Properly pricing your personal training services is essential to the success of your fitness business. There are many factors to consider when deciding how much to charge as a personal trainer, but there is a simple equation you can use to pinpoint a ballpark number:
(Operating Costs x Desired Profit Margin) + Operating Costs = Price
Since other things like your specialty, years of experience, and location will need to influence your rates, the number you get from this equation won’t necessarily be your final price point. It will, however, give you a foundational number to build off of to determine the right rate for you and your clients.
How to set your personal trainer rates
Deciding how much to charge as a personal trainer can be a little complicated. While you don’t want to overprice your services and turn off too much of your target audience, you also don’t want to underprice them and sell yourself short.
There are several elements you need to take into account to come up with a number that your clients and prospects are willing to pay while also ensuring you make a good living and can keep your business afloat.
Here are six questions you need to answer to evaluate your offerings and come up with a fair but competitive personal trainer rate:
1) How much are you worth?
The starting point for any pricing strategy is to identify and attribute value to all the benefits you offer to your clients.
Realistically, the first questions you have to ask when figuring this out are: How much should you charge?
And what are you worth? First and foremost, you’ll need to evaluate your experience as a fitness professional. Ultimately, this will shape how much you can reasonably charge.
No matter how many fancy certificates you might have, your years of experience will be worth more to your clients. This doesn’t mean that if you’re new to the game, you can’t aim high; you just need to be realistic.
Along with how many qualifying years you have under your belt, look at other factors that have an impact on your experience, expertise, and reputation. When figuring out how much to charge as a personal trainer, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- How long have you been training or working in the fitness industry?
- Have you played sports or done competitions that support your experience?
- What qualifications do you have in fitness and other areas, such as business or leadership qualifications?
- Do you have any specialties? What makes you a specialist?
- What is your current status/profile? Do you have a large industry following or network?
Be sure to single out any factors that differentiate you from the competition. Your unique attributes will help build consumer confidence in your brand that translates to financial value.
2) What type of service are you offering?
The next question for how much a new personal trainer should charge is exactly what type of service you’re offering and how that impacts your pricing.
The higher the quality of products, services, and content you have available, the more you can expect to charge.
For example, clients will be willing to pay more for workout or nutrition plans uniquely tailored to them than they will for a packet of generalized nutrition recommendations.
When deciding how much to charge as a personal trainer, consider whether your services are in-person or online. If you offer online coaching, this doesn’t necessarily have to affect the price point of your offering, but will likely mean that you don’t have to factor in the overhead costs of transportation, gym access or commute times.
3) Who is your target audience?
IIdentifying your target audience is a crucial step in building your personal training business. When you know who you’re trying to convert into customers, you can think about the best marketing tools to reach them. Understanding your audience will also ensure that your marketing efforts are aligned with what your potential customers want and need. Ultimately, this will help you make the most impact.
Follow these three simple steps to define your target audience:
- Think about the type of clients you want to work with. What is their buyer persona? To answer this question, take a look at the demographic and lifestyle information of potential clients, such as age, gender, location, and employment status.
- Determine your unique selling point. Choosing a PT niche will help you stand out and be viewed as an expert in your area. Your niche should be something you’re passionate about and that plays well to your strengths as a trainer.
- Ask yourself why you want to target this audience. Your answers will largely point to what you want to specialize in. If you’re not sure, then think about what your target audience wants you to specialize in and how you can leverage that when designing your services.
Once you’ve defined your clientele, consider how much they would be willing to pay for your services. If your target audience is mostly 30-40-year-old adults from a wealthy suburb, for instance, they’ll have the means and willingness to pay more for packages. However, if you’re targeting college-aged students without a steady income, you’ll have to look at a lower price point.
Use this downloadable worksheet to help define your target audience.
4) What are you actually offering?
The delivery format of your service will also affect what you can reasonably charge. In-person training usually commands the highest per-hour rate, especially when delivered one-on-one in a private or premium location. However, online coaching is growing rapidly and offers a scalable way to deliver value while reducing time per client.
- In-gym or studio training: Often priced higher due to location and facilities; typically $50–$90 (GBP £40–£70) per session
- Freelance/at-home PTs: May charge less due to travel, but with greater flexibility; typically $38–$64 (GBP £30–£50) per session
- Online-only: Pricing varies based on service level, from $75/month (GBP £60) for program-only to $250+ (GBP £200+) for fully customised coaching with weekly check-ins and accountability
- Hybrid training: Combines in-person and online support — ideal for clients who want a balance and for trainers who want to scale without sacrificing quality
Offering multiple delivery formats — or transitioning clients from in-person to online or hybrid — can be a great way to grow your business while keeping costs manageable. How much should a personal trainer charge per session has a lot of different answers, with lots of different things to think about.
