Planet Fitness franchise unit economics
Planet Fitness franchisees run a roughly 20,000 square foot gym on Classic and Black Card memberships billed by electronic transfer. 2,291 franchised clubs trading all of 2025 drew $1,260,539 to $2,705,811 of annual membership revenue across three groups, and a full profit and loss covers 262 company-run clubs. That statement has the model’s defining fact: wages rises 23% while revenue doubles.
- Primary source
- Pla-Fit Franchise, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- 2291 of 2432 locations
- Our calculations
- Marked on the page with an asterisk. Method
- Last reviewed
- 26 September 2026
Disclosure-based. Not a forecast, not an offer to sell a franchise, and not advice.
Across the franchisor's own 262 clubs, net revenue doubles from $1,322,899 to $2,658,690, and wages rises 23.2%. That single relationship is the whole model: 23.4% of revenue goes to wages at the lowest-selling third and 14.3% at the highest-selling ones. profit quadruples from $280,839 to $1,104,804. The clubs are the same size. The revenue per square foot is what differs.
- Wages rises 23.2% while net revenue rises 101%. $309,345 to $381,069 against $1,322,899 to $2,658,690, 23.4% of revenue falling to 14.3%.
- Rent overtakes wages as the largest line at the top third. $441,654 against $381,069, a $60,585 gap, where the bottom third pays $5,584 more in wages than rent.
- profit runs $280,839 at the bottom third and $1,104,804 at the top. Margins of 21% and 42%, a 3.93 times range on revenue that doubles.
- Net revenue per square foot is $66.95, $100.99 and $123.82. On clubs averaging 19,760, 19,619 and 21,472 square feet, almost identical boxes.
- The $50,000 minimum local advertising charge binds on any club below $833,333 of membership revenue. At the lowest-selling franchised club, on $429,581, the brand and its marketing take 20.64% against 15.0% for everyone else.
How much does a Planet Fitness franchise make?
The 2026 FDD for Planet Fitness does not publish unit revenue in a form that answers this directly. What it does publish is set out below, starting with Franchised clubs (end 2025): 2,432; Membership revenue, bottom to top third: $1,260,539–$2,705,811; Corporate share of sales kept: 21% to 42%; Total investment: $1,282,500–$5,386,000.
Top performers
What separates the top Planet Fitness performers
Planet Fitness splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $2,705,811 a year. The worst averaged $1,260,539. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 2.1× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- Capacity, fixed at build.Locations run 19,619 to 21,472 square feet. What you can sell is set by the build, and the build does not change after opening.
- What you spend to open.Opening costs $1,282,500 to $5,386,000, a 4.2× range inside one brand. The high end usually buys more capacity, so the cheapest build is not always the cheapest route to the top band.
Live operating levers
- Members, the operating driver.This model bills on members. The owner watches how many people join, how many cancel, and what a member spends beyond the plan. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 15.0% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.2291 of 2432 locations are behind these figures. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded, as are locations under the brand’s current size standard, so the numbers describe locations that cleared that screen, not the system as a whole.
- What the disclosure leaves out.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations, no median, no attainment figure. The brand’s own locations are the only margin signal in the document, and they are run by the people who wrote the playbook.
The brand’s own profit and loss
262 corporate clubs, sorted into thirds by net revenue.
| Line | Bottom third | Share | Middle third | Share | Upper third | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Membership sales by electronic transfer | $1,345,489 | n/a | $1,996,352 | n/a | $2,684,521 | n/a |
| Other membership sales | −$22,589 | n/a | −$15,010 | n/a | −$25,831 | n/a |
| Net revenue | $1,322,899 | 100% | $1,981,342 | 100% | $2,658,690 | 100% |
| Wages | $309,345 | 23.4% | $346,644 | 17.5% | $381,069 | 14.3% |
| Marketing | $109,771 | 8.3% | $160,967 | 8.1% | $219,443 | 8.3% |
| Royalty | $95,680 | 7.23% | $140,450 | 7.09% | $189,608 | 7.13% |
| Utilities | $68,432 | 5.2% | $76,602 | 3.9% | $91,936 | 3.5% |
| Supplies and maintenance | $63,157 | 4.8% | $79,884 | 4.0% | $97,154 | 3.7% |
| Miscellaneous | $91,914 | 6.9% | $104,665 | 5.3% | $133,023 | 5.0% |
| Total costs excluding rent | $738,299 | 55.8% | $909,213 | 45.9% | $1,112,232 | 41.8% |
| EBITDAR | $584,600 | 44% | $1,072,129 | 54% | $1,546,458 | 58% |
| Rent | $303,761 | 23.0% | $363,277 | 18.3% | $441,654 | 16.6% |
| profit | $280,839 | 21% | $708,853 | 36% | $1,104,804 | 42% |
| Average square feet | 19,760 | n/a | 19,619 | n/a | 21,472 | n/a |
| Net revenue a square foot | $66.95 | n/a | $100.99 | n/a | $123.82 | n/a |
Dollar figures, EBITDAR, profit, the filed shares kept and square footage are as the brand reported it; the share column is marked *.
