Gym Membership Prices in 2026: The Real Annual Math
The advertised monthly rate is the bait; annual fees and initiation charges are the switch. Both are below.
Observed & compiled: 5 October 2026 · all 11 chains re-opened on their own sites · next refresh due 5 November 2026Full refresh, 5 October 2026 — and we corrected our own arithmetic
The LA Fitness example we published on 7 September was wrong. We said the $24.99 plan with a $99 joining fee costs $368.88 over a year, against $488.88 for the $34.99 plan with none, and called the cheaper monthly rate "the pricier year." Two errors: the $368.88 left out the $99 joining fee, and the conclusion did not follow even from our own numbers. Correct totals, with the $69 annual fee in both: $467.88 against $488.88. The lower rate still wins year one, but by $21, not $120 — the $99 fee eats most of the $120 you save on dues. Break-even is about ten months, so if you might leave sooner, the "cheaper" plan costs more. Both plans re-confirmed at Bear, DE; Norwood Park, IL shows $34.99 and $44.99 with $0 joining fee.
Two chains that published nothing now publish something. Crunch's FAQ states its annual fee — "up to $89," not the $49 we carried — and a club join page prints "memberships starting at just $9.99." No tier is priced. PureGym US's Journal Square, NJ club page prices three tiers: Premium Plus from $43 a month (12-month, all gyms), Premium No-Commit from $34, Core from $24 (12-month, single gym), with $10, $20 and $40 registration fees. The old $10–$35 bands and $56.99 annual fee were pre-rebrand third-party figures we could not reproduce, and are removed.
Verified unchanged: Planet Fitness Classic $15, Black Card $24.99, annual fee $49 (the announced rise to $29.99 still has not landed); EōS $9.99 / $24.99 / $29.99 with a $59.99 annual fee and an enrollment fee of "up to $49.99"; Chuze from $9.99 with a $59.99 annual fee; Anytime's "average monthly cost of membership is $53" and $49 at New Orleans; 24 Hour's $69.99 annual fee (a $1 join plus $4.99 activation promotion was running); Gold's Gym still shows unrendered ${{dues_amount}} placeholders at two more clubs.
Moved: Life Time's Midtown Manhattan club starts at $348 a month against $159 at Troy, MI. Snap Fitness's Roberts, WI club prints $50 month-to-month, $45 on 12 months and $43 on 18, with a $69 enrollment fee. Still observed, not published: the Crunch Peak tiers, Gold's Gym and 24 Hour Fitness monthly bands.
Earlier: checked again on 7 September 2026 — and we got three things wrong
We went to all eleven chains' own websites this week, ahead of the September price refresh, to check two things: whether each one still trades under the name we list, and whether it publishes a price at all. It turned into a correction round.
Three annual fees were wrong, and all three came from price-guide sites rather than from the gyms. EōS Fitness is $59.99, not the $49.99 we "corrected" it to in August — that correction was itself the error, and it went the wrong way. LA Fitness is $69, not $59. 24 Hour Fitness is $69.99, not $59.99. The two fees we'd sourced directly from the companies, Planet Fitness at $49 and Chuze at $59.99, were both right all along.
Blink Fitness is now PureGym US. It was bought for $121m and 56 of its New York and New Jersey gyms have reopened under the new name. Blinkfitness.com redirects to puregym.com. We had it listed under the old name with old prices.
Planet Fitness still hasn't raised Black Card. Verified on its own site: still $24.99, with the announced move to $29.99 unshipped.
And LA Fitness turns out to publish the single most useful thing on this page. At the club we sampled, the same Basic membership costs either $24.99 a month with a $99 joining fee, or $34.99 a month with none. Over a year, with the $69 annual fee, that's $467.88 against $488.88 — the joining fee eats most of the saving. (Corrected 5 October: we first printed $368.88 and left the joining fee out.) Ask any gym for the twelve-month total.
