Aaptiv Review: Is the popular fitness app right for you?

Innerbody Research recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary. Over the past two decades, we have helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions about staying healthy and living healthier lifestyles.

This review, like all health-related content on this website, is thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy. Additionally, we extensively analyze each health-related service we review. We evaluate the entire customer experience from signing up to the use of the product or service, and then offer unbiased, marketing-jargon-free analysis based on the latest scientific evidence and medical standards.

Aaptiv was started in 2015 when its founder, Ethan Agarwal, was having trouble finding an exercise app that worked for him. Rather than lengthy videos to watch while simultaneously trying to work out, or routines that required access to gym equipment, Agarwal wanted something that he could listen to while running – something that motivated him every step of the way.

As a result, Aaptiv lets you exercise whenever and wherever you want, doing any activity you choose. It offers more than 2,500 workouts across a variety of categories, adding 30 new classes each week to keep your experience fresh.

You’ll find beginner, intermediate, and advanced workouts ranging from quick seven-minute routines to complete training programs. Each workout is led by a professional trainer and set to a motivating music playlist. Coaching, challenges, and an active member community add some fun and moral support to make the Aaptiv experience even more personally rewarding.

Aaptiv is a subscription service with two options: a monthly or yearly plan. The monthly subscription is $14.99, while the yearly subscription is $99.99 – a 45 percent savings.

Subscriptions automatically renew, so pay attention to your renewal date. You can cancel at any time without being charged for the next term, as long as you do so at least 48 hours before the renewal date.

You can sign up for Aaptiv either through the app or by going to its website. If you have a coupon code or other promotion, though, this must be applied directly on the website.

Aaptiv normally offers a seven-day free trial, allowing people to try it before committing to a subscription – a great feature. But better still, the company gives our readers the opportunity to enjoy a 30-day free trial, a demonstration of its confidence that you will like the service. Trying Aaptiv for a month is obviously even better than trying it for a week.

To claim your 30-day free trial, just visit Aaptiv using any link on our page.

Signing up for a free trial requires you to provide payment information, because you are automatically enrolled in a yearly subscription if you don’t cancel before the trial period expires. Specifically, to prevent being charged, you have to cancel at least 48 hours before the trial is finished.

This means that you should think of our 30-day trial period as actually a 28-day trial.

For its normal seven-day trial offering, Aaptiv provides this cancelation information on its website, but in order to find the info, you have to actively look for it by clicking on the “Terms” link and then scan for the information pertinent to the trial period.

We believe Aaptiv could improve its customer service by presenting this kind of information more clearly and prominently, since some customers who intended to cancel have instead been billed. But we will not complain too loudly because the company is giving you a free trial four times the normal length.

Something that makes Aaptiv more than just another fitness app is its Coach program. When you first sign up for the app, Aaptiv asks multiple questions about your fitness goals – for example, whether you want to lose weight, get stronger, or run faster. It collects information about your current fitness level, the length of your average workout, and the types of workouts you enjoy, as well as the type of music you prefer.

Aaptiv uses this information to create a custom workout plan, continuing to give you a plan that includes daily workouts at the level you initially chose until you decide to increase the difficulty and progress to the next level.

An Aaptiv subscription gives you unlimited access to thousands of workouts across multiple categories, including:

• Treadmill
• Strength training
• Outdoor running
• Yoga
• Stretching
• Barre
• Elliptical
• Indoor cycling

Within these categories, there are also specific programs you can choose, like:

• Cross-Train to 5K
• Intro to Weight Loss
• Maintain Your Weight Loss
• Walk to Run One Mile (for people working toward running their first mile)

You can filter the available workouts in multiple ways to find one that suits you. Filters include workout type, duration, calories burned, resistance, and trainers. Additionally there are many playlists from which to choose, from rock to dance to disco.

Aaptiv trainers are professionals, many of whom hold certifications from trusted organizations in the industry, like NASM and ISSA. In total, they have five master trainers and 10 resident trainers who are responsible for creating and updating content regularly.

Each class is led by a trainer who keeps you motivated and encourages you throughout the workout, guiding you from one step to the next. You can find out more about the trainers on the Aaptiv website, where they’ve each recorded short videos introducing themselves.

