Expert-Tested: Tonal Review (2025) – Breaking Muscle | , home gym, weightlifting,expert-tested: tonal review (2025) – breaking muscle, expert-tested:

Tonal is a high-tech smart gym that makes starting an effective strength workout as easy as stepping into the next room. It has a cable resistance system with multiple attachments, so there is no need for additional equipment. You can choose between instructor-led sessions or work out independently using the demonstrations on the large touchscreen. There are a variety of workouts outside of strength training, including high-intensity interval training (HIIT), cardio, dance, yoga, Pilates, and more.

As a certified personal trainer and wellness product reviewer, I’ve tried (and stopped using) several pieces of home gym equipment. I also work with a team of other expert product reviewers, some of whom have had Tonal for several years and still use it consistently.

This Tonal review describes our experience using it, including details about the equipment, workouts, accessories, and other features. We also spoke to fitness expert Rachael Gonzalez, C.P.T., C.S.C.S., about Tonal’s workout modes and how they can benefit exercisers.

Related: Best Home Gym Equipment

How I Rate Tonal

Based on our experience, we give Tonal an overall 5/5 rating. The only category where it didn’t receive a score is assembly, which doesn’t apply since professional installation is required.

Here’s a look at the scoring breakdown on a scale of 1–5:

Overall: 5 out of 5

We’re extremely satisfied with the Tonal equipment and programming. We can get a full workout without taking up a lot of space with free weights or having to pay to go to a gym and leave the house.

Durability: 5 out of 5

The equipment is durable, and we haven’t had any issues. However, moving the arms can be noisy, which may concern people installing it on a shared wall. We had one arm that clicked slightly for a while, but following the troubleshooting instructions on the Tonal website helped fix it.

Feel and Comfort: 4 out of 5

Some weightlifting moves don’t feel entirely safe or stable, so we usually replace them with ones we’re more comfortable with. The handles, bar, and rope accessories are comfortable to hold and easy to use.

Optionality/Adjustments: 5 out of 5

Tonal automatically adjusts weight as you progress, which is really nice. Some workouts have a movement replacement option where you select a modification for the recommended exercise, which has been helpful in certain instances. For example, during pregnancy, you’re supposed to avoid twisting moves, so when one of our testers started lifting after her first trimester, she could easily substitute these moves.

Functionality: 5 out of 5

Tonal has worked very well, and one of our testers says it has drastically improved her strength. When she started using Tonal in 2021, she was in the bottom 25 percent of all women. Now, she’s in the top 28 percent, and watching her score increase has motivated her to keep improving.

What Is Tonal?

The Tonal machine is a wall-mounted smart mirror with a built-in touchscreen and two adjustable arms that extend from the sides of the machine and can be moved up and down depending on what exercises you’re doing. You can choose between an on-demand or live instructor-led class or do your own exercises using the Free Lift option. Throughout each class and in Free Lift mode, a trainer explains how to adjust the arms and attach accessories and demonstrates proper form.

Workouts on the built-in workout app include weightlifting exercises such as squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses, lat pulldowns, tricep extensions, curls, and bench presses. The movement library has over 170 exercises to choose from. Each exercise is performed under the resistance of a cable pulley system using a bar, rope, or handle attachment, with up to 100 pounds of resistance per side for a combined 200 pounds.

Related: Best Functional Trainers

Tonal recommends weights for each session based on an initial assessment, and your progress and performance determine adjustments. It offers unique weight modes, video form feedback, and floor workouts such as yoga and Pilates. The Tonal app also gives you access to workouts that don’t require the machine arms, so you can work out on the go.

Tonal Technology

Tonal uses artificial intelligence—Coach AI—to track progress, movement, and data from your workouts to make adjustments, weight recommendations, program suggestions, and more. You don’t have to worry about answering questions like: What do I need to work on today? What weights should I use? Should I focus on my lower body or do a full-body workout? Instead, one tap of the 24-inch touchscreen reveals an interactive library of on-demand and live classes or workout programs. Even in Free Lift mode, an option often used by experienced lifters, Coach AI tracks your data and makes adjustments and weight recommendations.

