Save Money & Hit Your Fitness Goals With These At-Home Water Rowing Machines

Author: Expert reviewer:

April 7, 2023

We picked rowers recommended directly by our experts, to ensure the highest quality, design, and function.

Whether you have a huge home gym or a small apartment, space is always a consideration. We found options that are foldable and can be stowed away or have a design fit to furnish your space. 

If this machine is going to sit in your living room, it should look the part. We chose designs that look as sleek as they feel. 

Features such as foldability, wheels, and high-tech offerings all came into play when evaluating these rowers. We’ve called out each product’s standout features below.

One of the most aesthetically-pleasing water rowers on our list, this machine has a modern design and sleek, touch-screen technology. Sponaugle calls out this model as one of her all-time favorite water rowers for its 26 resistance levels and smooth, quiet ride. You can row around the world with SMR™ technology while the auto-adjust feature lets your trainer adjust the machine’s intensity, so all you have to do is sit back and row. Plus, the rower has excellent technology for creating and tracking milestones and goals. 

While the reviews for this water rower are mostly positive and comment on how fun the pre-programmed workouts are, some advanced rowers have said that the machine isn’t challenging enough. The machine has 26 levels of resistance, but the highest level could still feel too light if you’re used to very heavy workouts.

As seen in our roundup of the best rowing machines of 2023, the Ergatta water rower is designed to be on display. It’s hand-crafted with locally sourced cherrywood and features a sleek touch-screen monitor. Just note, there’s just one resistance level on this rower to more closely mimic that of real water rowing. It also has game-based workouts to challenge you daily. Sponaugle recommends the Ergatta water rower, noting that it’s enjoyable to use, which helps with one’s consistency in working out. She also highlights how smooth and realistic the rower feels compared to real water. 

With an average rating of 4.9 stars out of 5 from 700 plus customers, it’s obvious Ergatta is a rower favorite. One reviewer writes, “Ergatta is a very cleverly designed machine with multiple ways to psychologically hook yourself to wanting to come back (race others, race yourself, collect tokens, keep the ball in the target zone, relax with open row, unlock donation). This has resulted in one of my most consistent exercise programs ever.”

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Our expert Trevor Franklin recommends this machine for a foldable, sleek, and ergonomic water rower that only takes up as much space as a three letter size paper when folded. It’s less expensive than other options, and easy enough to store in the closet when not in use. The LCD monitor displays time, distance rowed, 500M split time, and the number of strokes per minute—so you can seamlessly track your performance and progress. The machine also comes in three colors of wood: black, contrast, and orange. 

The Trunk water rowing machine has a 4.5 out of 5-star rating on Amazon. Most negative reviews touch on the assembly instructions, but confirm that this machine is worth it once it’s complete. One reviewer says, “I am very pleased with the rower given the price point. I use a professional rower at the gym and was worried this would feel inferior. It really doesn’t. It easily folds up with no leaks if filled to the max amount.”

Both of our experts recommend the CityRow by WaterRower as the best smart water rowing machine. They give accolades to the immersive workout experience that this high-tech, multisensory rower offers. It features innovative water resistance technology and a 19.5-inch sweat-resistant touchscreen (the largest on our list) with a 30 degree adjustable viewing angle and high-fidelity speakers. It also pairs with your Apple Watch to sync every workout and display your stats in real-time to track your progress. The brand has thousands of on-demand classes taught by top instructors that are constantly refreshed, so you’ll never get bored. 

This smart water rowing machine is the most expensive on our list, but you can opt to rent it in your home on a monthly basis to test it out. One reviewer writes, “I can’t tell you how much I enjoy the classes on this rower. I’ve had a rower previously and I didn’t use it because I got bored. But with Cityrow, I get excited to work out daily!”

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This professionally-designed water rower truly emulates the feeling of real-life outdoor rowing. It is the top budget-friendly choice of our expert, Sponaugle. With a three-type mode system that allows you to choose between manual, interval custom, and target, you can customize your workouts or connect to the FitShow app to level up your guided workouts. Bonus points for the multiple wood color options, which make it easy to fit this machine to your aesthetic. 

The rower boasts exclusively five-star reviews on the brand’s website, which does always leave us a bit skeptical. That considered, people seem to love this machine. One writes, “I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of this rower! I was pleased to find that it is indeed solid walnut. Easy to assemble, easy to maneuver, and operate! I can already tell it will stand up to years of abuse.”