Most pilates, yoga and boutique studios sell an intro offer, class packs, and weekly memberships capped by classes per week, with an unlimited tier at the top. Price each membership so the revenue per class a member actually books, after GST, exceeds your cost per booked spot. Unlimited only works if average attendance stays below your break-even.
Key takeaways
- Studios are capacity-limited, so the test is revenue per booked class versus cost per booked spot.
- Sydney's Bodylove Pilates advertises unlimited at A$85 a week with an 8-week minimum, and an 8-class plan at A$260 a month.
- Unlimited is only profitable if your heaviest members stay below a break-even number of classes a week.
- Capped memberships (one, two or three a week) protect your timetable and your margin.
- Western Australia's fitness code covers group exercise providers, not just gyms, and national subscription rules start 1 July 2027.
When I wrote The Subscription Playbook, Peloton had "a minuscule 0.73 percent monthly churn rate."
Members had spent about $2,000 on a bike. That sunk cost, plus the community of riders on the leaderboard, kept them paying.
Then the pandemic boom ended. By the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, Peloton's average net monthly churn had climbed to 2.2%, about three times the figure in the book. The good news? It also posted its first full profitable year, after deep cost cuts and a price rise. (The Peloton case study has the numbers.)
Here's why that matters to a studio owner with twelve reformers in a shopfront.
Peloton's problem was keeping people paying for something they could use any time. Your problem is the opposite. You can only fit twelve people in the room. Every member who books a spot is a spot someone else can't have.
That one fact should drive your whole pricing structure.
What do studio memberships look like in 2026?
Studio pricing has split into a few clear shapes. Here's what some Australian studios were advertising in October 2026:
| Studio | Format | What they advertise |
|---|---|---|
| Bodylove Pilates (Sydney) | Premium, live instructors, four studios | Intro: 6 classes in 21 days for A$99. Unlimited A$85 a week (8-week minimum). Flex 8: 8 classes for A$260 a month. Night Owl: unlimited weekday evening classes for A$55 a week. Annual unlimited A$3,650 |
| Pronto Pilates | Filmed on-screen instruction | Classes "from $5," up to 23 a day, free 5-day trial |
Look at what Bodylove has done. It doesn't just sell "unlimited." It sells unlimited at a premium, a capped plan for people who come twice a week, and a cheaper plan that pushes people into the evening classes it can fill.
That's smart capacity pricing.
Pronto takes a different route. By filming the instruction, it removed the biggest variable cost in a class, the live instructor, and can price far lower. Same product category, completely different cost base.
Which subscription models fit a studio?
| Model | Fit for studios | How it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited content | Good, with limits | Unlimited classes, best restricted by time of day or booking rules |
| Member benefits | Strong | Priority booking, all-studio access, workshops, member pricing on retail |
| Minimum commitment | Strong | A 6- or 8-week minimum on memberships, then rolling |
| Bundled services | Good | Classes plus a quarterly private session or a physio screen |
| Credit packs (a pricing model) | Strong | Class packs and flex plans work like credit-based pricing |
| SaaS / unlimited content online | Add-on | On-demand video library for travel weeks |
The book's unlimited content model works when "unlimited" doesn't mean unlimited cost. In a gym, a member who trains every day uses a treadmill that would otherwise sit empty. In a studio, a member who books every day takes a bed at peak time. That's a real cost.
A sample three-tier studio offer
Illustrative only. Prices include GST.
| Flex 4 | Regular | Unlimited | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (illustrative) | A$149 a month | A$59 a week | A$85 a week |
| Classes | 4 a month, roll over one | 2 a week | Unlimited, max 1 a day |
| Booking window | 7 days ahead | 10 days ahead | 14 days ahead, priority |
| Extras | Member retail price | One guest class a quarter | Quarterly private session, workshops at member price |
| Commitment | Month to month | 6-week minimum | 8-week minimum |
The intro offer sits in front of all of this: a few classes in a short window to build the habit.
How do you know if a membership is profitable?
Run the cost-per-class test.
Cost per booked spot = (Monthly fixed costs + Instructor costs) ÷ (Classes per month × Spots per class × Utilization)
Then compare it with what each membership earns per class actually attended, after GST.
Worked example: a 12-reformer studio
You run 40 classes a week, about 173 a month, with 12 beds each.
Fixed costs: rent A$10,000, equipment finance A$4,000, studio manager and admin A$7,000, software, marketing and utilities A$3,000. Total A$24,000 a month. Instructors at A$65 a class add about A$11,270. Total cost: about A$35,270.
Capacity is 173 × 12 = 2,076 spots. At 70% utilization you fill about 1,453. Cost per booked spot: about A$24.27.
Now the memberships, ex-GST:
- Flex 4 at A$149 a month is A$135.45 ex-GST. Over 4 classes, that's A$33.86 a class. Healthy.
- Regular at A$59 a week is about A$232.42 a month ex-GST. At 2 classes a week (8.7 a month), that's A$26.81 a class. A thin but positive margin.
- Unlimited at A$85 a week is about A$334.85 a month ex-GST. If members average 3 classes a week, that's A$25.76 a class. At 3.5 a week it falls to A$22.08, below cost.
Break-even attendance for Unlimited here is about 3.2 classes a week. Above that, your best customers are costing you money.
That's why the smart studios cap unlimited by time of day, limit bookings, or price it high. Run your own figures through the subscription price calculator. Your instructor rates and rent will differ from mine.
Price your membership in five minutes
Work out a weekly or monthly price that covers your instructors, rent, GST and payment fees.
