Tonal 2 Review: A Wall-Mounted Gym That Costs More Than the Sticker
By The Ironnook Test Desk ·
7.6
tonal.com
The verdict
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.
Best for: Lifters in small homes who want guided strength training
What we liked
Up to 250 lb of resistance (125 lb per arm) in a wall footprint
Over 340 moves, with weight that adjusts at the press of a button
Smart View camera gives form cues during and after sets
One membership covers every person in the household
Professional mounting is part of the bundle, so no stud-hunting
What could be better
$4,295 before $495 accessories and $295+ delivery and install
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.
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.
7.2$1,795 (plus $23/mo app plan)
Membership of $59.95/mo is a 12-month commitment, and most features need it
Digital weight feels about 23 percent heavier than the same number on iron
Needs a mountable wall, 7 ft ceiling, Wi-Fi and an outlet within 6 ft
Free-weight fans will miss barbells, bodyweight work and heavy squats
Tonal 2 lists at $4,295, but mounting, accessories and a 12-month membership push the real entry price past $5,800. We looked at what that buys and who should skip it.
The price on the Tonal 2 box is $4,295. Nobody pays that. Add the accessories, the delivery and the plan you cannot skip, and the first year lands near $5,800. So the real question is not whether Tonal works. It is whether a wall panel and a subscription can replace the rack, bench and dumbbells you would otherwise build for less.
What the $4,295 leaves out
Tonal's product page lists the machine at $4,295. The version most people buy is the bundle: Tonal 2, the Smart Accessories (handles, bar, rope and the like, a $495 value), and white-glove delivery with in-home mounting, which Tonal prices from $295. That adds up to a $5,085 MSRP. The first year of membership is separate.
The Tonal 2 product page, with the purchase and monthly-rental options side by side.
You can also rent. Tonal's partner Whim charges $279 a month plus a $149 setup fee, and you can send it back. Rent for about 16 months and you have paid more than the list price of the machine, so we see this as a trial, not a saving.
Extended cover is optional: $425 for four years, $449 for five.
The membership is the product
Every Tonal purchase carries a 12-month membership commitment at $59.95 a month, or about $719 for the year. Tonal says plainly that most features need it. After month twelve it goes month to month and can be paused or cancelled.
The membership page: one plan covers every person in the household.
The plan does earn some of its keep. It covers classes, progress tracking, suggested weights, dynamic weight modes and custom workouts, and it covers everyone who lives with you. A couple splitting it pays about $30 each.
Still, run the five-year sum: $5,085 up front plus 60 months of membership comes to roughly $8,700. A rack, adjustable bench, barbell and a pile of plates costs a fraction of that, and nobody can switch off your barbell. If Tonal ever changed the plan or closed, you would own a very expensive wall bracket.
How it lifts
The arms are cables driven by an electric motor, so the weight is digital. Tonal 2 tops out at 250 lb in total, 125 lb per arm, up from 200 lb on the first model. Tonal also says the cables are 75 percent stronger and the arm pins twice as strong.
One quirk matters for anyone who tracks numbers. Digital weight reads about 23 percent heavier than iron at the same figure. Tonal 2 corrected this between 5 and 30 lb, but above that, a "100" is closer to what you would call 123 on a cable stack. Your old PRs do not transfer, and your new ones do not impress anyone at a regular gym.
What you gain is range. With over 340 moves, a spotter-style mode that cuts weight when you stall, and drop sets on demand, it removes the plate-changing that eats a normal session. The built-in Smart View camera watches form and gives cues in real time or afterwards. It is useful for beginners and mildly annoying for everyone else.
Where it falls short of a rack
Bodyweight work, carries, sleds and heavy lower-body lifts are outside its reach. Tonal sells a bench and a mat, and floor work such as Pilates is in the library, but a loaded back squat is not on the menu. Tonal also asks you to trust its software: programs adapt to what you log, which is clever, but it means your training history lives on their servers.
What your wall has to give
This is the part that sinks sales. Tonal mounts like a TV bracket into studs, wood or metal, 16 to 24 inches apart. The ideal ceiling is 7 ft 10 in so the arms can fully extend, with 7 ft as a workable minimum. You need continuous Wi-Fi and a grounded outlet within 6 ft, with no extension cord.
The installation page lists stud spacing, ceiling height and outlet rules.
Renters often cannot drill into studs, and basements with concrete walls are a problem. If your space passes, the footprint is excellent: the panel sits flat against the wall and you need floor only for yourself.
The equipment overview, which promises a full gym's worth of movements from one panel.
Who should buy it
Buy Tonal 2 if floor space is your real limit, if you have never built a program and want coaching on the wall, and if two or more people will use it. In that case the cost per user falls and the coaching is the draw.
Skip it if you already lift with free weights, if you want heavy barbell squats and presses, or if a $59.95 bill every month bothers you. For that buyer a power rack with a bench is cheaper, will last decades, and does not need Wi-Fi.
We rate Tonal 2 a 7.6: the strongest smart strength machine around, held back by price, the compulsory plan and wall requirements that rule out many homes.
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.
