NordicTrack RW700 uses 26 levels of adjustable Silent Magnetic Resistance, which means it’s a quieter workout than many air-resistance rowers. Also, magnetic resistance tends to need less maintenance than other machines. This resistance can be controlled by you when using the 10-inch HD touchscreen, or adjusted by your trainer using the AutoAdjust feature during one of the many workouts offered with the integrated iFIT app. You will get a 30-day iFIT trial with purchase. Additionally, the RW700 has an ergonomic, molded seat and handles, as well as oversized, adjustable foot pedals with a velcro strap that has a quick-release function.
What We Love
- 26 levels of Silent Magnetic Resistance
- 30-day iFIT trial included with purchase
- 10" rotating HD touchscreen
Best Budget Rowing Machine With iFIT - ProForm 750R Rower
We love interactive programming, but we know the price tag isn’t always budget friendly. That's not the case with the ProForm 750R Rower, which is iFIT-compatible and priced under $1,000. You still get all the perks of interactive programming but at a more affordable price. How? The 750R doesn’t have the large display other high-end rowers have. Instead, you can utilize your own tablet or smart device with Bluetooth connectivity to stream iFIT.
The foldable rower features 24 levels of digitally adjustable magnetic resistance. And if you’re unsure how to tinker with the intensity levels, don’t sweat it. With iFIT, a coach can take the wheel and adjust the machine’s resistance for you. Just note that without a continued iFIT subscription, you won’t even have simple pre-programmed workouts to follow on the five-inch display screen. However, the display will still track stats like time, distance and estimated calories burned.
What We Love
- Compatibility with iFIT (and 30-day free trial)
- 24 levels of adjustable magnetic resistance
- Foldable design
Best Budget Water Rowing Machine - Sunny Health & Fitness Obsidian Surge 500 Water Rowing Machine
If a water rower is appealing to you but the typical four-figure price tag of one isn’t, we like the Sunny Health & Fitness Obsidian Surge 500. It's budget-friendly, coming in under $500 on Amazon when most water rowers will cost you two to three times as much. And like all water rowers, Obsidian’s resistance will adjust based on how hard you’re pulling. However, you can also manually change resistance by adding or removing water from the tank.
This machine features a light but sturdy steel construction that boasts a weight capacity of up to 300 pounds. On the LCD monitor, you get fitness tracking that covers the most clutch metrics, like time and strokes, and wheels make transport easy for upright storage. Keep in mind, though, that water rowers might require more maintenance than a magnetic rowing machine.
What We Love
- Water rowing simulates real-word experience
- Priced under $500
- Can be stored vertically
BUY: Sunny Health & Fitness Obsidian Surge 500 Water Rowing Machine
Best Rowing Machine Under $500 - Sunny Health & Fitness Dual Function Rowing Machine
Another quality rower from Sunny Health & Fitness, the Dual Function Rowing Machine is an excellent option for rowing newcomers or cross-training exercisers who want to add an upper-body workout to their training regimen. The "dual function" of this rowing machine is its ability to stand on the footplates near the front allowing your body weight to hold the frame down while you use the corded handle to perform biceps, shoulders, and back exercises. While this rower may be light on smart features, it has everything you need for a dynamic workout, including magnetic resistance, a digital display monitor, and a comfortable seat. Plus, when not in use, the machine conveniently folds and wheels away for easy storage in the home.
This machine is just under $300, so we weren’t too surprised at the 275-pound weight capacity (machines with higher capacity cost more due to sturdier construction). Still, if you want to dip your toe in the water or vary your resistance training, this is a great machine to get you started.
What We Love
- Very affordable at just under $300
- 8 digital resistance levels
- Folds for storage
BUY: Sunny Health & Fitness Dual Function Rowing Machine
Budget Rowing Machine Factors to Consider
There are so many distinctions you can make from rower to rower. When it comes to a budget-friendly machine, you want to know that you can still get in a great workout without draining your bank account. Expensive models aren’t the only ones to have features like durable steel frames, interactive programming and adjustable resistance.
But just like affordable treadmills and ellipticals, budget rowers do have to make some sacrifices to keep prices low. So how do you know if you’re buying the right one? Here are some considerations that might help.
Resistance
Air, water, magnetic—nope, these aren’t reinvented Zodiac elements but rather types of resistance for a rower. Here’s what you need to know about each:
- Air rowers use a flywheel, and your resistance relies on how hard you pull. The faster and quicker your intervals, the more resistance you’ll stimulate. Air rowers do a decent job replicating the "real" rowing action, although they are louder than other resistance types.
- Magnetic rowers typically use rotating magnets to create resistance, which can be adjusted digitally. The zero-friction system makes rowing smooth and near-silent.
- Water rowers use paddles that churn through a water tank. Like an air rower, the harder you pull, the greater the resistance.
Also, you might want to consider whether a machine has adjustable levels of magnetic resistance. For some people, magnetic rowers tend to be better because they allow you to pick the resistance, whereas water and air machines rely on how hard you’re working.
Ergonomics
Rowers are fantastic for low-impact exercise that works upper body and lower body muscle groups through full range of motion. However, being in a seated position for a long time could take a toll on you if you pick uncomfortable home gym equipment. That’s why the ergonomics matter.
Check out the seat and handlebar for ergonomic shaping; some people may prefer a padded seat for added comfort. Also, look at the footrests—there should be some comfortable foot straps to keep you in place and provide stability during your workout. Lastly, examine the slide rail. The rail length matters, especially if you are taller. Brands often list on the description what inseam length the rail is best for.
Durability
There are several things to look at when taking into account the durability of fitness equipment. First, you need to make sure the indoor rower can accommodate the user weight of anyone using it by checking the weight capacity. Secondly, what materials are used in the actual construction of the rower? If there is a lot of plastic, it may not hold up as well as machines that use steel.
Lastly, as you should ask with any exercise equipment, what is the warranty? If it’s a year or less, think twice before investing a lot of money into the machine.
Programming
What kind of programming do you need? Some people can just hop on a rower and go for 20-30 minutes, getting everything they need from steady-state cardiovascular exercise. Others like having a program to follow, and others actually want a trainer to push them. Knowing how to use a rowing machine to meet your fitness goals is important.
Thanks to technology, you have options. Many rowers today come with built-in workouts to guide you as you exercise. And some of the best rowers have fancy LCD screens and even digital monitors with personal trainer-led programs to help you reach your goals. You can find programming that has live and on-demand classes, HIIT options and more for your rowing workout.
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