17 Brands Like Ryderwear for Stylish Gym Apparel
Waistbands that roll during a heavy set, tanks that go sheer under gym lighting. If Ryderwear fixed that for you, the next problem is variety. One brand can only cut so many silhouettes, sizes sell out, and shipping from Australia adds days if you live anywhere else. We went looking for brands like Ryderwear that hit the same brief: gym-first construction with a streetwear edge. Here are 17 of them.
Ryderwear was created in Australia in 2009 and ships internationally, with leggings like the NKD Wide Leg ($110 USD) and the NKD Invisible Scrunch ($98 USD). Several picks below are Australian too, and a few price in AUD, so we've flagged the currency every time.
Quick comparison: here's every brand on this list, what it costs, and the reader it suits.
| Brand | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Gymshark | $30 to $62 USD on core apparel | The closest match to Ryderwear |
| Alphalete | Mid-range | Sculpted fits with quiet branding |
| Lululemon | Premium | Fabric that survives years of wear |
| Fabletics | Budget | Filling out a drawer cheaply |
| Alo Yoga | Premium | Studio wear you'd wear to brunch |
| P.E Nation | Premium | Loud, retro sportswear from Sydney |
| Barbell Apparel | $34 to $149 USD | Jeans and shirts cut for a lifter's build |
| KORAL | A$64.50 to A$169 on leggings | High-shine finishes, priced in AUD |
| Outdoor Voices | $68 to $118 USD on leggings | Low-key training and dog walks |
| Varley | $62 to $128 USD on leggings and shorts | Muted colours and clean lines |
| Sweaty Betty | Premium | Choice, with 76 Power legging styles |
| Beyond Yoga | $94 to $118 USD on leggings | Sizing from XXS through 4X |
| Zella | $59 USD for the Live In legging | A dependable legging without the hunt |
| Michi | $98 to $288 USD | Mesh panels and cut-outs, made in Canada |
| Muscle Nation | Mid-range, priced in AUD | Brisbane-made gym kit and supplements |
| Doyoueven | A$50 to A$90 | Melbourne lifting basics on a budget |
| ASRV | $58 to $138 USD on tops | Technical fabrics with an all-black wardrobe |
Gymshark
Gymshark is the pick that gets closest to Ryderwear on both price and attitude, with 797 women's styles live at the time of writing and core pieces running roughly $30 to $62 USD. Ben Francis started it in 2012 from a garage in Birmingham with a sewing machine and a screen-printer, and the brand still designs around the gym floor rather than the yoga studio.
The Vital Sports Bra ($38 USD) and the Minimal Sports Bra 2.0 ($30 USD) are the cheap entry points, and the Soft Sculpt Leggings ($60 USD) sit at the top of the everyday range. If you like Ryderwear's scrunch-back leggings, you'll recognise the same body-mapped seaming here. Gymshark's branding is quieter, so you get the shape without the logo across the hip. Free shipping kicks in over $75 USD, and there's a student discount if that applies to you.
Alphalete
Alphalete makes mid-range athletic apparel built around sculpted fits and restrained logos, which is the Ryderwear silhouette with the volume turned down. The site sits behind a bot wall, so we can't quote current prices here, and you'll want to check the product page before you commit.
Where Ryderwear leans hard into a bodybuilding look, Alphalete reads closer to plain black training kit that happens to fit well. That makes it the easier of the two to wear outside the gym. If you want room through the thigh rather than a close cut, Barbell Apparel further down this list is the better call. We've covered more of this end of the market in our guide to gym brands like YoungLA.
Lululemon
Lululemon sits at the premium end of this list, and it's the brand people reach for when they're tired of replacing leggings every year. The trade-off is obvious in the price, so treat it as cost per wear rather than a cheap swap for Ryderwear.
The overlap with Ryderwear is in the technical fabric work. The difference is the aesthetic, which is closer to a neutral uniform than a statement. Lululemon's site blocks automated checks, so we haven't quoted prices, but the range spans running and training pieces under the same fabric names, and staff in store will talk you through which one suits your workout. If you already know you want the fabric and not the logo, the Alo Yoga and Varley sections below cover similar ground.
Fabletics
Fabletics is the budget option here, and it's the one to use when you want four sets rather than one. Prints and colourways turn over quickly, which suits anyone who finds Ryderwear's palette narrow.
You'll get less out of a Fabletics set over five years than a Lululemon one, and that's the deal you're making at this price. For a beginner filling a gym drawer, or for anyone who sweats through two sets a day, it's the sensible maths. Read the pricing terms on the checkout page carefully before you order, because the advertised figure and the figure you pay can differ. The site blocks automated checks, so we haven't quoted any prices here.
