Ladder Takes Aim at Peloton’s New Strength Training App
The Austin-based digital fitness company says Peloton’s new Strength+ app “looks, feels, and functions an awful lot like Ladder”
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, except maybe when it comes to fitness app development.
Ladder, a digital fitness company that’s raised over $100 million in funding, is effectively accusing Peloton of copying its popular strength training app.
In a blog post titled “We’re flattered, Peloton,” the Austin, Texas-based brand poked fun at the similarities between its app and Peloton’s new Strength+ app, which officially launched on Wednesday after being in beta testing mode since September.
“Over the last few months, we’ve received some curious feedback from users testing Peloton Strength+ in Beta,” Ladder wrote in the blog post. “Namely, that it looks, feels, and functions an awful lot like Ladder.”
Ladder went so far as to hint that Peloton “literally copied our UI/UX screen-for-screen.” In its post, Ladder showed side-by-side screenshots of the two apps, which both feature a black-and-yellow color scheme and a generally similar user interface.
In the blog post, which is light-hearted in tone but contains some serious allegations, Ladder went so far as to detail the activity of Peloton staffers on its app.
“We found at least 15 Peloton product, engineering, and design folks in the Ladder app, and a whole lot of activity over the past year—more than 1,500 Ladder app sessions since January!” the company wrote.
On X, formerly Twitter, Ladder posted a video mocking Peloton for seemingly copying its app. The video riffs off Apple’s famous “Get a Mac” campaign from the 2000s in which the tech giant compared Macs to PCs.
Founded in 2020, Ladder offers daily strength training workouts with video demonstrations from fitness coaches. The app allows users to create workout routines, track their progress and connect with community members.
In November, Ladder raised $15 million in a Series B funding round and secured a $90 million growth investment to pursue expansion, including creating an Android version of its popular iOS app. That funding followed a $12 million Series A round in 2023 and a $6.5 million seed round in 2021.
Peloton, one of the world’s most popular fitness brands, released Strength+ as a standalone strength training app to complement its core cardio offerings on bikes and treadmills. The new app allows users to generate custom strength-training routines and watch along as Peloton instructors perform common weightlifting exercises.
A Peloton Strength+ membership costs $10/month while Ladder’s app runs between $15 and $30/month depending on the plan.
It’s unclear whether Ladder intends to pursue any legal action against Peloton over the apps’ similarities.
“At Ladder, our mission has always been to make strength training accessible for everyone,” the company said in a statement provided to Athletech News. “While we’ve had a lot of fun with this campaign and appreciate the positive response from our community, we continue to focus on what matters most—our members.”
Peloton didn’t immediately respond to ATN’s request for comment.