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Zumba classes can be a great way to get your heart rate up while having a little fun. The dance cardio fitness program has found a way to combine Latin American dance moves with classic bodyweight exercises to deliver a workout that, at times, feels a little like a party. (And the fact that many classes are set to an upbeat soundtrack certainly doesn’t hurt.)
What’s nice? Zumba classes aren’t just available in-person. Many are available online, and these online Zumba classes tend to be even budget-friendlier than their in-person counterparts (and just as much fun).
Interested in adding a few online Zumba classes to your routine? We’ve rounded up the best ones to get you started.
Best Online Zumba Classes of 2023
- Best Overall: Zumba
- Best for Beginners: Zumba Master Class (Udemy)
- Best Variety: Ailey Extension
- Best Strength-Building: STRONG Nation
- Best Time-Saving: DanceFIT University (YouTube)
- Best Live Classes: Live Love Party
- Best Fitness Concert: Zumba Fitness Concert Live
Best Overall : Zumba
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Zumba
- Price: approximately $5-$15 per class
- Platform: Online livestream and on-demand videos
- Membership required?: Yes
We chose Zumba because it was the first-ever Zumba program, and it’s still one of the best options around. The platform is loaded with live and on-demand classes.
Beginner-friendly
Live and on-demand classes
Lots of variety
Tons of new classes every day
Paid program
Sign-up required
Experience varies from instructor to instructor
On-demand classes expire
Zumba invented the Zumba class. And its library of Zumba workouts is easily the largest and most diverse around.
Each day, you’ll find hundreds of live classes to register for—and thousands of on-demand workouts to stream. These sessions are hosted by a range of different instructors, so they vary in length, intensity, style, and cost.
In many ways, this variety is a good thing: You’ll have tons of different classes to choose from. But it can also be tough to find one instructor (or a few) you love and want to come back to time and time again.
The only other downside of the service? On-demand classes aren’t available forever. You’ll have to register (and pay) for the one you want to take—and even then, the class is only available for 24 hours. So if you want to take the same one twice, you’ll have to pay for it twice. (Or, you’ll have to find a way to do it two times in 24 hours!)
Best for Beginners : Zumba Master Class (Udemy)
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Zumba Master Class (Udemy)
- Price: $85 for lifetime access (frequent new student promotions available)
- Platform: On-demand videos
- Membership required?: No
Udemy’s Zumba Master Class will give you everything you need to tackle Zumba workouts like a pro. During the lesson, you’ll learn to master some of Zumba’s most basic and popular moves, so you can head into future classes feeling confident and prepared.
Beginner-friendly
On-demand lessons, as well as workouts
Budget-friendly
Lifetime access
30-day money-back guarantee
Paid program
Only 3 workouts
If you want to learn more about Zumba, Udemy’s Zumba Master Class is a great way to do it. The beginner-friendly course is only two hours long.
The class starts with a 56-minute Zumba workout, which is beginner-friendly—but designed to throw you right into the action. The workout will help you work up a sweat, and it will give you a taste of what Zumba's all about.
After that, you’ll get a 40-minute Zumba session. This lesson will walk you through some of the steps you just saw, helping you nail them the next time they pop up in class. Once you’ve made your way through the lesson, you’ll get a 25-minute bonus workout to try.
Since Udemy charges a one-time fee, you’ll get lifetime access to all of these videos. Although the regular price is $85, you may get a new student offer for about $15. And you can preview parts of the course for free before you commit to buying it.
Best Variety : Ailey Extension
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Ailey Extension
- Price: $14-$15 per class
- Platform: Live-streamed video classes
- Membership required?: No, but you must register with MindBody
We selected The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater because it's a best-in-class dance company, based in New York City. Here, you’ll find everything from ballet and Broadway jazz to—you guessed it—Zumba.
Beginner-friendly
Live classes
Budget-friendly
Lots of other classes on offer
Paid program
Limited Zumba workouts
Live classes only
If you’ve heard of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, you likely understand how exciting it is that it offers dance fitness classes. The idea of taking a dance class from one of the best dance companies in the world is incredibly exciting—and the fact that it offers Zumba classes just makes the whole thing more fun.
Though Ailey Extension’s dance classes are excellent and budget-friendly (about $14 to $15 per class), there is one major downside: All of the classes are live. So, you have to fit them into your schedule, and you can’t catch up on-demand. This also means you won’t get a massive library of classes to sift through.
You’ll have to focus on what’s available in a given week. Luckily, most weeks seem to involve four, live Zumba classes, along with a range of other dance cardio lessons you can take when Zumba isn’t available.
Best Strength-Building : STRONG Nation
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STRONG Nation
- Price: $5-$15 per class
- Platform: Online on-demand and live virtual classes; live in-person classes
- Membership required?: Yes, but sign-up is free
STRONG Nation is one of the many exercise programs Zumba offers, and because of its commitment to intensity and strength-building, it warranted its own mention on this list.
Intense
Live and on-demand classes
Lots of variety
Tons of new courses every day
Paid program
Sign-up required
Experience varies by instructor
On-demand classes expire
If you prefer your Zumba workouts with a side of strength-training, Zumba’s STRONG Nation may be the program for you. It takes classic Zumba workouts and makes them even more challenging, helping you build strength, work up a sweat, and have a little fun all at once.
To take a STRONG Nation class, simply visit Zumba’s live class library and filter by “STRONG Nation.” There, you’ll find an extensive list of live STRONG Nation courses you can participate in today—and an even longer list of classes you can register to take on-demand. (Unfortunately, these on-demand classes expire 24 hours after registration—so they’re not that much more convenient than the live lessons.)
