Gym Timer Buying Guide
The 5 Best Gym Wall Timers
A gym wall timer used to mean a two-foot LED clock, a power cord and a remote. Four of the best are below, next to the app that turns the iPad you already own into one.
The Five At A Glance
| Timer | Price | Digit Height | Display Length | Setup And Control | Saved Timers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Digits Timer | Free. Pro is $9.99 a year or $24.99 once | 4.9 in on a 13-inch iPad | The iPad you own | On screen, with your iPhone or Apple Watch as the remote | As many as you like |
| 2Rogue Echo Gym Timer 2.0 | $220 | 5 in | 24.5 in | Remote, or Rogue's app over Bluetooth | 20 built-in interval options |
| 3GymNext Flex Timer Gym Edition | $299 | 4 in | 23 in | Phone app over Bluetooth, no remote | Set up in its app |
| 4Titan Fitness Large Gym Timer | $314.99 | 4 in | 29 in | Remote | 10 custom programs |
| 5Rogue Echo Two-Sided Timer | $440 | 4 in | 25.25 in | Remote | 10 custom programs |
Best Overall
1. Digits Timer
Free. Pro is $9.99 a year or $24.99 once
Digits Timer is a gym wall timer that runs on an iPad, with an iPhone and Apple Watch app that work as its remote. It costs a fraction of the hardware because you already own the display.
- Digits as big as the hardware's. Expanded to minutes and seconds, the digits are 4.9 inches tall on a 13-inch iPad and 4.2 inches on an 11-inch iPad. Three of the four hardware timers here have 4-inch digits.
- Set up on a screen, not with a remote. Build a timer by tapping sets, rests and rounds, and name each one. Presets cover rounds, Tabata, EMOM, sports quarters and team practice. Save as many as you like.
- Your phone and watch are the remote. Start, pause and skip from your iPhone or Apple Watch, from anywhere in the room.
- One clock in every room. Up to 60 iPads and iPhones can show the same timer, so every room, and every athlete's own phone, can show the clock.
- No time limit. Past 99:59 the display switches to hours, minutes and seconds and keeps going.
- More than a clock. Each kind of set has its own color, beeps play through whatever speaker the iPad is connected to, and it can film your workout with the timer in the picture.
What to know: you need an iPad or iPhone that runs iOS 17 or later. If you would have to buy an iPad just for the wall, a hardware timer can cost less.
The Biggest Digits In Hardware
2. Rogue Echo Gym Timer 2.0
$220 · 5 in digits · 24.5 in long
The best value of the hardware timers here: the lowest price and the tallest digits. A single-sided LED display with 5-inch numbers, five levels of brightness and a speaker that reaches 90 dB.
It comes with 20 built-in interval options, including Tabata and Fight Gone Bad, and is run from the included remote or from Rogue's app over Bluetooth. One-year warranty.
Hardware You Run From A Phone
3. GymNext Flex Timer Gym Edition
$299 · 4 in digits · 23 in long
The hardware timer closest to how Digits Timer works: there is no remote, and everything is set up in a free phone app over Bluetooth, with a stated range of over 100 feet.
4-inch blue and red digits, a buzzer adjustable from 65 to 95 dB, and modes for rounds, intervals, Tabata and EMOM. Several timers can be linked to show the same workout.
The Longest Display
4. Titan Fitness Large Gym Timer
$314.99 · 4 in digits · 29 in long
The longest display in this list at 29 inches, with 4-inch numbers. It has a clock, a stopwatch, count up and count down, an interval timer, and Tabata and Fight Gone Bad built in.
It is programmed with a remote and holds 10 custom programs. A countdown tops out at 99:59. Titan often lists it below its regular price.
The Middle Of A Big Room
5. Rogue Echo Two-Sided Timer
$440 · 4 in digits · 25.25 in long
Two displays back to back, so a class can read it from both sides of the room. On Rogue's floor stand ($460 for the pair) it stands in the middle of a training floor.
4-inch numbers, with the time in red and the rounds in green. It is programmed with the included remote and holds 10 custom programs.
Where Hardware Still Wins
Two things, and for most gyms neither is worth a few hundred dollars.
- Slightly bigger digits, on one model. The Rogue Echo Gym Timer 2.0 has 5-inch digits, a tenth of an inch taller than Digits Timer on a 13-inch iPad. The other three are smaller than the iPad's.
- A longer display. The hardware is 23 to 29 inches long, so the round and the time sit side by side at full size. On an iPad, showing the round, minutes and seconds together brings the digits down to 3.3 inches; one tap expands them to minutes and seconds only.
Why We'd Pick The App
The price is the obvious reason: $220 to $440 for the hardware, against $24.99 once for Digits Timer Pro. The better reason is the remote. Most wall timers are programmed by pressing the remote's small buttons in the right order, with the manual open.
With the app, a coach builds the day's workout on a phone in a minute, names the sets, and sends it to the iPad on the wall. If the iPad is ever needed for something else, it is still an iPad.
Common Questions
Can An iPad Replace A Gym Wall Timer?
Yes, for most rooms. On a 13-inch iPad the minutes and seconds in Digits Timer stand 4.9 inches tall, and 4.2 inches on an 11-inch iPad. Most hardware gym wall timers have 4-inch digits. Mount the iPad on the wall or prop it on a shelf and keep it plugged in: the screen stays on for as long as the app is open.
How Much Does A Gym Wall Timer Cost?
The four hardware timers in this guide cost $220 to $440. Smaller timers with digits around 2 inches sell for less, but they are hard to read from across a gym. Digits Timer is free for the Clock, Stopwatch and a quick Timer; Pro, which adds saved interval timers and remote control, is $9.99 a year or $24.99 once.
What Size Digits Do I Need?
A common rule of thumb for signs is at least 10 feet of comfortable reading distance for each inch of height, so 4-inch digits read easily from 40 feet. That covers a garage gym or a studio with room to spare. For a very large floor, look at the 5-inch hardware, or run the same timer on several iPads around the room.
Does The App Need Wi-Fi Or An Account?
No account, and the timer itself needs no connection. Wi-Fi is only used when an iPhone controls an iPad or several devices show the same timer, and they talk to each other directly over your own network.