5 Items To Buy Instead of a Tonal

I love new gym equipment. And I love when I see new companies and ideas enter the space. But sometimes I think the equipment misses the mark. The Tonal is a piece, for me, that does just that. It can 100% be the right fit for SOME people, but there are just too many reasons why I would never recommend it to the vast majority of people looking to get a good workout in at home.

In this article I’ll dig into a few reasons I don’t like the Tonal and why I think you should skip it, as well as add in a few alternatives that I think are a better investment.

Transparency Note

I have not personally used a TONAL. I have used the vast majority of the items I am going to recommend as alternatives. Some were sent to me for free, some I have discount codes or affiliate links for, and some I paid for myself. Using the links included in this article might provide me with a small kick-back that helps fund this site and the various things I do in the garage gym community.

Links throughout may include Affiliate Links. These help fund the site at no expense to you.

What Is a Tonal?

A Tonal is essentially a functional trainer with some built in flashy smart home tech. It will run you through workouts, track all of your various performance metrics, and manage the load (weight) you are working with. So instead of lifting weights, you are working against their electronic system that provides the tension necessary. At the end of the day, I don’t personally care, and neither do your muscles, if you are working against gravity, weights, friction, or anything else. Your muscles just care that they are working, producing tension, and moving through a range of motion.

The unit has a full Glass Touch Screen not unlike your phone, adjustable arms like a functional trainer so you can perform a number of exercises, full steel construction so it both looks and holds up well, with an adaptable design that supports athletes of all shapes and sizes.

Tonal will run you through assessments to recommend the right resistance, adjust the weight on the fly in 1lb increments as you progress, provide form guidance and more. You can even have the system work in a dynamic mode, similar to how bands works, so that you strengthen in relation to the strength curve of an exercise. Pretty slick. But here are a few negatives I see.

High Price

This one is easy. As of writing this, the Tonal costs $3500 and requires professional shipping and installation, plus taxes. So expect well over $4k when you are done. That is over double what I spent when I set up my garage gym. This included multiple bars, a rack, and more from a US Manufacturer that is often considered fairly high end. You are ONLY getting a functional trainer cable machine in terms of the actual equipment.

Pair this with the $49 a month subscription fee and you are now looking at an extra $600 a YEAR. That is more than I spent on a gym membership for me and my wife combined. I just can’t get behind that when JuggernautAI costs $30 a month, even cheaper when you use one of the many discount codes available (ours is GGC). JuggernautAI will track your workouts, provide adjustments to each workout, let you choose your exercises based on your equipment and personal choices, and much more.

Low Total Weight

Tonal claims that their weight is ready for professional athletes, in fact they have Serena Williams on their homepage. What seems a little wrong is that the entire system can handle 100lbs per arm, or 200lbs combined. Keep in mind, this is plenty for the average person on most lifts. And it is likely more than enough for the majority of cable exercises.

But considering the TONAL is meant to be your EVERYTHING, that 200lbs might not be enough for larger exercises like squats and deadlifts. My 7 year old daughter deadlifts almost 100lbs. My wife deadlifts over 200lbs and rarely trains the deadlift. If you are an adult male you will likely exceed this weight limitation rather quickly.

I’m not sure this is a HUGE issue for everyone, but certainly something that should keep it out of a decent chunk of avid lifters’ homes. Just be realistic with what your goal is with the TONAL and how you will use it.

Limited Functionality

This is honestly the biggest issue for me. The TONAL does some cool things, but it is extremely limited. There are only so many combinations of cable exercises you can do before you run out. And this is coming from someone who does about half of their workouts on cable machines entirely.

For the price tag, I could have a cable machine, a few attachments, a bar, a rack, a bench, and basically everything else I’d use to start a garage gym.

I think for MOST people, that is going to end up being a deal breaker.

Who Should Buy a Tonal?

If you have a decent chunk of money, like new flashy toys, want someone there with you to walk you through every step of the workout, don’t plan on getting too strong, want to just “get in a good workout” throughout the week, and this kind of investment and support will help keep you motivated… then this is likely a solid choice.

There is no right or wrong way to continue to exercise and maintain your health. If that sounds like you, here is the Tonal link, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. I have seen some home gym people own them and love them. No harm no foul on owning something that you enjoy and keeps you healthy.

I want to be perfectly clear here. I don’t think the TONAL is outright bad. I just think you can get more for your money and avoid some of the pitfalls of a subscription based service. Their focus on proprietary attachments, and having multiple billion dollar athletes as their front and center faces for the product, tells me they have a very specific client focused for this one. And remember, that Lebron James sponsorship is coming out of YOUR pocket. And do we really think he uses that thing? You know the Lakers don’t have TONALs in their weight room.

If you read the above and think, nah… I’d like to consider something else, keep reading.

What Should I Buy Instead of a Tonal?

Ok, so the Tonal is expensive and light on function. It does some cool things, but not really your jam. Cool, me neither. Keep in mind that there continues to be more and more Tonal “knock-offs” on the market. Companies doing the same thing but cheaper, or slightly different approach but same price.

We also have a lot of options if we want to lose the subscription, get further away from the “smart tech” world, or otherwise simply buy a much more “normal” piece of gym equipment. I use some quotes there because I myself freaking LOVE some of the smart tech that has shown up lately. Yes, I’m a meat head at heart and love banging iron around, but I also really enjoy the tinkering process some of these devices offer. So you’ll see a balance between old school and new school in the list below.

