Singapore Gym Chains Rated: Anytime, ActiveSG, Virgin Active

The scores, and the honest reason for each

Virgin Active, 8/10. You pay for what you get, and you do get it. Space, working machines, towels, and it does not feel like a corridor.

SAFRA EnergyOne, 7/10. The equipment is noticeably cleaner and better kept. The catch is there are not many outlets, so it only works if one is near you.

24/7 Fitness, 7/10. Fine chain, fair value. Have you seen the Paya Lebar one at 7pm though.

Anytime Fitness, 6/10. Everything is good until you say you want to cancel your plan.

ActiveSG, 4/10. Cheapest by a distance and that is the point of it, but tell us why we need to share one machine with five other people. This is the gym version of what we did with malls in our north Singapore mall ratings.

Peak hour is the real rating

Every one of these scores moves depending on when you go. A 7 at 2pm is a 4 at 7pm.

ActiveSG loses the most, because the price brings the crowd. 24/7 Fitness at Paya Lebar after work is the other one people already know about. If your schedule is fixed to evenings, weight the crowding higher than anything else on this list.

Weekday mornings are a different sport. Same gym, half the people, all the racks.

What we did not score

This is part one, so the boutique studios and the smaller independents are not in it. Neither is anything judged on membership price, because contract terms change and we would rather not publish a number that goes stale in a month.

If your chain is missing, that is what part two is for.