Best $800 Elliptical Showdown: Nautilus E616 vs Schwinn 470

Two Titans of the Elliptical market are the Nautilus E616 elliptical, and the Schwinn 470 Elliptical.  Both come in at about $800, both are incredibly popular so how do you go about separating the two machines.  Hopefully this article will help you!

The reason that its so hard to choose between the two models is that Nautilus seem to have copied the specs of the Schwinn and produced an IDENTICALLY speced machine. Of the two machines the Schwinn has been on the market for longer, and is the best seller at this price point for elliptical machines.  Its probably no surprise that the same company owns both the Schwinn brand and Nautilus.

If you can compare ellipticals to the car market, its like General Motors making both Chevrolet Tahoe and the GMC Yukon.  Under the badge they are virtually identical:

First lets see what the Nautilus E616 and the Schwinn 470 have in common:

Both are Front Drive Drive Ellipticals

Both these machines are front drive ellipticals, meaning that all the motor/electronics that makes the machine work are at the front of the machine.  For us this is great as it cuts down on both the cost and the complexity of the machine.  Purists may argue that you don’t get such a good elliptical workout with a front drive machine.  For us this only matters when looking at high end machines, at this price we think you get a far better overall machine with a  front drive.  If you are set on a rear drive elliptical then the Proform Smart Drive Elliptical is our choice at this price point.

Similar Stride Length

Again both these ellipticals share the same stride length of 20″.  In our research of using dozens of ellipticals for a fixed length stride elliptical (both of these are) then 20″ provides the best balance of comfort and price for most users.  Unless you are well over 6′ tall then 20″ is a comfortable stride length that won’t over stretch you legs.

Price and Position in their ranges

Price is an important consideration, it also tells us about the machines.  Both these ellipticals come in at about $800, and are at the top of each manufactures ranges.  When choosing the best $800 elliptical then you can expect the build quality to be good, with long warranties and a decent number of features.

Both of these machines are at the top of the manufacturers ranges, so both have more inexpensive versions with similar mechanicals and less features.  For the Schwinn that’s the Schwinn 430 and Nautilus E614

Nautilus E616 vs Schwinn 470 Elliptical Price Comparison:

	Product name	Rating	Price
	Nautilus E616 Elliptical Trainer		Click to see	Learn more >>>
	Schwinn 470 Elliptical Machine		Click to see	Learn more >>>

Differences between the Nautilus E616 and the Schwinn 470

Actually telling the two machines apart is incredibly difficult, most of the difference is really cosmetic, and personal taste.

Consoles:

Summary of Features