The best walking pads for staying active during the working day

Rated 4.4 out of 5 stars and Amazon's Choice, The Superun Walking Pad 2.5HP is budget-friendly and ideal for getting your steps in from the warmth of your home. At 114D x 51W x 12H centimetres, it can easily fit under your desk or furniture, making it perfect for a home office.

The walking pad is shockproof, meaning it doesn't need a mat to protect your flooring. It also has wheels, making it easy to move around your home (and helping you get a better angle of your TV!). It is also quiet compared to other walking pads.

Superun products feature a supportive app called PitPal, which is handy for motivation and tracking steps.

> Read our full WalkingPad A1 Pro review <

While walking pads aren't ugly, they're not exactly an aesthetic design choice either. Enter this folding model from under-desk treadmill titans WalkingPad. Designed to be stored folded, simply unplug and fold in half when you're done (it initially feels a bit odd and like you might break it but trust the process), then roll it under a piece of furniture. The folded dimensions are 82 (L) x 55 (W) x 13 (D), so still not dinky, but it should slip under most sofas with no issue.

On the performance front it's hard to fault this. Even with the belt regularly being folded and unfolded, it feels sturdy and well-made, the performance is smooth and fairly quiet, with the clear display cycling between distance, time elapsed and step count — which we tested against various fitness trackers and is very accurate.

The walking track feels large and you never feel in danger of sliding off the end or stepping on the front or sides of the machine — one of our testers is 6'3" and had no problems. Like the WalkingPad model below, as well as being able to manually set the speed (from 0.5 to 6 km in 0.5km increments), this also has an automatic speed mode, which adjusts the speed based on your footfall, and is ideal when you want to concentrate, as your speed will naturally ebb and flow.

It comes well packaged, with the pad, instructions, remote, remote battery and remote wrist loop in the box. It is on the heavier side though, so bear that in mind when moving it to its new home. It's also worth noting that you have to check the belt is straight before you set off each time — this takes just a second to adjust but we have found it migrates to one side sometimes. However this doesn't affect the performance so is a minor quibble.

This walking pad from Bigzzia tops out at an impressive 10kph, which for the price is remarkably good value. That said, the lack of rail might put some users off the very highest speeds — but if you've got a sturdy enough standing desk then a brisk walk might feel doable.

The LED display shows your speed, distance, calories burned and time elapsed, and operating at under 55 dB (comparable to a quiet home environment) means you can chat away on work calls or binge Netflix with little interference.

It comes fully assembled, has wheels at the front so its easy to move out the way, and thanks to the small-ish design, you can prop it up behind a door when it's not in use.

If you're someone with knee issues, a walking pad with good shock absorption is a must. This number from UREVO has two layers of rubber pad cushioning under the belt, plus eight silicone shock absorbers. The five-layer track is also mercifully grippy.

Not only does this save your joints, it also helps keep noise down, in tandem with the quiet motor, which purrs along at under 45 dB.

Time, distance, speed and calories are displayed via the easy-to-read LED screen, and you can control the speeds(1-6 kph) via the three-button remote.

At just over 18kg it's easy to move around on your own too, with built-in wheels to make this easier.

This walking pad has every bell and whistle going — including speed-responsive multi-coloured party lights, in case that's your thing. First up; a market-leading 14% incline, which uses an innovative front and rear incline system to mimic real-world terrains and (trust us) feels seriously challenging.

The app connectivity is also impressive — as well as providing real-time metric tracking (calories burned, speed, incline level, steps), it also comes with four workout modes (fat-burning, endurance, cardio, recovery) and offers outdoor hiking simulations that automatically adjust the incline. Clever!

Other features we love are the fact you can store it upright, how quiet it is, and the extended track, which instead of butting up against a raised display section, rolls above a dipped display, so you're never in danger of tripping on the front. Speaking of the display, it shows your speed, time and calories burned as you walk, as does the LED display remote, which also shows your distance, step count and incline level — meaning you don't need to look down.

Here's what our tester made of it: :

'The UREVO Smart Walking Pad is unbelievably easy to set up (although nearly impossible to get out of the packaging), and once you have it out, you’ll find yourself using it again and again. Whether it’s a slow pootle whilst you work at your computer, a good stroll with the TV on or a proper hike, courtesy of the app, it’s one of the best home-gym kits I’ve ever used.

'You can control the speed and the incline from your phone, as well as track your steps, calories, distance and more. And as previously mentioned, you can also use their app to choose walking paths across the world: perfect for those rainy days inside.'

If you're on social media at all, you've probably come across this under desk walking pad on your feed. It's wildly popular on TikTok and other apps at the moment, so it was impossible for us not to have it on this list. It's a simple treadmill with a reasonably small footprint, and the ability to be controlled through a remote control or through an app.