Wages rises $71,724 while net revenue rises $1,335,791. 23.2% against 101%. A club at the top third serves roughly twice the revenue on 5.4% more square footage and 23.2% more labor. That is the entire argument for this format: the staffing model is a minimum, and every additional member above it is almost pure contribution.
At the top third, rent costs more than people. $441,654 against $381,069. At the bottom third the relationship reverses, with wages $5,584 ahead. For a 20,000 square foot box that is the honest shape of the business, a real estate decision with a gym attached. It accounts for why rent falls from 23.0% to 16.6% of revenue while the dollar figure rises 45.4%.
Marketing is 8.1% to 8.3% of revenue at every third. The only line in this statement that scales exactly with revenue. Utilities, supplies and miscellaneous all fall as a share (from 5.2%, 4.8% and 6.9% to 3.5%, 3.7% and 5.0%) because each has a fixed core. Royalty holds at 7.09% to 7.23%, which is what a percentage fee looks like.
EBITDAR runs 44%, 54% and 58% before rent is paid. After rent, 21%, 36% and 42%. So rent alone accounts for 23, 18 and 16 points of margin, more than any other single line and more than the entire difference between the bottom and middle thirds. Negotiating that number at signing is worth more than a decade of operating improvement.
Net revenue per square foot is $66.95, $100.99 and $123.82. On boxes of 19,760, 19,619 and 21,472 square feet. The middle third is actually the smallest group by area and outbills the bottom third by 51% per foot. Whatever separates these clubs (market, membership mix, years open, management) it shows up per square foot.
Fees and what it costs to open
What the brand and its advertising requirement cost.
| Group | Membership revenue | Royalty at 7% | National fund at 2% | Local advertising | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest-selling franchised club | $429,581 | $30,071 | $8,592 | $50,000 | $88,662 | 20.64% |
| Bottom third | $1,260,539 | $88,238 | $25,211 | $75,632 | $189,081 | 15.00% |
| Middle third | $1,873,231 | $131,126 | $37,465 | $112,394 | $280,985 | 15.00% |
| Upper third | $2,705,811 | $189,407 | $54,116 | $162,349 | $405,872 | 15.00% |
| Highest-selling franchised club | $5,271,381 | $368,997 | $105,428 | $316,283 | $790,707 | 15.00% |
Ours, built from the filed rates: a 7% royalty on total monthly and annual membership fees drawn by electronic transfer. A national advertising fund fee set at 2% of that base during 2026, capped at 3%. And a local advertising requirement set during 2026 at the greater of $50,000 or 6% of cumulative monthly drafts.
Franchise fees take exactly 15% of membership revenue at every club above $833,333. Which is every club in every third. Below that line the $50,000 minimum local advertising charge takes over, and at the system's lowest-selling club ($429,581 of membership revenue) the all-in rate is 20.64%. That minimum is the only non-linear term in this fee schedule and it reaches precisely the clubs least able to have it.
The corporate statement books royalty at 7.09% to 7.23% of net revenue. Slightly above the 7% headline, because the royalty base is membership drafts while net revenue is that base plus a negative other-membership line. Anyone modeling this business should apply 7% to the draft figure, and the two diverge by roughly the value of returns, declines and refunds.
The join fee is a separate revenue stream for the franchisor. 20% of the regular monthly membership fee for every new member. That is 5% of a prepaid membership, charged once per membership regardless of how it was sold. In a format built on high join volume and high customers lost, that fee scales with turnover. So a club with heavy member rotation pays it repeatedly on the same slot.
