Best Online Exercise Classes

If you want the freedom to work out at home but don’t want your workouts to get repetitive, try a premium online streaming service like Daily Burn. Daily Burn offers a 60-day free trial, so you can get a feel for the classes and instructors before you make the financial commitment of $19.95 per month.

Daily Burn offers more than 1,000 classes in a range of difficulty levels, workout styles, and lengths, all taught by expert trainers. In addition, through Daily Burn’s 365 program, a new workout routine is offered each workday. With classes from 10 to 60 minutes long, you can find an appropriately challenging workout that’s perfect for your schedule.

It can be hard to make it to the yoga studio on top of a busy schedule. But you only need a few minutes on the mat to reap the benefits of an asana practice. Plus, since yoga uses practically no equipment, you can easily do it anywhere. When you’re looking for a little instruction, follow along with Adriene Mishler. Adriene offers both a large library of free online YouTube workouts on her Yoga With Adriene channel as well as a paid membership program called Find What Feels Good, enabling you to delve into yoga at an accessible level. The YouTube channel offers videos ranging from “Yoga for Grief” to “Yoga for Core (and Booty!),” so you can choose exactly the class that you’re craving regardless of your mood. While some of the movements can feel repetitive over time, Adriene’s emphasis on mental well-being brings resonance to every practice. 

Find What Feels Good includes all of the YouTube videos ad-free, plus an additional library of content including seven-day challenges, vlogs, and workouts from other yoga instructors. It costs $12.99 per month, or $129.99 per year. Additionally, you can join Kula, a moderated, online community platform that enables members to talk to each other about their yoga practices, lives, and love of Adriene’s work. Kula is entirely free regardless of whether or not you are a Find What Feels Good Member.

If you’re hesitant about starting a yoga practice, check out one of Adriene’s beginner videos and see what valuable lessons you can learn on the mat.

ClassPass is perfect for people who want access to a wide variety of in-studio experiences. Here’s how it works: subscribers buy credits online that can be redeemed for workout classes ($19 per month for 8 credits, $49 per month for 23 credits, $89 per month for 43 credits, $159 per month for 80 credits, and $199 per month for 100 credits). Each class is worth a specific number of credits, based on the instructor's popularity and the schedule, with more in-demand time slots costing more credits. Longer classes may also cost additional credits.

Classpass credits are accepted in 30,000 studios in over 30 countries around the world, so while it’s not available everywhere, it’s becoming more widespread, especially in major urban areas. For those that don’t live in participating areas, Classpass Live lets subscribers able to work out live in their own homes with a heart rate monitor that pits them against other participants, so you can let your competitive side shine as you work to climb the leaderboard.

While lucky residents of New York City, London, Madrid, and Los Angeles are able to work out at a Tracy Anderson Method studio, the reality is that most of us aren’t able to get there. The best compromise: streaming the live classes online, so you can work out with instructors from the famous studio from the comfort of your living room.

For the on-demand classes, there are three payment options offered: $90 monthly, $457 for six months, or $808.50 for an annual subscription. If you also want access to the live classes, you’ll have to pay much more. The Online Studio + TA Live plans cost $130 per month, $663 for six months, or $1,170 per year. Although this plan comes with additional perks, such as access to monthly Ask Tracy sessions, it’s a hefty price. However, if you’re invested in the Tracy Anderson Method, it is well worth the cost since it enables you to dive into Tracy’s world without traveling to one of her studios. 

If heading to a yoga class with a friend helps keep you on track to meet your practice goals, you’ll love the community support you get with Alo Moves. Through this app, you have the opportunity to connect with encouraging coaches and other hard-working members, and you can take more than 3,000 yoga, mindfulness, wellness, and fitness classes. You can even take classes with any of your friends online.

At a price point of $12.99 per month, or $129.99 for the first year, it’s definitely one of the more reasonable at-home options on this list. You can view Alo Moves' videos with a web browser, iPhone, iPad, Android, or Apple TV, and move freely from one device to another. With Offline Access, you can download a class to your device and practice when it works best for you.

If you’re aiming to include more mindfulness in your workouts, Glo is a great starting point. Not only does it have the traditional yoga workouts you would expect, but it also features 12 meditation classes and 12 educational classes emphasizing concepts such as maintaining healthy boundaries. And there is a daily mindfulness series to kickstart your practice. 

Glo’s videos range from five to 120 minutes long and span from incredibly slow, deliberate stretching to fast-paced vinyasa flows.

Peloton provides users with the motivating, exciting atmosphere of an in-person cycling class without the need to travel to a dimly lit studio. If you have a Peloton bike and pay the $44 per month all-access membership fee, you’ll get access to daily live-streamed classes, thousands of on-demand classes, and even the innovative gaming program Lanebreak.

If you want to opt out of the expensive fee and costly equipment, Peloton's app-only membership is only $12.99 per month and includes a library of classes that require little to no equipment. For classes that do require equipment, such as the cycling classes, you don't have to use Peloton-branded gear; any stationary bike (or treadmill or rower) will do. The app offers traditional fitness classes such as yoga and strength training, but also more unique offerings such as power walking.

Peloton's range of membership options makes it accessible to a broad audience, whether you’re ready to invest some serious home gym equipment or simply want to dip your toes in.

If you feel overwhelmed by the idea of squeezing a workout into your hectic day, an Obé Fitness subscription may be crucial to your wellness goals. Focusing on quick, 10- and 28-minute long classes that fit into any schedule, the workouts emphasize muscle definition, cardio, and flexibility. 

Tapping some of the best instructors in New York City to lead the classes, Obé Fitness encourages users to vary their classes throughout the week, offering all three types of classes daily. Classes typically start live streaming at 6 a.m. and end in the early afternoon, but guests can stream classes on-demand at any moment.