Studies have shown that being a part of a group makes it more likely that you will stick to your workout goals. This is where Aaptiv’s Team Challenges enter the picture, providing an effective way to get moral support and a little friendly competition in the app.

Team Challengers typically begin every Monday. If you miss one, you can start the following week. Once you join a challenge, it becomes your new weekly goal and will be featured by the Aaptiv coach in your daily plan. Team Challenges include things like:

• Summer Bootcamp
• First 5K
• Fastest 5K
• 20 for 20 (built around 20 workouts that are each completed within 20 minutes)

You can sign up for a team challenge right in the app. Participants are divided into smaller groups and, to promote fun competition, each group is divided into two teams that compete against each other. As you complete the assigned workouts, you earn points for your team. Each group has its own feed where team members encourage one another and keep one another accountable. For many people this makes for a very supportive and constructive fitness environment.

Do you want the sense of community without the competition? Aaptiv has you covered. Team is Aaptiv’s in-app community and was started as an offshoot of a Facebook group that had reached close to 33,000 members. Team is different from Team Challenges, as there is no competition involved. After you finish an Aaptiv workout, the app prompts you to post it to the Team feed where other Aaptiv members provide encouragement and support.

In our opinion, adding video workouts was an important step in expanding the usefulness of the Aaptiv platform. While Aaptiv provides useful visual workout guides in its app, audio-only format does have its limitations in fitness. For instance, completing an audio yoga class is difficult if you don’t know the poses.

Video by Aaptiv is one of the newest features and provides a new way to access the workouts and the trainers from the app. There are more than 30 classes available in yoga, barre, stretching, strength training, and more.

A lot of workplaces offer discounted health and wellness products to their employees, and Aaptiv reaches out to employers on its website. Check with your employer to see if they have an agreement with Aaptiv.

You can sign up with Aaptiv on the website or the app. The process is basically the same, but there are a few minor differences. Signing up with a link from this page gets you a special 30-day free trial, which is about four times the normal length.

On the website, you are prompted to fill out the introductory questionnaire before it prompts you to create an account. On the app, by contrast, you can’t get past the initial introductory screen until you open an account.

Either way, getting started involves signing up for an account, filling out the introductory survey, and entering your payment information. Again, you must provide payment information even if you are signing up for a free trial.

According to the IRS, fitness apps like Aaptiv are not eligible for HSA or FSA funds unless you receive a letter of medical necessity from your physician. Most private health insurers do not cover apps like Aaptiv, either, but we would encourage you to reach out to your provider to be sure.

Aaptiv collects a variety of information when you sign up for an account and use the app. This includes (but isn’t limited to) your name, email address, browser, and mobile operating system, as well as what classes you have taken and when and how often you use the app. It uses this information for a variety of purposes, including:

• To fulfill requests about classes or services
• To address problems within the site
• To monitor adherence to Aaptiv’s terms of service
• To update you about promotional offers
• To deliver advertisements from partners
• To ensure proper security

As for security, Aaptiv states that it maintains “reasonable and appropriate measures” to keep your information secure and that it only holds onto your data for as long as needed to fulfill a specific purpose. The entire privacy policy is laid out in detail on Aaptiv’s website.

We customize our evaluation criteria depending on the type and nature of the health service or product. For most products and services, we have five areas that we use for our evaluations, including:

Quality: How well does the company deliver its core service(s) to the customer? Is the quality of the product or service high enough that we would recommend it to loved ones without hesitation? Does the company have a high quality medical review board with oversight? Do the testing companies use the latest and most accurate testing technologies available? How accurate are the tests compared to alternatives?

Value: Are you getting your money’s worth? Are there any hidden costs or charges? Does the provider offer discounts or free services to our readers?

Customer Support: How well does the company provide information about its product or service? How clearly are options presented? How clearly are test results presented? How well does the testing company help you understand results and get treatment if necessary?

Privacy: Are all products sent in discreet packaging? Will your data be stored securely? Could your data ever be shared without your permission?

Speed: How fast will you receive your product or test results, from the moment you click “buy?” Are the waiting times stated by the company accurate and consistent?