The first time you use Tonal, you’ll complete the Strength Assessment, which starts by choosing from the following goals:

• Gain strength by focusing on large muscle groups and increasing resistance
• Improve performance with sport-specific training such as cycling, running, or swimming
• Boost energy with upbeat cardio workouts
• Build muscle with high-volume hypertrophy training
• Get lean with HIIT
• Maintain fitness with well-rounded workouts

After selecting your goal, you’ll indicate whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced exerciser and perform several movements—including a seated lat pulldown, seated overhead press, bench press, and neutral grip deadlifts—to help Coach AI get to know you and adapt to your needs, much like an online personal trainer. Your strength assessment results are used by Coach AI as a baseline when selecting the weight for each movement and to recommend workouts and programs.

While this is a good starting point, it could be better. It’s hard to assess your overall fitness based on a single workout—what if you had an off day? Tonal addresses this by learning more about your strength level based on your performance in subsequent workouts and adjusting the weight settings to reflect your strength better.

During daily training sessions, it uses metrics such as time under tension, power output, range of motion, weight, and time to make weight adjustments and measure progress. Coach AI can detect when your form isn’t correct using your positioning, range of motion, and pacing. If it senses uncertain quality, it provides audible and on-screen reminders and feedback or turns off the weight. For example, the resistance shuts off if the bar tilts during a bench press because it suggests the movement is incorrect or unstable. If it senses you are moving the weight too easily, it increases the load each rep so you get the intended stimulus of the workout.

Weight Modes and Expert-Led Workouts

Another impressive feature is the four weight modes: Spotter, Burnout, Chains, and Eccentric. In Spotter mode, Tonal senses when you are struggling with a rep, lowers the weight so you can complete it, and returns the weight for the next rep to re-challenge your strength. Burnout senses fatigue and reduces weight until you finish the set. The Chains mode replicates the feeling of putting chains on the barbell by increasing the resistance during a lift’s concentric or shortening phase. Eccentric increases the resistance as you release the weight for more time under tension, which may help muscle growth.

Tonal enables each mode automatically during live and on-demand workouts. This automation creates a seamless transition between segments like supersets, where you concentrate on opposing muscle groups with little rest in between. If you want to work out with a partner, weight adjustments for both parties are automated.

Experienced experts lead each workout by demonstrating and talking you through set up and proper form. Even if you choose to follow the Free Lift setting or build a custom workout using the extensive movement library, there are video explanations of how to perform each movement. When you enable a specific weight mode, the weight is adjusted automatically, or you can adjust it manually on the screen using the dial. Interestingly, you can adjust the weight in one-pound increments, an uncommon feature in most cable machines and free weights, which typically adjust in 2.5 or five-pound increments.

To access these features, you’ll need a paid membership for $60 monthly, and Tonal requires a subscription for the first year. The only way to use Tonal without the membership is to manually set the weights to perform unguided exercises like a cable machine.

Tonal Equipment

The purchase price of $3,995 includes the machine (which includes the touchscreen and arms) and no accessories. Aside from the floor workouts, most workouts use the arms and attachments, so Tonal isn’t usable without them. While you can use attachments from other brands, you’ll need to purchase T-lock adapters from Tonal for $43.

The smart accessories bundle from Tonal costs $495. If your budget allows, I recommend buying it because it includes everything you need to start using your Tonal immediately. Each accessory is available separately, so you can also choose what works best for you. Here’s a breakdown of what the bundle includes and pricing for each item individually:

• Two Bluetooth-enabled smart handles, $250
• One Bluetooth-enabled smart rope, $50
• One Bluetooth-enabled smart bar, $75
• Weight bench, $85
• Foam roller, $40
• Workout mat, $50

The smart accessories have a safety feature to turn the weight on and off with a button rather than by touching the screen, so you can position yourself before loading. The handles have a button on the side that’s easy to reach while gripping, and the rope and bar come with an attachable clip.

How to Work Out With Tonal Home Gym

As a beginner, our tester initially thought working out with Tonal was intimidating, but it’s a simple process once you learn how the smart home gym works. With a membership, you can choose between live and on-demand classes or a progressive program. Based on your Strength Score established in the initial assessment, the recommended weights are set automatically for you.