Opening a club.
| Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $0 | $40,000 |
| Site selection costs | $0 | $10,000 |
| Construction plan review fee | $0 | $5,000 |
| Design resubmission fee | $0 | $5,000 |
| Building work | $1,000,000 | $2,167,000 |
| Fitness equipment | $33,300 | $995,000 |
| Non-fitness equipment | $89,200 | $1,315,000 |
| Pre-sale and grand opening marketing | $40,000 | $120,000 |
| Exterior signs | $12,000 | $40,000 |
| Computer and point of sale | $1,000 | $7,000 |
| Insurance | $25,000 | $45,000 |
| Lease deposits | $0 | $95,000 |
| Other deposits | $0 | $23,000 |
| Professional fees | $2,000 | $25,000 |
| Training expenses | $2,000 | $10,000 |
| Licenses and bonds | $10,000 | $25,000 |
| Additional funds, three months | $68,000 | $459,000 |
| Total | $1,282,500 | $5,386,000 |
As the brand reported it, excluding the cost of buying or leasing real estate.
This is the largest investment range in this library: $1,282,500 to $5,386,000. Building work alone are $1,000,000 to $2,167,000, and the two equipment lines together run $122,500 to $2,310,000. Against a top-third club drawing $2,705,811 of membership revenue, the high-end build is close to two years of it.
Re-equipping and remodeling are recurring capital events, at $333,000 to $995,000 and $250,000 to $1,200,000. The remodel comes as often as every twelve years. Both sit outside the operations statement, they count as depreciating assets. So the 21% to 42% profit shares kept sit above a capital cycle that has to be funded out of them.
Three months of working capital is carried at $68,000 to $459,000. A 6.75 times range, reflecting how differently a pre-sale campaign can go. The pre-sale and grand opening marketing line at $40,000 to $120,000 is separate. A club that opens with a thin member base has a 20,000 square foot rent bill from day one.
Membership revenue
2,291 franchised clubs against 270 corporate clubs.
| Group | Clubs | Average | Median | Highest | Lowest | At or above the average | Corporate advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franchised, bottom third | 764 | $1,260,539 | $1,311,575 | $1,596,261 | $429,581 | 437 / 57% | +$108,769 · +8.6% |
| Franchised, middle third | 764 | $1,873,231 | $1,863,300 | $2,170,135 | $1,597,497 | 370 / 48% | +$145,623 · +7.8% |
| Franchised, upper third | 763 | $2,705,811 | $2,595,549 | $5,271,381 | $2,171,673 | 296 / 39% | +$22,175 · +0.8% |
| All franchised * | 2,291 | $1,946,196 | n/a | $5,271,381 | $429,581 | n/a | +$92,520 · +4.8% |
| Corporate, bottom third | 90 | $1,369,308 | $1,420,479 | $1,703,940 | $768,504 | 50 / 56% | n/a |
| Corporate, middle third | 90 | $2,018,854 | $2,022,485 | $2,306,530 | $1,718,872 | 47 / 52% | n/a |
| Corporate, upper third | 90 | $2,727,986 | $2,651,743 | $4,065,160 | $2,310,003 | 31 / 34% | n/a |
| All corporate * | 270 | $2,038,716 | n/a | $4,065,160 | $768,504 | n/a | n/a |
Averages, medians, highs, lows and counts are as the brand reported it. The all-club rows and the corporate advantage column are marked *, weighting each third by its club count and comparing like third against like.
Corporate clubs lead by 8.6% at the bottom third and 0.8% at the top. $1,369,308 against $1,260,539, and $2,727,986 against $2,705,811. The gap closes almost entirely as you move up. Read plainly, the franchisor's advantage sits in avoiding weak outcomes, its own worst club draws $768,504 where the lowest-selling franchised club draws $429,581.
The highest-selling franchised club draws $5,271,381 and the lowest-selling $429,581. 12.3 times. The corporate range is far narrower at $768,504 to $4,065,160, or 5.3 times. The single $5.27 million club sits well above the corporate ceiling, so the franchised system holds both the best outcome in the brand and the worst.
57% of the bottom third beat their own average and 39% of the top third beat theirs. The same pattern appears in the corporate group at 56% and 34%. Both distributions are pulled upward at the top by a small number of exceptional clubs. So for a club in the upper third the median of $2,595,549 is the fairer comparison than the $2,705,811 average.
The upper third's minimum is $2,171,673 and the middle third's ceiling is $2,170,135. A $1,538 gap. The groups are clean: $1,596,261 to $1,597,497 between the bottom and middle. So these are genuine performance groups, and a club knows precisely which one it sits in.
