Best Treadmills for Apartments
Four constraints decide this, and only one of them is noise. Footprint when folded, the stairwell the machine has to arrive through, and what your lease actually says matter just as much.
Morgan Reyes
Fitness Equipment Editor
Last Updated: September 8, 2026
Two guides, different jobs. This page is about the whole apartment constraint set — noise, footprint, delivery and your lease. If your only question is which machines are quietest and why, ourquiet treadmill guidecovers the acoustics in far more detail, including measurements taken in the room below.
In This Guide
Buying a treadmill for an apartment is not mainly a noise problem, though that is the part everyone worries about. It is four problems at once, and the one that ends most purchases is the stairwell — a machine that fits the room perfectly and cannot get into it is still the wrong machine.
1. The Four Constraints, In the Order They Bite
The stairwell and the door. This is the constraint that most often ends a purchase, and it is the one people check last. Treadmills arrive in a single crate, often 6 feet long and 200 to 300 lbs, and unlike flat-packed furniture they cannot be angled through a tight turn. A third-floor walk-up with a half-landing pivot rules out most of the market regardless of anything else. Measure the narrowest point of the route, including the diagonal of any turn, before you look at a single product page.
The neighbour below. Treadmill noise splits into two kinds and they behave completely differently. Airborne noise — the motor, the belt, the fan — is what you hear standing beside the machine and it is largely contained by walls. Structure-borne noise is footfall energy travelling through the frame into the floor slab, and it is what your downstairs neighbour hears. Heavier machines are usually louder beside the deck and quieter downstairs, because mass absorbs impact rather than transmitting it. That inversion catches people out constantly.
Floor space, folded and unfolded. An apartment treadmill usually has to disappear between sessions. What matters is the folded footprint and the fold mechanism, not the advertised "space-saving" label. A machine that technically folds but needs two people and four minutes to do it will simply be left up, at which point its unfolded dimensions are the real ones.
The lease. Many leases contain clauses about exercise equipment, floor loading or noise hours, and some buildings prohibit treadmills outright. This costs nothing to check and occasionally saves a great deal.
2. What the Neighbour Below Actually Hears
The single most useful thing to understand here is that the sound you hear and the sound they hear are produced by different mechanisms and rank machines differently. When we measured beside the deck and in the room below the same machines, the two rankings did not match — the quietest machine at the console was mid-table downstairs, and one of the louder machines beside the deck was among the best below.
The reason is mass and isolation. A heavy frame on good deck isolation absorbs footfall energy internally; a light frame passes it into the floor. Motor noise, which is what dominates the sound beside the machine, barely travels through a concrete or joisted floor at all. So if your concern is the neighbour rather than your own comfort, buy the heavier machine, not the one marketed as quiet.
Three interventions genuinely help, in descending order of effect. A proper rubber treadmill mat, at least 3/4 inch thick, decouples the frame from the floor and is by some distance the most effective thing you can buy. Walking rather than running roughly halves the impact energy at source. And placement matters — over a load-bearing wall rather than mid-span, and never in a corner where the frame can couple into two walls. Ourquiet treadmill guidehas the measurements behind all three.
3. How We Tested for Apartment Use
Every machine here completed our standard protocol first. For this guide we added four apartment-specific assessments. We measured the crate dimensions and assembled weight against a typical apartment delivery route, including a 32-inch doorway and a half-landing turn. We timed the fold and unfold with one person, because that is the realistic case in an apartment. We measured folded footprint rather than trusting the marketing figure. And we recorded sound pressure both beside the deck and in the room directly below, at walking and jogging speeds, with and without a mat.
The mat result was the most decisive finding in the whole test. Across every machine, adding a 3/4-inch rubber mat reduced the level measured downstairs by more than the entire spread between the best and worst machine without one. Put plainly: the mat matters more than the machine. If you take one thing from this page, take that.
The fold-time result was the second. Two machines that fold on paper took over two minutes and real effort with one person, and in an apartment that is the difference between a machine that gets put away and a machine that becomes furniture.
4. The Six Best Treadmills for Apartments
Ranked on the four constraints together. Folded dimensions are our own measurements; fold times are one-person averages over five attempts.
1. Sole F63
Best Overall for Apartments
Hydraulic fold · ~40 x 35 in. folded · heavy frame · no subscription
The F63 wins here for the reason that catches most apartment buyers out: it is one of the heavier folding machines and that is precisely why it is quieter where it counts. Measured beside the deck it is unremarkable. Measured in the room below it was among the best in the group, because the frame mass and deck isolation absorb footfall energy rather than passing it into the slab. The hydraulic fold is the other reason it tops this list — one person, under 30 seconds, no wrestling — which is what determines whether a machine actually gets put away in a small flat. The reservation is delivery: at roughly 250 lbs crated it needs a route that can take it, and a third-floor walk-up with a tight turn will not. Check the stairwell before you check anything else.