From there, you follow the trainer’s instructions and on-screen prompts to set the arms and choose the right accessories for each move. Tonal automatically adjusts the weight, counts reps, and provides form feedback as you progress through the workout. There’s even an audible cue when you have two reps left, so you know what to expect if you’re facing away from the machine.

Free Lift allows you to choose from the library of movements and do as many sets and reps as you’d like. Much like the classes, the screen displays your live stats, and you receive a workout summary with your time under tension, range of motion, power output, and total volume lifted.

You can do floor workouts such as cardio, yoga, and barre directly on Tonal or by using the Tonal app on another device.

Workout Programs and Exercises

Strength training is the main draw of Tonal, so most of Tonal’s content focuses on weightlifting and HIIT training with weights. In addition to the four weight modes mentioned earlier, there are two custom modes:

• Recovery Mode: Decreases recommended weight; very useful for when you’re sore, not feeling well, or recovering from an injury
• Smart Flex: Adds and subtracts weight at the strongest and weakest points of each rep

Gonzalez says these options add variety and challenge, enhancing strength gains and training overall. “Diversification in your routine keeps you engaged and introduces new challenges,” she says. “Plus, variation can help you push past a training plateau.”

Trainer-led workouts on Tonal automatically implement these modes depending on the intended stimuli, but you can activate them manually in the settings for any workout. You can adjust the weight at any point during your workout using the dial on the screen.

“When training, I’m always super mindful of how my body feels and take it easy when I need to, so the Recovery Mode option would work well for when you’re sore or just want to move,” Gonzalez says. “I really like the eccentric-focused mode. During the eccentric portion of a rep, the muscle lengthens while under tension,” she says. “The eccentric portion of a lift occurs when you are lowering the weight, moving against the opposing force of gravity, and research shows controlled lengthening of the muscle fibers contributes to overall strength and muscle development.”

In addition, there are several other types of workouts available on Tonal, including:

• Barre
• Boxing
• Cardio
• Dance Cardio
• Kickboxing
• Meditation
• Mobility
• Pilates
• Pre and Postnatal
• Recovery
• Strength
• Warm-up
• Yoga

Tonal has a massive catalog of guided workouts and workout programs and a library of over 200 bodyweight moves to allow you to build custom workouts.

The guided programs range from three to five weeks and focus on goals like improving overall fitness, gaining lean muscle mass, and burning fat. For example, Fundamentally Fit guides you through basic movement patterns, and House of Volume uses progressive overload to build strength. Many users on Reddit recommend Four Weeks to Fat Loss, a combination of resistance training and HIIT to maximize energy output. One says, “Four Weeks to Fat Loss did amazing things to my body composition! Doing that program was when I really started to see a difference in how my clothes fit.”

Tonal Accessories

The smart handles help replicate moves performed with dumbbells and kettlebells, like hammer curls, bicep curls, or goblet squats. The smart rope can copy moves with a rope or chains, like pull-throughs or tricep extensions. Finally, the bar can replicate barbell moves such as deadlifts and bench presses. You can purchase accessories from another brand, but the smart accessories bundle from Tonal has Bluetooth connectivity, so you can press a single button on the accessory to turn the weight on or off.

If you buy third-party accessories, you must purchase T-locks from Tonal to attach them securely. Additionally, you’ll need to turn the weight on and off directly on the touchscreen.

Tonal Instructors

Tonal has a roster of expert instructors based in its New York studio and guest coaches who occasionally provide unique content. These fitness experts have diverse backgrounds, from competitive athletes to sports medicine.

All Tonal-created workouts are instructor-led, so you’ll hear tips about form and safety throughout. Each instructor brings a unique style, personality, and expertise to the table, and Tonal users generally find instructors they prefer. For many, this provides the experience of working with a personal trainer, and several of Tonal’s past and current coaches offer personal training services outside of Tonal. For these reasons, Tonal allows you to filter workouts by instructor.

App Connectivity

The Tonal app allows you to access your workout history, create workouts, and do floor workouts directly from your phone. The only thing you can’t do on the Tonal app is weightlifting workouts that require using the resistance cables.

In addition, Tonal connects to several fitness apps, including Apple Health, Google Fit, and Strava. It also syncs with several heart rate monitors using Bluetooth, and you can connect to your Amazon Music or Apple Music account to stream or choose from the 14 stations on Tonal Radio.

