Is Gym Factory as good as Life Fitness?

They're not really comparable on a single scale. Life Fitness has far more history, scale and a larger global installed base; Gym Factory is a newer, ISO-certified European manufacturer with a narrower range, a longer published structural warranty, and bespoke build options most catalogue brands don't offer. Which suits you depends on whether you value global brand recognition and an established service network, or a customisable, direct-from-manufacturer relationship, with decades-long insider experience of what athletes really need.

Does Life Fitness manufacture in the UK or Europe?

Life Fitness's primary manufacturing facility is in Franklin Park, Illinois, USA, with international offices worldwide. We found no evidence of UK or EU manufacturing for its core commercial range. Gym Factory, by contrast, manufactures every product in a single ISO-certified facility in Lithuania, with an exact location at: Beržiniškės g. 2A, Naisiai Village, Šiauliai District, LT-81474, Lithuania . Gym Factory always welcomes its partners and clients to visit the facility, and Sports Lodge offers full compensation for a return flight to Lithuania for clients who decide to build their gym with Gym Factory’s range.

Can I get a custom-coloured or custom-sized machine from either brand?

Gym Factory offers this directly — dimensions, handle position and colour can be adjusted on most machines before production. We could not verify an equivalent bespoke commercial programme from Life Fitness; check directly with them if this matters for your build.

How do the warranties actually compare?

Gym Factory's published frame and structural warranty (30 years) is longer than Life Fitness's published UK commercial strength frame warranty (10 years), and its mechanical parts coverage (36 months) is longer than Life Fitness's 1-year hardware, mechanical and labour terms. Life Fitness's advantage is a long-established global service and parts network built over more than 50 years.

Gym Factory vs Life Fitness: An Honest Comparison for Gym Owners

Gym Factory vs Life Fitness for commercial gyms: company background, where each is made, UK warranty terms, custom builds, typical buyers and price positioning.

18 October 2026 · 5 min read

Gym Factory plate-loaded leg press and power rack in a dark studio, the Lithuanian-made range compared with Life Fitness in this guide

If you're speccing a new strength or cardio floor, Life Fitness and Gym Factory sit at very different points in the market. One is a decades-old global manufacturer with an enormous installed base; the other is a fast-growing Lithuanian manufacturer newly available in the UK, Canada and Northern US through Sports Lodge, brand is also available in other countries world wide, and you can check their distributor network on their website. Neither point is a knock against the other brand — they're built for different buyers. Here's what's actually verifiable about both, so you can decide which fits your gym.

Company background: decades of scale vs a fast-growing challenger with a deep expertise of the athletic needs.

Life Fitness was founded in 1968 in the Chicago area with the launch of the LifeCycle, one of the first electronic exercise bikes. It's headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois, manufactures from a dedicated facility in nearby Franklin Park, Illinois, and operates from 16-plus locations worldwide, including Barcelona, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong and São Paulo. Ownership has changed more than once: Brunswick Corporation owned Life Fitness for over two decades before selling it to KPS Capital Partners in 2019 for roughly $490 million. Life Fitness now also owns Hammer Strength, Cybex, SCIFIT and Indoor Cycling Group under one group. By its own account at the time of that sale, Life Fitness had the largest installed base of any commercial fitness brand worldwide — around two million machines in use by more than 60 million people, sold in over 160 countries.

Gym Factory is a much newer story. Founded by Žigimantas Kauneckas, it has been operating for over ten years, growing from a two-person workshop into a team of 50 engineers, trainers and athletes who manufacture more than 180 machines from a single ISO-certified facility in Lithuania. It doesn't have Life Fitness's history or global footprint, and it isn't trying to compete on that basis. Its case rests on a custom-tailored solution and front-line expertise in bodybuilding, gym operations, and niche markets, within a tighter, EU-manufactured range with far more room to adjust a machine's spec before it's built.

