How to Value a Gym or Fitness Studio in 2026

How to Value a Gym or Fitness Studio in 2026

To value a gym or fitness studio in 2026, start with seller's discretionary earnings and apply a multiple of 1.5x to 3.0x for most independent operators, or 4x to 6x EBITDA for multi-unit groups large enough to attract private equity. But the multiple is only half the story. The number a buyer actually pays turns on recurring membership revenue, member churn, and how cleanly the business runs without you. This guide walks through the full method the way a broker who has sold fitness businesses would price yours.

The Core Method: SDE, MRR, and Churn

Seller's discretionary earnings is your net profit plus owner salary, discretionary personal expenses, interest, taxes, depreciation, and any one-time costs. For a fitness business, the number that modifies your SDE multiple most is monthly recurring revenue (MRR), the dues collected automatically each month. A studio with 400 members paying $99 monthly generates about $475,000 in annual recurring revenue, and buyers treat that stream as far more valuable than an equal amount of day-pass or retail income.

Churn is the counterweight. The fitness industry averages 30-50% annual member churn, and boutique studios that hold churn under 30% earn a meaningfully higher multiple than big-box gyms losing half their base each year. When you calculate value, buyers effectively discount your MRR by your churn rate to estimate how much revenue survives into year two. Learn more about how recurring revenue is priced on the YourExitValue business valuation page.

Once a fitness business crosses roughly $1 million in EBITDA, buyers shift from SDE multiples to EBITDA multiples of 4x to 6x, because at that size the business runs on management rather than an owner-operator. Knowing which yardstick applies to you is the difference between a five-figure and a six-figure swing in your asking price.

A Real-World Example

Consider an independent strength-and-conditioning studio with $850,000 in revenue and $220,000 in SDE. It has 480 members on autopay at $115 per month, so about $662,000 of that revenue is recurring, and annual churn runs 28%. Because the owner stopped coaching two years ago and a salaried head coach runs the floor, a buyer sees a business that transfers cleanly.

That profile earns a multiple near the top of the range, say 2.75x, putting the business around $605,000 before adjustments. Add roughly $80,000 in orderly-liquidation equipment value the buyer will not need to replace, confirm four years remain on the lease, and the studio clears $650,000 to $700,000. Change one variable, though, so the owner still teaches 15 classes a week, and the same financials might fetch 1.75x, or about $385,000. That single factor, owner dependence, is worth more than $200,000 here.

Franchise vs Independent

Franchised studios such as F45, Orangetheory, Club Pilates, and Anytime Fitness come with brand pull and proven operating systems, which lowers a buyer's perceived risk. But franchises carry royalty and marketing fees of 7-10% of revenue combined, require franchisor approval to transfer, and cap what you can change. Independents keep every dollar of margin and can be sold to anyone, but you carry the burden of proving the brand is not just you.

In practice, a well-run franchise and a well-run independent of the same size often sell for similar multiples; the franchise trades brand security for lower margin, the independent trades higher margin for founder-dependence risk. What consistently commands a premium in either model is a location with multiple units, because scale attracts private-equity roll-ups that pay EBITDA multiples rather than SDE multiples. Buyers also weigh the tier of membership: a big-box gym at $10 a month needs thousands of members to equal the cash flow a boutique studio earns from a few hundred clients at $150 a month, and the higher-margin studio almost always earns the richer multiple.

What Moves Your Valuation Up or Down

Five factors move the number most. Recurring revenue mix: the higher your MRR as a share of total revenue, the higher your multiple. Owner dependence: if classes, sales, or member relationships live with you, expect a discount of a full turn or more. Lease terms: buyers want three to five years of remaining term with options, and a short lease or above-market rent drags value. Equipment condition: newer equipment reduces a buyer's year-one reinvestment, though used gear only resells for 20-40 cents on the dollar, so it rarely adds dollar-for-dollar. Trend line: growing membership counts justify the top of the range, while declining ones invite a discount regardless of current profit.

Exit Implications

If you plan to sell in the next few years, the moves that raise a fitness valuation are the same ones that make the business easier to run: convert month-to-month members to annual or autopay contracts, drive churn down, and remove yourself from the schedule so a manager carries operations, the same shift we cover in how to remove yourself from your business before selling. Clean books matter too, because buyers and their SBA lenders need three years of tax returns that reconcile to your P&L. And because a gym's price rides on predictable dues, understanding how recurring revenue affects business value is the highest-leverage read before you go to market.

For the quick-reference version of these numbers, see the companion post on what a gym or fitness studio is worth. When you are ready to build a real exit timeline, YourExitValue's exit planning platform and fitness industry benchmarks show exactly where your studio stands and what to fix first.