What Works
- Frame mass kept downstairs measurements among the lowest in the group
- Hydraulic assist makes the fold a genuine one-person job in under 30 seconds
- No account, app or recurring fee — it simply runs
- Deck cushioning absorbs impact internally rather than passing it to the floor
What Doesn't
- At around 250 lbs it is not going up two flights of stairs easily
- Folded footprint is mid-table rather than genuinely compact
The best downstairs-noise result of any folding machine here, and the easiest fold. Buy it if your delivery route can take it.
2. ProForm Power 995i
Best for Difficult Delivery
Assisted fold · ~38 x 33 in. folded · lightest full treadmill here
This is the machine for the third-floor walk-up. It is the lightest real treadmill here by a clear margin, it folds compactly and quickly, and two reasonably capable people can get it up two flights without a professional delivery. That is a genuinely valuable property and nothing else on this page has it. The cost is acoustic: a light frame is exactly what passes impact into the floor, and our downstairs measurements were the worst in the group. A 3/4-inch rubber mat brought it back to roughly mid-table, which is a strong argument for treating the mat as part of the purchase price rather than an accessory. The deck is also short and the frame moves perceptibly at jogging speed. As a walking and light-jogging machine in a flat you could not otherwise get a treadmill into, it earns its place.
What Works
- Lightest genuine treadmill on this list — two people can manage stairs
- Compact folded footprint that fits behind a door
- Assisted fold is quick and needs no real strength
- Inexpensive enough to treat as a two-year machine if you move often
What Doesn't
- Light frame transmits noticeably more footfall energy to the floor below
- Deck is short and the frame moves at jogging pace
The answer when the stairwell rules everything else out — but budget for a thick mat, because the light frame is loud downstairs.
3. NordicTrack C 700
Best Budget Fold
Assisted fold · ~39 x 36 in. folded · low step-up · basic console
The C 700 is the cheapest sensible route into this category and it does the apartment basics adequately rather than well. The fold is manageable alone, the folded footprint is reasonable, and the low step-up is genuinely useful in a cramped room where you often step on from the side rather than the back. Downstairs measurements were mid-table — better than the light ProForm, well behind the Sole — and it moves at jogging pace in a way that discourages running on it. The 55-inch deck confirms that: this is a walking and light-jogging machine and it is priced accordingly. If your budget is the binding constraint and your use is walking, it is a reasonable buy that will not embarrass itself. If you intend to run, or you share a floor with someone sensitive to noise, spend more.
What Works
- Least expensive machine here by a wide margin
- Assisted fold is manageable alone
- Low step-up height suits a cramped room where you approach from the side
- Simple console with no menus and no subscription pressure to run
What Doesn't
- 55-inch deck is short for anyone much over 5'8"
- Mid-table downstairs noise and a frame that moves at pace
The right pick on a tight budget for a walker in a small flat. Not the machine for a runner or a shared floor.
4. Sole F65
Best If You Will Run
Hydraulic fold · 60 in. deck · heaviest folding machine here
If you want to run rather than walk and you live above someone, this is the machine. It produced the best downstairs measurements in the entire test, and the mechanism is simply mass: the heaviest frame here absorbs the most footfall energy internally. It also carries a full 60-inch deck, which is the specification that makes running comfortable rather than cramped, and it folds hydraulically as easily as the F63 does. The two objections are price and weight. It costs several hundred more than the F63 for advantages a walker will not perceive, and its weight — the source of its acoustic advantage — is the same weight that will defeat a narrow stairwell. Confirm the delivery route and consider paying for room-of-choice delivery. Within those constraints it is the strongest machine on this page.
What Works
- Best downstairs noise result of any machine in the test, mat or no mat
- Full 60-inch deck means you can actually run on it
- Same easy hydraulic fold as the F63
- No subscription and a console that asks nothing
What Doesn't
- The heaviest folding machine here — delivery route is a real consideration
- Costs meaningfully more than the F63 for gains a walker will not notice
The apartment machine for someone who genuinely wants to run. Its weight is the reason it is quiet downstairs and the reason it may not get up your stairs.
5. ProForm Power 1295i
Best Console for the Money
Assisted fold · larger screen · incline to 12% · mid-weight frame
The 1295i sits deliberately in the middle of every axis on this page, which in an apartment is often the right place to be. It is heavy enough that downstairs measurements are acceptable with a mat, light enough that delivery is not the ordeal the Sole F65 can be, and it folds without a struggle. The screen is the largest here outside the NordicTrack and costs considerably less. Incline to 12% is the specification we would point to for apartment use specifically: incline walking gives you most of running's cardiovascular benefit at close to walking's impact, which is exactly the trade a shared floor calls for. The reservation is the same as every iFit-ecosystem machine — the console is built to sell you a subscription and will keep reminding you. The hardware underneath is sound.
