Does a treadmill or elliptical burn more calories?

When it comes to burning calories, your heart rate ismuch more important than what it is that you are doing.

If you can reach and sustain the same heart rate for the same amount of time you will burn pretty much the same amount of caloriesregardless of activity.

The activity that burn the most calories is the one that offers the best balance between increased heart rate and the time you are able to keep going.

Let's say that the elliptical boosts your heart rate from 80 to 150, but that you're only able to keep it up for 10 minutes. That's 70x10=700 extra heart beats and associated calorie use

Now let's say that the treadmill boosts your heart rate from 80 to 130, but that you're able to keep it up for 30 minutes. That's 50x30=1500 extra heart beats and associated calorie use.

In this case the treadmill would have used up more calories.