Is Tonal a Scam? The Truth After Lifting 9 Million Pounds

I have a black piece of electrical tape covering the top center of my Tonal screen. If you’re a long-term Tonal owner, you probably already know exactly why that tape is there. My membership is officially turned off, and after years of being a dedicated, high-volume user, I’m ready to talk about the reality of owning this device—and more importantly, the reality of dealing with Tonal as a company. Is the Tonal a scam? The answer is nuanced, but the conclusion is clear: the hardware is a miracle, but the company culture is a nightmare.

The Transformation: 9 Million Pounds Later

Before I get into the weeds of why I’m moving away from the ecosystem, I have to give credit where it is due. I transformed my body on this machine. I went from over 250 pounds down to 180 pounds, and I’ve since stabilized around 195 pounds of much leaner mass. Every single bit of strength training for that transformation was done on this device. By the time I turned off my membership, I had lifted over 8.8 million pounds, and I’ve since crossed the 9 million mark in manual mode.

As a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and an avid runner, I was constantly injuring myself in my traditional home gym. I’d hit failure on a bench press, tweak a shoulder, and then show up to the mats already compromised. Tonal fixed that. The barbell mode and digital safety features allowed me to train to absolute failure without the fear of being crushed or overextending a joint. From a pure engineering and hardware perspective, the device is phenomenal. It was the first of its kind to successfully bring digital weight into the home in a sleek package.

The "Bad Faith" Company Culture

Unfortunately, being a Tonal owner is a tale of two cities. While the workouts are great, dealing with Tonal the company has been one of the most frustrating consumer experiences of my life. The shift in my perspective started shortly after my warranty expired, about two and a half years into ownership. My bar control module—the small Bluetooth dongle that allows you to turn the weight on and off—started failing. It worked maybe every third time I pressed it, which is incredibly dangerous when you’re mid-set and need to cut the load.

I called customer support, expecting them to stand by their product given that I was paying a $63/month membership on top of a $5,000 purchase price. They told me I’d have to pay nearly $80 for a replacement module—a piece of plastic and a basic Bluetooth chip that likely costs their manufacturer cents to produce. I refused. Mysteriously, a month later after a forced software update, the module started working perfectly again. Tonal had insisted it was a hardware failure to try and extract more money from me, when it was clearly a software bug on their end. No apology was ever issued.

The "Steelback" Program and Hidden Price Hikes

Tonal has a consistent history of deceptive communication. When they raised the membership price, they framed it as a standard $10 increase due to inflation. However, they simultaneously began charging sales tax in regions where they previously hadn't, without clear notification. For me, that "$10 increase" actually turned into a $15 jump. It’s a small lie, but it fits a pattern.

Then came the trade-in program, which the community quickly dubbed the "Tonal Steelback Program." They offered long-term users a $1,000 credit to trade in their old units for the newer model. On the surface, it sounds like a loyalty reward—until you realize you couldn't stack it with any existing promotions. On the day the program launched, there was already a $500 discount available to the general public. This meant Tonal was effectively offering their most loyal customers—people who had already spent $8,000+ between the machine and memberships—only $500 for a used machine that Tonal would then likely refurbish and resell for thousands. It felt like a slap in the face.

Life Without the Membership: A Giant Advertisement

This is where the "scam" label starts to feel appropriate. Tonal’s marketing suggests that if you cancel your membership, you still have a functional cable machine. Technically, this is true, but the user experience is intentionally degraded to be as miserable as possible. They want to annoy you into resubscribing.

• The UI Shift: In a recent update, they moved the weight controls from the bottom of the screen (where they are easy to reach) to the very top. They replaced the primary screen real estate with a giant, permanent advertisement to reactivate the membership.
• Loss of Features: You lose everything that makes the machine "smart." No eccentric mode, no chains, no spotter mode, and no tracking of sets, reps, or personal records.
• The Black Tape Solution: I literally had to put black tape on my screen because every single button on the dashboard is now a "dead" link. If you accidentally tap a historical workout or a stat, it locks the screen and presents a payment prompt.

I’ve seen influencers claim that you can just do your own custom workouts without the membership. To be blunt: that is a lie. When you turn off the subscription, you get a manual weight dial and a giant ad. You cannot build custom routines. You cannot even see your previous lifting history.

Maintenance and the Right to Repair

The final straw for many, including myself, is the lack of serviceability. My cable is currently starting to fray—a natural occurrence for a machine with 9 million pounds on it. However, Tonal does not allow users to replace their own cables. They want over $300 for a service technician to come out and perform a ten-minute swap. Compare this to the Speediance, where the cables are user-replaceable in minutes with standard parts. With Tonal, you are locked into their ecosystem for every minor bolt and wire, and if they decide to stop supporting your model, your $5,000 investment becomes a very heavy mirror.

Conclusion: A Cautionary Tale

I have now replaced Tonal's tracking with my own spreadsheets and external PR systems. I recently received a phone call from Tonal—three months after I canceled—offering me my original membership price if I would just come back. I told them no. They forced me to build a better system outside of their walled garden, and I have no intention of returning to a company that treats its power users with such bad faith.

The Verdict: Tonal is a world-class piece of hardware managed by a predatory company. If you are certain you will be happy paying a high monthly fee forever, it’s a great workout. But the moment you stop paying, the company treats you like a stranger and actively tries to break your user experience. I’ll be moving over to the Speediance 2S shortly, and this Tonal is finally coming off the wall. It helped me change my life, but I can no longer support the business model behind it.