Alo Yoga
Alo Yoga makes premium studio wear with a soft hand-feel and a minimal look, and it's the brand on this list you're most likely to wear out of the gym without changing. The cuts are looser than Ryderwear's through the leg and shoulder.
That looseness is the point. Ryderwear is designed to show the work you've put in, and Alo is designed to drape. If your training has moved from heavy lifting toward pilates or mat work, this is the natural next brand. Prices sit in the premium band and the site renders through JavaScript, so we haven't quoted figures. We've written a fuller piece on brands like Alo if that's the direction you're heading.
P.E Nation
P.E Nation is the other Australian name on this list worth knowing, founded in 2016 by Pip Edwards and Claire Greaves, with its head office in Alexandria. Colour-blocking and oversized logos make it the loudest brand here.
Note the domain. The old penation.com address no longer resolves, and the store you want is pe-nation.com. Prices sit at the premium end. Where Ryderwear designs for the squat rack, P.E Nation designs for the walk there and back, so expect more track jackets and bike shorts than compression leggings. If you've ever thought your gym kit was too anonymous, this fixes it in one order.
Barbell Apparel
Barbell Apparel solves the problem no activewear brand does, which is what a lifter wears when they're not lifting. Athletic-fit jeans and dress pants are cut for quads and shoulders that don't fit a standard block, with prices running $34 to $149 USD.
The Arsenal Tee ($34 USD) and the Arid Hoodie ($84 USD) are the everyday pieces, the Adapt Training Short ($88 USD) and Adapt Jogger ($138 USD) cover the gym, and the Anything Dress Pant Slim ($149 USD) is the one that gets people through an office dress code. Discounting is frequent, and the Boot Cut Athletic Fit Jeans were listed at $49 USD down from $149 USD when we checked, so it's worth waiting for a sale. Free shipping starts at $198 USD.
KORAL
KORAL makes high-shine, sculpted activewear that photographs better than almost anything else here, and the Australian store prices leggings from A$64.50 to A$169. That's the store to use if you're shopping from Australia, and it's the one KORAL address we could verify a priced catalogue on.
The Aden Blackout High Rise Legging (A$145) and the Venus Infinity High Rise Legging (A$145) are the flagship fits, with the Exceed Rib High Rise Legging (A$64.50) as the cheapest way in. Blackout is KORAL's opaque fabric, which answers the see-through squat problem directly. The look is glossier and more fashion-led than Ryderwear's matte gym kit, so it reads better in a boutique studio than under fluorescent lights. Free shipping applies over $150 within Australia.
Outdoor Voices
Outdoor Voices makes relaxed activewear for the parts of your week that aren't training, with leggings from $68 to $118 USD. It's the opposite temperature to Ryderwear, and that's why it earns a place.
The TechSweat Core 7/8 Legging ($118 USD) is the performance piece, the Puddle Legging ($88 USD) is the soft everyday one, and the Grass Capri ($68 USD) is the cheapest entry. Colour palettes lean dusty and tonal rather than black-on-black. Discounting runs deep and often, with a 30% off sitewide promotion live when we checked and several styles marked below $30 USD, so the list price rarely tells the whole story. Free shipping over $100 USD.
Varley
Varley was founded in 2014 by Lara and Ben Mead and now works out of London, Los Angeles and New York, making muted, clean-lined activewear at $62 to $128 USD for leggings and shorts.
The FreeSoft High-Rise Legging ($98 USD) is the softest of the range, the Always High-Rise Legging ($118 USD) is the everyday workhorse, and the Assure High-Rise Legging ($128 USD) is the most supportive. Shorts start at $62 USD. Varley's whole case rests on colour and cut rather than logos, so if Ryderwear's branding is the part you've grown out of while the fit is the part you want to keep, this is the swap. Nothing here shouts, which makes it the easiest brand on the list to wear to a coffee run.
Sweaty Betty
Sweaty Betty is a British activewear brand with the deepest legging range on this list, at 118 styles across the category and 76 in the Power collection alone. Prices sit in the premium band.
Power is the line that competes with Ryderwear most directly, built for high-intensity training with compression through the leg. What you're paying for is the range of lengths and support levels within one fabric family, which matters if you've ever bought the right legging in the wrong inseam. Sales are aggressive and frequent, with a 50% off summer event running when we checked. Because the site loads prices through JavaScript, we haven't quoted individual figures, so check the product page before ordering.