These courses are led by instructors around the world, so length, intensity, and class style can vary immensely. Price can, too, although they are not listed on the website. This variety is both a perk and a downside. It’s great to have so many options to choose from, but sifting through them all can get a little overwhelming.
Best Time-Saving : DanceFIT University (YouTube)
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DanceFIT University (YouTube)
- Price: Free
- Platform: Live-streamed and on-demand YouTube videos
- Membership required?: No (But there is a subscription version that gives you access to more videos)
Since most of the videos on DanceFIT University are less than 5 minutes long, it’s easy to work one into your day.
Beginner-friendly
On-demand classes
Short workouts
Some variety
Completely free
Very few long workouts
DanceFIT University makes it incredibly easy to take a Zumba class. All you need is access to YouTube, a few minutes to spare, and you're good to go. (That means no new accounts, no complicated scheduling, and no class costs, either.)
Instructor Jessica Hoogendyk uploads new videos every week, so you’ll have tons of dance cardio videos to choose from. And since most of them are just a few minutes long, you can easily piece together a customized workout, based on how much time you have and what you’re in the mood for on a given day.
Hoogendyk is trained in Zumba, Zumba Gold, and Barre, and most of her classes reflect this expertise. But occasionally, she branches out into other styles of dance cardio—like salsa, flamenco, and reggaeton, so you can try something new.
Best Live Classes : Live Love Party
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Live Love Party
- Price: Free
- Platform: YouTube
- Membership required?: No
We chose Live Love Party because its live Zumba classes happen every day and they're the definition of fun.
Beginner-friendly
On-demand classes
Courses uploaded monthly
Free
Limited number of new classes
Live Love Party sets high-energy Zumba workouts to your favorite pop songs, giving you an easy way to have fun while working up a sweat. The Philippines-based company specializes in live Zumba classes with one-to-two one-hour classes per day. And though these classes aren't free, they only cost about $5 (note that the currency online is in Phillipine pesos).
If you want to try before you buy, you can check out Live Love Party’s YouTube channel, which is full of short, free Zumba classes. If you’re short on time, you can take one of these courses to squeeze a quick workout into your day. Or, you can string a few different videos together to create a custom workout that suits your mood and schedule.
Best Fitness Concert : Zumba Fitness Concert Live
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Zumba Fitness Concert
- Price: Free (with Amazon Prime subscription)
- Platform: Prime video
- Membership required?: Yes (to Amazon Prime)
We selected Zumba Fitness Concert Live because it's a unique experience that feels like a live show.
Long, on-demand workout
Nice change of pace
Completely free (with an Amazon Prime membership)
Just one workout
Requires an Amazon Prime membership
The Zumba Fitness Concert Live isn’t enough to support an entire fitness routine. But it might offer a nice change of pace between your other Zumba classes—or your other workouts, in general.
The 70-minute Zumba workout is led by Beto Perez, the man who created Zumba in the 1990s. So you can rest assured knowing it’s good stuff.
Spend 70 minutes tackling some of Zumba's classic, high-energy moves. While most workouts would be annoying (or exhausting) in such a high dose, Zumba is a genuinely good time.
If you have an Amazon Prime membership, you can experience this fitness concert from home—and even better, you can do so for free.
Final Verdict
If you’re looking for an online Zumba class, you can’t go wrong with Zumba—the very company that invented the workout in the first place. Browse Zumba’s site, and you’ll find hundreds of on-demand and live Zumba workouts to choose from. These courses vary immensely in terms of style, intensity, length, and cost. And while that variety can get a little intimidating, it effectively guarantees that you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for (as long as you’re willing to do a little digging).
If you’d prefer a completely free option, check out DanceFIT University. The YouTube channel is loaded with Zumba classes, as well as other dance cardio workouts. And since there are more than 200 videos to sift through, the channel will keep you going for a while.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Online Zumba Classes?
Zumba is a cardio fitness program with roots in Latin American dance. Most online Zumba classes look a lot like in-person Zumba lessons: An instructor will lead you through a series of dance cardio steps, which you’ll perform to fun, upbeat music.
Occasionally, online Zumba classes will break away from this format. You may find lessons that are dedicated entirely to teaching you choreography instead of having you perform it. You may also find shorter workouts that span the length of a single song.
What Is a Zumba Class Like?
Zumba classes tend to be relatively formulaic. An instructor will perform a series of dance cardio steps and instruct you to follow. (And don’t worry, if the choreography gets complicated, instructors will take a moment to walk you through it.) Each Zumba workout is set to a series of fun, upbeat songs. And the choreography tends to change when the songs do—though you’ll probably see the same steps repeated a few times.
Most Zumba workouts start with a warm-up and end with a cool-down. But these are just easier, more stretching-based dance cardio routines. And like every other segment of a Zumba workout, each usually spans the length of one song.
How Much Do Zumba Classes Cost?
In-person Zumba classes tend to cost roughly $5 to $25 per class. Online Zumba courses cost about $15 per class, though you’ll find options that are free, as well.
Methodology
Zumba classes tend to be pretty similar across the board. So we looked for programs where courses were budget-friendly and abundant. And we welcomed diversity (in terms of class style, length, and intensity) wherever we found it.
All of our favorite programs are affordable. Nearly every program we featured (with the exceptions of the Udemy course and the Zumba fitness concert) gives you access to new Zumba workouts every single week, and many of them boast massive on-demand libraries, as well.
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Byrdie / Designed by Amelia Manley