How to launch studio memberships step by step
- Know your capacity. Classes per week, beds or mats per class, and your realistic utilization at peak and off-peak.
- Work out your cost per booked spot with the formula above.
- Set your intro offer to build a habit: several classes in two or three weeks.
- Design capped tiers first (once, twice, three times a week). Add unlimited only if your numbers support it.
- Use time-of-day pricing to fill quiet slots, like Bodylove's evening plan.
- Write booking rules: late-cancel window, no-show policy, booking limits. Put them on the sign-up page.
- Disclose the minimum term, notice period and how to cancel, in plain words, before payment.
- Follow up every intro client before their offer ends. That conversation is where memberships are sold.
- Track utilization weekly. If peak classes are full and members can't book, they'll leave.
Pitfalls that hurt studios
Selling too much unlimited. If 60% of your members are on unlimited and the 6 a.m. class has a waitlist every day, your best customers are getting a worse product. Cap sales or raise the price.
The star instructor problem. In the book's MOATS framework, the "O" stands for One: no single point of failure. If one instructor carries half your timetable and leaves, members follow. Build the brand around the method and the studio, not one person. The MOATS framework explains why.
Intro-offer tourists. Some people hop from intro deal to intro deal. Limit intro offers to new clients and make the value of membership obvious before the offer ends.
Breakage you rely on. Class packs that expire unused feel like free money. Don't build a budget on them. Customers notice, and short expiry terms invite complaints.
Ignoring the second market. Peloton added a commercial line for hotels and apartment buildings. A studio can sell corporate packs or run classes for a local physio's patients.
What Australian studios need to know
General information as at October 2026, not legal advice.
Fitness codes may cover you, not just gyms. Western Australia's updated Fitness Industry Code of Practice was expanded to include personal trainers and group exercise organizers. It set a seven-day cooling-off period, requires members to be told before automatic renewal, and says cancellation fees should reflect reasonable administration costs. Queensland and the ACT also have fitness rules. Check your state.
National subscription rules from 1 July 2027. Under the Unfair Trading Practices Act 2026, rolling memberships need clear upfront disclosure, prescribed notices, and an easy way to cancel, online if clients join online. Intro offers that roll into a paid membership count as subscriptions too. See subscription trap laws.
GST. Fitness classes are taxable. If a physiotherapist runs clinical pilates as treatment, the GST and health fund position can be different. The physio and allied health guide covers that.
The accountant's angle
Studios are cash-hungry at the start: fit-out, reformers, rent before the first class. Memberships fix that faster than class packs because revenue arrives every week whether or not a client books.
Three things to watch in your numbers:
- Prepaid packs and annual plans are a liability until the classes are delivered. Spend that cash as if it's borrowed.
- Instructor cost is your biggest lever. It's why Pronto's model can price so low, and why your price per class matters more than your headline weekly fee.
- Recurring revenue lifts value. A studio with 300 rolling members and steady churn is easier to sell than one living on intro offers. Model it with the subscription profit calculator.
What to do next
Work out your cost per booked spot this week. Then check what your unlimited members actually attend. If the average is above your break-even, you've found your first pricing fix.
And look at the exit. Can a client cancel online today? From July 2027 that won't be optional.
Churn Rate CalculatorCustomer and revenue churn, plus what it costs you.Open the free tool →Free Subscription Profit Review
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Frequently asked questions
How much does reformer pilates cost in Australia?
Prices vary widely by city, format and service level. As advertised in October 2026, Sydney studio Bodylove Pilates lists unlimited classes at A$85 a week, while Pronto Pilates, which uses filmed on-screen instruction instead of a live teacher, advertises classes from A$5. Most studios sit between those, with capped weekly memberships and class packs.
Should a pilates studio offer class packs or memberships?
Both, for different people. Class packs suit irregular visitors and act as a step up from the intro offer. Memberships suit regulars and give you predictable revenue. Price packs so the per-class cost is higher than the membership equivalent, which nudges regulars to commit. Make any expiry date clear at the point of sale.
Is a minimum term on a studio membership allowed?
Minimum terms are common, such as six or eight weeks, and they're not banned. But they must be disclosed clearly before sign-up, and some state fitness codes add cooling-off periods and rules on cancellation fees. From 1 July 2027 national subscription rules also apply. Keep terms short, plain and easy to find.
How do I stop members hoarding bookings?
Use booking rules: a limit on future bookings, a late-cancel window and a no-show fee or credit forfeit, all disclosed upfront. Waitlists that auto-fill freed spots help too. Hoarding usually means the timetable is too tight for your membership mix, so look at capping unlimited sales or adding classes at peak times.
What's a good intro offer for a pilates studio?
One that builds a habit, not just a sale. A short window with several classes, such as Bodylove's six classes over 21 days for A$99, pushes new clients to come two or three times a week. Follow it with a personal call or message before it ends, and a clear path into a membership.
General information only, current as at October 2026. It isn't legal, tax or financial advice and doesn't consider your circumstances. Speak to a qualified adviser before acting.
Talk it through with a BPAG adviser
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Robert Coorey, MBA
Robert is the author of The Subscription Playbook and Feed a Starving Crowd and a Director at BPAG Accountants in Sydney. More about Robert.
Sources
- Bodylove Pilates, intro offer and membership options (accessed October 2026)
- Pronto Pilates, homepage (accessed October 2026)
- Peloton, Q4 and FY2026 financial results (6 Aug 2026)
- WA Consumer Protection, Longer cooling off period under new fitness industry code of practice
- Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026, Federal Register of Legislation
Facts and prices checked 27 October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.