If you price your gym wrong, your business is screwed.
Not “a little tighter than you’d like.” or “less profitable than it could be.” Structurally and mathematically, things will be quite literally… screwed.
Pricing is not a cute little admin task you knock out once and never revisit. It determines if your gym can pay you, pay coaches well, sustain real margin, and eventually buy you the freedom you heard entrepreneurship was supposed to create.
The crazy part most gym owners miss: You can literally fill your gym and STILL lose money.
Packed sessions. Waitlists. Clients LOVE you. Reviews look great. But your bank account is bleeding.
Bad pricing makes all other measures of success irrelevant.
- Copying the gym down the street
- Guessing based on what seems “fair”
- Borrowing some random “guru” number
Pricing strategy ≠ vibes.
If you want to price your gym correctly, you need math behind your actual model—not whatever mood you were in that day.
In this post, we’ll break down black hole pricing, why it kills your business, and how to fix it.
The 3 Ways Gym Owners Price Themselves Into a Corner
Copying the Competition
Looking at another gym and pricing slightly above or below only works if they know what they’re doing—which is a risky assumption.
The “Gut Feeling” Guess
“I think $249 feels fair.”
“I think $299 sounds about right.”
Guesses don’t pay rent.
Guesses don’t fund payroll.
Guesses don’t create margin.
Listening to a Gym Biz Guru
If someone gives you a number without seeing your actual numbers, it’s still a guess.
What “Black Hole Priced” Actually Means
Your pricing makes it mathematically impossible to hit your financial goals.
The gym might look busy—but the math is broken underneath.
The 20% Margin Lie
If your “profit” disappears when you pay yourself properly, your margin isn’t real.
The Only Sane Way to Price Your Gym
Stop guessing. Start using numbers.
Get the Free Gym Pricing Spreadsheet
Step 1: Start With Your BOE
BOE = Base Operating Expense
Step 2: Count Sessions, Not Spots
Monthly sessions = weekly sessions × 4.333
Step 3: Find Your Break-Even
Break-even per session = BOE ÷ sessions
Step 4: Add Profit
Target revenue per session = break-even ÷ (1 – margin)
Step 5: Use Realistic Attendance
~66% for small group
Step 6: Per-Person Rate
Minimum rate = session revenue ÷ attendance
Example
$28,000 ÷ 173 sessions = ~$161
$161 ÷ 0.75 = $215
$215 ÷ 6 = $35.90 per person
Membership Pricing
- 2x/week: ~$323
- 3x/week: ~$466
- 4x/week: ~$574
Use Pricing to Guide Behavior
Make your ideal option feel like the best value.
Billing Cadence
Monthly vs weekly = same economics, different psychology.
Get the Free Pricing Spreadsheet
If You’re Already Black Hole Priced
1. Raise Prices
2. Raise New Member Pricing First
3. Increase Capacity
4. Cut Waste
5. Add Sessions Carefully
Coach-to-Client Ratio
Clients care about experience—not the number.
FAQ
Should I copy competitors?
No.
Should I raise everyone at once?
Not necessarily.
Should I offer unlimited?
Be careful.
Busy but broke?
That’s a pricing problem.
The True North
Build a gym that pays you, your team, and creates real margin.
Math > Vibes
Grab the Spreadsheet
Get the Free Pricing Spreadsheet
Go make money & change lives!
