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How much does it cost to open a Planet Fitness?

Estimate the all-in cost to open a Planet Fitness, from the initial franchise fee and the leasehold improvements to the cardio and strength equipment, the rubber flooring, the locker rooms and showers, the HVAC upgrade, the tanning and recovery rooms, the signage, the technology and access control, the pre-sale marketing, the training and the working-capital cushion. See the total, a realistic range, and what each part adds.

§ 01 Your numbers

Change anything. The answer updates as you type.

The one-time fee paid to the franchisor to sign the agreement for a single club. This default is ours, not a quoted figure: set it to the number in your own agreement, since it varies by program, territory and the number of clubs you commit to.
The leased footprint. A big-box gym needs a wide open floor for cardio and strength, plus locker rooms, an office and a front desk, which is why it takes far more space than a boutique studio.
The contractor's build-out rate for the space: demolition, framing, ceilings, lighting, paint, the front desk area, offices and restrooms. Ask two general contractors who have walked the actual space for this number before you trust any default.
Treadmills, ellipticals, bikes and steppers, the selectorised strength circuit, plate-loaded machines, benches, free weights and racks. This is usually the single largest line in a gym build, and it is the one most often financed.
Rolled rubber and interlocking tile across the equipment floor, turf for the functional area, plus the underlayment and the labor. Priced by the square foot, so it scales with the club size above.
Plumbing runs, showers, tile, lockers, benches, vanities and the water heating for two locker rooms. In a retail shell with a single restroom rough-in, this line gets expensive fast.
Rooftop units, ductwork and the added tonnage a gym needs. A room full of people working out sheds far more heat and humidity than the retail use the shell was sized for, so the landlord's existing system is rarely enough.
Tanning beds, hydromassage or recovery chairs, the rooms and electrical to support them, and the ventilation those rooms require under the brand's amenity package.
The storefront sign, the interior graphics and wall wraps, window vinyl and any pylon panel in a shopping center, plus the permits and the electrical to light them.
Member management software, key-tag or app access control at the door, the camera system, the audio and screens over the cardio deck, the network and the front desk terminals.
The pre-sale campaign that signs members before the doors open, the local advertising, the sales office you run during construction and the opening promotion.
The franchisor's training program, travel and lodging, architect and engineering drawings, permit fees, legal review of the agreement and the wages of the staff you hire before there is any revenue.
The months of operating cost to keep in reserve. A gym built on low monthly dues needs a large member base to break even, and the cushion is what carries the club until the count gets there.
Rent and common area charges, payroll, royalties and advertising contribution, utilities, equipment service, insurance and debt service per month, used only to size the reserve above.
Estimated cost
$2,370,000

Typical range $1,659,000 – $3,436,500

  • Initial franchise fee$20,000
  • Leasehold improvements$900,000
  • Cardio & strength equipment$500,000
  • Rubber flooring & turf$90,000
  • Locker rooms & showers$150,000
  • HVAC & ventilation upgrade$110,000
  • Tanning, recovery & amenity rooms$80,000
  • Signage & branding$45,000
  • Technology, access control & security$60,000
  • Pre-sale & grand-opening marketing$50,000
  • Training, permits & professional fees$35,000
  • Working-capital buffer$330,000
  • Total$2,370,000
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$1,000,000 to $2,500,000 all-in is a typical club: a retail box converted to a gym, new locker rooms, added rooftop tonnage, a full equipment package and an opening with a proper reserve. Finance the project and run a franchise-grade back office from day one.

What this assumes, and where it could be wrong

Every one of these is a place the number could be off. They are here because you should be able to check our working, not because we are hedging.

THE FRANCHISE FEE IS NOT THE COST OF THE FRANCHISE, AND EVERY NUMBER HERE IS YOURS.
The initial franchise fee is a fixed line in the agreement, and it is a small share of what it takes to open a club. The leasehold improvements, the equipment package, the flooring, the locker rooms, the HVAC upgrade, the amenity rooms, the signage, the technology and the working-capital cushion stack on top of it, and each is a line of its own. What it costs to open a Planet Fitness is set by the franchise agreement, the lease and the contractor, not by a federal statistic, so the fee, the build rate, the equipment and the rest are your inputs. The fee default on this page is ours and editable, not a quoted figure: replace it with the number in your own agreement.

The equipment package is the line that decides the project. A floor of cardio and a full strength circuit is the biggest single cost in a big-box gym, larger than the build-out in many shells, and it is usually financed or leased rather than paid in cash. That changes the shape of the number: a lease lowers what you need at signing and raises the monthly operating cost you enter above. Price the package both ways before you decide which total you are actually planning against.

The shell you lease decides the build-out more than the square footage does. A former grocery or big-box retail bay with clear height, three-phase power and a loading door is a friendly starting point, while a space that needs new plumbing runs for two locker rooms, added rooftop tonnage and a reworked slab is a different project at the same size. Get the build rate from contractors who have seen the actual space, and read what the landlord is contributing as a tenant improvement allowance, since that allowance can move the total by a large margin.

A gym loads the building harder than the use it was designed for. Hundreds of people working out add heat, humidity and air-change requirements, showers add water heating and drainage, and heavy racks add point loads on the slab. Those upgrades are inspected work, and the local building department and health code set what passes. Approvals also set your opening date, so a permit delay costs rent before it costs anything else.

Ongoing fees and the ramp sit outside this number. A franchise agreement usually carries a royalty and an advertising contribution, and a low-dues model needs a large member count to cover rent and payroll. The pre-sale campaign exists to start that count before the doors open, and the reserve here is sized from your own monthly operating cost. Running short of the cushion during the ramp is a common way a well-built club gets into trouble.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to open a Planet Fitness?
A new big-box gym commonly runs well into seven figures once the leasehold improvements, the cardio and strength equipment, the flooring, the locker rooms, the HVAC upgrade, the amenity rooms, the signage, the technology and the working-capital cushion are added to the initial franchise fee. The condition of the shell you lease and the terms on the equipment drive the range far more than the fee does. The calculator above builds the real number from your own quotes and inputs.
How much is the Planet Fitness franchise fee?
The initial franchise fee is a fixed line set by your franchise agreement, and it is a small share of the all-in cost. The figure on this page is our editable placeholder rather than a quoted number, so set it to what your own agreement says. The larger lines are the equipment package, the build-out and the reserve you keep to carry the opening months.
Why is the total so much higher than the franchise fee?
Because the fee only buys the right to operate under the brand. On top of it sit the leasehold improvements across 15,000 square feet, the cardio and strength equipment, the rubber flooring, the locker rooms and showers, the added HVAC tonnage, the tanning and recovery rooms, the signage, the access control and cameras, the pre-sale marketing, the training and permits, and the working-capital reserve. Together those lines are the bulk of what it takes to open the doors.
Is a gym franchise more expensive to open than a restaurant franchise?
Usually, because the footprint is several times larger and the equipment package is heavy. A wing restaurant fits into a compact in-line bay, while a big-box club leases a former retail box and fills it with cardio and strength gear. The offsetting factor is that gym equipment is routinely financed, so the cash needed at signing can be closer than the totals suggest. Compare the number here with our Wingstop franchise calculator to see the gap.

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