11 Best Gymwear Brands
You find out whether leggings work about four seconds into the first squat, when you catch the mirror and realise the fabric has gone translucent across the back. By then the tags are off. Gymwear is one of the few things you can't judge from the product photo, because the two failures that matter, going sheer and holding sweat, only show up under load. Here are 11 brands sorted by what each is good at, with prices checked on each brand's own site this month.
How Do You Judge Gymwear Before You Buy It?
Three things decide it, and none are visible in a photo.
Opacity under stretch is the squat test. Seamless knits and thicker compression fabrics pass it. Thin, shiny, single-layer fabrics often don't, and no brand advertises which of those it's selling you.
Fabric family tells you the use. Compression knits hold shape through heavy lifting. Seamless knits are softer and shape better but stretch further. Cotton blends breathe and feel good, and they hold sweat, so they suit lifting more than conditioning work.
Size range is where most gymwear brands quietly fail. Several below stop at XL. Two go a great deal further, and that's the single biggest difference between the eleven.
| Brand | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Gymshark | $30 to $60 | The widest range at the price |
| NVGTN | $48 to $50 | Seamless leggings at one flat price |
| AYBL | From £28 | The cheapest seamless bras here |
| CRZ YOGA | Budget | Spending the least per pair |
| SET Active | $60 to $92 | Matching sets |
| Adanola | £32 to £48 | Pilates and off-duty wear |
| TALA | £36 to £59 | Sculpting fits and modal softness |
| Girlfriend Collective | $98 to $128 | Sizes XXS to 6XL |
| Beyond Yoga | $108 | Extended sizing to 4X |
| Vuori | $48 to $128 | Training and then not training |
| Sweaty Betty | Premium | One pair of leggings for years |
Gymshark
Gymshark covers more of the gym wardrobe at a reasonable price than anything else here, which is why it's most people's default. Train 5" Shorts start at $30, and its newest fabric, CottonMove, runs from a $40 Halterneck Sports Bra to $60 Flared Leggings.
The collection names are worth learning because they signal the fabric. Lift Seamless and Soft Sculpt are the shaping knits, Vital is the long-running seamless line, and Power is the compression option. CottonMove is the cotton-blend, described by the brand as combining "the breathable comfort of cotton with the stretchy, second-skin feel of seamless".
Breadth is also the weakness. With this many concurrent lines, quality varies between them, and the reviews that matter are the ones on the specific collection rather than the brand. Our roundup of brands like Gymshark covers the closest competitors.
Best for: kitting out a full gym wardrobe without picking a specialist for each thing.
NVGTN
NVGTN prices almost every legging identically at $48, which removes the usual guesswork about whether the pricier pair is better. The Solid Seamless, Signature 2.0, Speckled Contour Seamless and Effortless Flare all sit at that figure, with the AeraLite Capri at $50.
Seamless and Contour are the two lines to know. Contour uses panel placement to shape rather than compression to squeeze, which is a different feel from a Gymshark Power legging and better for anyone who finds heavy compression uncomfortable.
Sizing runs XS to XL and stops there, so this is a narrower brand than its price suggests. More options sit in our guide to workout brands like NVGTN.
Best for: buying three pairs of seamless leggings and knowing they cost the same.
AYBL
AYBL sells the cheapest seamless sports bras in this list, with the Enhance Seamless Sports Bra at £28 and the Adapt Seamless Strappy at £32. For a piece you own five of and wash constantly, that difference compounds fast.
The UK brand runs a long list of collections, including Engage, Physique, Enhance and Adapt, and sizing goes XS to XXL. Prices are in pounds, so factor the conversion and shipping from the US.
Best for: stocking up on bras rather than buying one good one.
CRZ YOGA
CRZ YOGA is the cheapest way onto this list, and it's built its following on fabrics that copy the feel of much pricier leggings. Butterluxe is the soft brushed knit, Nakedfeel is the lighter one, and Secretsculpt is the shaping line.
The Secretsculpt No Front Seam Legging comes in 25" and 28" inseams with a pocket version, which is more length choice than most brands at any price offer. Sizing runs XXS to XL. The site didn't publish prices on the pages we checked, so treat the budget positioning as the brand's own rather than a figure we verified.
Buying cheap has a cost here, and it's consistency. Fabric names change between generations and a legging you loved may not be the same knit two years later. Our guide to brands like CRZ Yoga covers the rest of the affordable end.
Best for: the smallest spend per pair, and the widest choice of inseam.
SET Active
SET Active builds around matching sets, which is the point of the name and the reason people buy it. The AERALINE Breathe Under Bra is $60 and the matching Breathe Wrap Leggings are $78, so a full set lands near $138.
Fabric names carry the range: Aeraline is the lightweight performance knit, Formcloud and Luxform are the softer ones, and Sculptflex is the shaping option. The Waffle Lounge Cuffed Long Sleeve ($92) is what you wear over the top afterwards. Sizing is XS to XXL.