Community

Tonal has several features to help keep members engaged with the community and the equipment.

First, there are several achievements you can earn for performing certain types of workouts, working out on holidays or birthdays, or reaching milestones like weekly streaks or 1,000,000 pounds lifted. Your workout summary lists the badges and milestones reached and your progress toward the following milestones. The Total Achievements Card shows how many workouts you’ve finished, the pounds you’ve lifted, and the longest weekly streak you’ve completed. You earn badges by trying a new workout type, training consistently, and working out at a different time of day. These achievements can be shared with friends and family using the mobile app.

The Tonal Leaderboard ranks all active exercisers based on how many days or hours they’ve used Tonal in the last 30 days, so the more you train, the higher you’ll rank.

Your Strength Score increases from the baseline as you get stronger and demonstrate progress during workouts. These improvements are calculated based on your historical workout data and are a huge source of motivation for many Tonal users. Using a percentage-based comparison, you can see how your Strength Score ranks against others, so some friendly competition is involved.

Tonal has a very active social media community if you prefer direct interaction with other members. The brand’s private Facebook community, The Official Tonal Community (OTC), has over 53,000 members and regularly hosts workout challenges and live discussions with Tonal trainers.

What It’s Like to Use Tonal

Our tester has had Tonal for over two years, and she’s used it consistently the entire time, only stepping away briefly for injury recovery and pregnancy.

Before Tonal, despite being fully aware of the benefits of resistance training, she had no weightlifting experience beyond the occasional half-hearted kettlebell or dumbbell workout.

Tonal takes all the guesswork out of resistance training so you can lift the weights and reap the benefits, which is our favorite thing about it. You don’t have to worry about setting weights, planning workouts, increasing weights or reps, or tracking your progress.

At first, our tester didn’t understand Tonal’s difficulty levels. She thought the Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced class levels aligned with strength and fitness experience, but they correlate with the technicality of the moves involved. Beginner classes may include heavy weights if recommended by your Strength Score and the algorithm. The “beginner” aspect is that the workout moves are less technical, making effective strength training accessible to those who might typically be considered “casual” fitness enthusiasts.

Our tester says Tonal is a lot of fun. She’s discovered she loves lifting weights, and when she misses a few workouts, she gets antsy about getting started again. Tonal introduced her to barre, a ballet-inspired floor workout she’s grown to adore. There aren’t many new floor workouts, which is sad because she loves the barre and pre/postnatal classes.

Our tester has attended live classes, but she doesn’t very often. Sometimes, she struggles with the pacing for floor/cardio workouts but finds the weightlifting workouts easy to follow. Mostly, she sticks to on-demand workouts because she appreciates the guided warm-up, exercise, and cool-down.

One concern users in the Tonal Facebook community raise is the lead trainer demonstrates the moves during a live workout, which is not true for on-demand classes. These workouts use the lead trainer’s voiceover and cut to another trainer demonstrating the exercises. This inconsistency doesn’t bother us, but some say it disrupts their flow or makes it harder to follow.

Instructors With a Variety of Styles

The instructors showcase their personalities, and none of the workouts our tester watched seem overly scripted or cheesy. Tonal recently moved their studio from California to New York and replaced the coaching staff. Our reviewer had grown accustomed to the “old” coaches and still gravitates toward their workouts because she likes their calm demeanor. Some coaches have a bubbly, energetic coaching style, and others take a tough-love approach.

These trainers have diverse professional backgrounds to support the workouts they design. For example, when our tester’s doctor cleared her to work out after a knee injury, she found Coach Liz’s workouts helpful because the coach is also a physical therapist.

More Strength, Mobility, and Range of Motion

Our tester completed several of the guided programs and saw consistent strength gains from each program. The programs can get repetitive, though, since many of them repeat the same two or three workouts for the duration of the program.

When our tester started using Tonal, her Strength Score was 133, and she was in one of the lowest percentiles of all female Tonal members. Although her progress has been slow, her Strength Score is now 354, and according to Tonal, she’s stronger than 82 percent of all female users. Something about getting higher and higher in those percentiles is supremely motivating for her. In addition to her soaring strength, she’s experienced improvements in her mobility and range of motion.

