How much to charge for a Pilates class

Pricing Pilates is different from pricing most group classes, because reformer classes are small and the equipment is expensive. A mat class can run with fifteen people, while a reformer class has as many spots as you have machines, and each machine has to be paid for.

1. Count what the reformers cost

The machines are the biggest difference. Spread what you paid for them over the years you expect to use them, add servicing, and divide by the reformer classes you run. If eight reformers cost €32,000 and last five years, that’s about €530 a month; with 80 reformer classes a month, each class carries about €7 of equipment before anything else.

If you lease the machines, use the monthly lease instead. Either way, the cost is there whether the spots are booked or not.

2. Add up the rest of the class

Add the teacher’s fee, the room’s share of rent and bills, and a share of insurance, software, card fees and marketing. In this example a reformer class costs €95 to run, and a mat class in a bigger room with no machines €55.

3. Find the break-even price per spot

Divide the cost by the people who actually come. Reformer classes usually run fuller, because spots are scarce:

• Reformer: 8 machines, about 85% full, so roughly 6.8 people. Each needs to bring in at least €13.97.
• Mat: 15 spots, about 70% full, so roughly 10.5 people, at least €5.24 each.

The reformer floor is more than twice the mat floor, so reformer and mat need separate prices. A pass that covers both at one per-class price usually loses money on reformer.

4. Set drop-in prices

Drop-ins are the most expensive way to come. Roughly two to two and a half times the floor gives about €32 for reformer and €12 for mat in this example. Then check what studios near you charge for the same format and class size. People choose a reformer studio for its teachers and small classes, so you rarely need to be the cheapest.

5. Packs and memberships for each format

Sell reformer and mat packs separately, or let a reformer class count as two credits on a shared pack. In the example, reformer packs would be €140 for 5, €255 for 10, and €450 for 20, and mat packs €50 for 5, €95 for 10, and €170 for 20. Keep reformer packs small, since each class costs more.

Be careful with unlimited reformer memberships. Someone who comes five times a week on an unlimited pass can bring in less than the floor per visit. Cap reformer memberships (for example at 8 or 12 classes a month), or price them for heavy use. The class pack guide covers discount steps and expiry dates.

6. Protect the reformer spots

An empty reformer costs you more than an empty mat, so set rules that get spots used:

• A longer free-cancellation window for reformer, 12 to 24 hours, so a freed spot can still go to the waitlist.
• Late cancellations and no-shows use the class from the pack.
• Payment when people book, not at the door.
• An intro session on the reformer for newcomers, priced on its own, so beginners don’t take a spot in a class they can’t follow.

The cancellation policy generator writes these rules up in a few sentences for your booking page.

Work it out for your studio

Run reformer and mat through the class pricing calculator separately: enter the cost of a class, your spots and how full classes usually are, and it suggests a drop-in, packs and a monthly pass, and flags any price below your floor.

How Groopla handles this

In Groopla, reformer and mat are separate activities with their own capacity and price, so a reformer class stops at your number of machines. You sell packs and passes for each, take payment when people book, and set the cancellation window and no-show rule in your booking settings. Freed reformer spots go to the waitlist automatically. More for Pilates studios.