Fitness technology was a $107.0 billion market worldwide in 2025, 2.7 times its 2019 size, and spending is shifting from buying devices to subscriptions.
- Fitness tech grew 18.4% in 2025 alone, faster than any other part of physical activity spending. The figures are in the Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2026, published in November.
- Fitness apps, streaming and on-demand services grew 25.7% a year from 2019 to 2025. Wearable trackers and smart equipment grew 12.1% a year over the same period.
- The $107bn excludes smartwatches such as Apple Watch, Pixel Watch, Galaxy Watch and Huawei Watch GT, because people buy them for more than fitness. The real fitness tech market is larger.
- Total spending on physical activity reached $1.23 trillion, up 7.6%. Sports apparel and footwear was $422bn and equipment $143bn.
- Spending grew 5.3% a year from 2019 to 2025, but the number of people taking part grew only 2.2% a year. Most of the growth came from people paying more, not from more people exercising.
- Running is in a strong revival through social clubs, trail running and races, and mass-participation events such as HYROX, which are building their own industry of training, apparel and travel.
- Group cycling, bootcamps and high-intensity cross-training are cooling.
What it means for industry watchers
The growth is in what you pay for every month, not what you buy once. That matches what brands are doing: Garmin is pushing Connect+, Strava owns Runna and is raising its UK prices, and Oura and WHOOP sell memberships. Wearables are being repositioned as health platforms that tell you what your data means, and AI coaching is the main way that is being sold.
There is a catch for the same brands. A growing group wants to exercise without measuring everything, and much of the running and hiking boom costs nothing. Selling more subscriptions to the same people at higher prices has limits, and participation figures suggest the industry is closer to that limit than the headline numbers imply.
Quick answers
How big is the fitness technology market?
About $107 billion worldwide in 2025, 2.7 times its 2019 size. That excludes smartwatches bought mainly for other uses, so the true figure is higher.
Are more people exercising?
Slightly. Participation grew 2.2% a year from 2019 to 2025, while spending grew 5.3% a year, so most of the growth is higher prices.
Related: why Garmin Connect+ subscriptions are growing, Runna UK prices rise 10% and the HYROX tech hub.
Source, opinion and original research by: the5krunner and Global Wellness Institute.
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Last Updated on 12 November 2026 by tfk the5krunner
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. See the gear tfk uses. ID
