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Gym Membership Cost Calculator

Choosing between two or three gyms? This calculator lines the offers up over the same period: joining fees, service fees, promotional prices, four-week billing and whatever each visit costs you on top. You see the comparison cost, the amounts actually charged, the cost per visit and from how many visits a membership works out cheaper on these numbers than paying per visit. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is stored.

Compare two or three offers over the same period. All defaults are example assumptions. The calculator makes no quality judgement and does not say which gym is “best”; it only names the one that is cheaper on these numbers. The calculation runs in your browser; nothing is stored.

Offers

Shared assumptions

Contract start and first charge day for every offer.

Period in whole months over which every offer is costed the same way.

Planned visits per week; decimals such as 1.5 are allowed.

Pay per visit (optional)

Enter a single-visit price to see the break-even – from how many visits a membership is cheaper on these numbers.

Optional single-visit price, used to work out the break-even.

What your result means

“Cheaper on these numbers” only means this: with the figures you entered, this offer has the lower comparison cost over the period. It is not a recommendation and not a quality judgement. Always check the amounts actually charged and the obligations after the period too. They can differ noticeably from the comparison cost, for example with four-week or yearly billing.

How this calculator works

The calculator keeps three views apart: the comparison cost, the amounts actually charged, and the obligations after the period. The comparison cost normalises every offer onto the same period and drives the ranking, the cost per month and the cost per visit.

For the comparison cost the membership fees are converted into normalised billing periods: monthly counts the period in months, yearly in twelfths, weekly in sevenths of the days, four-weekly in days divided by 28. The first promotional periods count at the promotional price, the rest at the regular fee. Joining and card fees count in full, the service fee pro rata: service fee × months in the period divided by its interval in months. A refundable deposit is not a cost.

Four weeks are not a month. A year holds about 13 four-week periods of service value, but a 12-month window that starts on a billing day contains up to 14 four-week charges (days 0, 28, …, 364). That is why the comparison cost and the amounts charged drift apart. The calculator shows both side by side.

The cash view lists every real charge in the window from start to end (end exclusive): membership fees in advance on the due date, the joining fee, the card fee and a refundable deposit on the start day, service fees on their due dates. No interest is applied.

If the minimum term is longer than your comparison period, the calculator adds up the membership and service charges up to the end of the minimum term as an obligation after the period. Nothing beyond that is assumed; cancellation, pauses, refunds and later prices are not modelled.

The cost per visit is the total cost divided by the planned visits. The break-even against paying per visit is the number of visits from which the membership is cheaper on these numbers: fixed costs divided by the single-visit price minus the variable cost per visit. If the single-visit price is no higher than the variable cost per visit, there is no break-even. Internal arithmetic is unrounded; rounding happens only for display.

Formula and variables

Normalised periods N: monthly → months; yearly → months / 12
Normalised periods N: weekly → days / 7; four-weekly → days / 28
Fees=min(promo periods, N) × promo price + max(N − promo periods, 0) × regular fee
Service fee (period)=service fee × months in the period / interval in months
Fixed cost=fees + joining fee + service fee + card fee
Visits=visits per week × days / 7
Total cost=fixed cost + (extra cost + travel cost per visit) × visits
Effective per month=total cost / months
Cost per visit=total cost / visits (undefined at 0 visits)
Break-even vs pay-per-visit=fixed cost / (single-visit price − variable cost per visit)
Regular fee
the regular price per billing period
Promo price / promo periods
the promotional price and the number of first periods billed at it
Joining fee
one-time joining fee, charged on the start day
Service fee
recurring service/card/admin fee per due date, counted pro rata over the period
Card fee
one-time, non-refundable access-card fee (a cost)
Deposit
one-time, refundable deposit; shown but not counted as a cost
Variable cost per visit
extra costs (e.g. sauna, towels) plus travel/parking per visit
Minimum term
the contractual minimum term in months; longer terms create obligations after the period
Comparison period
the number of months over which every offer is costed on the same basis

Worked examples

Example 1: two monthly memberships, one with a joining fee

Example inputs
Studio A – price€29.90
Studio A – billingmonthly
Studio A – joining fee€0.00
Studio B – price€24.90
Studio B – billingmonthly
Studio B – joining fee€50.00
Visits per week2
Comparison period12 months
Start date1 January 2027
Example results
Studio A – comparison cost€358.80
Studio B – comparison cost€348.80
Studio A – effective per month€29.90
Studio B – effective per month€29.07
Studio A – cost per visit€3.44
Studio B – cost per visit€3.34
Price difference (comparison)€10.00

Studio A costs 12 × €29.90 = €358.80 over the period. Studio B has the lower fee but a joining fee: 12 × €24.90 + €50.00 = €348.80. On these numbers Studio B is cheaper by €10.00 (10 / 348.80 ≈ 2.87% against the cheaper offer). At 2 visits a week, about 104 visits a year, that is €3.44 and €3.34 per visit. All figures are example assumptions.

