The 10 Best Elliptical Machine Under 500 in 2024

Last Updated on July 2, 2024 by Justin Harris

When it comes to workout machines, staying within the budget is challenging. Even the affordable ones are kind of pricey for many. So, people tend to think a lot before buying a workout machine, and rightly so. Among all the workout machines, one of the safest for all ages to work out has to be the elliptical machine. It is easy to exercise on and not harmful to the joints.

Keeping the elliptical machine price and user comfort in mind, we present you with a detailed Best Elliptical Machine Under 500 list. Though these are all under $500, the quality is pretty high for you to use them daily. These can tackle all the vigorous use by multiple exercisers a day. These are machines that are worth all the money spent.

Reviews of the 10 Best Elliptical Machines Under 500

Now, talking about the features, the limited price didn’t compromise the features at all. But these are not where you are going to get the most advanced features. That will be too much to demand. But, when it comes to essential features, each one of them has plenty, and any person can make do with it very well.

It will well fulfill the purpose of staying fit and motivate daily exercising at home. What are our ten picks; allow us to unveil them one by one.

1. Cubii JR1 Seated Under Desk Elliptical Machine

If something here feels similar to you, then you are right. We started our discussion with a Cubii under-desk elliptical. And that one and this one are pretty much the same with a big difference.

It is a mini elliptical to burn calories, boost energy, and lose weight while you sit and chat, work, or rest. You are doing some crazy footwork by striding the foot pedals that can be moved in eight different resistances.

Now let’s come to the big difference. The previous one had no monitor to check your progress. Instead, it synced with devices. But this one flaunts a digital monitor and tracks burned calories, distance, the number of strides pedaled, and so forth.

You might be wondering whether striding while sitting will do nothing, so let us clear the misconception. The amount of time you can pedal this elliptical without even realizing the time makes it five times better in burning energy and calories.

2. Sunny Health & Fitness Magnetic Elliptical Trainer

SF-E3912 is a heavy-duty performance, low-impact cardio magnetic elliptical trainer with a heavy-duty steel frame. It has a weight capacity of 330 lbs and a stride length of 15.5 inches.

The elliptical machine boasts 16 resistance levels and 24 pre-programmed fitness custom workout profiles. So, with the former, you are continuously changing the resistance level to increase the challenge of striding, and when it’s a lazy day, you are staying low in resistance.

The latter lets you customize your workout, manually set goals and workout routine, and help reach your desired fitness level. The backlit display performance monitor shows you the precise results of the calories you burned, heart rate, the distance you covered, speed, RPM, and a lot more.

You have two sets of handlebars. One set is stationary with pulse sensors, and the other pair moves, apt for upper body exercise and great for the arms. Your feet are at ease on the large textured non-slip foot pedals.

3. ANCHEER Magnetic Elliptical Exercise Machines

Not satisfied with all these eight-level resistances in elliptical trainers, the Ancheer elliptical machine has one with ten magnetic resistances. Eight is good, but ten is better, of course. It has a better weight capacity as well, which is 390lbs.

The 15lbs magnetic flywheel has a large magnet positioned right next to it. Thus the challenging resistance levels and quiet stride motion. You can stride the elliptical both in forward and reverse motion. There will be no change in smoothness.

It has a heavy-duty flywheel with a quiet drive system. The advanced magnetic brake system and belt-drive mechanism make it really quiet even at high resistance. Thus great to not interrupt others in the family while one is exercising on the elliptical.

You have the anti-slip handlebars and the ones with pulse sensors too. Then there are the extra-large textured foot pedals. You are safely attempting 15.5 inches of stride every single time. If you do not want to miss your workout progress, keep a close eye on the top LCD monitor. From heart rate, and burned calories to RPM, distance, and speed, the monitor records every info.

4. Cubii Pro Seated Under Desk Elliptical Machine

Working out and burning calories when you are resting or working. It sounds weird, but this under-desk elliptical machine does exactly that. You have a pair of foot pedals to push and stride, so you can start striding anytime, anywhere, in any situation you are into.