Beyond Power VOLTRA I

The most direct competitor to the TONAL, is the Beyond Power VOLTRA I. 200lbs of resistance in a VERY small package, with a ton of features that make nerdy gym goers happy. But it is also easy enough for my daughter to use. You do need a more traditional gym set-up for this, but it also comes with NO subscription fee and fits right into an already established home gym.

I have two, which will come out right around the same price as a TONAL, but again, you skip the professional installation and subscription fee. So overall, the VOLTRA I is in my opinion, a better choice for most. The downside from a cost perspective is needing everything else, like a rack, the mounts, cable attachments, and your workout program.

Shogun FLEX

Like the little brother to the VOLTRA I, these come in at a huge discount in price, but sacrifice some of the bigger and badder options. Lower resistance profiles, must use a phone app, and other items make the Shogun FLEX quite a bit different. But if you are lower on the strength curve, these have enough for a majority of movements. In fact each one is about half the TONAL in offered resistance, at about 1/4 of the price (after you buy every accessory they offer). Their app has built-in and FREE workouts, tracking, and exercise options. Meaning if you still want that feature, you get it for no ongoing subscription.

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Speediance

The Speediance might be the most TONAL like item in my list today. It has a ton of the same features, general concept, but with less restrictions. The subscription options are OPTIONAL, you can use a lot of your own attachments without working around the system, plus it integrates with a number of items like a bench, can be used for rowing and more.

The price is also a solid $1000 less than the TONAL. And look at everything it comes with!

Prime Fitness PRODIGY | HLP Selectorized Single Stack

Prime Fitness is best known for their commercial gym equipment. Machines, racks, and more that take up a massive footprint in the best gyms across the planet. But they also cater to the space limited athlete, and their Single Stack option is a perfect fit. Now, this is much more like what you would see in a gym. Plenty of metal, holes, cables, carabiners, pulleys and more. The big call-out here is that the unit has a high cable, low cable, AND a fully functioning adjustable cable column so you can do a HUGE assortment of exercises.

Code GGC saves you 10% on MOST Prime Equipment

They also have a handful of attachments for the unit, and because it is 3×3 tubing with 1inch holes, you can purchase items like a Dip Attachment, Chest Pad, and other options to add some versatility. Prime is always cooking up something delicious, so I’d be shocked if they didn’t have more coming your way here. Keep in mind that this has NO workout programming included, so you would be on your own there. If that isn’t a deal breaker, the Prime equipment is also Made In The USA and is offered in custom colors.

Ironmaster Super Bench Pro V2

Ironmaster makes a wide assortment of items, but their Super Bench line is one of their best known secrets in the Home Gym space. Not only is the bench a fantastic bench, it takes a HUGE assortment of accessories. Leg extensions and curls, dips, pull-ups, cable tower, preacher curl, back extensions… This thing is a BEAST. All of that breaks down and stores away easily, meaning you could seemingly stow it away in a closet. Add in a set of their adjustable dumbbells that can exceed 100lbs EACH and you have a full fledged gym with an endless amount of accessories and options in a small package.

All In One Option

Strength Warehouse USA stocks and ships quite possibly the largest selection of home gym equipment on the planet. They might even beat Amazon! What that means is you can dig into options from over a dozen different manufacturers and pick the one that fits your budget, space, and goals. Whether you want an all in one Single Stack, a do-it-all Multi Stack, or a blend of free weights and machines with a leverage gym. Obviously you need to do some research here, but I can attest for the Body Solid machines myself.

MAIAK-GO

This one isn’t available yet, but it is sure to cause a commotion when it is. Rack attached, smart device, with 200+lbs of resistance. It will be available for a much lower price, as well. Check out their AMA for more details.

I should be getting one of these very soon, for testing, feedback, and review. So stay tuned.

Pick LITERALLY Any Cable Machine

You can obviously pick just about anything out there. A basic cable machine or a functional trainer like the Inspire FT2 gives you ALMOST the same functionality as the TONAL, minus the space saving and fanciness. This one boils down to your goals, space, and budget, because obviously going with a $4000 functional trainer like the FT2 or $5000 piece like the new FT2 Pro, is wildly different in application than the TONAL.

The TONAL itself could disappear in a front room, where the FT2 Pro eats up a quarter of your garage. Both offer subscription services, but they are still wildly different beasts. And going down the rabbit hole of ANY cable machine requires a lot of research around pulley ratios, plate loaded vs selectorized, and more. I have a fullly dedicated article to this topic, so if you want even more than we covered here today, check that out.

The BEST Cable Machines For Your Garage Gym – 2025

Wrap Up on Tonal

I can’t possibly cover EVERY option out there. You have offerings from companies like Rep Fitness with their new ARES and other rack options. StrayDog Strength offers some excellent functional trainer and rack combo units. Bells of Steel has new functions in their Hydra Racks and their Cable Towers. The list goes on.

The take home point is… I think the Tonal is a cool concept, I just think it is more marketing than performance. With them having multiple ULTRA high end athletes promote it, a monthly subscription, required installation, and more, the price is outrageous. The limited weight functionality can be a burden for stronger athletes, and the need to do what THEY want you to, is just out of the question for me. If you are feeling the same, I hope you consider some of these alternatives.

🏅 Own a home gym? Like to save money? Check out my full list of discount codes.