Do I need a Peloton subscription to use these bikes?

No. Every bike on this list works as a standalone piece of cardio equipment with its own onboard console or app. Most also broadcast Bluetooth cadence/speed so you can pair them with third-party apps like Peloton, Zwift, Apple Fitness+, or Kinomap without buying into a single ecosystem. Reviewers repeatedly note this flexibility as a key advantage over Peloton's own hardware.