Related: Best Resistance Bands

What We Love About Tonal

• It makes strength training straightforward by calculating your starting weight, providing well-designed workouts, and automatically increasing weight as your strength improves.
• It’s fun to use and features a huge variety of workout types in addition to strength training.
• Trainers have different areas of expertise and varying coaching styles.
• It works to increase your strength, and it offers tons of ways to track your progress or to compete against yourself or others.
• It chooses weight based on your progress, so you can avoid advanced technical moves and still build strength.

What to Consider About Tonal

• Tonal is a substantial financial investment. The total cost for the first year is over $5,000, which includes tax, installation, the smart accessory pack, and the required first year of paid membership.
• It may not be appropriate for advanced weightlifters. If you’ve been training for a while and built up a lot of strength, you may not get a considerable benefit from Tonal since it maxes out at 100 pounds per arm.
• Tonal requires a lot of space for the arms to extend fully and for you to spread out to perform all the moves. If you have limited floor space, it may not be a good fit for you.

How Much Is Tonal?

The base price of Tonal is $3,995, and the optional smart accessories bundle (which we highly recommend purchasing) is an additional $495. Professional installation, which is required, costs $295. Several users on Reddit report signing a Release of Liability waiver and installing it themselves, but there is no option to remove the installation charge at checkout. Tonal often runs promotions and offers free shipping and installation.

A subscription is required for the first year and costs $60 per month. You can discontinue the membership after one year, but you’ll lose access to many features.

If you purchase Tonal, the optional smart accessories bundle, and the required one-year subscription, the total cost of Tonal within the first year is roughly $5,500 before taxes, not including delivery and installation.

Tonal Subscription

A monthly subscription costs $60 per month and isn’t technically required after you’ve completed your first year of membership.

You can only use Tonal as a cable machine for free lift workouts, and without a membership, you won’t have access to any Tonal content, weight modes, workout or strength data, history, or custom workouts.

Assembly and Installation

The Tonal website says professional installation is required. Before purchasing, you’ll need to complete a survey providing additional information for the installers, such as where to set up Tonal and the stud spacing in your walls.

If they determine you don’t have an appropriate place to install it, there are solutions. The brand offers wide-mount adapter bars and installation kits for metal studs. If you have concerns about where you can have Tonal installed, contact the brand’s customer service team for help. Typically, installation fees are $295, but Tonal occasionally offers free delivery and installation.

If you move, you’ll need to schedule a professional reinstallation. Tonal offers relocation packages for moving homes or simply relocating furniture to another room. Relocation fees range from $300 to $500 plus taxes, depending on your chosen service.

Tonal does not cover damage caused by attempting to install or reinstall the home gym, and if you choose this option, Tonal requests you sign a Release of Liability waiver.

Warranty and Customer Service

Tonal offers a two-year limited warranty on the trainer and touchscreen, which covers parts, shipping, and labor. The smart accessories have a one-year warranty for parts plus shipping and labor. For such a premium (and expensive) piece of equipment, a five-year warranty on the device would be nice—and more comparable to warranties offered by other premium fitness equipment brands.

Tonal customers have had mixed experiences with customer service. Some say customer service quickly and competently addressed their concerns, while others say they needed more urgency from the customer service team.

What Customers Say About Tonal

The Tonal website has several glowing reviews from its users, many of whom say they have canceled their gym memberships while drastically improving their strength and fitness levels. Several reviewers are excited about their progress and enjoy the objective tracking data from workouts.

Tonal has a 2.⅖ on Trustpilot. Several critical reviews mention installation, maintenance, and customer service issues. Tonal partners with a third-party company for delivery, installation, and repairs, and many concerns center around problems with this specific company rather than Tonal itself. Positive reviews mention the variety of workouts, convenience, and ease of use.

People on Reddit say they work out more frequently with Tonal and enjoy the extra time saved from skipping gym commutes. Several mention the cable resistance feels heavier than free weights, so the maximum poundage is not a limiting factor. One user says they wish to see a floor-based alternative in the future for those who rent or need to move.

Who Tonal Is Best For

Tonal is ideal for people who are interested in weightlifting but need guidance and support to get started and see results. It’s a great fit for athletes and highly active people who want to advance in strength training to support their athletic endeavors and fitness goals.