The network of locations
The network of locations.
| Year | Franchised start | Opened | Terminations | Other departures | Franchised end | Company end | Total end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2,082 | 123 | 0 | 4 | 2,201 | 254 | 2,455 |
| 2024 | 2,201 | 100 | 0 | 3 | 2,298 | 270 | 2,568 |
| 2025 | 2,298 | 141 | 7 | 0 | 2,432 | 277 | 2,709 |
As the brand reported it.
364 clubs opened across three years against 14 departures. A 26 to 1 ratio, and the franchised network has grown 16.8% from 2,082 to 2,432. Total outlets crossed 2,700. In a library where several fitness brands are shrinking, this is the clearest counter-example.
2025 was the highest-selling opening year of the three at 141, and the only one with terminations. Seven of them, against zero in each of the prior two years. On a base of 2,298 that is a 0.3% departure rate, low enough that the direction of growth stays intact.
86 signed agreements sit unopened against 53 projected openings. A modest pipeline for a system this size, and the franchisor is projecting to convert about 62% of it next year. Against 141 actual openings in 2025, the projection implies a slower year ahead.
What territory you get.
An area development agreement has a fee of $10,000 a location. Rising to $30,000 a location where the same or a similar territory was covered by an earlier agreement with you or an affiliate that was terminated before completion. The initial franchise fee is currently waived for agreements issued under a development agreement, which makes multi-unit development the cheaper route in.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What should a club be drawing?
The 2,291 franchised clubs trading all of 2025 drew $1,260,539, $1,873,231 and $2,705,811 of annual membership revenue across the bottom, middle and upper thirds, with medians of $1,311,575, $1,863,300 and $2,595,549. Weighted across all three that is $1,946,196. The range runs $429,581 to $5,271,381. Corporate clubs average $2,038,716.
What does a club earn?
The cost picture comes from 262 corporate clubs: net revenue of $1,322,899, $1,981,342 and $2,658,690 by third, EBITDAR of 44%, 54% and 58% before rent. profit of 21%, 36% and 42% after it, $280,839, $708,853 and $1,104,804. Equipment replacement and remodeling sit outside those figures as capital, and both are substantial recurring commitments.
Why does margin improve so sharply with size?
Because wages changes by less than a tenth. It rises 23.2% across the thirds while net revenue rises 101%, falling from 23.4% of revenue to 14.3%. Utilities, supplies and miscellaneous behave the same way. Only marketing scales exactly, at 8.1% to 8.3%, and royalty holds near 7%. Rent rises 45.4% in dollars but falls from 23.0% to 16.6% as a share. So the format is built to reward volume and to punish a weak membership base very hard.
What does the brand cost each year?
A 7% royalty on membership fees drawn by electronic transfer, a national advertising fund fee set at 2% during 2026 and capped at 3%. A local advertising requirement set during 2026 at the greater of $50,000 or 6% of cumulative drafts. That is exactly 15% of membership revenue for any club above $833,333, and 20.64% at the lowest-selling club in the system. On top sits a join fee of 20% of the regular monthly membership fee for every new member. Special marketing programs may take up to 7% of a single month's drafts.
Who does bookkeeping for a Planet Fitness franchise?
The franchisor has published a full operations statement, so the close has an obvious target format and a real benchmark for every line. Three things need particular attention. First, the royalty base is membership drafts: the operations statement books royalty at 7.09% to 7.23% of net revenue against a 7% headline. The difference is returns, declines and refunds. Ran between 2.3% and 38.1% of gross drafts in a single month during 2025. The reconciliation between gross drafts, net collections and the royalty debit belongs in the monthly close. Second, the local advertising requirement is the greater of $50,000 or 6%. So a club under $833,333 of drafts needs the minimum carried as a fixed cost and a multi-club owner in one market should be pooling the requirement. Third, equipment replacement and remodeling sit outside the operating statement entirely, at $333,000 to $995,000 and $250,000 to $1,200,000. So a reserve against them belongs in the cash forecast from year one. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
- No revenue figures. The filing makes no financial performance representation, so there is no disclosed sales number for any location.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- No cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
- No attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
Questions worth putting to Planet Fitness
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- What separates the highest-selling locations from the lowest: trade area, years open, size, or the owner?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many Planet Fitness locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
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