Peloton
Official site: onepeloton.com
Where Peloton fits without a bike
People assume Peloton means buying a bike. The app on its own, with no hardware, is a different and much cheaper product, and that is what we tested. It turns your phone or TV into a stream of studio-style classes: cycling if you have any bike, but also running, strength, yoga and bootcamp that need none. As a class library led by charismatic instructors, it is one of the most polished in this comparison.
What works
- Named instructors and high production make the classes genuinely motivating
- Plenty of off-bike content: strength, running, yoga, bootcamp and more
- The app membership costs a fraction of owning the hardware
What grates
- It is class-led energy, not a progressive plan that tracks your weights
- You get the most from cycling, which still assumes you have some bike
- Strength classes are solid but shallow next to a dedicated lifting app
What the app membership includes
The app membership opens the full class catalog without any equipment requirement beyond what a given class names. The strength and bootcamp sections are deeper than people expect, and the instructors carry the sessions; this is the app to pick if motivation, not programming, is what you are short on. What it is not is a structured strength plan. There is no system nudging your loads upward week over week, so it rewards consistency more than progression.
On the phone
The app is slick and stable. Classes load quickly, the schedule of live sessions adds a sense of occasion, and casting to a TV is reliable for the longer workouts. Metrics are lighter than on the dedicated hardware, but for app-only members the on-screen cues and timers are clear and stay out of the way. It is one of the more enjoyable apps here to simply open and use.
The price for a U.S. member
The app membership runs about $12.99 a month, among the lowest recurring fees in this comparison, with no bike required. That makes it a low-risk way to get studio-quality classes at home. If you later buy hardware the plan changes, but on its own the app is cheap, and the value comes down to whether instructor-led energy is what keeps you training.
Our scoring
| Coaching and programming | 6/10 | |
| Class variety | 9/10 | |
| Beginner support | 8/10 | |
| Value for the U.S. price | 9/10 | |
| Phone and screen experience | 9/10 | |
| Video production | 10/10 | |
| Progress tracking | 6/10 | |
| No-equipment options | 8/10 | |
| Strength depth | 5/10 | |
| Cancellation terms | 8/10 |
