Planet Fitness vs Club Pilates franchise USA 2026: is the $879K investment gap worth it?
Club Pilates is 3.2× cheaper to get into — $403K vs $1.3M (about $879K less). Planet Fitness runs the bigger network at 2432 vs 1179 outlets.
01 What actually matters
Numbers that separate them on a 5-year horizon — not the franchise-development pitch.
On pure entry capital, Club Pilates is 3.2× cheaper than Planet Fitness — $403K vs $1.3M. That gap compounds over a 5-year horizon because build-out, equipment, opening inventory and the additional funds in FDD Item 7 all scale with format size.
One-time franchise fees are worth noting (FDD Item 5): Club Pilates charges $55K upfront on top of the setup capex. This is a non-refundable sunk cost before revenue begins — bake it into your at-risk capital calculation.
02 The numbers, visualised
Primary format per brand, from FDD Item 7. A brand's smaller express or non-traditional formats can cost materially less.
Initial investment (FDD Item 7)
Total initial investment, low end of each brand's FDD Item 7 range for its primary format. Several US brands also run smaller express, non-traditional or conversion formats at materially lower investment — check the brand page for the full Item 7 table.
Network scale — total outlets
Total US outlets from FDD Item 20. Bigger networks mean more brand recognition and supplier scale; smaller ones mean less intra-brand competition in your trade area.
Customer ratings
Which brand's outlets are rated higher by customers, aggregated across locations. Exact star rating and review volume are in Brand Health.
Direction only — the underlying rating & review count are Pro data.
03 Side-by-side
Straight from each brand’s FDD. Green badge marks the more favourable value for a typical first-time operator.
| Metric | Planet Fitness | Club Pilates |
|---|---|---|
| Initial investment (Item 7) | $1.3M | $403K ↓ Lower |
| Royalty (Item 6) | 7% | — |
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Min space (sq ft) | 15000 | 1500 ↓ Smaller |
| Total US outlets (Item 20) | 2432 ↑ Bigger | 1179 |
| Franchise fee (Item 5) | $40K ↓ Lower | $55K |
| Additional funds | — | — |
Not sure if Planet Fitness or Club Pilates actually fits *you*?
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04 Explore these brands in depth
Same data plus the full FDD breakdown, fee load, contract fairness and SBA lending picture — free on every brand page.
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05 Frequently asked
Wrapped in FAQPage JSON-LD for SERP rich-result eligibility.
How do Health & Wellness franchises pay out — revenue share or fixed margin?
US Health & Wellness franchisors almost always take a percentage of gross sales, not a share of profit — so the fee is due whether or not the unit is profitable. FDD Item 6 lists the full stack: royalty (commonly 4–8%), a national advertising fund (1–4%), technology fees, and often a local-marketing minimum. Add them together before modelling take-home; the headline royalty is rarely the whole load.
Do these Health & Wellness franchises offer territorial rights?
Territory is FDD Item 12, and it is where Health & Wellness franchisors differ most. Some grant a protected radius or a defined trade area; many grant no exclusivity at all and reserve the right to open company units, non-traditional locations or e-commerce channels inside your area. Read Item 12 word for word — "protected territory" and "exclusive territory" are not the same thing — then ask existing franchisees whether the brand has honoured it.
Which Health & Wellness brand has the largest network in the US?
Planet Fitness operates the largest network among these — 2432 outlets. Large networks offer more brand recognition and supplier scale, but also mean denser intra-brand competition in already-saturated markets.
Planet Fitness vs Club Pilates — which is the better franchise investment?
There's no universal winner. Planet Fitness suits operators who value brand prestige and larger-format positioning. Club Pilates suits operators who want to test the market with smaller initial exposure. Your location's traffic profile, your available capital, and your operating style together determine the right answer.
What are the hidden costs in Health & Wellness franchises?
FDD Item 7 is the honest list, and it runs well past the headline number: initial franchise fee (Item 5), leasehold improvements and build-out, equipment and signage, opening inventory, insurance, training travel, grand-opening advertising, and three months of additional funds. On top of that sit the recurring Item 6 fees — royalty, national ad fund, technology, and often a local-marketing minimum. FRANticc separates the one-time spend from the recurring load on every brand page so you see the real exposure.