5) What does your competitor analysis look like?
Once you know your market, the next step is to choose how you’ll structure your pricing. Here are four common models used by personal trainers:
Online coaching retainers: Remote coaching can include customised programs, progress tracking, and weekly check-ins — with prices ranging from $75/month (GBP £60) for basic plans to $250+ (GBP £200+) for high-touch support. This model is increasingly popular, and enables you to scale your income beyond one-to-one sessions.
Per-session pricing: This is a simple, flexible approach where clients pay for each session individually. It’s useful for newer PTs or those working in a gym environment. While straightforward, it can make income harder to predict, and clients may be more likely to cancel or skip sessions.
Block or package pricing: Selling bundles of sessions (e.g. 10 for $440 (GBP £350)) offers better cash flow and a sense of commitment. Many PTs apply small discounts for packages, which can make them more appealing than standalone sessions. This model works well for trainers with returning clients who want more structure.
Monthly memberships or subscriptions: These give clients a set number of sessions and ongoing support for a monthly fee, creating more predictable revenue. For example, you might charge $190/month (GBP £150) for weekly in-person sessions plus nutrition check-ins via an app.
You can also combine models to create flexible options for clients, such as a monthly subscription that includes online coaching with the option to book in-person sessions at a discounted rate.
6) What are your running costs?
After you answer question number two and have a general idea of the type of services you plan to provide, consider your offerings more closely in terms of value. How much time are you personally spending with the client for each service? How much of that time is face-to-face versus online? Are you contacting clients with personalized messages or automated communications?
The less time and personal touch you offer with your service packages, the less value your product will have. The more time and attention a client gets from you, the more you can charge.
7) What do your competitors charge?
Check out your competitors. Visit their websites or inquire to find out what they’re charging for services similar to yours. Then, compare! It is the easiest way to find a benchmark for your skill level and area and if you’re in-person, online or hybrid, without lots of mental hoops!
Just make sure you’re only looking at direct competitors, i.e., coaches offering similar products and services to you and targeting a similar audience. If you look at personal trainers who are not aligned with what you’re doing, you may find your pricing structure is wrong. Then you’ll end up either overpricing or selling yourself too short.
8) What are your running costs?
Finally, you need to look at the nuts and bolts of your incoming versus outgoing money. In other words, how much does it cost to run your business? Once you know that, you can determine how much you need to bring in to make a profit.
Consider costs such as equipment, rent for your space, marketing and advertising, and your management software. The good news on the personal training software and app front is that it doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars for a quality system. With My PT Hub’s simple pricing plans, you can get started for less than $50 a month. If you sign up for our annual paid monthly plan, you’ll save even more!
Bonus tips for pricing your personal training services:
- Be consistent with pricing for every client. For example, don’t charge a new client more than a long-term one unless you’re raising prices across the board.
- Stick to the cancellation, late arrival, and no-show policies you outline in your contract. Don’t bend the rules for a client just because you like them at the expense of your livelihood.
- Require advanced payment (one session ahead) to increase accountability and reduce the likelihood of same-day cancellations.
- Consider using the psychology of .99 pricing. Although they’re essentially the same price, the human mind processes $8.00 and $7.99 very differently—and the latter as a better deal—since we read from left to right.
Personal training rates in the UK
The average personal trainer rate in your market is another important guidepost to consider when determining how much to charge for your own personal training services. In the UK, personal trainer prices will vary based on exact localities, but the average cost is around £50 per session.
If you venture closer to a city like London, rates can get as high as £200. But similarly, if you work in a more remote area, some trainers charge closer to £15-30 per session.
Personal training rates in the U.S.
Average personal trainer rates in the U.S. aren’t too far off from UK rates, but again, they will vary based on your specific area. The national average cost of personal training in the U.S. is $40-70 per hour-long session. $55 is the average, while $35 is the typical minimum, and $120 is on the higher end of the spectrum.
Get Started Creating & Selling Your Training Services
Setting a price for your personal training services is a great first step toward getting your business off the ground. Once you’ve decided on your rates, you need to create service packages and start selling them to clients—and My PT Hub can make that easy!
Our finance features allow you to handle and track all the money coming into your business. Through our platform, you can create training packages, clients can pay for them securely online, and you can track billing, accounts, and payments made.
Start your free 30-day trial to learn more about how My PT Hub can streamline and optimize your personal training business!