Verified and unchanged: the budget tier holds — Planet Fitness Classic $15, EōS $9.99, Chuze from $9.99. Carried forward from earlier checks: the price bands for Crunch, Gold's Gym, 24 Hour Fitness and PureGym US, because none of those four publishes a price for us to re-read. Gold's Gym is still on its July figures.
Jump to: Planet Fitness EōS Fitness Crunch Fitness LA Fitness Anytime Fitness Chuze Fitness Gold's Gym PureGym US (Blink) 24 Hour Snap Fitness Life Time
Tip: click any column header to sort the table.
| Chain | Monthly | Annual fee | True first-year cost* |
|---|---|---|---|
| EōS Fitness (base) | from $9.99 | $59.99 | ~$180–$240 |
| Crunch (base) | from $9.99 | up to $89 | ~$210–$270 |
| Planet Fitness Classic | $15 | $49 | ~$230 |
| Planet Fitness Black Card | $24.99 | $49 | ~$350 |
| LA Fitness | $24.99–$44.99 | $69 | ~$468–$609 |
| Chuze Fitness (base) | from $9.99 | $59.99 | ~$180–$240 |
| Gold's Gym (base) | from ~$10 | $39–$49 | ~$180–$770 |
| PureGym US (formerly Blink) | $24–$43 (one club) | $10–$40 registration | not computed |
| Anytime Fitness | avg ~$53 | init + key fees vary | ~$700+ |
| 24 Hour Fitness | not published | $69.99 | ~$420–$770* |
| Snap Fitness | ~$45–$62 | $49.95–$69 init + $20 card | ~$610–$820 |
| Life Time | from $72 | enroll $0–$200+ | ~$860–$3,200+ |
*Monthly × 12 + annual fee + typical enrollment; promos change this — the point is to compare real yearly totals, not sticker months.
Planet Fitness
CLASSIC$15/mo
BLACK CARD$24.99/mo
ANNUAL FEE$49
Price increase announced — not yet in effectPlanet Fitness has said publicly it will raise Black Card from $24.99 to $29.99 per month after the 2026 peak join season. Re-checked on the company’s own site on 7 September 2026: still $24.99, and the increase still has not landed. If you were going to join anyway, joining before the change starts you at the lower rate. This follows the 2024 move that took the basic membership from $10 to $15.
Fee reality: the $49 annual fee hits both tiers ~8 weeks after joining — it's how "$15/month" actually averages $19/month. $1-down enrollment promos run constantly; never pay full enrollment.
Black Card adds any-location access, guest privileges, and massage chairs — worth it only if you'll use them.
EōS Fitness
WILL DO (BASE)from $9.99/mo
WILL CRUSH$19.99–$24.99/mo
WILL POWER$29.99–$39.99/mo
What you’ll actually pay: a $59.99 annual fee (billed about 30 days after joining, then yearly) plus $2.99 a month unless you pay by bank draft. In California the $2.99 applies either way. We had this fee at $49.99 and that was our mistake — see the correction note above. EōS also publishes two tiers most guides miss: Lux clubs start at $39.99 and Landmark clubs at $79.99.
Big-box amenities at budget-chain prices — huge in the Southwest and expanding fast. Real-world monthly cost after fees typically lands $20–$35.
Crunch Fitness
BASE (FLOOR)from $9.99/mo
PEAK TIERS (OBSERVED)$20–$35/mo
ANNUAL FEEup to $89
What you'll actually pay: Crunch's own FAQ says the annual fee "varies depending on your home club, up to $89" ($89 for Crunch Signature), and a club join page says "memberships starting at just $9.99." No tier is priced on Crunch's site; the Peak band above is observed from third-party guides, not published by the chain, and we previously carried a $49 annual fee that was an aggregator number. Enrollment charges swing $0–$60 by promo, so joining during a $0-enrollment window is still worth the wait.
Often undercuts Planet Fitness at base tier; classes gated to Peak tiers. Re-checked 5 October 2026; moved from "publishes nothing" to "publishes a floor and a fee."