What Works
- Largest screen here well below the NordicTrack price
- Incline to 12% supports low-impact incline walking, ideal for shared floors
- Folds assisted and stores reasonably compactly
- Mid-weight frame is a sensible compromise between delivery and noise
What Doesn't
- Console is oriented toward a subscription you will be prompted to buy
- Downstairs noise is average — the mat is doing real work here
The compromise pick: enough weight to be acceptable downstairs, light enough to deliver, with the best screen at the price.
6. NordicTrack C 990
Best Guided Content
Assisted fold · iFit-ready · 60 in. deck · mid-weight frame
The C 990 is a reasonable apartment machine wrapped around a subscription proposition, and how you feel about that determines whether it belongs on your shortlist. The hardware is fine: a full 60-inch deck at a mid-range price, a mid-weight frame that measured better downstairs than the light ProForm, and an assisted fold that works even if it is slower and more effortful than the Sole machines' hydraulic assist. The guided incline-walking content is genuinely well matched to apartment use, where incline walking is the training approach that keeps you on good terms with your neighbours. But without the subscription the console is largely inert, and you are then paying mid-range money for a machine the F63 beats on every apartment-relevant measure. Buy it if you want the classes; otherwise buy the Sole.
What Works
- Full 60-inch deck at a mid-range price
- Guided incline-walking content is well suited to apartment training
- Folds assisted and stands reasonably upright
- Better downstairs result than the lighter ProForm
What Doesn't
- Close to unusable as intended without an iFit subscription
- Fold takes longer than the Sole machines and needs more effort
Worth it only if you will actually use the guided content — the subscription is doing most of the work at this price.
5. When a Walking Pad Is the Better Answer
For a meaningful share of apartment buyers, the right machine is not a treadmill at all. A walking pad — a low, deck-only machine with no upright or handrails — solves the apartment problem almost completely: it arrives in a box one person can carry up stairs, it slides under a bed or sofa, it weighs 60 to 90 lbs rather than 250, and it puts far less energy into the floor.
The trade is real and worth stating plainly. Walking pads top out around 4 mph, have short decks unsuited to running, offer little or no incline, and have no handrails, which makes them a poor choice for anyone who wants support. If your use is walking while working or walking while watching something, they are excellent and the constraints above stop mattering.
Our under-desk treadmill guidecovers the category properly, andwalking pad versus treadmillworks through the decision directly. If you are certain you want to run, skip both and stay on this page.
6. Leases, Hours and Neighbour Management
Read the lease before ordering. Clauses covering exercise equipment, floor loading or quiet hours are common, and a small number of buildings prohibit treadmills outright, usually in older properties with timber floors. It is a five-minute check that occasionally saves an expensive return.
Beyond the paperwork, the practical advice is straightforward. Keep sessions inside ordinary waking hours — a 6 a.m. run above someone's bedroom generates complaints that the same run at 6 p.m. would not. Walking rather than running roughly halves the impact energy, and incline walking gives you most of the cardiovascular benefit of running at close to walking's impact, which makes it the ideal apartment training approach.
If you share a floor with someone, telling them before the machine arrives is disproportionately effective. A neighbour who has been asked is far more tolerant than one who is surprised, and they will tell you what they actually hear, which is information you cannot otherwise get. Ask them to listen while you run the machine at a few speeds, and adjust placement based on what they report rather than what you assume.
7. Setting It Up in a Small Room
Clearance behind the deck is a safety requirement rather than a nicety: it is where you go if you lose your footing, and in a small room the temptation to back the machine against a wall is strong. Leave as much run-off as the room allows and never place a wall, radiator or furniture directly behind the belt.
Ceiling height deserves a check that most people skip. The deck sits 6 to 10 inches off the floor before any incline is applied, and raising the front adds several inches more. Add your height to the deck height, add a few inches for stride, and compare against the ceiling — apartments with 8-foot ceilings and a tall user can run out of headroom on incline. Ourdimensions guidehas the full clearance arithmetic.
Finally, avoid putting the machine on carpet if you can. Carpet fibres are drawn into the motor housing, the pile blocks the ventilation the motor relies on, and a soft base lets the frame shift under load which pulls the belt off centre. If carpet is unavoidable, a rigid mat between the two solves most of it —our guide to treadmills on carpetcovers the specifics.
8. Moving Out, Storage and Resale
Apartment tenancies are shorter than treadmill lifespans, and the machine you buy will probably have to come apart, go down the stairs and go into another building before it wears out. That is worth factoring into the purchase in a way it never is for someone buying for a house.
Two properties matter. The first is whether the machine can be partially disassembled — some fold flat enough at the upright to shed several inches of crate depth, which can be the difference between fitting a lift and not. The second is weight, again: the machine that was difficult to get in will be difficult to get out, and you will be doing it on a moving day rather than with a delivery crew.