Best for: buying a top and bottom that were designed to go together.
Adanola
Adanola sits closer to pilates and the walk home than to heavy training, and its range reflects that with dedicated Pilates and Yoga categories. The Low Rise Yoga Pants (£48) and Skinny Strap Yoga Top (£34) are the signature pieces.
Prices are among the friendliest here, with the Ultimate Twist Front Bra at £32 and Ultimate Capri Leggings at £38. Modal Soft is the fabric line that made the brand's name, and it's soft rather than supportive.
Know what you're buying. This is studio and street wear more than lifting kit, and if you want compression for heavy sets you're better served by Gymshark's Power line. See also brands like Adanola.
Best for: pilates, reformer classes and everything either side of them.
TALA
TALA is the sculpting specialist here, with the Sculpt Seamless UltraSculpt Legging at £59 and the SkinLuxe Cross Back Vest at £36. SkinLuxe is the second-skin knit and DayFlex is the more structured one, at £48 for the Double Layer Vest.
The SoftSet collection is stated as 87% TENCEL Modal, which is an unusually specific fibre figure for a gymwear brand and gives that line a different hand feel from polyester knits.
On its wider materials the brand says it uses "recycled and low-impact materials wherever possible", which is a hedge rather than a commitment. If sustainability is the reason you're shopping, our guide to non-toxic activewear brands holds brands to a stricter test.
Best for: sculpting fits, and one collection with a real fibre number attached.
Girlfriend Collective
Girlfriend Collective sizes XXS to 6XL, which is the widest range in this list by a distance and the reason it belongs on it regardless of anything else. Most gymwear brands here stop at XL or XXL.
The Compressive High-Rise Legging ($108) is the squat-proof one and the compression is genuine rather than cosmetic. The Luxe Legging ($128) is softer, the FLOAT Ultralight ($108) is the summer weight, and the Luxe High-Rise Capri ($98) is the cheapest entry.
These are the priciest leggings here after Sweaty Betty, and the fit is firm enough that some people size up. Read the size guide rather than assuming your usual.
Best for: anyone the rest of the gymwear market doesn't make clothes for.
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Beyond Yoga
Beyond Yoga runs a dedicated extended sizing collection from 1X to 4X, which puts it second only to Girlfriend Collective on range. The glowzone High Waisted Midi Legging is $108.
Spacedye is the fabric the brand is known for, a heathered knit that hides sweat marks better than flat colours do, and LuxeFleece 2.0 is the warm option. Neither is a compression fabric, so this is a comfort-led brand.
Best for: extended sizes in something soft rather than compressive.
Vuori
Vuori is the brand on this list you'd wear to lunch afterwards without changing, and it's the strongest option here for men. The Kore Short Unlined 7" ($68) is its signature training piece and the Sleeveless Strato Breathe Tank is $48.
Prices climb once you leave the training pieces. The Sunday Performance Jogger is $110, the Sedona Classic Pullover Hoodie is $118 and the Sunday Element Track Jacket is $128. You're paying for clothes that don't announce themselves as gym kit.
Best for: training in the morning and staying dressed for the rest of the day.
Sweaty Betty
Sweaty Betty sells the Power Legging, which it lists as its number one bestseller and which has held that position across years rather than seasons. In a category where fabrics get renamed every eighteen months, a legging people keep rebuying is a useful signal.
The brand sits at the premium end and it also runs an Explorer range aimed at travel rather than the gym. Prices weren't published on the pages we checked, so budget for premium and check the current figure before committing.
Best for: buying one pair of leggings and keeping them for years.
Which Gymwear Brand Fits How You Train?
Match the fabric to the session. Heavy lifting wants compression, so Girlfriend Collective's Compressive line or Gymshark's Power line. Conditioning and classes want seamless or lightweight knits, which is NVGTN, SET Active or TALA. Pilates and low-impact work is Adanola or Beyond Yoga, where softness beats support.
Let the budget pick the tier. Under £35 gets you an AYBL or Adanola sports bra. CRZ YOGA goes lower still if you accept less consistency between generations. Around $50 is NVGTN's whole legging range. Above $100 you're into Girlfriend Collective, Beyond Yoga and Sweaty Betty, where you're buying longevity rather than a better first wear.
If you size above XL, the list shortens to two. Girlfriend Collective runs to 6XL and Beyond Yoga to 4X, and most of the rest stop well before that. That's the constraint worth checking first, because it decides the shortlist before fabric or price gets a say.
One habit saves more money than any brand choice. Buy one pair, train in it for a fortnight, then buy the rest. Gymwear that fails does it early, and the brands here vary enough in cut that your size in one tells you little about your size in another.
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Written by
Ash Read
