I once had 3 gym memberships, and my girlfriend wanted me to start trying CrossFit with her.
A 4th gym membership? Pure insanity.
EōS Fitness, your typical big box gym in Las Vegas (similar to 24 Hour Fitness, LA Fitness, Crunch etc.) started at just $10/mo. But every gym membership that offered regular classes was expensive. If I wanted to do a little boxing and kickboxing at the UFC Gym – $100/mo. Then I discovered TruFusion, a boutique gym “disrupting the fitness industry” with a fusion of hot classes, including Hot Yoga, Pilates, HIIT style bootcamps and more. That’s another $149/mo.
So we’re close to $300 a month in gym memberships and a CrossFit membership (usually $150-200) would bring that near $500 a month.
There had to be a better way.
Enter: ClassPass – A flexible way to book fitness classes, gyms and now beauty and wellness venues
I’ve found that pricing varies depending on your area, here’s how to breaks down for me:
- $9 per month – Unlimited access to select livestreams and 1,000+ videos
- $39 per month – Includes 21 credits to book up to 8 classes
- $59 per month – Includes 33 credits to book up to 12 classes
- $99 per month – Includes 60 credits to book up to 22 classes
- $159 per month – Includes 100 credits to book up to 38 classes
If you sign up through my ClassPass referral link, you can get started for 1-month free!
When I lived in Las Vegas, a few gyms offered open gym on ClassPass. Same with LA/OC area (LA Fitness) As I write this I’m currently in Portland, OR (Maui, HI next month) and we don’t have that same options.
Right now I use ClassPass in-conjunction with a cheap big box membership (Crunch Fitness). If more gyms started offering open gym, I might just switch to ClassPass entirely. But that brings up a good point…
ClassPass is only as good as the options available around you
Do a search on ClassPass (use my link above), and search for the fitness options near you. You might also try a few keyword based searches including: CrossFit, Open Gym, Boxing, Yoga, etc.
Most gyms have classes available for 2-4 credits, open gym is often just 2 credits. So if you workout 2-3x a week, a $59 plan should suffice (you can always purchase add-on credits, or upgrade your plan if necessary). I use my gym membership at Crunch for my regular ol’ lifting, and I switch between plans on ClassPass as needed (I’m currently on the $39 plan to hit a few CrossFit classes a week). Credits do rollover to your next month (up to your plan ie. a maximum of 33 credits can be rolled over on the $59 plan).
How Much Do Gyms Make on ClassPass?
ClassPass (definitely depending on your area), seems like a a deal that’s too good to be true. Which begs the question, “How much do gyms make on ClassPass?”
A CrossFit gym is typically at least $150/mo, but with ClassPass I can go at least twice a week, and perhaps do a little yoga and boxing elsewhere for an all inclusive $59? An article on Vice noted that ClassPass is Squeezing Fitness Studios to the Point of Death’.
Maybe 90% of the gyms I’ve visited are cool with ClassPass, no pressure on signing up for a membership. A select few do seem to use it as a marketing tool to try and convert them to full-time members. ClassPass notes that it pays based on engagement and usage, but how that breaks down per visit is unclear. In an older (2017) Quora thread, a personal trainer noted that he made $15.75 per booking for small group training sessions. He adds, “I was making between $1200-$2000 on average per month.
Are you a gym owner on ClassPass? I’d love to hear your experience, and how much you earn (if you’re willing to share). Please let me know in the comments below, or feel free to email me at jonathanjsoriano [at] gmail.com.
Whenever I use ClassPass, I assume I’m getting a good deal. It does seem that gyms have some control how they set prices, so for all I know they’re getting what they normally get for a drop-in and this could be the gym owner and I laughing manically thinking that we’re getting the better deal:
As a personal trainer, it hasn’t been something I’ve needed to utilize (I’m always busy), but it could be something I evaluate in the future (I’d love to hear others thoughts in the comments).
ClassPass is expanding to Beauty and Wellness
Even better ClassPass is becoming the one-stop shop for everything fitness and beyond. The wellness category includes recovery tools such as cryotherapy and infrared sauna, and even traditional methods like massage. The beauty category is new, but I’m seeing everything from barbers to places where you can get your nails done and eyebrows threaded (I may have tried the ladder).
Other ClassPass Alternatives
Lastly, I wanted to close with ClassPass alternatives, because it really does depend on your area. But based on our research, a lot of articles on ClassPass alternatives are outdated, and a number of their competitors have now gone out of business. Probably the most viable approach is checking on Groupon for a prepaid class package or similar deal.
The most popular alternative to ClassPass is GymPass, from what I’ve heard has access to more gyms (as well as open gym at many big box gyms). But, it’s only offered through your employer. With pricing for businesses starting at $150 per month, it could be worthwhile to pitch it to your owner if you don’t already have it!
