Are Adjustable Dumbbells Worth It? Adjustable vs Fixed Dumbbells (Australia 2026)

Source: VERVE product pages, per-variant prices at the time of writing (October 2026). Sums are shown in the cost section below.

Are adjustable dumbbells worth it compared to a fixed dumbbell set?

They are worth it when floor space is the limit and one person trains at a time. That describes most spare rooms, apartments and single garages. You want a full dumbbell range, but a fixed set means a rack along a wall, a bill for pairs you will not lift for a year, and a floor that fills up faster than you planned. Training at home should feel like getting stronger, not like working around your own equipment.

The VERVE Adjustable Dumbbell is sold per dumbbell at $629, so a pair is two. Each one turns from 4kg to 32.5kg in 1.5kg increments, 20 settings in total, and a gear indicator window shows the plates are locked before you lift. A pair costs $1,338 at the time of writing. A fixed hex set that covers the same range costs $2,764 before you buy anywhere to store it.

Fixed wins in four situations, and they are the situations that define a busy gym: more than one person training at once, fast drop sets and supersets, dumbbells that get dropped, and loads above 32.5kg. That is why the answer flips for commercial gyms and PT studios.

Adjustable vs fixed dumbbells at a glance

What a full dumbbell range costs: the sums

The fair comparison is one adjustable pair against the fixed pairs you would need to cover the same 4kg to 32.5kg range. Prices below are per-variant prices from the VERVE product pages at the time of writing, and the product pages always show today's price.

The hex run, pair by pair: 4kg $49, 5kg $59, 6kg $69, 7kg $79, 8kg $89, 9kg $99 and 10kg $109 (seven pairs, $553), then 12.5kg $139, 15kg $169, 17.5kg $199, 20kg $219, 22.5kg $259, 25kg $249, 27.5kg $299, 30kg $329 and 32.5kg $349 (nine pairs, $2,211). The light pairs go on the Dumbbell Tower Rack ($299), which is made for pairs from 1kg to 10kg. The heavier pairs go on the 3 Tier Hex Dumbbell Rack ($459), which is sized for a 10kg to 35kg set.

The CPU run, pair by pair: 5kg $100, 7.5kg $150, 10kg $190, 12.5kg $240, 15kg $295, 17.5kg $345, 20kg $380, 22.5kg $445, 25kg $485, 27.5kg $535, 30kg $585 and 32.5kg $635. Each Small Dumbbell Rack ($479) holds 6 pairs of Premium Club dumbbells, so two racks take all twelve.

On a like-for-like range, the adjustable pair costs $1,426 less than the hex run and $3,047 less than the CPU run, before storage. Buy hex in 2.5kg steps only (12 pairs from 5kg to 32.5kg, $2,464) and the adjustable pair still comes in $1,126 cheaper.

Where fixed wins on cost: when you do not need the whole range. A beginner who trains with three hex pairs, say 5kg, 7.5kg and 10kg, spends $253. In the example above, a fixed set only passes the price of the adjustable pair at the seventh pair: 10kg to 25kg in 2.5kg steps is seven pairs and $1,343. If you can name the four or five weights you actually lift, fixed is cheaper today. If you want room to progress without buying again, adjustable is cheaper across the range.

How much space do adjustable dumbbells save?

Footprints from the product pages, length by width, with height for context:

The 16-pair hex run needs 1.08 sqm across two units, almost double the 0.58 sqm of the VERVE Adjustable Dumbbell Rack. The CPU run on two small racks needs 1.66 sqm, nearly three times as much. Every option also needs clear standing room in front of it to lift a pair off, so that space is the same either way. Skip the rack and the adjustable pair sits in its two docking bases on the floor; the product page does not list the base dimensions. The full range of storage is in the dumbbell rack collection.

