How to Price Personal Training Packages

Start with what the business needs, not with what the market charges. Add your monthly income target to your monthly costs: floor fees or rent, insurance, software, certifications and equipment. Then divide by the number of sessions you can realistically coach in a month, after leaving time for programming, check-ins and admin.

Say you want to earn $6,000 a month, your costs are $1,000, and you can coach 80 sessions a month. $7,000 divided by 80 is $87.50, so a single session should be priced at about $90.

Then sanity-check that number against your market. If you are well above local rates, be ready to say why: a specialty, experience with a certain kind of client, or a service that includes more than the hour itself. If you are well below, you are probably leaving money on the table rather than winning on price.

If you also sell 30- or 45-minute sessions, do not simply halve the hourly price. Travel, setup and the gap between clients cost the same whatever the session length, so a 30-minute session should sit well above half of your 60-minute price.

Three is enough for most trainers: one small package for people who want to try you, one core package that most clients should buy, and one larger commitment for clients who already trust you. More choices slow the decision down and make the price list harder to explain.

Size packages around how often a client should train, not around round numbers. If your standard program is two sessions a week for six weeks, your core package is 12 sessions. A starter might cover two weeks and the commitment tier twelve weeks.

• Starter: 4 sessions. The lowest commitment, priced close to your single-session rate.
• Core: 12 sessions. Matches one full program block and is the package you recommend.
• Commitment: 24 sessions or an ongoing monthly plan. Your lowest per-session price.

Discount enough that the larger package is clearly the better deal, and no more. Before you set any discount, work out your floor rate: the lowest per-session price that still covers your costs and the minimum you are willing to earn for an hour. Nothing on the price list goes below it.

Continuing the example, with a $90 single session and a $70 floor, a ladder could be 4 sessions for $340 ($85 each), 12 sessions for $960 ($80 each) and 24 sessions for $1,800 ($75 each). Every tier saves the client money, and every tier stays above the floor.

If you would rather not discount at all, add value to the bigger packages instead: an assessment, a written program, or weekly check-ins between sessions. Clients compare what they get, not only the per-session price.

Packages are usually paid in full before the first session, subject to local rules on prepaid services. For longer commitments, offer a monthly plan or a payment schedule rather than a deeper discount, because spreading the cost is what makes a 12-week program affordable for many clients.

In BurnOn, a Package is paid once for a set number of sessions and a Membership bills every month or term until it ends or is canceled, so a session package and a monthly coaching plan can sit on the same price list. Setting up a fixed-term program with a choice of payment schedules is covered in the guide to memberships and class packs.

Expiry keeps a package moving. A 12-session package built for two sessions a week might be valid for eight weeks: six weeks of training plus two weeks of slack for travel and illness. Put the expiry on the receipt and in your client agreement, and check local consumer rules on prepaid services before you enforce it. BurnOn does not set an expiry date on a package, so if you use one, track it and enforce it yourself.

Write your cancellation rule into the package as well: if a client cancels inside your notice window or does not show up, the session is used. Say it once, in writing, at the point of sale. In BurnOn, a package can list the services it covers and how many sessions it includes, and each booking uses one. Once you switch your cancellation policy on, it decides whether a late cancellation or no-show uses one too; with no policy, the session goes back to the client.

1. 1
   Set your base session rate

   Add your monthly income target to your monthly costs and divide by the sessions you can realistically coach in a month. Round to a clean number.

2. 2
   Set your floor rate

   Decide the lowest per-session price that still covers your costs and pays you fairly for the hour. No package goes below it.

3. 3
   Choose three package sizes

   Base them on training frequency and program length, such as 4, 12 and 24 sessions for a client who trains twice a week.

4. 4
   Price each tier between base and floor

   Give each larger package a lower per-session price than the one before it, and stop at your floor rate.

5. 5
   Write the terms

   Set when payment is due, when the package expires, and what happens to a session when a client cancels late or does not show up.

6. 6
   Track sessions in one place

   Deduct a session at every booking in one system, so you and the client always agree on how many are left.

7. 7
   Review after one quarter

   Look at which package people actually buy and how full your calendar is, then adjust prices for new clients.

Raise prices when demand outruns your calendar: you are close to fully booked, you are turning people away, or new clients sign up without asking about price. A new certification or a narrower specialty is also a good reason.

Apply new prices to new clients first. Give existing clients written notice, honor any package they have already paid for, and decide whether long-standing clients keep their current rate for a set period. A clear date and a one-line reason go further than an apology.

If a price rise would push out clients you want to keep, add semi-private training instead: two to four clients sharing one trainer. Price each person below your 1:1 rate and the hour above it. Two clients at $55 each bring in $110 for the hour, against $90 for a single client.