Nautilus E616 vs Sole E25 – Side-by-side Comparison 

When it comes to medium budget priced ellipticals, Nautilus and Schwinn produce the most popular offerings on the market. Yet, there is another manufacturer who is giving them a run for their money. That manufacturer is Sole and their Sole Fitness E25. Today, we put the Sole Fitness E25 up against the Nautilus E616 to help you decide which of them is the best elliptical machine for your home gym.

At A Glance

The Nautilus E616 and the Sole E25 are both front-drive systems. The Nautilus provides you with a 20-inch stride, an auto incline, cushioned articulated foot pedals and progress tracking. 

The Sole E25 has far fewer built-in programs than the Nautilus E616, though it does have a better warranty. It is also about a hundred dollars more expensive than the Nautilus machine. Unless you know that people over 6 feet tall will be using the elliptical, we believe that the Nautilus E616 is the better option.

Comparing Features and Specs

Dimensions

Neither the Sole or the Nautilus machine are foldable. Their footprints are quite similar, however, the Nautilus machine is about 7cm longer than the Sole one. Here are their respective dimensions.

• Nautilus E616: 1.8 m x 68 cm x 1.6 m
• Sole E25: 1.8 m x 61 cm x 1.6 m
  
  

The Sole E25 is considerably heavier than the Nautilus E616 (96 kg compared with 79 kg). This makes it more difficult to move around your home.

Weight Limit

The weight limit on the Nautilus E616 is 300 pounds (136 kg). However, the Sole E25 boosts that by an extra 50 pounds, making it the better option for larger people.

Included Workout Programs

The Nautilus E616 has 29 built-in workout programs, as follows: 12 profile, 9 heart rate control, 4 custom, 2 fitness test, 1 recovery test, 1 quick start. The Sole E25 only provides 10 programs. Two of these programs are heart rate controlled, adjusting the incline and resistance level so that you are working out within your ideal heart rate range at all times. Five other programs provide Cardio, Fat Burn, Hill, Interval and Strength training. There is also a manual mode and two custom user-designed options.

Apps

Both machines have their own branded training app. The E616 provides you access to the Nautilus Trainer app, while the Sole E25 comes with the Sole Fitness app. Another app that comes with the Nautilus machine is the ‘Explore the World’ app, which allows you to use courses from across the globe. The app is constantly updated so that new destination workouts are constantly appearing.

You do not get access to the ‘Explore the World’ app with the Sole E25, but it does link you to such other apps as Fitbit, Mapmyrun and Apple Health. Both ellipticals also provide you with access to such other apps as MyFitnessPal and RunSocial.

Both ellipticals provide you with Bluetooth connectivity but not wifi.

Incline / Decline

Both the Sole E25 and the Nautilus E616 are equipped with a power incline function to allow you to automatically adjust the incline of your workout between 0 and 10 degrees. There is no decline option on either machine.

Warranty

The warranty provisions on the Sole E25 are more encompassing than the Nautilus E616. Here is how they compare:

• Nautilus E616: 10 years frame; 3 years parts/electronics; 1 year labor
• Sole E25: Lifetime frame; 3 years electronics and parts; 1-year labor

Build Quality

Both the Sole E25 and the Nautilus E616 are impressive in terms of their strength and quality construction. Their frames are solid enough to maintain rigidity and stability, even when exercising at maximum intensity. Both machines have both movable and adjustable handles. The adjustable stride length of the E25 gives it the edge in terms of build quality. Four rear wheels on the base of the unit also provide stabilization and eliminate side-to-side motion.

Console

The Nautilus E616 provides you with a Dualtrack backlit LCD window. The workout data that is included on the console is Speed, Time, Distance, Level, and Revolutions Per Minute.
The Sole E25 console is not as impressive as the Nautilus E616. You get just a single screen, which has a 6.5-inch LCD display. Bluetooth audio speakers are built-in, and there is a fan.

Price

Both of these ellipticals are in the $1000 category. The Nautilus E616 is slightly under that figure, while the Sole E25 is slightly more expensive.

What Others Are Saying

The Sole E25 is popular with online reviewers, many of whom acclaim its smooth stride motion and adjustable stride length. Many people also wrote about the solid build of the Sole E25, along with auto incline power function. However, a few reviewers have also mentioned that they received poor service from Sole. Others lamented that the assembly process was quite difficult.

Reviewers of the Nautilus E616 noted its solid build, along with the sharp price. While many mentioned that the E616 was quiet to operate, a couple of people did say that the pedals were squeaky.

Final Thoughts:

The Nautilus E616 and the Sole E25 have many features in common. The major differences are the Nautilus machine has nearly 3 times as many built-in programs; the Sole has a weight limit of 350 pounds, compared with 300 pounds on the Nautilus E616; and the warranty on the Sole E25 is better.

The greater weight capacity make the Sole E25 a better choice for those who are heavier than 250 pounds. For others, though, we recommend the Nautilus E616.