Changeover speed: supersets, drop sets and partner training

To change weight on the adjustable, the dumbbell goes back in its base, you turn the handle to the new setting, and you check the indicator window. VERVE's product page is clear on the last step: if the number is not fully visible, the plates are not secured. For a pair, that is two docks, two turns and two checks. On a fixed set you put one pair down and pick up the next. How much that matters depends on how you train:

• Straight sets: little difference. You change weight between exercises, and a turn of the handle fits inside your rest.
• Drop sets: fixed is faster. You run down the rack, 20kg to 17.5kg to 15kg, without stopping. On an adjustable pair, every drop means docking both dumbbells, turning both handles and checking both indicators, which adds rest to a method built on having none.
• Supersets: fine on an adjustable if both movements use the same weight. Pair a 22kg row with a 10kg lateral raise and you are re-setting both dumbbells twice every round.
• Partner training: one adjustable pair serves one person. Two people training together need two pairs, $2,676 at the time of writing. That still costs less than the 16-pair hex run, but it only ever serves two.
• Group classes and commercial floors: ten people doing the same movement need ten pairs, and members on a gym floor pick up a pair, use it and walk away. A lift with unsecured plates is a risk the operator carries. Fixed dumbbells remove that step entirely.

Weight increments: do 1.5kg steps beat 2.5kg?

The American College of Sports Medicine's position stand on progression in resistance training recommends a 2 to 10% load increase once you can do one or two reps more than your target. The jump to the next dumbbell, as a percentage of what you lift now, is what decides whether progress feels smooth or stalls.

Up to 10kg, the hex set's 1kg steps are finer. Above 10kg, the adjustable's 1.5kg steps are finer, and from 16kg up every adjustable step sits inside the 2 to 10% range (16kg to 17.5kg is 9.4%). The hex set's 2.5kg steps reach that range at 25kg. So the adjustable suits the lifter working in the middle of the range, and fixed suits very light work.

The ends of the range matter more than the steps. The adjustable starts at 4kg, so rehab and light shoulder work below that needs fixed pairs, which start at 1kg. It stops at 32.5kg. If you already press, row or split squat more than that, or expect to soon, you will be buying fixed pairs anyway: VERVE Premium Hex Dumbbells run to 60kg a pair.

Durability: can you drop adjustable dumbbells?

Drops are the classic weak point of any adjustable dumbbell, because the plates are held by a selector rather than welded to the handle. The VERVE product page gives no drop rating and no warranty term for the adjustable, so do not plan on dropping it. Lower it to the floor or back into its base under control, every set.

Fixed dumbbells are built for the hard set-down. The Premium Hex heads are friction welded to the handle rather than bolted, and wrapped in commercial grade rubber. The VERVE Premium Club CPU Dumbbells have handles welded to the ends, cast polyurethane heads and a 5 year warranty for commercial use. VERVE's product page estimates coating life in a commercial gym at 3 to 5 years for rubber, 4 to 6 years for TPU and 8 years for CPU.

If you finish heavy pressing sets by dumping the dumbbells, or your gym has members who will, buy fixed.

Resale and buying in stages

Fixed dumbbells can be bought one pair at a time: hex from $15 a pair and CPU from $50 a pair. Start with the weights you use, add pairs as you get stronger, and sell or swap single pairs later. An adjustable is all or nothing. You pay for 4kg to 32.5kg on day one, which is good value if you use the range and dead money if you only ever lift 10kg to 16kg.

On resale, a fixed pair has nothing to wear out but its coating, so a second-hand buyer can judge it by looking at it. An adjustable has a selector mechanism a buyer cannot check without using it, and one missing or damaged plate breaks the set. Treat fixed dumbbells as the safer store of value, and buy an adjustable to use, not to resell.

There is a third route if you already own Olympic plates. Olympic Dumbbell Handles ($119 a pair) weigh 5.25kg each, take 50mm plates on 165mm of loadable sleeve and come with spring collars. They are the cheapest way to a heavy dumbbell and the slowest to change, because every change means collars off, plates on, collars back. VERVE recommends iron plates rather than bumpers on these handles.

The verdict: home gym, PT studio or commercial gym?

Home gyms with limited space: buy the adjustable pair. It gives one lifter the full working range for about half the cost and about half the floor of a fixed set, and the 1.5kg steps keep progress moving once you are past 10kg. Add the rack if you want the dumbbells at standing height and off the floor.

Commercial gyms and PT studios: buy fixed. A shared floor needs many pairs in use at once, instant changes and dumbbells that survive being put down hard, and an adjustable pair delivers none of those. Premium Club CPU suits a commercial floor that has to look and last the same for years; Premium Hex suits a studio watching its budget. An adjustable pair can still earn a spot in a PT studio as a back-up for in-between weights such as 11.5kg or 14.5kg, but not as the main run. See the commercial gym equipment range for the rest of the floor.

For a product-by-product look at every option, see our guide to the best adjustable dumbbells in Australia.

Frequently asked questions