Drop-in pricing

Drop-in pricing lets someone attend a single class without a membership, paying per session. It’s how gyms serve casuals, travellers, and people trying you out before committing — and how a class with empty spots turns those spots into revenue.

The number most gyms land on is two to three times the per-class cost of a membership.

Work it out from your own membership: if a member pays $200 a month and attends eight classes, they’re paying $25 a class. A drop-in at $25 makes membership pointless. At $30–35, membership is obviously better value — which is exactly what you want it to look like.

The drop-in price is not really a price. It’s an advertisement for your membership.

The ladder should be visible. Someone paying drop-in rates three weeks running should be able to see, without being told, that they’re spending more than a membership costs.

The cannibalisation worry is real but usually overstated. People who want a membership buy one. People who won’t commit either drop in or don’t come at all — and the second option earns you nothing.

Where it genuinely goes wrong is pricing drop-ins too close to the membership rate. Then you’ve given your members a reason to reconsider, which costs far more than the casual revenue earns.

Drop-ins are also your best trial mechanism. Someone who’s paid to attend once has already decided you’re worth trying.

Put a price on any session and casuals can pay to book it, through the app or your website’s booking page. Useful for workshops, one-off events and trial classes as well as ordinary drop-ins.