This elliptical has eight different resistance levels, so if you are busy on your office project, you can stride at low resistance, fully concentrating on your work, and when you are seriously into the workout, you can set the resistance high. Even at high resistance, it remains a low-impact elliptical machine. So no matter what, you are not going to hurt your joints.

It has big textured foot pedals, so your feet will not slip when not focusing. Neither makes a loud noise for you to feel disturbed while reading your favorite book or working at the office. So, you can enjoy an uninterrupted silent workout.

Though it doesn’t have handlebars or monitors, you can sync it with any of your smart devices through the Cubii mobile app. You can burn up to 125 calories per hour, and how much you have burned and how much distance you covered, you can check on your mobile.

5. ANCHEER Magnetic Capacity Elliptical Machine

Searching for a quiet, durable, stable elliptical, try this one. This elliptical machine has tubular steel built, a wide base, and a friction-free linkage system. Hence, it will last you for years, tackle rough workouts, and you can continue working out even if all are sleeping in the next room.

It supports a massive weight of 350 lbs and works on both your upper and lower body. The 13-inch reverse-motion pedals are large, have ridges, and ensure smooth and effortless strides. And then you have the handlebars, both the full motion and the stationary ones, with pulse sensors.

Though it has a built-in effective inertia-enhanced flywheel at the back, it is compact and has a smooth design. The high inertia plays its part in quiet and smooth strides as well. The LCD screen, like all other ellipticals, displays your workout progress.

With this machine, you can exercise at eight different resistance levels. You can keep it low as a beginner or during lazy days and increase the level and escalate the challenge yourself in later days. You will have a challenging workout session at its high resistance level, but that will have minimal impact on your joints.

6. Sunny Health & Fitness SF-E3919 Elliptical

We have another Sunny Health & Fitness elliptical for you. The previous one had the flywheel at the back. And this one at the front. The potent 14lbs inertia-ready flywheel offers varied challenges with its eight levels of magnetic resistance.

The tension control knob is right beneath the performance monitor. Change the level according to your comfort and hold one of the two sets of handlebars for a full-body workout. The monitor shows speed, distance, RPM, burned calories, and heart rate in detail.

Make sure you are holding the stationary bars, which have pulse sensors to check your heart rate. The more your heart rate is, the better you are burning calories. However, do not overdo it; keep a check on the heart rate, notice anything odd, and stop. The best use of pulse sensors comes when you are cautious.

The elliptical machine lets you climb to a vertical height of 9 inches and stride 6 inches of horizontal distance. The climb and step combo amalgamates into one intense movement, which burns calories like no other.

7. Body Power StepTrac BST800 Elliptical Stepper

Body Power StepTrac BST800 Elliptical Stepper boasts a one of its kind technology, known as the curve-crank tech. The bar that joins the foot pedals to the elliptical base is a little curved and has an X-axis and a Y-axis. Thus, there is no pedal-dead zone.

Your continuous pedaling applies tension to both axes resulting in smooth pedaling without affecting your joints. The low-impact elliptical turns into a trainer that puts lower impact and is extremely gentle on the joints. But you are benefiting as if you have run half an hour.

It excels in combining the two different movements. One, your feet are mimicking a gesture of circular motion, and two, you are stepping on. So, your body is moving back and forth and up and down as well.

This vertical climber has moving handlebars, handlebars with pulse sensors, a sleek-looking LCD screen, a pair of large foot pedals, with ridges and non-slip, and a weight capacity of 250lbs. Challenge yourself with its eight levels of resistance and burn a fair amount of calories within minutes.

8. EFITMENT Magnetic Elliptical Machine

This one is an elliptical for small apartments and tight spaces. Very compact yet fully featured. It ensures a total body workout but with a low impact on the joints, which is basically what an elliptical trainer is all about. For the ultimate cardiovascular endurance, respiratory endurance, and fat burning, it’s perfect.

The machine has a 220lbs weight capacity and has a quiet belt-driven flywheel. You can challenge yourself with eight resistance levels. The levels start from warm-up and turn very intense at higher levels to improve your endurance and work on your body and muscles.

