Why Planet Fitness Is So Cheap? (Here’s the Truth…!) | Dr Workout (2024)

The luxury of working out at a well-equipped gym does not come cheap in the United States of America. On average, regular gym-goers dish out a noticeable $50 every month to work out within their preferred facilities.

In such an expensive industry, the Planet Fitness franchise is almost a godsend. With classic memberships starting as low as $10 per month, PF gyms have given the regular folk a cheap and affordable option to achieve their fitness goals.

More often than not, you would expect a reduction in the quality of services and facilities offered by a gym if they are handing out their memberships at a low price. But that is really not the case with Planet Fitness.

With a well-defined cardio section stacked with machines and equipment like treadmills and ellipticals, the purplish-yellow interior of any PF branch is brimming with class. The strength section is no less, offering a range of machines like cable towers, smith machines, and a variety of weight-based machines.

With so many facilities offered at such a low price, one has to wonder – how come Planet Fitness is so cheap?

Let’s find out.

Why Planet Fitness Is So Cheap?

Why Planet Fitness Is So Cheap? (Here’s the Truth…!) | Dr Workout (1)

Planet Fitness memberships charge as low as $10 on a monthly basis. Their basic rates haven’t increased in the past 30 years or so, even after so much inflation.

So, what’s the secret to their recipe? Because running a successful gym franchise while selling memberships at such a cheap price sounds almost impossible. But that’s what Planet Fitness has been doing all along, and recording enormous profits in the process.

The secret to their success is simple enough – their target market and marketing strategy. See, Planet Fitness, as a brand, is not designed for professional bodybuilders and experienced lifters.

In fact, the franchise discourages what is normally perceived as the “obnoxious gym bro” behavior. That entails loud grunts while lifting heavy weights, dropping the weights on the ground, and other activities that could disrupt the comfort of the gym.

Planet Fitness is primarily meant for beginners. It also targets regular folk who are constantly working and don’t get a lot of time to spare at the gym on a regular basis. So, they provide facilities for such people to come in and exercise whenever they can to stay fit while also not compromising their daily schedules.

The perfect marketing strategy, therefore, allows Planet Fitness to work on a Low Price, High Volume model. While the gym membership costs are low, there are so many people enrolled in a single facility that the franchise earns a lot on an annual basis.

And because they don’t attract professional lifters and regular gym-goers, they don’t have to worry about the space being too cluttered because of the large number of memberships being sold.

To give you a fair idea, in one of the gym facilities affiliated with Planet Fitness, the total number of members reached around 6,000 members. But they never had any space issues because not all the members train at the gym every day.

Planet Fitness is marketed as an affordable alternative for regular people who can’t hit the gym as regularly. So they are okay with dishing out a meagre price of $10 a month to have access to training facilities whenever they want, making the business a huge success.

Is Planet Fitness Always $10 a Month?

When you think of Planet Fitness, the first thing that comes to your mind is its affordable pricing model. You wouldn’t find many gyms offering a membership at just $10 a month. And if you did find them, their condition wouldn’t be so great.

Planet Fitness has been taking care of this problem for years. They have been marketing themselves as a $10/month-gym for the past thirty years. In that time, they haven’t increased their classic membership price once.

But the $10 monthly plan isn’t the only program offered by Planet Fitness. They’ve recently introduced the PF Black Card Membership for a monthly cost of $24.99. Members with a Black Card can avail additional benefits like open access to any PF facility worldwide, use of tanning facilities, access to the HydroMassage chairs, and so on.

You would expect that Black Card holders would contribute to a minority of the Planet Fitness population. But more than 60% of members at PF gyms have the Black Card membership. The average amount spent by a PF member on a monthly basis is around $17.

Despite the growing popularity of the Black Card Membership program, PF is still widely renowned for its classic $10 package. As such, the brand is not going to hike up their classic pricing model anytime soon.

How Does Planet Fitness Stay so Cheap?

Planet Fitness does not lack any proper training facilities. It’s also fully stocked with all kinds of resistance and weight-based machines and equipment. They also have free weights up to 75 pounds to help beginners start their bodybuilding journey.

So, the question arises – how can Planet Fitness still remain so cheap and profitable at the same time?

The answer is simple. They have targeted regular, working professionals who can’t visit the gym as frequently but still want to accomplish their fitness goals. That makes up a huge part of the American population.

As such, Planet Fitness has a high volume of members, recording a whopping 16.5 million members last year. And the number of people opting out and cancelling their membership is low, as people hardly mind spending $10 a month to have unlimited access to training facilities.

So, Planet Fitness can afford to stay that cheap because they have a large number of paying customers. And because they don’t have any high maintenance costs to worry about, their pricing model is almost perfect.

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How Does Planet Fitness Make Money?

Planet Fitness recorded an annual revenue of around $800 million in September 2022. It’s a huge figure for any gym brand. The question is, how do PF gyms make so much money while keeping their membership prices as low as $10?

They do so by following a volume-based model. Planet Fitness targets the non-bodybuilding community by giving them a judgment-free zone to reach their fitness goals. These involve working individuals, people starting out their bodybuilding journey, or anyone else who might be intimidated by the regular gym atmosphere.

