How Much Should You Charge as a Personal Trainer? Everything you Need to Know

Before you begin advertising your services, you might want to know how much to charge as a personal trainer. That's why we've put together this handy guide to help you with pricing strategies - specifically:

• How to Price Personal Training Using a Package Structure
• 8 Key Factors That Can Affect How Much You Charge As A Personal Trainer
• How Much Should A Beginner Personal Trainer Charge?

Before we get straight into it, did you know you complete a Level 4 Nutrition course to expand the range of services you offer?

Find this course and many others in our downloadable course prospectus.

How to Price Personal Training Using a Package Structure

One of the most effective ways to price your services is by creating personal trainer packages for your clients. 

Compared to selling your personal training services as individual sessions, for example £30 per session, or in ‘blocks of sessions’, for example £200 for 8 sessions, the package pricing structure will not only help you to get clients on board, but retain them for the long haul too.

The main thing that makes rolling contract packages the best option is the fact that you’re not putting an end date on your relationship with the client. Once you have set up the direct debit, you have an on-going commitment and there is no official end date on the sessions or goals that you and your clients will set. 

The selling process is the most difficult part of getting clients, so why make yourself do it more than once? If you sell ‘X’ amount of sessions in a block, you will have to start the re-selling process all over again when these run out. 

This gives too much leverage for clients to leave and not re-buy sessions, if it is on a rolling contract, the chances of your client retention staying high is much more probable. 

So how can you put one of these packages together? The good news is that even if you’re a complete newbie to running a personal training business, it is pretty simple.

Your package should be one set price that your client pays every month, and this should cover all of the services available to them. Think of it as simplifying lots of smaller charges and one-off fees, and combining them into one regular monthly payment. 

This not only makes it easier for you as the PT and business owner but your clients too. It means that you can better forecast exactly how much you can make as a personal trainer, and for the client, there are no hidden extras, they know exactly how much they need to pay and when.

Packages are typically based on a rolling contract, meaning you will choose a price to be billed monthly and you can then set up a direct debit that is to be taken from clients on the same day of every month, like this PT company below does:

As you can see, they have their price per month and list the factors that counter the £200+ price mark. This is important, you need to justify your price bracket to potential clients by telling them what will be included in the package. 

This is going to be what sells the package, don’t assume that people are already aware of the extras that come along with a PT package, detail everything the more you offer the better so let the client know what they’ll be getting. 

Now that you know how and why to use this package structure, the next step is determining the value of your services so that you can actually price the package, and decide how much to charge.

After becoming a personal trainer, you'll need to learn about the main factors that affect how much to charge, including your experience, competitor analysis and location.

We'll discuss these in the next section.

8 Key Factors That Can Affect How Much You Charge As A Personal Trainer

The personal training average cost is determined by a number of factors, here we have 8 things that will help you to decide how much you should charge your clients.

#1 What Are The Rates Of Your Competitors?

The same goes for starting a business within any industry, you should always begin with some competitor analysis to find out what kind of level you’re going to be competing against. 

This isn’t just to assess what you’re up against, but also to set your prices properly and in line with what your clients will expect. So, where do you begin?

Start by looking at the competitors that are closest to you in terms of location, you can do this by utilising the likes of GooglemyBusiness to find the most relevant competitors. For example, take a look at these results on GMB when you search for personal trainers near me:

You can see where we have highlighted the area of red drop pins that indicate nearby personal training companies. These are going to be the competitors closest to you and thus, the most relevant ones to be looking at price wise. 

You can then start to look through these competitors one by one, taking a look at their price brackets and what you get within their package. 

You should then start to think about how you can make your services better, while still offering a competitive price mark. Don’t forget to be assessing how much experience you have in comparison to these competitors, just because they are charging a particular price in your area this doesn’t immediately make you valued at the same.

They may have a higher level of experience or advanced qualifications that you haven't achieved just yet, particularly if you’re new to the industry so keep this in mind when weighing up your value compared to theirs. 

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For some more helpful articles on how to run your business as a personal trainer, head over to these articles below:

• How to Get Personal Training Clients From Facebook
• Continuing Education For Personal Trainers: What Should You Study Next?
• 7 Essential Questions to Ask New Personal Training Clients 

#2 Whereabouts In The Country Do You Work?

Personal training cost per hour changes dramatically from city to city within the UK, so location like we just briefly mentioned is a huge variable in determining how much you can charge. 

