Fitness applications based on virtual reality (VR) technology have been witnessing a growing surge in popularity. However, the proportion of users who manage to maintain long-term usage remains disappointingly low. Most prior research has primarily delved into how the functional design of fitness apps can boost the continuance intention, thus overlooking the significant role played by contextual factors. Against this backdrop, this paper delves into the significance of social elements within the realm of contextual factors, with a particular focus on the impact of peer presence on the continuance intention of VR fitness applications. We devised a 2 (peer presence or absence) * 3 (task stages) laboratory experiment. A total of 82 participants (43% female; M-age = 20.1) took part in a virtual cycling task centered around achieving accurate pedaling frequencies. The results indicate that peer presence exerts a social inhibition effect during the study and retention stage, resulting in lower scores, while exerting no direct influence on usage intention. However, peer presence mitigates individuals’ sensitivity to their performance during the difficulty stages to affect the usage intention. This study validates the efficacy of real-peer intervention in promoting the intention to engage in virtual activities. It not only broadens the application scope of the social facilitation effect and social support theory but also underscores the necessity of considering different levels of usage intention for high-price-value-type applications. Practically, the research outcomes offer valuable insights for fitness application developers to design more user-friendly usage scenarios and for exercisers to optimize their fitness environments.