working on my fitness

11 Affordable ClassPass Alternatives

You deserve soooo much better.
You deserve soooo much better. Photo: Thomas M. Barwick/Getty Images

A lot of people were not happy when ClassPass announced their new pricing plan today. By increasing prices for their unlimited membership from $125 to $190, the company jacked up its rate up by roughly 34 percent in a single year. The news was immediately greeted with GIFs of Beyoncé wielding a baseball bat. But there is life after ClassPass! Here are a few other affordable unlimited memberships in case you need to have the difficult “it’s not me, it’s you” conversation with ClassPass.

FitReserve
Monthly rates:
$149 per month for 10 classes, $249 for 20 classes.

Pros: It’s the most ClassPass-like alternative. You can take four classes per studio, which is one more than ClassPass’s limit of three. Its class list includes many of the same studios that you would find at ClassPass, including Peloton and Barry’s BootCamp. FitReserve also mandates that its members get access to a studio’s entire class schedule — unlike ClassPass, which lets its studios restrict access to its members for certain classes or times. It also offers perks to its partners like GlamSquad and Uber.

Cons: It’s only in New York City and Boston. It doesn’t have the same extensive studio list as ClassPass and it’s not necessarily cheaper. ClassPass’s ten-class cost is $125 for existing members and $135 for new members.

Crunch
Monthly rates:
They vary by location, but run around $95.99 for access to a single gym.

Pros: It’s pretty nice. Bliss products in the bathroom and a pretty good class schedule that includes some new things like trampolining and more gimmicky ones like an X-Men-based interval training class. The décor is clean but slightly cartoony and zany, because they want to “make fitness fun.”

Cons: Some locations are newer and better than others. Its Chelsea location is the newest one. It includes a $39.99 processing fee. The classes may not be as intense as those you might find at Equinox.

Equinox
Monthly rates:
$165–$195 for a single location and they offer corporate discounts.

Pros: It’s luxurious. The locker rooms have Kiehls products and eucalyptus towels. The classes rival those you would get at a boutique fitness place or on ClassPass. Lots of beautiful people work out there like it is their job (because for many, it probably is). 

Cons: There is an annual and/or initiation fee. Again, it’s full of beautiful people who take working out very seriously.

David Barton Gym
Monthly rates:
$135–$189, depending on location and single versus multiple-access memberships.

Pros: It looks like a gym Cruella De Vil would feel comfortable in, with its nightclub-meets-Gothic aesthetic. There are lot of plasticky Philippe Starck–like fixtures, with shadowy lighting. 

Cons: It looks like a nightclub. There aren’t that many locations in NYC. You might get side-eye from a person on the treadmill next to you trying to beat your time. But he or she also might be really cute.

New York Sports Club
Monthly rates:
It varies depending upon location, from $69.99–$79.99.

Pros: There are lots of locations and an okay class schedule. The bounty of locations means you can work out pretty much any hour of any day, including holidays. It’s a no-fuss gym. (I used to see Amanda Lepore at my neighborhood NYSC.)

Cons: Talking to a membership representative feels like they are trying to confuse you with talk of maintenance, initiation, and processing fees. Why are there so many fees? The classes aren’t as nice as those you find at a boutique fitness place.

The YMCA
Monthly rates:
$50 a month.

Pros: It’s affordable, with no annual fees. You actually get to meet people in your neighborhood, including lots of old ladies who love to gossip. Maybe you can workout with your bubbe. The class schedule is surprisingly robust (Pilates, Zumba, Tai Chi). There’s no sense of exercise bloodthirst — everyone is just doing their own thing. And there’s a pool!

Cons: It isn’t fancy (you won’t find any eucalyptus-scented towels) and it can be occasionally less than spotless.

Planet Fitness
Monthly rates
: $10 a month for access to one location, $19.99 for all locations.

Pros: It’s a judgment-free zone (this is literally their slogan). There are massage chairs. And they have Pizza Mondays and Bagel Tuesdays! (Really.) And you get a membership T-shirt. Some have pools.

Cons: It’s not exactly glamorous. Sometimes, the TVs don’t work. Space for mat work can be limited. There is no class schedule so you are your own trainer. There’s an annual fee of $29.99. There is a slight cheese factor, but hey, you get free pizza!

DailyBurn
Monthly rates:
A streaming workout for $12.95 per month.

Pros: You can access all different types of workouts, including yoga, high-intensity intervals, and Bollywood. Workouts are available across multiple devices including Roku and iPad. There are also some live workouts starting at 9 a.m.

Cons: Some people have complained it can be difficult to cancel membership.

Physique 57
Monthly rates:
$57 a month for unlimited streaming access.

Pros: Workouts include 10-, 15-, 30-, and 57-minute videos and don’t require any equipment. You can mix and match between barre and cardio to create your own workout.

Cons: Will you remember to activate your core without someone reminding you to do it? It’s also uncertain how many new workouts are added to the library.

AKT in Motion
Monthly rates
: $50 a month for unlimited access.

Pros: It’s full streaming dance-cardio workouts, with new streaming videos every month and over 1,500 minutes of workouts in the video archive. You could work out in your pajamas.

Cons: There isn’t a physical trainer to guide you, and you don’t have the camaraderie of a group setting. Also, does your house have bouncy dance floors?

Ballet Beautiful
Monthly rates: $40 a month for unlimited access.

Pros: There are two new videos per month and the workouts don’t require much floor space, so you can do it at home without moving around too much furniture. You can also take a live class, the same time that it is being taught in New York.

Cons: The workouts are only 15-20 minutes each. No one is around to tell you if you’re doing Swam Arms incorrectly.

11 Affordable ClassPass Alternatives