Thinking about joining a gym this year?
If you are, you’re not alone. Gym attendance is steadily rising, with young people making up a significant portion of that increase. For example, one study found that the share of adults who regularly go to the gym went from 27% in 2013 to 32% in 2019—a growth that may be related to the heightening popularity of fitness influencers.
But if you decide to join, how much should you pay for a gym membership? One user on TikTok decided to investigate this by comparing her local bodybuilding gym to a popular chain. The results were surprising.
Why Was This Woman Shocked By The Price Of Her New Gym?
In a video with over 65,000 views, TikTok user Evelyn (@evelynleia) explains why she believes she’s “been swindled” by her previous gym.
According to Evelyn, she had been a member of her local Anytime Fitness in Australia for about ten years. When she first joined, the price was $60 AUD per month. As of late, the price is $110 AUD, equal to around $75 USD.
“It’s nearly double what it used to be,” she states. “I know that it’s been 10 years of inflation, whatever.”
However, when she decided to visit a new gym, she was shocked.
“It’s like a proper bodybuilding gym. Equipment is amazing. They have high rock sessions on Saturday mornings. … They have a cafe; they have a DJ on Saturdays. Like, facilities are great,” she explains. “It’s not a small gym, but there’s like not many people there at a time, which is great.”
“Tell me why that’s $12.50 a week more than, like, the basic commercial gym that I was going to,” she continues. This equates to around $8.50 USD — or, to put it in Evelyn’s terms, “That’s two coffees a week.”
“[The] value for money is, like, insanely different,” she says. “Have I been scammed? I don’t know. How much are you guys paying at your commercial gym?”
How Much Should You Pay For The Gym?
Hearing Evelyn’s story, one may wonder how gyms determine their prices—and how much you should really be paying to go to the gym in the first place.
While it’s hard to give a universal answer to that question, given just how much gym prices can vary from location to location, there are a few things of which gymgoers should be aware before they sign up.
First, there’s an important difference between large, commercial chain gyms when compared to local gyms, specifically with regards to who they target.
As noted by New York Magazine, chain gyms typically have a lot of real estate and a broad spectrum of equipment to appeal to the highest number of people. Consequently, they get a lot of people signing up—more people than they can handle at one time.
Consequently, these gyms tend to make most of their profit from people who sign up for personal trainers and those who sign up for the gym and don’t use it. While these gyms may have occasional community events, their main focus is getting the broadest appeal possible at the lowest price in order to encourage a large number of sign-ups.
Why Smaller Gyms Are Sometimes Better
In contrast, a local bodybuilding gym, like the one described by Evelyn, has a different focus.
As the gym likely has a smaller physical footprint, less equipment, and more specialized offerings, they spend less money on things like rent and maintenance. Instead, they can focus on optimizing the services they already offer while providing extras like the DJ nights mentioned by Evelyn.
Whether this is preferable depends on the user. Some may find that a commercial gym has more of what they need or is simply easier to reach than a local bodybuilding gym. Others may believe that the advantages of a local bodybuilding gym, such as the community and extra amenities, make the price difference worth it.
How much should you pay? That depends. Gym prices can vary wildly; some chains may charge just $10 a month early on, while others may cost hundreds. It’s best to visit multiple gyms and see which one has the best value for your specific needs. On average, most gyms in the United States cost around $65 per month.
@evelynleia I’m tripping out
Commenters Say You Should Check Out Your Local Gym
In the comments section, many users sang the praises of their local gym over the closest commercial chain.
“Yesss…I pay $25 a week at anytime and am about to transfer over to another gym that offers recovery and free pilates for $10 more,” wrote a user. “Anytime is convenient but I’m soooo done with them as a company.”
“I left Anytime last year after being with them for 5 years and haven’t looked back. The only advantage I found with Anytime is they have locations absolutely everywhere,” offered another.
Still, some said the convenience was worth it for them.
“I only go to anytime because it’s convenient that’s all,” explained a further TikToker. “one playground is like 20 min drive and I’m to lazy for that.”
BroBible reached out to Anytime Fitness via Purpose Brands email and Evelyn via email.