It ticks the boxes of having two sets of handlebars, both moving ones for arm exercise and stationary ones with pulse sensors, and the large foot pedals with non-slip ridges. There is your monitor as well for tracking the calories burned, pulse rate, distance, speed, and more.

Want to continue watching your favorite program; place the device on the tablet and phone holder, and continue watching while burning a good amount of calories. It’s a compact machine; thus, an 11” stride length is pretty understandable.

9. SNODE Magnetic Elliptical Trainer

This elliptical is a heavy-duty trainer with a magnetic control flywheel with 22 lbs inertial weight and cross crank. The cross crank ensures better stability and long-lasting performance. And the flywheel assures your every stride goes smooth, quiet, and comfortable.

It has eight different levels of resistance. The first two are apt for warm-up, and the last two levels are for muscle-stabilizing. With the levels in between, you can work on shaping your body and improving your endurance level.

The full-motion handlebars are comfy to grip and work on your upper body, and the stationary handlebars have pulse sensors on them. Its foot pedals are, as usual, large and have ridges on them for keeping the feet in place during vigorous strides.

Keep a check on your progress and plan your workout routine through the digital monitor. The distance, speed, time, pulse, and burned calories, monitor tracks and records it all.

10. Schwinn A40 Compact Elliptical Machine

This one is the quintessential elliptical machine with all the essential features. Let’s start with its high-speed, high-inertia perimeter-weighted flywheel. It’s a flywheel that ensures a smooth and quiet workout even at high resistance levels.

See More: Best Elliptical for a Short Person here.

Coming to the resistance, you have eight levels. The first few are for warm-ups, and the last ones are pretty intense for working on your muscles. Depending on your requirements, the mood of that particular day, and your skill level, you can adjust the resistance.

It has a proper console including speakers and LCD window, fully loaded for controlling the whole machine. It is pretty advanced compared to others in our compilation. You have six preset programs and one quick start to shuffle up your workout routine. Other than that, you can check your RPM, speed, and burned calories, basically a total of eight display readings on the monitor.

It boasts of a 17.5” stride with Precision Path Foot Motion Technology. There is a water bottle holder, fully motioned handlebars, fixed bars with pulse sensors, large articulating foot pedals, basically everything that an elliptical needs to have.

Elliptical Machine Under 500 – Buying Guide

In an elliptical machine within $500, you can get plenty of features. But what you must specifically consider when deciding to buy one, let’s discuss in detail right below.

Sturdy

Whenever it is about a total body low-impact workout, there is no alternative to a sturdy, stable machine. Features can be less, but a robust build is a must. When the elliptical is sturdy, it will automatically be stable, won’t wobble, and leave less impact on your joints. It will resist high-intensity workouts well, last longer, and no matter how vigorously and regularly you exercise on it, it will tackle the rough use and not make you fall and leave you injured.

Flywheel

The smooth, quiet performance and resistance levels in an elliptical all come with a flywheel, the components, and the mechanism. Some also get confused about whether to go for a front-drive flywheel or a rear-drive one. Both have their upsides and downsides, but the front-drive flywheel makes the elliptical more inclined. Thus harder to pedal than the rear ones. Hence, if you are suffering too much from joint pain and want the easier of the two, go for the rear-drive flywheel. Otherwise, an elliptical with a front-drive flywheel is best to use.

Resistance

As you have already noticed, ellipticals under 500 easily have at least eight resistance levels. Some have more, but eight is the most standard. So, do not go for less, as you are going to work out using it for years. The intensity levels will keep it relevant for you when you are no longer a beginner or injured.

Tracking Progress

You must always know what you are doing on the machine. For that, you will need a monitor that tracks the distance, speed, burned calories, and so on. It doesn’t have to be an advanced LCD monitor. If it is, then great, but a basic LCD monitor showing accurate results will be more than enough. It must show precise info about your progress and be easy to read too.

Handlebars And Foot Pedals

When it comes to foot pedals, they should be large, textured, and non-slip. Your feet are doing most of the work, so they must remain at ease while pedaling. The stride must be smooth as well, but that’s related to the flywheel and a little bit to the pedal construction as well, thus the reason to mention it.