Resale is the other half of the arithmetic and it is more favourable than most people expect. Treadmills hold value poorly on paper and sell readily in practice, because the buyer is usually collecting locally and avoiding a delivery problem of their own. Machines from brands with no subscription requirement — Sole in particular — sell noticeably faster second-hand, because the buyer is purchasing hardware rather than inheriting an account. If you expect to move within a few years, that is a real argument for a subscription-free machine. Ourused treadmill checklistcovers what a buyer will inspect, which is also a useful list of what to keep in good order while you own it.
9. Final Recommendations
For most apartment buyers the Sole F63 is the machine: heavy enough to keep footfall out of the floor below, a straightforward one-person hydraulic fold, and no subscription. It is not the smallest thing here, and if it fits your stairwell it is the one to buy.
If the stairwell is the binding constraint, the ProForm Power 995iis the lightest real treadmill here and the only one on this list a determined pair can carry up two flights. If your use is walking rather than running, stop reading about treadmills and buy a walking pad — theunder-desk guidecovers those, and for an apartment they are a genuinely better answer.
Whatever you buy, buy the mat with it. It reduced downstairs noise more than the entire difference between the best and worst machine in our test, and it costs a fraction of any of them.
10. Frequently Asked Questions
Will my downstairs neighbour hear my treadmill?
Some of it, yes, but less than you fear and not the part you expect. What travels is structure-borne footfall energy through the floor, not motor noise. A 3/4-inch rubber mat reduces it more than the entire difference between the quietest and loudest machine we tested, and walking rather than running roughly halves the energy at source.
Are heavier treadmills louder in an apartment?
Beside the deck, often yes. In the room below, usually the opposite. Mass absorbs footfall energy internally instead of transmitting it into the floor, so heavier machines generally measure better downstairs. If your concern is the neighbour rather than your own comfort, buy the heavier machine rather than the one marketed as quiet.
Can a treadmill go up to a third-floor apartment?
Often, but it is the constraint to check first rather than last. Treadmills arrive in one long crate weighing 200 to 300 lbs and cannot be angled through a tight turn. Measure the narrowest point of the route including the diagonal of any landing pivot, and confirm whether the delivery service will carry above ground level — many will not above a stated weight.
Does a treadmill mat actually make a difference?
It was the single most effective intervention in our whole test. Across every machine, a 3/4-inch rubber mat reduced the level measured in the room below by more than the entire spread between the best and worst machine without one. It also protects the floor and stops the frame walking. Treat it as part of the purchase, not an accessory.
Is my apartment floor strong enough for a treadmill?
Almost certainly. A 300 lb machine plus a 250 lb user is around 550 lbs spread across four feet, which is comparable to a loaded bookcase and well inside normal residential floor capacity. What matters more is that the surface is solid and level — a treadmill on thick carpet shifts under load and pulls the belt off centre.
Should I buy a walking pad instead?
If your use is walking rather than running, probably yes. Walking pads weigh 60 to 90 lbs, arrive in a box one person can carry upstairs, slide under furniture and put far less energy into the floor. The trade is no handrails, little incline, a short deck and a top speed around 4 mph. For walking while working they are the better apartment answer.
Common Mistakes Buying a Treadmill for an Apartment
The first of these ends more purchases than the other three combined, and it is the one people check last.
Measuring the room but not the route
A treadmill arrives as one 6-foot crate weighing 200 to 300 lbs and cannot be angled around a tight landing the way flat-packed furniture can. Measure the narrowest point of the whole route, including the diagonal of any turn, and confirm the delivery service will carry above ground level. Do this before you shortlist anything.
Buying the machine marketed as quiet
Marketing measures noise beside the deck, which is airborne motor and belt noise and is not what travels through a floor. Your neighbour hears structure-borne footfall energy, and heavier machines generally do better on that despite being louder at the console. The two rankings did not match in our testing.
Treating the mat as optional
A 3/4-inch rubber mat cut our downstairs measurements by more than the entire difference between the best and worst machine in the test. It is the cheapest and most effective thing you can do about apartment noise, and it also protects the floor and stops the frame walking under load. Buy it at the same time as the treadmill.
Not checking the lease
Clauses covering exercise equipment, floor loading and quiet hours are common, and a small number of buildings — usually older ones with timber floors — prohibit treadmills outright. It is a five-minute read that occasionally saves an expensive return and an awkward conversation with a building manager.
Related Apartment & Space Guides
The Bottom Line
Check the stairwell first, buy the mat second, and choose the heavier machine if you share a floor. The Sole F63 is the best all-round apartment treadmill; the ProForm Power 995i is the answer when the delivery route rules everything else out.
Walking rather than running? Awalking padsolves the apartment problem almost completely. Worried specifically about noise? Thequiet treadmill guidehas the measurements.