Best Rowing Machines

Our Editor’s Choice — the competition-standard erg: near-indestructible, the most accurate data, and no subscription, for $990.

The Concept2 RowErg is our Editor’s Choice and the best rowing machine for almost everyone — the gold standard that every competitive gym, CrossFit box, and rowing program uses, and the rare premium fitness machine with no subscription at all. It’s near-indestructible (units from the 1980s are still in service), delivers the most accurate performance data in the category, and holds its value better than anything else in home fitness. The one honest trade-off: it has a small, utilitarian PM5 monitor rather than a big touchscreen with on-screen classes — so if guided, instructor-led workouts are what get you moving, you’ll want a connected rower instead. For everyone else, nothing else comes close on durability, accuracy, and value.

Immersive instructor-led classes filmed on real water, on a quiet, compact rower — if you’ll commit to the ~$44/mo membership.

The Hydrow Wave is the rower for people who want immersive, instructor-led classes — high-production workouts filmed on real waterways, on quiet magnetic resistance, in a compact, light frame that suits apartments. It’s the lower-priced, more storable model in Hydrow’s lineup (~$1,695), and the class experience is genuinely motivating. But it’s fundamentally a subscription delivery device: the ~$44/month membership is effectively mandatory — without it you lose resistance control and coaching — its 12-month parts warranty is short, and out-of-warranty repairs on sealed components can run hundreds. The classes are the draw; just know you’re committing to the membership for the life of the machine.

Real-time Form Assist teaches beginners proper technique like nothing else — the priciest pick, with a mandatory membership.

The Peloton Row is the most beginner-friendly connected rower, thanks to a genuinely unique feature: real-time Form Assist, which uses sensors to track your technique live and flag mistakes on-screen as you make them. Paired with Peloton’s best-in-class instructors and a 24" swivel screen, it’s the easiest way for a newcomer to learn to row properly. But it’s also the most expensive rower here by far (~$3,295, plus the ~$44/month membership it requires), its warranty is a short 12 months on parts and labor, and it’s entirely locked to the Peloton ecosystem — and Peloton’s customer support has a well-documented, company-acknowledged track record of problems.

Races and games instead of classes, on a gorgeous cherry-hardwood water rower — for self-motivated, competitive types.

The Ergatta Rower is the connected rower for people who hate classes. Instead of instructors, it motivates through gamified racing, multiplayer challenges, and data-driven programs on a beautiful handcrafted cherry-hardwood frame with natural, quiet water resistance. For self-motivated, competitive types, the games are genuinely addictive, and the membership ($29–$39/month) is cheaper than Hydrow’s or Peloton’s. The caveats: it’s expensive at around $2,199, the gamified content still requires that subscription, and there are no instructor-led classes — a dealbreaker if coaching is what you want. It’s also a gorgeous, well-built machine that stands upright to store.

The most big-screen iFit content per dollar, especially on sale — but iFit-locked, with NordicTrack’s mixed reliability record.

The NordicTrack RW900 is the value pick among big-screen connected rowers: a 22" HD swivel touchscreen, dual magnetic-and-air resistance, and a huge iFit content library — for meaningfully less than a Hydrow or Peloton Row, especially on NordicTrack’s near-constant sales (it streets around $1,799 against a ~$2,299 list). The honest caveats are real and consistent with the brand: it’s effectively non-functional without an iFit subscription, NordicTrack/iFit has a documented history of touchscreen failures and poor customer service (a software update once bricked thousands of consoles, settled in a class action), the 250 lb weight capacity is the lowest here, and it doesn’t fold. Great screen-and-content value — buy it on sale, and go in clear-eyed on the brand’s support record.