And about handlebars, you know, you can get both sets, and both are equally essential to have in an elliptical. Arm exercise is crucial too. Thus the a need for moving bars. And to track the heart rate, you need the fixed ones, of course, with integrated pulse sensors.

Space-Saving Design

An elliptical machine under 500 will mostly be for home use. So, it is vital to measure the space you have at your home and whether the elliptical you are aiming to buy will fit there or not. Even if you have space at home, it is always better to choose an elliptical that has a space-saving design.

It will keep the room spacious and have an open workout ambiance. Also, make sure the machine is easy to move around. You might not always enjoy working out in the same room, and then you have to store it as well.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)

What Is An Elliptical Machine?

An elliptical machine is a stationary workout machine that simulates pedaling a cycle. But here, the pedals are larger and have way higher stride lengths. It is a machine with handlebars and foot pedals. One just needs to hold the handlebars and pedal in a circular motion.

With it, you can mimic stair climbing, walking, and even running. Doing those in real life has a high impact on your joints, but mimicking those in an elliptical has a low to zero effect. So, an elliptical machine is something that allows a total body workout without any impact.

How Is An Elliptical Different From A Treadmill?

A treadmill is for running, with no holding of handlebars, is tough to do, and is not too safe for people who are suffering injuries. On the other hand, an elliptical or a cross trainer is way easier on your body, and perfect for injured people. Elderly people should work out. You are safely doing a total body workout, better and safer than running outside or running on a treadmill.

Why Do I Need An Elliptical Machine?

Elliptical machines are not going to provide the same result as running on a treadmill or running outside. But if you have joint pain, want a safe workout session, or are too laid back to take the challenge of running, there is nothing better than an elliptical machine. With very minimal effort, you can keep your body active, even burning calories and losing weight.

Can I Lose Weight With An Elliptical Machine?

A total body workout will, of course, help to lose weight. Elliptical trainers also work on your belly fat. Exercise on an elliptical means you are doing cardio. You are moving your legs, arms, hips, basically both lower and upper body. Eat healthy, and timely, and continue working out on an elliptical for half an hour regularly; you will start losing weight soon.

I Don’t Think Under $500 Elliptical Is Safe To Use, Is It?

If you thought Under $500 Elliptical trainers were not safe, you are not entirely right. You will have to choose the right kind for under $500. Affordable stuff should be bought way more carefully because the chances are there for the quality to be compromised.

Take any of the above ten ellipticals into consideration; they are super safe for vigorous workouts. Even the resistance levels are limited. These have certain resistance levels because only those amounts the machines could tackle. So, no, elliptical machines under $500 are not necessarily low quality and unsafe. The reliable ones are more than safe and last for years.

Is Working Out On An Elliptical Machine Equivalent To a Half-Hour Walk?

Yes, it is. Rather than managing half an hour and taking the risk of walking on uneven roads and affecting your joints, it’s better to stride on your elliptical for 10 minutes straight. The result will be the same on your body, but the effect will be way less when you do it on an elliptical.

What Features Should I Expect From An Elliptical Under $500?

A potent flywheel that ensures a smooth, uninterrupted operation, both types of handles, fixed and moving, large foot pedals, a few resistant levels for making it challenging, and a monitor that tracks and shows the progress, these are all you need in an elliptical and must expect from the one under $500.

Final Words

Rather than suddenly purchasing a random elliptical machine, it’s always better to know what you are spending on. We understand that you want to know as much info as possible, especially the prime but essential ones. So, our discussion was pretty much about the basics but beneficial features of all these elliptical machines.

Also, elliptical machines, which are more on the affordable side, are tricky to buy. No one knows how good quality those are. Our picks in the above discussion on Best Elliptical Machine Under 500 are all great considering their budget. And we can bet on that.

But our satisfaction or opinion is not enough, do your research, and match your requirements with the design, build, and features of the elliptical machines. Only then buy your one. Staying healthy is always good, but it’s better to do it the safe way and with safe tools.

You May Also Like

• Best Elliptical Under 600
• Best Elliptical Under 1500
• Best Elliptical for Short Person
• Best Elliptical Machine Under 1000
• How to Choose the Right Elliptical Machine