Beyond Yoga
Beyond Yoga runs the widest size range here, from XXS to XXL plus extended sizes from 1X to 4X, all cut in the same fabrics and fits as the core line. Leggings run $94 to $118 USD.
Spacedye is the fabric people buy it for, a heathered knit that hides sweat marks better than flat black. The Spacedye Pedal Pusher High Waisted Legging ($94 USD) is the cheapest of the bunch and the glowzone High Waisted Midi Legging ($108 USD) is the more technical option. Ryderwear's cut is built for a lifting silhouette, and Beyond Yoga's is built for comfort across a longer day, so this is the brand for recovery days and the commute rather than a PB attempt.
Zella
Zella is Nordstrom's own activewear label, sold exclusively through Nordstrom rather than a standalone store, and the Live In High Waist Leggings ($59 USD) are the piece it's known for.
Because it's a private label, there's no brand website to browse and no direct-to-consumer story attached. What you get instead is a legging you can try on in a department store, return without a shipping label, and replace in the same style two years later. Ryderwear asks you to buy into a look. Zella asks nothing at all, which is the appeal if you've been burned by an online activewear order that didn't fit. Stock and pricing move with Nordstrom's sale calendar, so check the current figure on the product page.
Michi
Michi is the fashion-forward pick, founded by Michelle Watson in New York City in 2010 and manufactured in Canada, with pieces from $98 to $288 USD. Mesh panels and cut-outs are the signature.
The Pulse Bra ($98 USD) is the entry point, the Palma Legging ($138 USD) and Palma Mesh Longline Bra ($148 USD) are the matching set most people start with, and the Zenit Jacket ($288 USD) is the outerwear piece. Michi's construction claims are specific, covering certified technical fabrics and wear testing, which is more than most brands at this price will put in writing. If you're drawn to Ryderwear's bolder cuts and want them made in North America at a designer price, this is where that leads.
Muscle Nation
Muscle Nation is the Australian answer to Ryderwear, launched on 22 August 2016 by Nathaniel Anthony and Chris Anastasi from a study desk and now run out of a 5,000 square metre facility in Brisbane. Prices are in AUD and sit mid-range.
The apparel covers leggings, sports bras, tanks and shorts, and the brand sells supplements and protein bars alongside it, which Ryderwear doesn't. Individual apparel prices load through JavaScript so we haven't quoted them, though the site was running a two-for-$160 leggings offer when we checked. Free shipping applies within Australia over $130. If you're shopping from Australia and want to keep the money local while getting the same lifting-focused cut, start here rather than importing.
Doyoueven
Doyoueven is the cheapest Australian option on this list, with leggings and tees running A$50 to A$90. Eddy Ozturk started it in October 2012 from a suburb of Melbourne while finishing a law degree.
The Aura Invisible Scrunch Leggings (A$90) are the direct competitor to Ryderwear's NKD scrunch range and cost less. The Power Muscle Tank (A$55) and Tri-Mark Genesis 5" Shorts (A$65) round out a training kit, and the LYM Lightweight Oversize Tee (A$50) is the cheapest thing worth owning here. Around 203 products were live when we checked, and the brand also stocks a range through Big W, so you can see the fabric in person before ordering. Free shipping within Australia over $99.
ASRV
ASRV builds its range around proprietary fabrics rather than prints, with men's tops from $58 to $138 USD across more than 562 styles. Everything is numbered rather than named, which tells you most of what you need to know about the design approach.
The AeroSilver Tank Top ($58 USD) and AeroSilver Established Tee ($68 USD) use a silver-treated fabric aimed at odour control, and the Tech-Terry Hoodie ($138 USD) is the piece people buy first. Products filter by fit and by intended use, which is a more useful sort than colour. If Ryderwear's men's range is the part you shop and you want the same all-black wardrobe with more fabric engineering behind it, ASRV is the upgrade. It's also worth a look next to the picks in our guide to brands like Born Primitive.
How to Pick Your Next Set
Start with where you train. For heavy lifting in a look close to Ryderwear's, Gymshark and Doyoueven do it cheapest, and Muscle Nation does it without leaving Australia. For studio work, Alo Yoga and Beyond Yoga have the softer hand-feel and the wider sizing. If the fit is what you want and the branding is what you've outgrown, Varley and Alphalete are the quiet versions.
Then check the currency before you check out. KORAL, Muscle Nation, Doyoueven and P.E Nation all price in AUD, so the figure on the product page isn't the figure your card sees unless you're shopping from Australia. Our roundup of gym brands like Kill Crew covers a few more if none of these lands, or you can browse everything we've written on Apart Style.
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Written by
Spencer Lanoue