If you work in the capital, you can of course expect to charge more per session since the clientele there will be prepared to pay higher than average prices. This all aligns with what the cost of living in London looks like. 

The average wage is higher to align with the higher cost of living so you as an employee within the capital should have your prices reflect this too. For example, we looked at some statistics regarding the income for the UK’s major cities, with London being the highest earning city, you can see a visualisation of this below:

It is important that you take this into consideration when thinking about how much to charge, check out what your clients are likely to be earning to ensure that you’re creating a fair price bracket.

When it comes to the higher earning cities like London, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your take home net profit will be more than others, it just means that you’re still getting a fair cut after you have accounted for your expenditures. 

For example, let’s take a look at two personal trainers, one from within London and one outside of the capital. Below, you can see a personal trainer who operates in London, their membership plans and how much their most affordable package costs:

For two sessions a week, £616.00 works out at £77 a session. This is a huge price tag, just about double of the standard price around the UK outside of London, but, this is why location is such a huge factor when it comes to personal training cost. 

So you can see how drastic the difference is, you can see below an example of a personal trainer in Chester that offers three different packages too, at a much lower price. 

This second example goes to show that with both personal trainers having extensive experience and educational background, prices can vary dramatically depending on the location within the UK. 

The reason behind this sharp increase in price is the fact that it simply costs more to rent spaces in London, the wage is higher should you want to hire other PT’s within your studio and of course, the cost of living is higher meaning you’ll need more net profit than PT’s outside the capital city to get by.

This is why the question of how much should personal training cost is so broad since something like location can have an impact with a difference of hundreds of pounds so keep this in mind when deciding where you want to operate from.

#3 What Facility Do You Work in?

Besides the location of your gym, what kind of facility or gym you work in also has a huge impact.

For example, people who want to become a personal trainer in Virgin Active will have different rates from those who work for Puregym for instance.

This is simply because the reputations behind both of these brands are different. PureGym is marketed as a budget-friendly gym and while popular, clients aren’t expecting a luxury experience or a big price tag.

For example here is a comparison between some private gyms and commercial gyms and you can see the amount the cost can change depending on their status in the industry:

Even if the price starts low, there is more chance of you being able to raise your prices easily if you work for more prestigious commercial gyms like Virgin Active or David Lloyds -  you’re able to take advantage of these reputable brands and can increase your prices to reflect their reputation from the get-go.

This also goes for the likes of memberships. Using the same example of Puregym and Virgin Active, the membership options for both have a huge difference in price brackets, PureGym has a price mark starting at £13.99 up to £26.99 the difference being based on the location on the gym.

This is still incredibly affordable, compared to the likes of Virgin Active where a monthly membership fee can set you back £179.00. 

This is why what kind of facility you decide to work at is important because the structures for PT’s gym to gym can vary dramatically, as will the demographic of the clients you train, which directly impacts your pricing structure. 

Not only that, but you may find that you don’t have the freedom to choose your own rates for certain gyms, so you must first decide if you want to be a hired PT or a freelance PT since this will truly give you the freedom to choose your own personal training cost per session.

The bottom line is that the facility that you work in could have the final say in what you’re able to charge, similarly, you should also come to terms with the fact that you may need to price your sessions more modestly based on your place of work.

#4 Are You Appropriately Covering Your Expenses? 

Another thing that can impact the cost of a personal trainer in the UK is the expenses that come along with running a business. 

As a personal trainer, you need to ensure that you are making a profit and covering all of your expenses appropriately. Some of these outgoings would include the following:

• Gym rental costs
• Labour time
• Personal training insurance
• Softwares (e.g Trainersize, money management etc.)
• Uniform
• Equipment 
• Travel costs

These are the expenses that you should expect as a minimum, running a business isn’t easy, but the payback from it is well worth the effort that goes in. 

These expenses are what determine how much personal trainers cost, the first priority should be at the very least breaking and then deciding how much a profit you want to make either on an hourly or monthly basis. 

Remember that location contributes to these expenses too, the likes of travel costs, rental costs and labour time in particular will be heavily impacted by location so keep this in mind when deciding what you’re going to charge.

#5 What Additional Qualifications Do You Hold?

Something else that will contribute to the decision-making of how to price personal training sessions is the qualifications that you have behind you. 

This is because it relates to your level of expertise and the services you can offer within your packages. For example, if you have a level 3 diploma in personal training, you are only allowed to offer personal training and some nutritional advice. 

