Peloton is the popular in-home, connected workout service that has grown like crazy in the past year. It is not inexpensive, though, so can be a major investment. One of the questions we get most often is “is Peloton worth it?”
That is a question we will try to answer in this piece, although we will first do a bit of a spoiler: It depends on your situation.
Is the Peloton Worth Investing In?
As with so many purchase decisions, it depends on how much you use it.
There is no doubt, that Peloton is popular. The service was only introduced in 2014, but quickly grew and went public in 2019. Peloton further benefitted from the COVID-19 pandemic as workout warriors flocked to home-based workouts. We expect that trend to continue, even in a post-pandemic world.
With a healthy marketing budget, Peloton’s ads can be found on everything from online videos to billboards. As of 2022, Peloton boasted about 3 million paying subscribers, but even more, are registered members who might not be recurring subscribers. At $40 a month, that means Peloton has a nice revenue stream. But as a workout warrior, what you are worried about is your monthly subscription fee and will you get your money’s worth for it.
How much is a Peloton?
Let’s start with the cost of Peloton, which is not insignificant. The price of a Peloton bike has actually decreased in the past year but is still expensive. Expect to pay $1,500 or more – without any accessories like shoes or a floor mat (compare that to more than $2,200 per bike a couple of years ago). That is a pretty significant investment in a piece of exercise equipment that really only works once you have spent even more on the subscription. For the cost of a Peloton bike, you can get a pretty nice entry-level road bike, one with a carbon frame and disc brakes.
Speaking of the subscription fee, as of this writing the subscription fee for Peloton’s streaming service was $39 a month. So expect another $500 a year for the subscription, in addition to the upfront cost of the bike. Is it worth it? In order to determine that, we need to look at the benefits, and factor in how often you will use the bike.
Benefits of Peloton
Peloton’s benefits are what make people look past the cost and go all-in. The bottom line is that if you are going to faithfully use a Peloton bike, it might be worth the cost. There are a few things about Peloton that make it so attractive for workout warriors.
First, the monthly subscription gives you unlimited streaming access to all of Peloton’s workouts. You could do two-a-days if your schedule allowed, there is really no limit. Considering that you might drop $20 to go to a spin class in a studio, $39 for the month of unlimited Peloton workouts might not be a bad deal if you use it. The convenience of a home-based workout is not unique to Peloton – everything from Mirror to smart bike trainers (more on that below) to simple streaming workouts on a tablet is available, but Peloton seems to have found a critical mass of users and classes that puts them in the top tier.
Second, you have the option of live workouts with an instructor, or pre-defined on-demand rides. There are up to 14 live classes a day, or you can call up another ride with the on-demand function. There will be no shortage of rides to choose from.
Third, you can ride with friends. Maybe you want to do a ride at the same time as your sibling who lives halfway across the country – you can! It can be a great way to virtually ride together.
Finally, more than one family member can ride the Peloton bike. An all-access Peloton membership allows everyone in your household to share the bike. You just need to make sure everyone remembers their correct bike settings so it fits well from person to person. This is an underrated benefit of a Peloton bike, as having a smart bike trainer is great for a solo rider, but it can be cumbersome for two or more family members to swap their bikes in and out.
If you use Peloton enough, it can really whip you into shape.
