19 of the best cross trainers for runners to buy in 2024

This is so much more than a cross trainer — it’s also a personal trainer and your own mini gym right in your own home. It includes access to trainer-led workouts courtesy of iFIT, with automatically adjusting resistance and incline — clever stuff.

Complete with speakers, fan, touchscreen and wheels so you can easily move it around your home, plus the cushioned pedals are a nice touch.

This top-rated cross trainer is incredibly quiet, has eight different resistance levels and has wheels so you can easily roll it away once you’ve finished your workout.

There’s even a tablet holder so you can sesh Netflix while you sweat. Check the voucher box to save £30 today.

We’re big fans of this space-saving design. With a 46cm stride length and compact console, it’s ideal for those who don’t have a room dedicated to fitness (just us?) and want to tuck their cross trainer away in a corner.

It has 16 levels of resistance, and, if you sync up with the Explore the World app, you can race 27 routes through 19 different locations alongside workout buddies. Competitive, us?

This is the perfect cross trainer for those who are short on space but still want a top-of-the-range piece of kit. Simply fold the handles and console down on this machine and you can then store it upright out of the way or tucked into a cupboard. Genius!

And don’t worry, you’re not sacrificing any features – this elliptical has an impressive 22 levels of resistance, adjustable incline up to eight degrees and 24 built-in workouts.

Is it a cross trainer? It is an exercise bike? It’s both! This clever piece of kit offers spinning and elliptical training in one neat package. The comfortable seat is fully adjustable, it has reassuringly grippy pedals and you can ramp up the magnetic resistance a la your favourite spin class with the tension adjustment dial.

Psst — check the ‘Apply £30 voucher‘ box to save!

Tech-savvy runners will appreciate this clever machine that stacks up fairly small compared to some cross trainers on the market, but still comes with plenty of metrics to monitor your fitness goals.

With 20 workout programmes and 32 levels to experiment with, it will definitely keep you busy. We particularly like the dual-colour backlit LCD display with hand-pulse sensors that provides accurate real-time heart rate info.

It also allows you to store up to four different user profiles, making it a great cross trainer for the whole family to use.

If you can’t decide between an exercise bike or a cross trainer, you’ll be pleased to hear that you can now buy both with this clever hybrid machine.

And if you’ve ever fancied traversing the Swiss Alps from the comfort of your own home while you’re at it, you can do that too! This futuristic set up comes with an extensive workout library powered by Google Maps Street View, enabling you to sweat all over the world.

What’s more, it comes with eight elliptical and eight bike workouts to keep you occupied. Every home needs one of these.

This clever elliptical machine uses a swing motion, rather than a flywheel, to mimic a wide stride that will get your heart rate up in no time.

It has a cushioned ab pad to encourage you to stand up straight (and stop you flying forwards!), while the dinky display lets you keep an half an eye on your stats while you devour the new season of Bake Off. Plus it folds up to half its size, so it’s ideal for smaller spaces.

With a 17kg flywheel this cross trainer is a serious piece of kit, so it’s better suited to homes with floor space to spare. But thanks to ample stride length it’s also a great all-rounder for the whole family to use.

It comes with 16 levels of resistance and 12 workout programmes, including some cracking hill workouts to keep you sweating.

Keen to replicate the great outdoors and train in your conservatory, garage or even in your back yard on a sunny day? This cross trainer is self-powered so you won’t need a plug socket nearby to get to work.

We found it to be a smooth, quiet ride that’s surprisingly easy to move about the house (and yes, maybe we’ve dragged it in front of the TV more times than we’d care to mention).

And with nine training programmes to keep us occupied we didn’t miss the mains power. The smart console can still connect to fitness apps, and the 39cm stride length was perfect for our medium-height tester.

Wheels on this quality cross trainer make it easy to move around, from garden to garage and home gym to spare room.

It has a tablet holder so you can Netflix binge while you burn calories, plus all the features you’d expect: 12 magnetic resistance levels, handle-mounted heart-rate sensors, a bottle holder, non-slip pedals and manual settings for time, distance and calorie targets.

This clever cross trainer from NordicTrack comes with a host of cool features, including Bluetooth speakers, adjustable strides and the option to add iFIT membership, for interactive personal training at home.

If you live in a small apartment, this cross trainer is compact enough to squeeze into the corner without taking up too much space when not in use. But despite its diminutive size, it still comes with an impressive range of metrics to monitor your workouts, plus 16 different speeds and 12 user programmes to get your sweat on.

This is one of the best cross trainers you’ll find for under £250, but that doesn’t mean it’s a lightweight piece of kit. It’s well built, with eight levels of magnetic resistance and a 5.5kg flywheel, so expect to work hard.

It comes with a handy tablet stand (so you can stream as you sweat), plus a console display and heart rate sensors. The 32cm stride length mean it might not to be suited to those on the taller side, but for everyone else it’s a solid bet.

Technogym stocks top-qual gyms around the world, and right now you can bring home a slice of the action for a discounted price. Yes, it’s still an investment, but you can pay monthly (currently £86.25).

Thie foldable machine performs as it looks — sleek as hell. It’s basically silent and super smooth, with 25 resistance levels and a max wattage of 600. Plus there’s a secure tablet stand so you can enjoy the routines and guided workouts in the Technogym Live app.

If you’re new to the world of cross training and looking to work on your overall fitness, this machine still has an impressive set of features for the price tag. The 5kg bi-directional flywheel provides enough weight for a low-impact workout, while eight resistance settings will get your heart rate pumping.

We particularly like the tablet holder so you can catch up on your favourite boxset while getting your sweat on. With 32cm stride length this is better suited to shorter runners, but if you’re looking for a simple but effective option it’s a great model for beginners.

This cheap and cheerful cross trainer is simple to set up, with stabilisers to keep your workout steady and smooth, and a digital display showing time, speed, distance, calories and your pulse. With a short stride length, it’s also great if you’re tight on space.

If price is a sticking point and you’re only an occasional user, this 2-in-1 cross trainer and exercise bike is a great starting point.

It’s not the quietest model on our list, but if you’re hoping to simply mix up your running and record your key stats in the process, this is a great compromise.

This cross trainer is aimed at beginners so it’s fairly basic in design and functionality. But despite its simplicity it can still measure your calories, distance, time, speed and heart rate while you work out, and the 6kg fly wheel is weighty enough to provide a smooth ride.

It’s better suited to occasional use, but will still make a positive addition to your training routine.