Fitness apps
Is Apple Fitness+ worth it? I tried it for three months, here’s my review
Steven Shaw
Revamped Peloton fitness app now has free content and new subscription tiers
The new structure may attract more users to the fitness platform
Peloton has announced changes to the Peloton app, with new content and a new pricing structure. The company says this is about, “shifting perceptions from in-home to everywhere, fitness enthusiasts to people at all levels”.
In other words, the company wants to move away from its reputation for providing expensive exercise bikes and treadmills and shift towards a more accessible offering that appeals to users regardless of their current fitness levels.
Its new app offers five different membership levels (up from the two currently available – Guide and All-Access), including a new tier that is completely free. But this also means some content will now only be available if you’re willing to pay £24 a month or more for the higher membership levels (or budget constraints).
Peloton has announced changes to the Peloton app, with new content and a new pricing structure. The company says this is about, “shifting perceptions from in-home to everywhere, fitness enthusiasts to people at all levels”.
In other words, the company wants to move away from its reputation for providing expensive exercise bikes and treadmills and shift towards a more accessible offering that appeals to users regardless of their current fitness levels.
Its new app offers five different membership levels (up from the two currently available – Guide and All-Access), including a new tier that is completely free. But this also means some content will now only be available if you’re willing to pay £24 a month or more for the higher membership levels (or budget constraints).
Credit: PelotonWhat is the new Peloton app offering?
The three new subscription options join the pre-existing All Access Membership at £39 a month (which is used by owners of the Peloton Bike and other hardware) and Peloton Guide Membership at £24 a month.
The five subscription tiers now available via the Peloton app are as follows:
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Peloton app subscription tiers
As the name suggests, this tier will cost users absolutely nothing and is designed to be more of a tasting menu of the paid-for tiers.
It includes access to 50 classes from 12 of Peloton’s 16 current class types. Exclusions are Row, Row Bootcamp, Bike Bootcamp and Tread Bootcamp.
Live classes will also be excluded from this tier. The 50 classes will be regularly rotated “on an ongoing basis”, although how often this will be is to be confirmed.
For £12.99 a month users will have access to the second of the three tiers – Peloton App One. This level gives users access to thousands of workouts across nine out of 16 class types.
Live classes are also available and users will be able to do up to three equipment-based classes per month from the cycling, rowing and treadmill programs. You don’t need to use a Peloton machine to participate in your three classes.
It’s worth noting that you’ll have three minutes to decide whether one of these classes is for you before it counts towards your total of three for the month.
The top tier costs £24 a month and offers users access to everything from the first two tiers, plus all of Peloton’s equipment-based workouts.
For anyone who enjoys using their own treadmill or exercise bike alongside Peloton’s classes, this is probably the tier you will need to subscribe to if you want to do more than three classes a month.
Peloton Guide subscribers get App+ membership, plus access to exclusive Peloton Guide content.
This is primarily focused on strength training and helps users count reps and check their form is correct, as well as providing exclusive strength programs.
While Guide may be the same price as App+ per month, it requires you to purchase the Peloton Camera (from £225) to access the additional content.
If you want to use Peloton equipment, such as the Peloton Bike Plus or Peloton Tread treadmill, you’ll need the All–Access Membership (£39 per month).
This gives you access to all the exclusive features, including Scenic (which takes you on virtual outdoor rides) and Peloton Lanebreak (which offers a more gaming-inspired experience as users race along a virtual track).
Why is Peloton doing this?
Credit: PelotonAccording to Peloton, its most recent financial quarter results showed that more than half of all workouts were not cycling related. It also reported that there are around 853,000 Peloton App subscribers. For these customers, it is strength training not cycling, that has been the most popular content.
There’s also the fact that Peloton hardware is extremely expensive. This makes it unattractive or unaffordable to a lot of customers. In those financial results, Peloton reported a quarterly loss of $17.6 million on its ‘connected fitness products’.
Compare this with a gross profit from subscriptions of $287.8 million, and it starts to become clear why it may be seeking to focus more on this aspect of the business.
When will the changes take effect?
Peloton has confirmed that these changes came into effect immediately for new customers. For existing Peloton app subscribers, price changes will come into effect on Tuesday, December 5, 2023.
Peloton will send out emails over the next six months to remind customers of their options before that date. More details are available on its website.
What we think
It’s a bold move for a company to offer content for free. Especially when its financial performance has been challenging since it peaked during the pandemic. There’s an obvious risk that some existing subscribers will stop paying and move to the free tier. But, in some respects, it makes a lot of sense.
Free content may appeal to new users who are wary of committing to a subscription before really knowing what’s available. It may also appeal to beginners or people who are returning to exercise and aren’t feeling very fit. These groups may find this is a great way to ease themselves back into exercise in an affordable way.
Peloton will hope these users will eventually move onto the paid-for plans, or even consider buying some of Peloton’s hardware.
We’re in favour of anything that might encourage more people to experience the benefits of exercise. The free membership is much more limited than the paid-for options. But, it’s a positive step to allow people access to coaching and guidance and embark on a new fitness journey.
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Written by Steven Shaw he/him
Published: Updated:
Steven Shaw has been a freelance writer for a variety of outlets, most notably TechRadar. His degree in Medieval History prepared him less adequately for his career than you might expect, but the years spent working in technology focused retail were much more helpful.
Outside of work, Steven is passionate about health and fitness, and particularly enjoys high-intensity interval training, weight training, and increasingly, spending time recovering. Steven loves reading, films and a wide variety of sports. A particular highlight was watching Viv Richards and Sachin Tendulkar batting together in an exhibition match.
He wishes he could travel more. He can also tell you a lot about the Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, and Carolingians. Most of his non-work time is spent with his young children, who are the living embodiment of high-intensity training.