Manufacturing and product range

Life Fitness covers a very wide catalogue across cardio (treadmills, bikes, climbers, rowers), selectorized and plate-loaded strength, functional training and connected fitness technology, spread across multiple owned brands — Hammer Strength for heavy-duty strength, Cybex, and SCIFIT for rehab-focused equipment. It's built for volume: large health club chains, hotel and corporate wellness estates, university and military facilities that want one global brand across many sites.

Gym Factory's range is narrower but still broad for a single manufacturer: 180-plus push, pull, leg, cardio, core, multi-station, rack and bench, and free-weight, armwrestling, physiotherapy products, plus a confirmed outdoor fitness equipment category. Everything ships from the same Lithuanian factory under ISO-certified production, which is also what makes bespoke configuration (below) practical without the multi-brand complexity Life Fitness has accumulated through acquisitions.

Warranty terms compared

Life Fitness's published UK terms for commercial strength equipment: frame, 10 years; block, pulley, plate and rod assemblies, 5 years; electrical components, 2 years; hardware, mechanical parts and labour, 1 year; upholstery and cosmetic finish, 3 months. Terms vary by product line and by consumer versus commercial gym systems, and Life Fitness publishes country-specific policies directly — always check the current terms for the exact machine and region before buying.

Gym Factory's tiered warranty: frame and structural steel elements, 30 years; mechanical moving parts (levers, bearings, shafts, guide rods, pulleys, fasteners), 36 months; cables and belts, 12 months; upholstery, 6 months. It covers original purchasers under normal use with proper installation, and manufacturing defects are resolved with free repair or replacement parts rather than refunds.

Read head-to-head, Gym Factory's published frame warranty (30 years) is longer than Life Fitness's published UK commercial frame warranty (10 years), and its wear-part coverage (36 months mechanical, 12 months cables and belts) runs longer than Life Fitness's 1-year hardware, mechanical and labour terms. That's not the whole picture, though — Life Fitness's decades-old global service network and parts availability are a real consideration for an operator running equipment across many sites, and worth weighing against warranty length on its own, not from the other hand, as a UK distributor, Sports Lodge, developing a network of gym repair professionals who are rapidly responding to any gym equipment repair, update and install needs. This combination of Manufacturing and business operations between GymFactory and Sports Lodge makes it a solid companionship for any gym that is looking for premium experience not just in purchasing the gym equipment, but also making sure that all their needs are met.

Customisation and bespoke options

Gym Factory offers genuine bespoke manufacturing: dimensions, handle position, frame colour and other specs can be adjusted on most machines before production, within its standard 6-8 week build time. For a boutique gym or studio that wants a specific footprint or look rather than an off-the-shelf unit, that's a real point of difference.

Life Fitness doesn't publish an equivalent made-to-order commercial configuration programme. It offers a "Custom Home Gym Design" service aimed at private and home buyers, and colour or finish options exist on parts of its range, but we could not verify a bespoke commercial-machine process comparable to Gym Factory's. If that matters for your build, it's worth confirming directly with a Life Fitness dealer rather than assuming either way, as a Gym Factory official distributors we are looking for transparency and flexibility, and thats a super power of Gym Factory.

Who typically buys each brand

Life Fitness's customer base skews toward large multi-site health club chains, hotel and university facilities, and operators who want one recognised global brand and a long-established service network behind every site.

Gym Factory tends to suit independent gym owners and boutique studio operators who want European-manufactured equipment, a more direct relationship with the distributor, and the option to specify a machine rather than take it exactly as catalogued.

Price positioning

Life Fitness doesn't publish list prices; quotes are typically negotiated per project through its dealer network, and its market position is generally understood as premium/enterprise, reflecting its scale, R&D investment and global support infrastructure.

Gym Factory's manufacturer price list (EUR, ex-VAT, before shipping) runs from well under €500 for smaller accessory items to roughly €15,000 for large multi-station units, with most single strength machines falling between about €1,000 and €3,000. These are Gym Factory's own EU manufacturer prices, which are the same with all current distributors worldwide.