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Under Desk Ellipticals to Maximize your Time in 2025
Written By Sarah Radford
Staying seated for extended periods can negatively impact your health. Research links long periods of sitting with increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, unhealthy cholesterol levels, and higher risk of cardiovascular disease. To compound the effects of sitting for a long time, working long hours also means you have less time and energy to spare for a workout.
Long hours of work and sitting at a desk all day make it nearly impossible to get any type of fitness in. Fitness is one of the things that can combat the impact of sitting by helping with weight management, reducing the risk of disease, and strengthening your muscles and bones.
How are you supposed to work out when you simply have no time to? It seems like a catch-22, but this is where under-desk ellipticals can help. You simply place one under your desk to destress, burn calories, and build leg strength while maintaining your same work schedule.
We’ve provided detailed reviews of the best under-desk ellipticals of 2025 to help you find the best option for your lifestyle. We start with our overall best pick – the DeskCycle Under Desk Stationary Bike – because it offers eight resistance levels for customized fitness.
The Best Under Desk Ellipticals
DeskCycle Under Desk Elliptical
Best Overall
DeskCycle’s Under Desk stationary bike offers numerous features to make it customizable to anyone. You can adjust the height of the bike to match your work-from-home setup so your knees won’t hit the underside of your desk. The adjustable straps sinch snuggly around your feet while the stay-flat peddles ensure optimal comfort so you can focus on working rather than clunky peddles. DeskCycle builds its products with a high-inertia flywheel with eight different resistance settings to provide a challenging, real-bike feel from the comfort of your home.
This machine is sturdy and built to last. It’s heavy enough to stay weighed down to the ground while pedaling while sealed bearings and steel components ensure a quiet experience. This small stationary bike even comes with an LCD screen to display rotations per minute, distance traveled, calories burned, and time elapsed so you can track your stats and monitor how much fitter you get over time. Overall DeskCycle’s durable build, user-friendly design, and customizability make it our best overall pick for under-desk ellipticals.
Cubii GO Under Desk Elliptical
Most Portable
The Cubii GO Under Desk elliptical is a great portable option to bring on-the-go with you, whether you’re heading to the office or off on a business trip. It’s designed to be compact and lightweight for easy travel and even has built-in wheels to make transportation as simple as possible. It comes with an extra-long, double telescopic handle so you can simply roll your elliptical behind you like a suitcase. The company promises a quiet machine that’s smooth and safe for all ages and abilities.
The Cubii GO features 10 adjustable resistance levels to customize your workouts to your current fitness level, with the ability to adjust resistance as you become stronger. The large display screen shows metrics such as time elapsed and calories burned that you can integrate with the Cubii Mobile App to track your progress, set goals, access classes, and join free wellness programs.
Stamina Under Desk Elliptical
Most Affordable
The Stamina Inmotion Compact Strider delivers a low-impact fitness option at an affordable price point. This machine is perfect for the office or home since it’s portable, compact, and whisper-quiet. Plus, this machine offers dynamic exercise options by supporting seated or standing cardio based on space limitations and the muscle groups you’re looking to target. The adjustable resistance dial allows you to change the intensity of your workout while the monitor displays metrics such as your distance, workout time, calories burned, and stride count.
Even though this machine is marketed at an affordable price point, it doesn’t compromise quality. Stamina Inmotion constructs each machine with sturdy steel, non-slip endcaps, and large non-slip peddles to maximize safety and comfort. This machine integrates seamlessly with the müüv app to offer guided coaching, personalized workouts, and fitness tracking so you can maximize your fitness experience.
LifePro Flexstride Plus
Best Design
The Lifepro Flexstride Plus is another affordable option that helps you build aerobic endurance while working your nine-to-five. This elliptical is easy on the joints with its adjustable resistance levels. The higher the resistance, the more challenging the pedaling becomes. When you order a Flexstride Plus, you’ll receive a yoga mat and a set of resistance bands to integrate strength training and stretching with your cycling routine.
This elliptical features castor stoppers to keep your chair in place while you pedal or use the tether strap to secure the machine to your chair for a seamless pedaling experience. The LCD monitor with Bluetooth integration makes it easy to track your workouts and monitor progress by syncing workouts to your phone. Every elliptical Lifepro sells comes with a Lifetime warranty so you’re guaranteed a product that will last.
Sunny Health & Fitness Under Desk Elliptical
Most Compact
The Sunny Health & Fitness under-desk elliptical is perfect for anyone working in a small office or with limited storage space. This machine is small and compact with a low-profile design that easily fits under most desks and can be comfortably tucked away after use. It also comes with an integrated handgrip so you can easily transport this elliptical between home and the office. You could even pack it for a weekend getaway where you may have limited exercise equipment.
The elliptical’s integrated belt drive mechanism guarantees quiet pedaling so you can cycle under your desk at the office without creating a distraction. Track metrics such as your time, speed, calories, and distance with the integrated digital monitor to see your progress over time. You can adjust the machine’s resistance to match your fitness level and eventually progress into the higher resistance options as you become fitter and stronger.
Under Desk Ellipticals: A Buyer’s Guide
Shopping for new exercise equipment can be overwhelming; especially if you’re unfamiliar with the product and what features to look for. We’ve investigated the world of under-desk ellipticals to provide some guiding principles when researching which product to buy. Read below to learn which factors contribute to a high-quality product you’ll want to purchase.
