Life Fitness Versus Sole Fitness Treadmills

When it comes to treadmills, Life Fitness and Sole are both market leaders. But which brand’s machines are the best, and why? To help potential buyers decide one way or another, we’ve taken a closer look at the matter.

With that, we’ve compared the treadmill lineups from both Illinois-headquartered Life Fitness and Arizona-based Sole. Accounting for cost, breadth of choice, availability, and more, we’ll look to reach a conclusion when it comes to Life Fitness vs. Sole treadmills in 2022.

Life Fitness has been producing innovative fitness equipment for over 40 years for both consumers and commercial clients. Among the brand’s most popular products are its treadmills. Life Fitness’s seven-strong 2022 treadmill lineup ranges from its entry-level Fitness Run CX Treadmill to the range-topping Platinum Club Series Treadmill:

From a penny under $3,000 to more than $10,000, the Life Fitness range of treadmills is both extensive and costly. Life Fitness’s pricing largely reflects its long and respected background in supplying treadmills and other fitness equipment to the professional market. Its Platinum Club Series Treadmill is, for example, intended largely for use in gyms, health clubs, and other commercial settings.

Yet, just like its more affordable and largely consumer-focused Run CX model, customers looking to splash out can also purchase a Platinum Club Series Treadmill for at-home use, should they wish. And many have, with the Platinum Club Series Treadmill from Life Fitness continuing to attract rave reviews from buyers.

Across its range, Life Fitness’s treadmills boast various features, such as the FlexDeck shock absorption system, Bluetooth connectivity, and built-in heart rate monitoring. In addition, buyers also can tap into on-demand and adaptive app-based audio classes with selected products.

Six of its seven treadmills are available to order, either directly from Life Fitness or via the Life Fitness Outlet, with just the T5 Treadmill out of stock. However, there’s currently a lead time of six to eight weeks on all products, which is important to keep in mind for anyone wanting a treadmill sooner.

Like Life Fitness, Sole has a long history in the fitness equipment space. Sole is also best known specifically for its treadmills, later adding to this lineup with a further choice of stationary bikes, ellipticals, rowers, and climbers. Sole produces and sells an identical number of treadmills to its competitor, Life Fitness. These are:

At just under $1,800 to closer to $5,000, it’s immediately apparent that Sole’s latest treadmills represent a more affordable proposition than those sold by Life Fitness. Moreover, Sole’s treadmills are routinely further discounted by the manufacturer as well. In fact, all seven of its treadmill models are currently on sale for between $999.99 and $1,999.99.

As a result, its range today looks as follows:

These savings are equivalent to discounts of anywhere from $500 to $2,800. And, features-wise, Sole’s offering is broadly similar to that provided by Life Fitness.

That said, and across the board, on a strictly like-for-like basis, there are differences in motor power, weight limits, and more between even the most closely matched of the two manufacturers’ products. Accordingly, it’s crucial to check the finer details when comparing Life Fitness and Sole treadmills.

At the same time, Sole also doesn’t have machines to compete directly with Life Fitness’s range-topping Platinum Club Series Treadmill. Crucially, though, all of Sole’s treadmills are currently showing as in stock and available for immediate delivery.

Ultimately, the pricing of both Life Fitness and Sole’s treadmills stems from their respective places in the market. Life Fitness’s background is heavily rooted in the commercial sector, supplying gyms, health clubs, and more. And while Sole’s products may be found in hotels and elsewhere, many are designed predominantly with at-home use more firmly in mind.

Either way, there’s excellent value for money from Sole’s treadmills, in particular. That includes the Sole F63 Treadmill, discounted from $1,799.99 to just $999.99. There’s also the Sole TT8 Treadmill – usually $4,799.99 and currently priced at just $1,999.99, representing a massive $2,800 savings.

However, at their non-discounted prices, there may be better value from Life Fitness models like the brand’s entry-level $2,999 Run CX Treadmill. Compared to Sole’s $2,800 F80 and even its $3,600 S77 model treadmills, the $3,000 Life Fitness Run CX Treadmill is arguably a more premium-feeling product.

Of course, they’re all extremely costly items at the end of the day. And while none lack the sort of quality feel that one might expect, there is, in the above instance, a definite edge to Life Fitness’s Run CX Treadmill. It’s something that’s true in terms of many of the two manufacturers’ other most like-for-like products as well.

Yet, for as long as Sole’s discounts continue, it’s hard to argue with the likes of its sub-$1,000 F63 Treadmill – independently rated as the best in its class by experts.

Both Life Fitness and Sole offer limited lifetime warranties with their treadmills. While these are reasonably comprehensive, they all feature various limitations. Thankfully, for anyone looking to bolster or extend this coverage, Upsie offers straightforward, affordable, and highly comprehensive fitness equipment warranties.

With an extended fitness equipment warranty from Upsie, customers can comprehensively protect any of the above treadmills for up to five years. With that protection comes complete coverage in the event of manufacturing defects, mechanical failures, technical issues, and other faults. The same policies also expressly cover treadmill-specific malfunctions, battery failures, touchscreen issues, Bluetooth problems, and the need for any faulty ball bearing replacements or similar.

Other perks include a $0 deductible on extended fitness equipment warranty claims, in-home repairs, and the option to transfer the balance of a warranty if a treadmill is later gifted or sold. Of course, extended warranties are also available for much of the best tech for runners, including smartwatches, activity trackers, sports-focused earbuds, and more.

Upsie’s warranties cost up to 70 percent less than warranties from retailers or manufacturers, ensuring customers get the best protection at the best price. For further information, visit Upsie.com.