The 11 Best Rowing Machines for At-Home Full-Body Workouts

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For some, the gym is intimidating. You fight for equipment, personal trainers try to sell their services, and you have to master a new machine in front of an audience... Honestly, it's not like that. The gym is a beautiful place. But, working out in your own space just feels better, especially if you're trying a new full-body workout like rowing.

Rowing is one of the best workouts anyone, of any fitness level, can do. It's low-impact, with little to no stress on joints, and it's high-intensity, recruiting just about every muscle in your body. It's a great strength workout. It's a great cardio workout. It's the perfect only-do-one-thing workout. So, time to buy a rowing machine.

Before you snag one, let's talk about the types of resistance mechanisms for rowing machines: water, air, magnetic, and hydraulic. You’ll get similar results across the board, but the experiences do vary. Water- and air-resistance translate to smoother rowing—water is (shockingly) the most realistic. Magnetic and hydraulic resistance are the most adjustable, typically what you'll find in a professional gym. Magnetic rowers are also the quietest option, and hydraulic rowers actually mimic the circular motion of rowing on a boat.

That's about all the semantics you need. Beyond that, consider your budget and space limitations, and take your pick from one of these 11 best rowing machines we've tested, for simple workout gear you can actually afford.

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Hydrow Rower

This smart rower’s bright spot belongs to its immersive content experience beyond live and on-demand classes. Via its touchscreen display, you'll be taken on guided voyages around the world—just watch out for the cars, cheetahs, and cuttlefishes you might drift into. You can’t do better than Hydrow if you’re looking for a top-line canoe for the waterways at home.

Rower

The Ergatta rower leads an interactive, video game-inspired challenge wherein you get to row past race-style hurdles or, should you choose, compete against other Ergatta owners. By appealing to your competitive spirit, you’ll actually look forward to being on the leaderboard after finishing a full-body workout calibrated to your fitness profile. On top of that, it looks sleek in cherry wood and is equipped with noiseless water-resistance tech.

Performance Ergometer Rowing Machine

As elegant as it gets, Waterrower's machine is Bagshaw's favorite, as it "uses water resistance to provide a smooth and realistic rowing experience." While there's no touchscreen or LCD display, you can download the free SmartRow app to get workout metrics, preset training sessions, or use it to race users around the world.

Power10 Rower

Up for a challenge? Try rowing it out while pumping more muscles across the upper and lower body, combining cardio and strength training all at once. The Power10 Rower allows you to swap motions midway from push to pull to drill designated muscle groups while letting others recover, sculpting your chest, back, legs, arms, and abs in one workout.

RW900 Rowing Machine

How can home workout equipment be versatile? A rowing machine with 26 resistance levels, performance trackers, live and on-demand workouts is how. With RW900, your magnetic resistance level will be programmed based on your training by a coach, so you don’t have to futz on the display. On the other hand, you can still manually adjust the air resistance to pace yourself.

Magnetic Rowing Machine Rower

Say you live on a budget, and you're in an apartment that’s not too spacious but you've got just enough room for a rowing machine. Relatable? Then this foldable model is sized for your flat. It’s downright unexacting, and has all the ABCs to get a burning workout in: magnetic tension, various levels of resistance, a monitor for tracking metrics, and a near-silent rowing experience.

Model D Indoor Rowing Machine

You've definitely spotted, and probably even tried, one of these before. Fitness centers love it for its steady strokes, quiet flywheel, and durability. You will love it for its performance monitor that breaks down rowing actions, and its air resistance system that cedes you the best boating thrill: the faster and harder you trail, the more force you'll feel to push you further.

Impact Series Rower

If the 22" HD touchscreen and dual air and magnetic resistance system wasn't enough, the commercial-grade whisper nylon belt is keeping this workout quiet and smooth. Plus, you can stream Netflix, Disney +, and more while you burn some cals.

BodyTrac Glider 1050 Rowing Machine

An affordable hydraulic rowing machine is a great option for anyone who just wants to get a solid workout in without leaving their abode. Grab the arms and your circular motions will naturally take off, pushing and pulling against the resistance, mimicking the smooth movement of continuously stroking on water—meaning, you can actually practice at home for group rowing on a shell on a river with this machine.

ERG600W Water Rowing Machine

This guy is a standard option for anyone looking for a sleek machine providing a full-body workout. With an adjustable console, 6 resistance levels, and a stand up design for easy storage, the XTERRA water rowing machine is going to help you level up. Plus, the cushioned seat gives it a comfy edge over competitors.

Magnetic Rowing Machine with Bluetooth

The Fitness Reality 1000 Plus tweaks upon the nitty-gritty of a standard magnetic rowing machine—14 resistance levels, on-demand classes access, real-time analytics, etc.—with the effortlessness of learning from an app to cop a 360-degree approach to rowing at home.

How Did We Choose the Best Rowing Machines?

Uhhh... we rowed. Was that not obvious?

Really though, rowing is one of the best full-body exercises you can do, and these are massive investments. This isn't something to take likely, so we appreciate the question.

Generally, we looked at resistance style and quality, display, membership needs, and startup costs. Somewhere in the middle of that multi-circle Venn diagram, we landed in these 11 rowers. They all have their pros and cons, but they all stood out enough that we would buy them again.

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