amp Smart Home Gym Review: The Cheaper Wall Gym, and What the Price Cuts
By The Ironnook Test Desk ·
7.2
amp.ai
The verdict
amp is the value pick among wall-mounted smart gyms: $1,795 with installation, a 6 ft by 2 ft panel and a plan that costs well under half of Tonal's. The price buys a 100 lb ceiling, an iPhone-only app and a recall on early units. Buy it for general fitness and hypertrophy at moderate loads, not for heavy strength work.
Best for: iPhone owners wanting guided strength work in a small room
What we liked
$1,795 with white-glove install, against $4,295 for a Tonal 2
Compact 6 ft by 2 ft by 1 ft panel needs a 3 ft by 7 ft clear zone
Plan is about $23 a month, roughly a third of Tonal's $59.95
Five accessories included, covering 400+ movements per the maker
90-day return trial lowers the risk of an install you cannot undo
What could be better
Resistance tops out at 100 lb, too light for serious heavy pulling
The Gym Monster 2 is the smart gym for people who rent, cannot drill into studs or want barbell, cable and rowing work from one machine. It offers more range of motion and exercises than any wall-mounted rival we looked at, for hundreds of dollars less than Tonal 2. Software polish, loud heavy sets and the 220 lb ceiling stop it short of a top score. Serious lifters should still buy a rack and plates.
Tonal 2 is the best digital-resistance trainer you can buy, and it does fold a rack and dumbbells into one wall panel. But the real cost is closer to $5,800 in year one, the membership is mandatory, and the machine is a smart screen first. Buy it for space and coaching, not to save money.
7.6$4,295 (plus $59.95/mo membership)
Smart Strength Systems
App runs on iPhone and iPad only, with no Android version
MP2 arm-lock recall covered units sold January to August 2025
Wall install is permanent and a later move costs $300 to $500
Coaching depth and weight suggestions trail Tonal's, per reviewers
amp costs $1,795 with installation, less than half of a Tonal 2. The catch is a 100 lb ceiling, an iPhone-only app, a $23 monthly plan and a 2025 recall on the first-year arm.
Tonal 2 set the template for the wall-mounted smart gym, and the template came with a four-figure bill. amp, a newer name in the category, undercuts it by more than half. So the useful question is not whether amp is good. It is which corners the lower price cut, and whether you can live without them.
What $1,795 actually includes
amp lists the machine at $1,795, with white-glove delivery and installation included. Financing runs $75 a month over 24 months. In the box, per Healthline's review, are five accessories: a T-bar, single and dual handles, a rope and ankle straps. Compare that with the Tonal 2 review on this site, where accessories and install push the first-year bill toward $5,800.
The amp homepage on a phone: the machine is sold as an AI-driven, all-in-one gym.
The panel is about 6 ft wide, 2 ft tall and 1 ft deep and weighs roughly 70 lb. The maker's FAQ says it goes onto two wall studs with eight small holes, in about 45 minutes. You need a clear zone of around 3 ft by 7 ft in front of it, which is smaller than most racks.
The 100 lb ceiling
Resistance runs from 5 to 100 lb. That is the single number that decides whether amp suits you.
For rows, presses, curls, lunges and cable-style core work, 100 lb is plenty for most people. For a lifter whose lat pulldown or chest press is already past that, the machine tops out and there is no way to add weight. Tonal reaches 250 lb. If you lift heavy, this is not a cheaper Tonal, it is a different tool.
The resistance is isotonic, so tension holds during the lowering phase as well as the lift. One trainer quoted by Yahoo Health said it beat dumbbells for her hamstrings. Reviewers also note that the weight suggestions sometimes feel off, so you will adjust by hand more often than the marketing implies.
The app is the other half of the machine
amp runs through an app on iPhone or iPad, and nothing else. There is no Android version and no built-in screen. If your household uses Android, stop here.
The plan costs about $23 a month. Reviewers disagree on the trial: one cites a 30-day free period, another a first year bundled with the machine. Check the checkout page before you rely on either. Even at the full price, a year is about $276, against roughly $719 for Tonal.
The amp FAQ page, where the mounting details and app requirements are listed.
The maker says the AI adjusts weight to your effort across a library of around 400 to 450 movements, depending on who is counting. Plan on an AI coach that is capable, not as deep as Tonal's.
The recall you should read first
This is the part of the amp story a price comparison leaves out. On December 18, 2025, amp announced a safety recall of its MP2 model. The notice says the arm does not lock properly, so it can swing unexpectedly and cause a laceration or serious injury. It covers machines sold online from January 2025 to August 2025.
The amp Product Safety Recall Notice, published on the maker's own site.
The fix is a replacement part in the shoulder cap of the locking mechanism, done at your home at no cost. amp says it had already repaired more than 80 percent of affected units. We read that as a company handling a real defect openly, and also as proof that the early hardware was rushed. If you buy new today, ask for the build date and confirm the unit has the updated part.
The installation trap
The mounting is permanent. Move house and you will pay for removal and a new install, which reviewers put at $300 to $500. A 90-day return trial softens the first-purchase risk, but only if you test it hard inside that window.
Who should buy it
Buy amp if you own an iPhone, want guided full-body strength work, lift moderate weights and have a free wall. At this price it is the easiest way into the category we have found.
Skip it if you train heavy, use Android, rent and cannot drill, or you want a screen on the machine itself. For those readers a rack, a bench and adjustable dumbbells will cost about the same and last longer. We rate amp as a good, honest value pick with a visible ceiling.
As a machine, the Trainer+ is the heaviest-hitting smart gym you can slide under a bed: 220 lb per cable, seven resistance modes, and a platform you can wheel away. It is also paired to a phone app with a steep learning curve, cable motion that testers call jerky at times, and a maker that took its storefront offline during a year of silence. Buy it only if you want that much resistance and accept the company risk.
