Most Pilates studios set prices by looking at what the studio down the road charges. That tells you what clients will accept, but not whether the price pays your rent, your instructors, and you.
This guide builds the price the other way: from what one class costs you, divided by how many people really come. Every peso figure below is a made-up example. Put your own numbers in their place.
Work out what one class costs you
Start with a month. Add up everything you pay whether or not a class runs: rent, electricity and aircon, internet, front desk pay, cleaning, equipment upkeep, and software. Then divide by the number of classes you run in that month.
Say your fixed costs come to ₱150,000 a month: ₱90,000 rent, ₱15,000 utilities, and ₱45,000 for everything else. You run 5 reformer classes a day, 26 days a month, which is 130 classes. Each class carries about ₱1,150 of fixed cost.
Now add what the class itself costs. If you pay instructors ₱800 a class, one class costs you about ₱1,950 to run. That number is the same whether one client shows up or six.
- Fixed cost per class: monthly fixed costs divided by classes run.
- Instructor cost per class: a flat rate per class, or what a salaried instructor costs you divided by the classes they teach.
- Cost to run a class: the two added together.
Price from the fill you actually get
A reformer studio has a hard limit: one client per reformer. Six reformers means six spots, and a price that only works when every spot is taken will lose money most days. Divide the cost of a class by how many clients you really average, not by your capacity.
| Clients in class | Fill | Each must pay to break even |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Full | ₱325 |
| 4 | Two-thirds | about ₱490 |
| 3 | Half | ₱650 |
Breaking even is not the goal. Decide what a class should earn you on top. If you want ₱1,000 left over from each class and you average four clients, each client has to bring in about ₱740 on average: ₱1,950 plus ₱1,000, divided by four. Call that your target per class. It is the number every price below is checked against.
Set the drop-in, then step packs down
The drop-in is the highest price per class, because a drop-in client has committed to nothing. Packs then come down in steps, each one big enough for a client to notice, and the deepest one stays at or above your target. Using the example's ₱740 target:
| Option | Price | Per class | Against the ₱740 target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drop-in | ₱1,000 | ₱1,000 | ₱260 above |
| 5-class pack | ₱4,500 | ₱900 | ₱160 above |
| 10-class pack | ₱8,000 | ₱800 | ₱60 above |
| 20-class pack | ₱15,000 | ₱750 | ₱10 above |
Give each pack an expiry that matches how often a regular comes, such as two months for ten classes, so credits get used at a steady pace. For what a pack discount really costs you in a full class and an empty one, see how to price class packs and memberships.
In Onsuki, each class has a Drop-in price, and a pack shows its discount against buying each class on its own. When a client books a class online, the packs that cover it and cost less per class are offered right there, smallest first. See Classes.
Add a membership for your regulars
A membership suits clients who already come every week. Price it from how often they come, not from a round number, and check the price per class against your target.
- 8 classes a month at ₱6,000 is ₱750 a class. A twice-a-week client pays less than on the 10-class pack, and you stay above the ₱740 target.
- Unlimited at ₱9,000 is ₱750 a class for a member who comes 12 times a month. At 20 visits it drops to ₱450, under the example's break-even of about ₱490.
Reformer spots are limited, so an unlimited member who books every day also takes spots a drop-in client would have paid ₱1,000 for. A fixed number of classes per month is easier to price and to staff. If you offer unlimited, look at how often your most loyal clients come first.
Make the intro offer a first step, not a discount
Reformer Pilates is new to many clients, and the first class is the hardest to sell. An intro offer lowers that first step. Its job is to turn a curious person into a pack buyer, so judge it by what trial clients buy next, not by what the offer itself earns.
Say you offer 3 classes for ₱1,800, which is ₱600 a class. That is above the example's break-even of about ₱490 but ₱140 under the target, so each trial client costs you about ₱420 in margin. If a trial client goes on to buy a 10-class pack, that ₱420 has paid for itself.
- Limit it to new clients, once each, so regulars don't buy it again and again.
- Give it a short expiry, such as two or three weeks, so the trial happens while the interest is there.
- Point it at classes with room, such as weekday afternoons, so trial clients don't take spots from paying regulars at peak hours.
In Onsuki, turn on First-time clients only and One per client on the package. It shows "First visit only" under its price, and your class schedule shows a line for the cheapest first-visit offer. See how to fill classes with waitlists and first-timer offers.
Price privates against the class they replace
A private session takes an instructor and a reformer for an hour. If it runs in an hour when a class could have run in the same room, it should leave you at least what that class would have.
Using the example's numbers: a class of four clients on 10-class packs brings in ₱3,200, and after the ₱800 instructor fee leaves ₱2,400. A private at ₱2,800, where you pay the instructor ₱1,000, leaves ₱1,800. That is ₱600 less for the same hour of the room.
- Raise the private price until it matches, such as ₱3,500, which leaves ₱2,500.
- Or run privates in hours classes don't fill, such as late morning on weekdays, where the room would otherwise earn nothing and ₱2,800 is a good price.
- Charge more for senior instructors. One private service with a price per instructor level keeps the menu simple.
In Onsuki, a private is a service that can require a specific reformer, so it is only offered when both the instructor and that reformer are free. Set a Price by level for senior instructors, and sell a private package for each level. See how to sell personal training packages.
Show every price where clients book
Clients compare a drop-in, a pack, and a membership by what one class costs them. Put all three side by side, write the price per class, and say plainly how long each pack lasts. Prices sent one by one in Messenger replies are easy to compare with the cheapest number a client has seen anywhere.
On your Onsuki booking site, clients see each class's drop-in price, your packs and memberships, and how long each pack is valid. On the Business plan, they can also choose their reformer from a map of the room. See Packages.
Check your numbers every few months
Your costs and your fill both move. A rent increase, a new instructor rate, or a schedule change all shift your cost per class. Every few months, redo the arithmetic from the first section and check each price against the new target.
- If most classes are full and have a waitlist, your drop-in or your pack discounts may be too generous.
- If the same time slots stay half empty, move or cut them before you cut prices. A class that is not run costs you no instructor fee.
- If one pack does nearly all your sales, the steps above and below it may be too small to matter.
Onsuki runs your class schedule, packs, memberships, and private sessions from one dashboard, with the prices you set shown on your booking site. See Pilates studios.