Example 2: a four-week tariff against a monthly membership

Example inputs
Studio A – price€28.00
Studio A – billingevery 4 weeks
Studio B – price€29.90
Studio B – billingmonthly
Visits per week2
Comparison period12 months
Start date1 January 2027
Example results
Studio A – comparison cost€365.00
Studio A – cash charged in the period€392.00
Studio A – membership charges14
Studio B – comparison cost€358.80
Studio B – cash charged in the period€358.80
Price difference (comparison)€6.20

Studio A looks cheap at €28.00 every four weeks, but the twelve months hold 14 charges: €392.00 in total. Normalised onto the period that is €365.00. The higher cash figure is not a real extra cost: the 14th four-week charge falls due in advance on day 364 and mostly covers time after the twelve months. Studio B at €29.90 a month has 12 charges and €358.80, both as comparison cost and as the amount charged. On these numbers Studio B is cheaper by €6.20 in the comparison. All figures are example assumptions.

Assumptions

  • All prices, fees, visits and the period are your inputs or values labelled “example assumption”; real terms may differ.
  • Every offer starts on the same day; that start day is also the first charge day. Membership fees are charged in advance.
  • The comparison cost normalises every offer onto the same period; the cash view shows the real charges with no interest applied.
  • A refundable deposit is shown separately and not counted as a cost.

Limitations of this calculator

  • The calculator makes no judgement about quality, location, equipment or support and does not say which gym is “best”.
  • It models no cancellation, no contract pause, no refund and no follow-on or increased prices; after the minimum term it keeps using the entered price.
  • It does not know your contract terms and gives no legal assessment of any clause.
  • “Cheaper on these numbers” refers only to the figures you entered and is not a recommendation.

Common misconceptions

  • Reading a four-week tariff like a monthly price: A price “every 4 weeks” leads to up to 14 charges over a year instead of 12. Enter the interval correctly; the calculator then shows the comparison cost and the amounts charged separately.
  • Counting the deposit as a cost: A refundable deposit comes back when you return the card. It appears in the amounts charged but is not part of the comparison cost.
  • Treating the promotional price as permanent: The promotional price applies only to the first periods you entered. After that the calculator continues with the regular fee.

Frequently asked questions

Why do the comparison cost and the amounts charged differ?

The comparison cost spreads every offer evenly over your period. The amounts charged follow the real schedule: fees in advance, other charges on their due dates. With four-week or yearly billing the charges and the period do not line up, so the two figures differ. The calculator always shows both views.

How is a four-week tariff handled?

Four weeks are not a month. For the comparison cost the period is counted in days divided by 28; for the cash view the calculator counts the real charges every 28 days. A 12-month window that starts on a billing day holds up to 14 such charges, more than the twelve of a monthly membership.

Does the deposit count as a cost?

No. A refundable deposit comes back when you return the access card. It appears in the amounts actually charged but is shown separately and not counted in the comparison cost. A non-refundable card fee, by contrast, is a real cost.

What happens after the minimum term?

If your minimum term is longer than the comparison period, the calculator shows the membership and service charges still due until then as an obligation after the period. What applies afterwards, such as a tacit renewal with a notice period, depends on the contract and the law in Germany (for the framework see § 309 No. 9 BGB). The calculator models none of this and is not legal advice.

Does the calculator tell me which gym is better?

No. It only compares the figures you enter and calls the offer with the lower comparison cost “cheaper on these numbers”. It makes no judgement about quality, location, equipment, classes or support; that decision stays with you.

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Sources and further reading

Official and independent sources on this topic. The links open each website in a new tab; no content is loaded from them into this page.

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Last reviewed: 21/10/2026 · All calculations run in your browser – inputs are not stored. ·How we check our calculators