Likewise, many dedicated weightlifters have switched from using free weights to this comprehensive, versatile system. Tonal is an excellent option if you dislike going to the gym and prefer an all-in-one home gym solution.

Who Tonal Will Not Work For

Tonal isn’t ideal for people outfitting their home gym on a limited budget. For Tonal’s high price tag, you could buy a complete set of dumbbells or other free weights and other equipment or pay for several years of a gym membership.

Additionally, Tonal likely won’t be a good fit for advanced weight lifters already at or near the maximum of 100 pounds per arm offered for many lifts.

This machine requires adequate space to extend the arms to fully perform all necessary movements. If you live in a small or cramped space, it may not work for you.

How We Tested Tonal

Our tester has had Tonal for over two years. Here are some of the criteria she used to evaluate Tonal when she first received it, and which are still very important to her two years later:

• Programming: Fun and engaging content and motivating features were imperative to help her stay interested in using it regularly. Since she’s used it consistently for the past two years, she can safely say Tonal delivered in this regard. She loves the variety of workouts, the automatic weight increases as she gets stronger, and the different ways Tonal promotes friendly competition with herself and others.
• Safety: Our tester was a beginner at weightlifting when she started using Tonal, so she was concerned she might injure herself. Fortunately, Tonal has several built-in safety features to help prevent injuries. Her favorite safety feature is how the weight automatically turns off if the bar gets tilted during use. The real-time form feedback helps her self-correct during a set, and the coaches often discuss additional safety tips during workouts.
• Durability: Some reviews stating Tonal failed shortly after purchase made our tester nervous, but she’s had no problems. The arms still function well and move easily, and the software is fast and responsive.
• Ease of Use: Tonal is extremely easy to use once you familiarize yourself with how the arms move and rotate. There is a slight learning curve, but our reviewer was able to pick up on the movements pretty quickly. Now, it’s nearly effortless for her to switch from one move to the next, and she doesn’t have to think about which buttons or levers to press to get the arms to move how she wants them to.
• Results: She noticed immediate improvements in her strength when she started using Tonal consistently, and even now, although her progress has slowed, she’s continuing to get stronger.

How to Try Tonal Before Buying

• You can try Tonal in person at any of the six showrooms. Check the Try Tonal locator map to see if there is a showroom near you or to book an appointment.
• If you want to give Tonal a virtual tryout at home, you can arrange a free live video call. Check Tonal’s Virtual Demo booking page to set up an appointment.

How Does Tonal Compare with Other Home Workouts?

Tonal vs. Peloton

Tonal and Peloton are very different but complement one another in several ways. Many Tonal users are also Peloton users since Tonal covers the strength training aspect, while the Peloton bike, treadmill, and rower provide heart-pumping cardio workouts. Each app offers live classes, and the monthly subscription to the Peloton App+ is $24, and Tonal costs $60.

The Peloton App One—$12.99 monthly—houses the brand’s floor workouts and has a much larger and more frequently updated library than the Tonal app. Peloton may work better if you enjoy these classes more than weightlifting. It’s more budget-friendly than Tonal, but Tonal offers a more comprehensive strength training system and programming.

Related: Best Cardio Machines

Tonal vs. Tempo

Tempo is a smart strength training system and one of Tonal’s major competitors. It utilizes free weights outfitted with sensors rather than Tonal’s electromagnetic cable system.

The Tempo Move—an equipment package with 16 weight plates ideal for beginner and intermediate use and a 12-month Tempo membership—starts at $963. It’s a more accessible system for people with limited budgets and has advanced features such as rep counting and monitoring form. Tester Jordan Smith, C.P.T., says, “It did a great job counting my reps, but it didn’t always pick up on my form.”

The Tempo Move does not come with a screen, so you have to use your phone or other device, whereas Tonal has a dedicated workout space to stream workouts from an app. The Tempo Studio has a 42-inch display and ranges from $2,963–$4,463, depending on your accessory package.

Final Verdict: Is Tonal Worth It?

Tonal can be incredible for your health, providing the structure and convenience needed to start and stick to a strength training routine. The fun programming, smart weight recommendations, and space-saving home gym setup make it a worthwhile investment for anyone interested in increasing their strength and who can fit it wisely into their budget.

FAQs