Air vs Water vs Magnetic Rowing Machines: Which Is Best?

Short answer: choose air for training and comparing scores, water for the living room and a boat-like feel, and magnetic if you want the quietest, cheapest, most compact option. Everything else (electromagnetic, hydraulic, elastic) is a variation or a compromise.

This guide is based on how each type works, manufacturer specs and retailer listings, not hands-on testing. No noise figures are given because I haven’t measured any. See the about page.

The five types in one table

Air resistance

How it works. A flywheel with fan blades spins inside a cage. The faster you spin it, the more air it moves, and the more resistance you feel. Pull harder, get more resistance. Rest, and it eases.

Models. Concept2 RowErg at around £990, Xterra ERG780 at around £449 to £499, Body Power AR30 at around £369 and JTX Ignite AirX at £799 (checked 30 Oct 2026). JTX Freedom Air at £399 mixes air with magnetic resistance.

The upside. Resistance responds to you, so the stroke teaches itself: a sharp, clean drive meets a firm response, a soft one doesn’t. It is also the type used on the Concept2, so 2k tests and club comparisons make sense.

The downside. Noise. A fan moves air and you hear it. I have no figures for any air rower, but the physics says the louder you pull, the louder it gets.

Settings. Air rowers have a damper lever. People assume a higher setting means a harder workout. It doesn’t work that way: it changes the feel of the stroke, not the effort you must put in. The drag factor guide explains it, and most beginners are better off with a lower setting than they expect.

Who should buy air. People who want to improve at rowing, follow a plan like the 2k erg programme or compare scores.

Who should not. Light sleepers sharing a wall, or people who want a screen with someone telling them what to do.

Water resistance

How it works. A tank of water with paddles. Pulling the handle spins the paddles in the water, and the water resists. It is the closest to the feel of a boat on water.

Models. WaterRower Original from around £1,199, Hybrid from around £899, Lite around £999 (checked 30 Oct 2026). Fluid Rower Neon Plus is around £699 and Domyos x WaterRower WR3 £999.99. Marcy AquaPro Hydro is around £399 at Fitshop, which is the cheaper end of the range.

The upside. A smooth, rhythmic feel and a calming sound. Wooden models look good in a living room. WaterRower machines stand on their end to store, at about 209 cm tall.

The downside. Price. A named water rower costs more than an equivalent air rower. And monitors tend to be simpler: scores aren’t comparable with Concept2 rankings. Also, a filled tank adds a lot of weight to a machine that is around 30 kg before water.

Noise. The sound is water moving, not a fan. By how it works I’d expect it to be a calmer sound than an air rower, but it is not silent and I haven’t measured it.

Who should buy water. People who value feel and looks, and who have an upright storage space.

Who should not. People who want to race on a standard scale, or who live under a low ceiling.

Magnetic resistance

How it works. Magnets act on a flywheel. A knob or motor sets a fixed level. The resistance doesn’t change as you speed up or slow down, in the way air or water do.

Models. Viavito Sumi at around £169, Domyos Initial Rower 100 at £199.99, Echelon Row from around £599, Domyos Training Rower 900 at around £600, ProForm 750R at around £699 and NordicTrack RW300 at around £799 with 26 levels (checked 30 Oct 2026).

The upside. Cheap, compact and generally the quietest type, because there is no fan or water. Many fold. Many have levels you can set and forget.

The downside. Feel. The resistance does not respond to the stroke in the way air does, and some people find it “flat”. The monitors are budget-grade. Many of the better ones need a subscription for the full experience (Echelon Premier, or iFIT Train at £14 a month on the RW300).

Who should buy magnetic. People who need quiet and space savings, or are on a tight budget and want to start.

Who should not. People who want to train for a 2k and compare scores, or who are over the weight limits, which can be low, so check each machine.

Electromagnetic and “smart” resistance

Hydrow uses electromagnetic resistance, which a screen can control. The Wave is around £1,435 and the Origin around £1,515 at Fitshop (checked 30 Oct 2026), with a membership on top that is sold separately and needed for full use.

This is a different proposition from the other types: you buy resistance that can be changed by the class, plus a library. If that is what you want, see the Hydrow rowing machine review.

Hydraulic and elastic

The cheapest rowers use hydraulic pistons or elastic cords. The Domyos Folding Rowing Machine 100, at around £100, is one example. They are small and cheap. They don’t give a rowing stroke, they give a short, arm-heavy movement, so I’d treat them as light exercise, not rowing.

Does the type change how you train?

Yes, in three ways.

Pacing. On an air or water rower, a hard stroke gets a hard response, so effort and resistance rise together. On a magnetic rower the load is fixed per level, so the only way to change effort is to pull faster. That is fine for steady work. It makes interval sessions that rely on a “hard pull” feel less natural.

Technique feedback. A rower with responsive resistance makes a weak or rushed drive obvious, because the flywheel or water barely moves. A fixed-load machine hides that more. If you are learning, the common technique faults are easier to feel on air or water. This is rowing-coach reasoning, not something I have measured.

Comparability. Only Concept2 scores are the shared scale for 2k tests. A score on a WaterRower, Xterra or Echelon is yours alone. That is not a flaw, but it matters if you want to see where you rank.

Whatever the type, the stroke rate guide applies. Ratings of “level 8” on one magnetic machine mean nothing on another, so use stroke rate and pace to compare your own sessions.

What the budget buys in each type

• Under £200: basic magnetic rowers such as the Viavito Sumi at around £169 and Domyos Initial Rower 100 at £199.99, plus hydraulic and elastic machines.
• £300 to £500: air arrives here. Body Power AR30 at around £369, JTX Freedom Air at £399, Xterra ERG780 at around £449 to £499. Water starts here too, with the Marcy AquaPro Hydro at around £399 at Fitshop.
• £500 to £1,000: the widest choice. Fluid Rower Neon Plus at around £699, WaterRower Hybrid from around £899, Lite at around £999 and Concept2 at around £990, plus screen-and-subscription magnetic machines from around £699.
• Over £1,000: WaterRower Original and Metallic, tall-legs Concept2 and Hydrow.

Cost, noise and feel side by side

Type	Typical UK price range here	Noise logic	Feel	Best for
Air	£369 to £990	Fan, loudest	Responsive	Training, comparing scores
Water	£399 to £1,199+	Water swish	Smooth, boat-like	Living rooms
Magnetic	£169 to £799	No fan, quietest	Fixed, flatter	Quiet, compact, budget
Electromagnetic	£1,435 to £1,515 plus membership	Screen audio	Controlled by class	Classes
Hydraulic or elastic	From around £100	Varies	Short stroke	Light use

The noise column is reasoning, not measurement.

How to choose

A rule of thumb about price: the two types where the resistance responds to you (air and water) cost the most to get right, while magnetic is where cheap machines live. That is why price and type are tangled together, and why a £169 machine and a £990 machine are not like for like.

If you want a recommendation for your budget, go to the best rowing machine guide, then the under £500 or under £1,000 pages. For the premium trio, see Concept2 vs WaterRower vs Hydrow. If you’re a first-timer, the beginners guide matters more than the type. For small homes see the small spaces guide and the folding guide. The Concept2 RowErg review covers the air benchmark in more depth.

Once you’ve chosen, the stroke rate guide and common technique faults will help whatever the resistance type. You can look up the Concept2 RowErg or browse the rowing machines hub.