LA Fitness
BASIC$24.99/mo + $99 join
BASIC, NO JOIN FEE$34.99/mo
CLASSIC (NATIONWIDE)$44.99/mo
What you'll actually pay, and this is the clearest example on the page: the annual fee is $69, billed 14 days after you join. Over twelve months the three plans above come to $467.88, $488.88 and $608.88 (dues x 12, plus the $99 joining fee on the first, plus the $69 annual fee on all three) — so the $24.99 plan, the one that looks cheapest, is only about $21 cheaper for the year than the $34.99 plan once you pay the $99 joining fee, and costs more if you leave inside ten months. LA Fitness prints all of this on its own club signup pages before asking for anything, which most gyms don't. Rates vary by club; these are from Bear, Delaware on 7 September 2026.
Mid-range full-service club: you're paying for the pool, basketball and childcare whether you use them or not. Classic adds nationwide access to LA Fitness and City Sports Clubs plus a guest per visit. We previously showed $30–$50 with a $59 annual fee; both are corrected.
Anytime Fitness
US AVERAGE~$53/mo
ONE-TIMEinitiation + key fee
What you'll actually pay: not $53. That figure is Anytime's own published national average, and nobody is charged an average — its gym pages show $45 a month in Michigan and $49 in New Orleans on a one-year contract. Franchised, so it varies widely. Ask for the total first-year figure in writing before signing. Its guest rates, unusually, are published nationally and clearly: $15 a day, $50 a week, $99 a month.
Premium of the group — you're buying 5,000+ locations and 3 AM access. Some clubs offer 6-, 12- and 18-month terms. Checked 7 September 2026.
Chuze Fitness
BASIC$9.99/mo
PREMIUM$21.99–$26.99/mo
MORE$32.99–$39.99/mo
What you'll actually pay: a $59.99 annual fee about 45 days after joining, plus $2.99 a month on a card, waived on bank draft — about $36 a year for choosing the wrong payment method. The exit terms matter more here than at most chains and Chuze does publish them: cancelling needs 10 days' written notice before a billing date, cancelling inside a 12-month commitment can cost $58, and there's a 5-day full refund window on new memberships. You can freeze for up to six months a year, but the annual fee is still charged while you're frozen. Note that Chuze publishes the $9.99 floor and none of its four tier prices — the Premium and MORE bands above are observed, not published.
Budget chain with above-budget amenities (pools, saunas, movie rooms at some clubs); strong in the West. Real monthly cost after fees lands ~$15–$45.
Gold's Gym
BASIC$9.95–$29.99/mo
CLASSIC$40–$60/mo
ANNUAL FEE$39–$49
What you'll actually pay: you cannot find out without becoming a sales lead. The page titled "Pricing & Membership" on a Gold's Gym location site is a seven-step signup form; its price fields are unfilled template placeholders and every total on it reads $0.00 until you've supplied your name, email, phone, date of birth, home address and an emergency contact. The required autorenewal disclosure is step four of seven. Every band above is observed from third-party guides and carried forward from July 2026.
Franchised and independently owned, so dues and the $0–$100 enrollment fee vary widely; the location tells you more about price than the name does. Brand owned by RSG Group. Publication status and identity checked 7 September 2026; prices not re-sourced, because none are published.
PureGym US (formerly Blink Fitness)
PREMIUM PLUSfrom $43/mo
PREMIUM NO-COMMITfrom $34/mo
COREfrom $24/mo
This chain has been sold and renamedBlink Fitness was acquired by PureGym in a $121m deal, and 56 of its New York and New Jersey gyms have been refitted and reopened as PureGym. Blinkfitness.com now redirects to puregym.com/us, the site's copyright reads "PureGym US © 2026," and its own help page is titled "PureGym US (formerly Blink Fitness) FAQs." We found this on 7 September 2026; we had been listing it under the old name.
