Derny › Compare › Derny vs Peloton
Derny vs Peloton
Peloton is live and on-demand classes with instructors, best on Peloton’s own machines. Derny has no instructors. It runs workouts that change the target from your heart rate, on smart trainers, treadmills and ellipticals from many brands.
At a glance
| Derny | Peloton | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside a workout | Moves the target from your live heart rate, every second | On a Bike+ or Tread, auto-follow sets resistance or incline to match the class’s targets |
| Heart rate | Steers the workout. When your heart rate climbs past where the workout wants it, the target comes down, and it builds again as you recover | Shown during class and scored with Strive Score. We found no mode where it changes the machine |
| Between workouts | No training plan yet. Each Adaptive Threshold session starts from what your last one showed | Peloton IQ personalised plans and recommendations, with All-Access |
| Treadmill | Sets the belt speed on FTMS treadmills that accept it, never above a max speed you choose. On others it shows you the speed to run | Peloton Tread auto-incline follows the class. App+ can pair another brand’s FTMS treadmill to track it. We found no control of other brands’ treadmills |
| Elliptical and rower | Ellipticals, yes. Rowers aren’t supported yet | Rowing on the Row+, and App+ can track a third-party rower. We found no Peloton elliptical |
| Fitness test | No test. You need a heart-rate monitor and your max heart rate | None for most classes. Power Zone classes use an FTP test |
| Runs on | iPhone and Android | Peloton machines, iPhone, iPad, Android and TVs |
| What you get | Ready-made adaptive workouts, a rule editor for your own, and AI workout writing with Claude or ChatGPT. No videos or virtual worlds | Live and on-demand instructor classes across cycling, running, rowing, strength, yoga and more |
| Price (US) | Free in beta, then a one-time purchase. No subscription | App+ $28.99/mo or $289/yr, with a 30-day trial. All-Access for Peloton machines $49.99/mo |
Prices are US list prices before tax, as published in November 2026. “We found no” means we looked through Peloton’s own pages and support articles and didn’t find it, not that Peloton has said it can’t. Sources are at the bottom of this page.
The difference
A Peloton class is the instructor’s plan. On a Bike+ or Tread, auto-follow can set the resistance or incline to the class’s targets, and your heart rate is shown and scored. The class doesn’t change because your heart rate is high today.
Derny’s workouts do. It reads your heart rate every second and moves the target: watts on a smart trainer, belt speed on a treadmill, the target on an elliptical. When your heart rate climbs past where the workout wants it, the target comes down. When you recover, it builds again.
Derny also isn’t tied to one brand. It works with machines that speak Bluetooth FTMS, so the trainer, treadmill or elliptical you already own can run it.
Being fair
Choose by what you want
If you want instructor-led classes, a community, and strength and yoga as well as cardio, or you’re buying a Peloton machine.
If you already own a smart trainer, treadmill or elliptical from another brand and want each workout to respond to how your body is doing today, without a monthly subscription.
Some people do both: Peloton classes for variety and Derny for steady heart-rate sessions like zone 2. Derny uploads every workout to Strava and saves it to Apple Health or Health Connect.
Sources
Checked 12 November 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected] and it gets fixed.
Questions people ask
We found no such mode as of November 2026. Peloton shows your heart rate and scores it with Strive Score. On a Bike+ or Tread, auto-follow sets resistance or incline to the class’s targets. Derny changes the target itself, from your live heart rate.
We haven’t tested one. Derny needs a smart trainer or bike that speaks Bluetooth FTMS and takes power targets from an app. If you try it on your Peloton, email [email protected] and tell us what happened.
For heart-rate training, yes. Derny sets the belt speed from your heart rate on FTMS treadmills that accept it, never above a max speed you choose, and shows you the speed to run on others. It has no classes or instructors.
No. Derny is free while in beta and will be a one-time purchase after launch, not a subscription.
Try it
When Derny launches, it will be a one-time purchase, not a subscription.
The beta is live on iPhone through TestFlight and on Android through Google Play. Your invite arrives by email.