Working and exercising simultaneously
Working long hours leaves me exhausted without fail. At the end of a long day, I have little energy to go to the gym. However, leading a sedentary lifestyle without exercise risks many health issues including increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, and risk of cardiovascular disease. Under-desk treadmills provide a practical solution to working long hours without time for exercise. The ability to exercise while you work frees up time at the end of the day to relax without compromising your health.
A budget-friendly alternative
While traditional ellipticals are user-friendly fitness machines they’re usually quite expensive. Under-desk ellipticals provide a more affordable and space-conducive option with similar health benefits to their larger counterparts. However, remember that under-desk ellipticals aren’t quite as effective as regular ellipticals since they don’t provide a full-body workout.
Helping with weight loss and fitness
Under-desk ellipticals provide an accessible form of exercise to help you reach your health and fitness goals. Pedaling on an under-desk elliptical helps burn calories, reduce stress, and build strength all while seated. If you commonly have difficulty finding time to work out these machines can help you maintain or build your fitness. Keep in mind, however, that if your goal is weight loss under-desk ellipticals may not be as effective as more traditional workouts. Try to diversify your fitness routine by adding in strength-training, or different forms of aerobic exercise to maximize your results.
Injury Recovery
Under-desk ellipticals provide a great exercise alternative for those recovering from an injury or those suffering from arthritis, knee pain, or hip pain. These machines present a low-impact option allowing individuals with these limitations to maintain their exercise routines pain-free.
Multiple resistance levels
Almost every quality under-desk elliptical offers different resistance levels so you can customize the intensity of your workouts. You can change the resistance throughout your session starting with a lighter resistance when you’re warming up and increasing the resistance as you get comfortable. You can also adjust the resistance based on how you’re feeling each day; some days you may want a lighter session whereas other days you may want something a little more challenging.
Things to Consider When Buying Under Desk Ellipticals
Portability
Consider where you plan to use your under-desk elliptical and if it’s a tool you want to be able to travel with. If you only work from home portability shouldn’t impact your decision since you won’t have to travel with it. However, if you sometimes go into the office or have to travel for work, you certainly want an easily portable elliptical. Look for a small, compact machine that isn’t too heavy and has wheels or a travel handle.
Noise level
Office dynamics can be tricky. Everyone coexists in the same space trying to finish as much work as possible. Any unnecessary sounds can be distracting and disturb the peace. The last thing you want is to start an office war because your under-desk elliptical makes distracting squeaky sounds. Check the product description and read customer reviews to learn whether the elliptical makes unnecessary noise.
Size
Nothing seems worse than investing in an under-desk elliptical that’s too small for your space. Banging your knees into the underside of your desk because the machine is too large seems awfully unpleasant. Although under-desk ellipticals are designed to be compact their sizes can still vary. Before purchasing a product check its specifications and measure your desk to ensure everything will fit as it should.
Tips for Using Under Desk Ellipticals
If you’ve never used an under-desk elliptical, there are a couple of tips and tricks to make your first experience easier. Below are some guidelines to consider when setting up your new machine:
Suitable location
Place your elliptical in a suitable location that fits your height and leg length to optimize comfort and efficiency. For example, if you put it under a desk that’s too short, you’ll bang your knees against the underside of your desk while pedaling (0/10 recommend).
Good posture
Maintaining good posture while using your elliptical puts less stress on your bones and joints and strengthens your core muscles, contributing to better overall health. Sit tall with your shoulders down and back, and your hips and knees neutral while spinning away on your under-desk elliptical.
Firmly planted feet
Remember to keep your feet firmly planted on the pedals. If the heel of your foot is lifted, you may put stress on your ankles and knees instead of properly loading your quads and hamstrings.
Choosing Quality Under Desk Ellipticals
Value
When shopping for an under-desk elliptical, make sure you’re receiving quality proportional to the price you pay. The products we reviewed range from $120 on the low end to $300 on the high end. The products at the higher end of the spectrum come with additional features to justify the higher price. A higher price doesn’t always equate to a better quality product, so check customer reviews to learn whether the product is worth its price point.
Easy use
Under-desk ellipticals should be fairly self-explanatory and easy to use, even if you’re a beginner. Check customer reviews to learn about any potential complications or user-error issues to ensure a positive user experience.
People Also Asked
Do I need an under-desk elliptical?
You certainly don’t NEED an under-desk elliptical, but it can make your life a lot easier. If you struggle between balancing time for work and time for fitness it can seamlessly combine the two. You’ll be able to free up some time that otherwise may be spent at the gym to spend time with friends or family, or just get in some restful alone time.
Do I need to have a baseline level of fitness to start using an under-desk elliptical?
No! Under-desk ellipticals are great for anyone at any age and any fitness level. All the machines we reviewed have adjustable resistance levels, meaning it’s easy to accommodate anyone’s fitness level or capabilities.
Are under-desk ellipticals worth it?
Under-desk ellipticals can help increase movement levels during the day, especially if you spend most of your time sitting down. These machines can help you burn calories, build muscle, and reduce stress. However, they don’t provide quite the same workout as traditional standing ellipticals since you’re seated and don’t get a full-body workout.
What's better, an under-desk elliptical or a bike?
Ellipticals and bikes have similar use cases and results. They both exercise your lower body; the primary difference is that ellipticals use a shuffling motion while bikes use a circular motion. However, ellipticals tend to be more ergonomic since you sit in your own chair and they put less pressure on the joints.
Can under-desk ellipticals work well for seniors?
A lot of seniors tend to lead sedentary lifestyles because they have a harder time getting around. Under-desk ellipticals provide a great option for seniors to increase their movement without putting more stress on their joints.
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