As such, millions of people flock every year to purchase gym memberships at Planet Fitness. Not all of them visit these gyms regularly, so PF does not have to spend a lot of money on increasing the capacity of their facilities.

With a healthy customer retention rate that is supposedly over 80%, Planet Fitness invites more members per year than they lose through cancellation. So, their profits is always going up.

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Final Words

For $10 per month, you can have unlimited access to a well-equipped and comfortable training facility, courtesy of Planet Fitness.

The low pricing model would make you think that PF would hardly be making any profits. But that is far from reality. As one of the most successful gym franchises around the world, Planet Fitness has definitely left a mark in the fitness industry. All thanks to their excellent marketing.

Why Planet Fitness Is So Cheap? (Here’s the Truth…!) | Dr Workout (2024)

FAQs

Why is Planet Fitness so inexpensive? ›

Planet Fitness has no-frills gyms, with a basic selection of machines, no steam rooms or towels in the locker room to hold down costs. Higher costs threaten its business model — known in the fitness industry as high volume, low price, or "HVLP" — more so than luxury gyms.

Why are people leaving Planet Fitness? ›

Planet Fitness's policy allows gym members to use the locker room associated with their gender identity. But this policy has led to a few high-profile cases of women feeling uncomfortable in Planet Fitness women's locker rooms, and some women and children have reported abuse and sexual harassment at the facilities.

Why are people boycotting Planet Fitness? ›

That culture includes widespread accusations of abuse at the company. "It started at the corporate office, this attorney started abusing employees, then he's abusing them sexually, now the culture leads into the people doing the right thing are being thrown out of Planet Fitness," Grondahl said.

Why is Planet Fitness charging $40? ›

The $40 fee that you pay mid-way through your membership is your annual fee which goes towards new equipment and repairs!

How to pay less at Planet Fitness? ›

As a Discovery Vitality member, you can enjoy savings of up to 75% off on a local gym membership or 50% off a national gym membership, as long as you train 36 times or more over a 12 month rolling period. Your adult dependents can also get up to 50% discount with us. T&C's apply.

How does Planet Fitness make money at $10 a month? ›

Additional Revenue Streams: Though membership fees are low, Planet Fitness generates additional revenue through the sale of merchandise, personal training, and their higher-tier “Black Card” membership, which offers extra benefits like access to any location, guest privileges, and other perks.

What is the Planet Fitness controversy? ›

The Hampton, New Hampshire-based gym company was forced to lower its annual financial forecasts, both for revenue and profit, admittedly due to the March 2024 controversy when a biological man was photographed shaving his face in the women's local room at one of their locations in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Is Planet Fitness in financial trouble? ›

Planet Fitness appears to be doing well in the revenue department as its total revenue increased by 11.6% year-over-year, according to its first-quarter earnings report for 2024. But the company is $600 million in debt, which it claims is due by September 2025.

What percentage of Planet Fitness members don t go? ›

Planet Fitness members typically go five or six times a month, and around 60% of them don't visit in a 30-day stretch.

Why does Planet Fitness have a bad reputation? ›

While somewhat of an obscure topic, Planet Fitness has been demolishing its reputation over the years due to several controversies and situations involving Planet Fitness' rules, staff, and the promotion of false and unhealthy products to become “healthy”.

Why can't you wear jeans at Planet Fitness? ›

Jeans or pants with prominent grommets may damage equipment; and. Clothing with hateful, lewd or offensive messaging undermines our welcoming environment.

Who is Planet Fitness biggest competitor? ›

Planet Fitness main competitors are Fitness For 10, Capital Fitness, Inc., and Massage Envy. Competitor Summary. See how Planet Fitness compares to its main competitors: Walgreens has the most employees (210,500).

How to skip Planet Fitness annual fee? ›

To avoid being billed the annual membership fee, you need to cancel by the 25th of the month prior to the annual fee date. Also, those who cancel before they've completed their minimum commitment will pay a $58 buyout fee.

Why did Planet Fitness charge me $25? ›

For an unchanged fee of $25 a month, Planet Fitness "Black Club" members can work out at multiple facilities; more than 60% of the company's members join at the "Black Card" tier. The 50% price hike comes after price-testing costs in multiple markets.

How easy is it to cancel Planet Fitness? ›

For most locations, you can visit your home club in person to cancel your membership or send a written notification via mail to your home club requesting to cancel. Some members may also be eligible to cancel their membership online based on their membership type and the location of their home club.

Why is Planet Fitness charging me 15? ›

Planet Fitness is hiking the price of its basic membership plan by 50% after holding it at $10 a month for 26 years. The new $15 charge will come into effect in the summer and will only apply to new members, interim CEO Craig Benson told investors Thursday.

How cheap does Planet Fitness get? ›

Classic membership

This is the basic membership, and it starts at $10 a month before taxes and fees. You get unlimited access to your home club but can't go to other locations. Perks include access to Planet Fitness app workouts and partner rewards and discounts.

Why is Planet Fitness Black Card so expensive? ›

The "classic" membership gives people access to one location. (Planet Fitness' $25 monthly "Black Club" membership offers more location access and perks. Planet Fitness is not hiking this fee, although executives said they may begin testing higher prices for the plan.)

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