What you'll actually pay: the Journal Square, NJ club page (read 5 October 2026) prices three tiers — Premium Plus, 12-month, all 56 gyms, four guest visits a month, $10 registration fee; Premium No-Commit, month to month, $20 registration; Core, 12-month single gym, $40 registration — and runs "only $10 join fee + get rest of month free" at select gyms. One club only; rates may vary, and we could not find an annual fee on any page we read, so we do not know whether one still applies. The old Grey/Blue/Green bands and the $56.99 annual fee were pre-rebrand third-party figures and have been removed.
No-frills, gym-floor-focused clubs concentrated in the Northeast. Whatever it now costs, the product is still floor space rather than pools and classes.
24 Hour Fitness
MONTHLYnot published
OBSERVED~$30–$55/mo
ANNUAL FEE$69.99
What you’ll actually pay: initiation $0–$99 plus a $69.99 annual fee, billed on the 15th day after you enrol and every year after (Hawaii differs). We had that fee at $59.99; corrected 7 September 2026 from the chain’s own pages. A $1-initiation promotion with the first month waived was running on the check date, and a free 5-day pass is published.
Tiers gate single-club versus multi-club access; California and NY metros price at the top of the range. The 24/7 access is the draw.
Snap Fitness
INDIVIDUALfrom ~$45/mo
INITIATION$49.95
ACCESS CARD$20
Fee reality: independently owned, so dues swing; a $20 key-card fee and $49.95 initiation stack on top of monthly. Intro offers ($39 for the first 3 months) are common. Couple plans from $55, family $65–$150.
Small-format 24/7 clubs. You're buying convenient round-the-clock access, not a full amenity list. Checked again 7 September 2026: club pages ranged from $39.95 in Louisiana to $69 in Oregon, with $44.95 the commonest figure in the Midwest and Northeast — a wider spread between one chain's own clubs than most chains show against their competitors. Corporate publishes no rate; the gyms do. Re-checked 5 October 2026: Easthampton, MA unchanged at $44.95 plus $49.95; Roberts, WI prints $50 month-to-month, $45 on a 12-month commitment and $43 on 18 months, with a $69 enrollment fee.
Life Time
INDIVIDUALfrom $72/mo
COUPLE$122+/mo
FAMILY$142+/mo
What you'll actually pay: each club publishes its own "starting at" figure — the Troy, Michigan club opens at $159 a month — and enrollment runs $0–$200+, often waived on promo. Billing is month-to-month with 30 days' notice to cancel and no long-term contract; adding or reactivating a member carries a one-time $10 fee. There is also a published Digital membership at $15 a month if you want the app and not the building. Midtown Manhattan (read 5 October 2026) starts at $348 a month, more than twice Troy. This is the premium end: resort-style clubs with pools, spa, classes and cafés priced into the dues.
The luxury outlier. If you'll use the pools, courts, spa and childcare, the value is real; if you only want to lift, you're paying 4–7x a budget chain.
The four fees that turn $15/month into $300/year
- The annual fee lands weeks after signup, once your card is on file. It is not optional and it is not in the ads. Verified 7 September 2026: Planet Fitness $49, EōS $59.99, Chuze $59.99, LA Fitness $69, 24 Hour Fitness $69.99.
- Enrollment/initiation swings from $0 to $60+ by promo cycle. Joining in the wrong week costs real money — sales run monthly.
- Cancellation friction is a fee in disguise. Some chains still require in-person or certified-letter cancellation. Know the exit before the entrance.
- January pricing is the worst pricing. Gyms discount hardest in summer and late fall, when resolution season can't do their selling for them.
- Three of these eleven chains will not tell you a price at all. Crunch, Gold's Gym and 24 Hour Fitness publish no monthly rate anywhere on their own websites — and Gold's wants your date of birth and an emergency contact before it shows you one. Five more publish rates, but only on individual club pages. Only Planet Fitness and EōS print a figure for the whole chain. We counted this across 40 chains, and gyms came out the most transparent category we have audited.
- The spread is roughly 16x. Chuze and EōS start at $9.99; one Life Time club publishes "starting at $159". You're not buying "a gym" — you're buying a pool and spa or you're buying a squat rack. Decide which before you compare prices.