However, if you have more qualifications, perhaps an actual level 4 qualification in advanced sports nutrition, you would be able to offer nutrition coaching services as a premium option for clients. 

This doesn’t have to be a separate service altogether though, any extra qualifications allow you to charge more for your PT sessions since they’re better informed and allow you to provide a more comprehensive service.

For example, below you can see a personal trainer who lists out their experience and qualifications:

This is a good way to be transparent about what you have learned and ultimately justifies your price point, particularly if it is higher than the average in your area.

#6 What Package Has The Client Purchased?

We mentioned earlier the importance of choosing a package strategy, but what are the things that can actually affect whether the price of the package goes up or down?

It is simply what is included in the Personal Trainer package, how many sessions and the guidance that comes along with it. The reason the amount of sessions is the determining factor for pricing your packages is because they should be a fraction cheaper than if they were to be bought alone. 

For example, if you charge £35 a session as standard, the package that you’re trying to sell wouldn’t be one worth buying if the monthly price amounts to more than buying them individually, especially if there are no extras.

The point of the package is to ensure that you’re retaining clients for the long haul on a direct debit, not so you can make huge extras in terms of income so be sure to keep this in mind when pricing your sessions individually and on a package basis.

So this is clear, here is an example of how you would structure a package and how this will ultimately determine your pricing for personal training sessions.

1 session = £35

Package 1 = £250 billed monthly

- Includes 2 x sessions a week (8 per month)

- Nutritional Guidance

- 5 days a week support

Package 2 = £385 billed monthly

- Includes 3 x sessions a week (12 per month)

- Nutritional Guidance

- 5 days a week support

As you can see, there is a saving within both packages, with the biggest saving being on the more expensive package. You need to create a personal training pricing structure that is going to push an incentive on the packages that you want to sell the most of so remember this when designing them.

#7 What’s Your USP?

By finding your USP or PT niche, how much to charge for personal training sessions becomes a little clearer since you’re narrowing down the research sphere.

With generic personal trainers being easy to find, you need to make yourself stand out against the rest. Why should a client pay you extra for your specified services in comparison to a PT who says they have it all with a smaller personal training price per session?

First, finalise your unique selling point, are you interested in one particular area of fitness that could drive your business? Some popular USP’s include areas of fitness such as:

• Pre / post-natal 
• Diabetes management 
• Obesity management
• Personal training for seniors

These are all niches and areas of fitness that can separate you from any local competition so it is always a good idea to find what you really care about in terms of fitness, finalise your niche, and use this as a way to gauge a fair price point.

#8 How Much Personal Training Experience Do You Have?

Finally, another factor that can affect how much to charge as a personal trainer is your experience. This is aside from your experience in terms of education, instead think about the hands-on work you have done as a personal trainer. 

The longer you have been working as a PT, the higher you can justify your (UK) personal trainer cost. You may see that often, in any industry, the way professionals gain a level of trust is by disclosing their years of experience. 

For example, take a look at this PT below who does this:

This immediately provides you with some authority within the industry, by sharing how much experience you have, you’re telling potential clients that you have had happy clients and have been able to maintain this career. 

This says alot about your success and how well you have done as a personal trainer so if you have the experience, let it be known. If you don’t have the experience, don’t worry, we will talk about how much should a beginner personal trainer charge next.

How Much Should A Beginner Personal Trainer Charge?

So if you’re new to the industry, where do you begin with your pricing strategies?

While all of the factors above may not concern you, some of them are going to heavily impact how much you can charge. Factors such as:

• Location
• Qualifications
• (Lack of) Experience

These factors matter the most, particularly the fact that you have no experience. Nonetheless, with the correct education behind you, you are still able to price your PT sessions fairly, so don’t undersell your services. 

So, how much to charge as a personal trainer with no experience is heavily influenced by your location. Most PTs will start around the £30 mark, if you’re in the capital city this could be a little more but as standard start at around this number. 

You can run offers as you begin and even trial sessions to give people an idea of what they can expect from your sessions. This is a good way to show people that even if you’re yet to build the experience, you can still offer great sessions that are worth paying for.

Before You Go…

So, the answer to how much should I charge as a personal trainer? Is probably more complex than you initially thought, but we hope you have found clarity in how you can begin determining your price bracket through these aforementioned factors.

Don't forget you can expand the range of your services you can advertise by completing a Level 4 Nutrition course.

Find this course and many other advanced courses in our downloadable course prospectus here.