NordicTrack 1750 vs 1250: the 22-inch belt is what the extra $500 buys

If you run, buy the NordicTrack Commercial 1750. If you mostly walk and hike on incline, the NordicTrack Commercial 1250 gets you what you came for and saves about $500. Both fold, both climb to 12% and decline to 3%, both run iFIT, both are rated to 300 lb, and both carry the same 10-year frame warranty. The 1750’s extra money buys a 22 x 60 in belt instead of 20 x 60, a 3.5 CHP motor instead of 3.0, and a 14 in pivoting screen instead of a 10 in one. At time of writing the 1750 typically sells for $1,999 to $2,499 and the 1250 for $1,499 to $1,799.

One thing to settle before the details: both machines are built around a subscription. If you won’t pay for iFIT, neither is the right buy, and we’ll explain why below.

Belt width and motor

Two inches of belt and half a horsepower sound small until you’re at 9 mph. A 20-inch belt is fine for walking and for a runner under 6 ft who lands straight. We want 22 inches for anyone taller, anyone over 250 lb, and anyone whose form opens up late in a run. The 1750’s 3.5 CHP motor also has more headroom for daily mileage, which is the same argument we make for the Sole F80 over the F63.

For a walker it flips. At 3 to 4 mph on a 12% grade, belt width doesn’t matter and a 3.0 CHP motor is doing easy work, so the 1250 is simply the cheaper way into NordicTrack’s incline-and-decline deck. We haven’t bench-tested either one yet, so this comparison runs on the published specs; we’ll measure both on the same meter when retail units arrive.

Decline is on both

The 3% decline is the hardware reason to buy a NordicTrack over a Sole or Horizon, which incline to 15% and stop at zero. For trail runners, hikers and anyone whose knees notice downhill walking, it changes how a session feels, and iFIT’s trainer-led routes use it all the time. The 1250 has it. You don’t need the 1750 to get it.

Watch the incline ceiling, though: 12% on both, short of the 15% on a Sole F80 or a Horizon 7.0 AT. If steep hill walking is the goal, our incline treadmills page shows which machines go higher, including the Commercial 2450 at 15% and the X16 incline trainer at 40%.

Screens and the subscription

The 1750 has a 14 in pivoting touchscreen; the 1250 has a 10 in one. Both are built for iFIT, which at time of writing costs about $39.99 a month for a family plan or $180 a year for an individual. Over five years that’s $1,000 to $2,400 on top of the machine, and our NordicTrack brand page walks through the math.

Both machines work without it. Manual mode gives you full speed, incline and decline control and a handful of built-in workouts. You can’t cast to the screen or install apps on it, though, so a 14-inch screen without iFIT is a very large speed readout. If you already know you won’t subscribe, screen size stops mattering, and our treadmills without a subscription page is a better place to shop.

If you will subscribe, 14 inches is a comfortable size at arm’s length, and the pivot only matters if you use the screen off the belt. The 1250’s 10 in screen is fine for following a trainer and small for anything else.

Footprint, fold and weight

The 1750 is 80 x 38 x 65 in open, folds to 42 x 38 x 71 in, and weighs 340 lb, which makes it one of the heaviest folding treadmills we list. Plan on two people for the box and the uprights. The 1250 is 78 x 36 x 62 in open and folds too, but NordicTrack doesn’t publish a folded size or weight we can cite, so we’ll tape it when one arrives.

Both are rated to 300 lb, the lowest in this price range. With our 50 lb rule, that’s a practical running limit of about 250 lb. A Sole F80 is rated to 350 lb and a Bowflex T9 to 400 lb at similar money, so a heavier runner should start there.

Warranty and price

The warranties are identical: 10 years on the frame, 2 years on parts, 1 year on labor. That’s shorter than the lifetime frame and motor cover you get from Sole or Horizon. Registration is required, so keep the order email.

NordicTrack discounts often, so check the retailer. At 1250 money, the Horizon 7.0 AT is the screenless alternative with a 15% incline and no subscription. At 1750 money, the Sole F80 is the running machine without a fee, and our Sole vs NordicTrack page lays out that choice. The ProForm Pro 2000, from the same parent company, pairs a 3.5 CHP motor with the same 3% decline for a typical $1,799 to $2,299.

Which one we’d buy

The 1750, if we were buying a NordicTrack and planned to keep paying for iFIT. The 22-inch belt and 3.5 CHP motor make it the one NordicTrack we’d run on every day, and the 14-inch screen suits the classes that justify the subscription. We’d buy the 1250 for a walker or incline hiker who wants the decline and the trainer-led routes and doesn’t need the wider belt; the $500 saved is about a year of the family plan. If we weren’t going to subscribe, we’d buy neither and put the money into a Sole F80 or a Horizon 7.4 AT. For the other screen-first option, see Peloton vs NordicTrack.