The app itself is made to allow you to increase your speed and elevate your workout even if you have little desire to pay all that much attention to the changes. Because it tops out at just over 3mph/6kph, it's not going to be a rapid, uncomfortable shift for most users.

The deck is fairly small at 90 by 40cm, but that also means that the footprint is small and the machine itself won't take up that much space. Users swear by the ease of use of this walking pad, and the cushioned feel to the pad, which is exactly what you need if you're trying to work while you walk.

Plus, if you shop via the DeerRun site, you can add a standing desk for just £120.

This is a simple, no-fuss walking pad that ticks a lot of boxes. It's very easy to set up — just take it out the box and plug it in — the performance is smooth and very quiet (we were able to use it during meetings with no raised eyebrows) and the large belt means those with a longer stride length won't have any issues.

The large, clear display shows a timer and alternates between steps and speed, plus you can set a timer (up to 99 minutes) if you want to do a set number of minutes a day. The step count seems accurate — our tester found it was only one or two out compared to their own counting, and they liked the five-second countdown timer you get when pressing start or after pausing.

There are wheels to help move the pad into place, but it's worth noting it's still quite big and unwieldy to move around. And bear in mind that you need two AAA batteries for the remote in order to get the pad going, and they're not included.

On the build quality front this thing feels premium and like it will last. Our tester loves using it during the afternoon when they usually lag in energy. Plus it’s so easy to hop on and off that it doesn’t feel like a chore to get going, which acts as effective encouragement to get those steps in.

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If you don’t want your exercise equipment to take up too much space in your home, this dinky treadmill could be the perfect addition to your WFH setup. At just 96cm long and 56cm wide, it’s among the most compact under-desk treadmills on the market, and its 17kg weight makes it easy enough for one person to move alone.

The rails at the side of the belt are sturdy, so you can stand on them if you need a break — and a good thing too, as the 5% incline means you work harder (almost) without noticing it.

Fair warning: you may find yourself slipping off the back of this treadmill if you have a long walking stride, but you’ll likely take more careful steps as you type on your computer anyway. Just make sure to watch your feet as you’re getting used to it.

This WalkingPad model may look like a standard under-desk treadmill, but it has one feature that makes it an especially prudent option for cramped office spaces: it can fold in half.

Whether you’re dealing with a small space or simply don’t want to move your treadmill every time you want to use it, this allows you to easily fold the whole thing up against the wall and out of the way. It also has an automatic speed mode that adjusts as you walk, tracking whether you’re outpacing the belt (or vice versa) by measuring how your fore-aft position changes on the deck.

When we first unpackaged this treadmill at our headquarters, we were relieved to see that it was already assembled — we simply needed to stick a battery in the remote and plug the machine into an outlet to get started. We tested this one right after spending half an hour deciphering another model’s poorly written instructions, so it gets contextual bonus points for that.

This GoYouth model weighs in at only 29kg, and the wheels underneath make it a breeze to move around. Despite being lightweight, it feels sturdy underfoot, and it can comfortably reach speeds up to seven miles per hour, which makes it one of the faster models on our list.

If you want to jam out to some music, you can also connect your phone to the treadmill’s speakers via Bluetooth. It doesn’t provide an audiophile’s dream sound quality, but it’s still nice to see that included in a way that doesn’t feel like it compromised any other facet of the build quality.

If you want the extra speed of a 2-in-1 treadmill but don’t need the fancy dashboard that typically comes on one, this Urevo treadmill gives you little more than a nook for your phone.

When this treadmill’s bar is up, you can get the speed up to a peppy 10km/h (roughly 6.2mph), which is certainly fast enough to classify as a brisk run. When not in use, the folding bar collapses behind the back of the treadmill, and it barely adds any bulk to its silhouette on the floor.

This foldable walking pad from BodyMax isn't too dissimilar from the WalkingPad A1 Pro above — both fold in half, have the same dimensions (included folded, at 82 x 55 x 13 cm) and the same speed settings, ranging from 0.5km to 6km in 0.5km increments (and are both remote controlled).

However, while this has a lower weight capacity than the WalkingPad, it has an extra metric on the display cycle (calories burned, as well as speed, steps, distance and duration) and we found the automatic speed adjustment feature superior on the BodyMax model, with more intuitive feedback thanks to front speed sensors. We never felt in danger of falling off, with the track speed aligning with footfall reassuringly well.

The build quality is also fantastic, with the pad feeling sturdy despite the fact you can fold it up and store it out the way when not in use. Bear in mind it does make a bit of a whirring sound, but that's not unusual for walking pads.