ClassPass promises studios a simple deal: we fill your empty spots, you earn extra revenue. On paper it sounds like free money. In practice, studio owners across the US, UK, and Australia are walking away — and many report higher profits after leaving than they ever earned on the platform.
This isn't an anti-ClassPass rant. It's a clear-eyed look at the economics, the risks you should understand, and what actually works better for building a sustainable, loyal member base.
The deal ClassPass offers (and what it actually costs)
ClassPass uses a credit-based system. Members buy credits and "spend" them on classes at different studios. The studio receives a per-visit payout — but the amount varies based on an algorithm you don't control.
50–70%
Less per visit than your direct rate
<15%
ClassPass users who convert to direct members
31x/mo
How often users open the ClassPass app — loyal to the platform, not your studio
The real numbers, reported by studios and confirmed by consultants who work with hundreds of fitness businesses: a class with a $25–30 drop-in rate typically nets $8–12 through ClassPass. Some studios report per-visit payouts as low as $3–7. One New York studio saw 25% more ClassPass reservations but 30% less ClassPass revenue after algorithm changes cut their per-student average nearly in half.
The dependency trap
Studios where ClassPass accounts for 25%+ of revenue find it difficult to leave — even when the margins are unsustainable. One studio owner described it bluntly: "They could discontinue our partnership, and we wouldn't be able to pay our wages." The longer you stay, the harder it gets to exit.
Why the "fill empty spots" argument breaks down
ClassPass frames every booking as "incremental" — a seat that would have gone empty otherwise. That framing only holds under two conditions:
- The seats genuinely would have stayed empty without the discount
- Your existing direct members don't switch to ClassPass for the cheaper price
In practice, both conditions fail. Studios consistently report that some of their direct members discover they can attend the same classes for less through ClassPass, and switch. One studio tracked a 17% overall revenue drop from this cannibalisation effect alone. Meanwhile, ClassPass's own data shows that 73% of their users say they would not have spent money on fitness without the discounted pricing — meaning you're training a customer base that sees your classes as a deal, not a commitment.
The Groupon parallel
Studio owners who've been around long enough remember Groupon. The pattern is the same: flood your studio with deal-seekers who have no intention of paying full price, devalue your product in the market, and make it progressively harder to charge what your service is actually worth. As one verified studio owner put it on Instagram: "Groupon forever doesn't work."
What studios report after leaving
The studios that have exited ClassPass consistently tell a similar story:
- Higher revenue per booking. One studio's average yoga booking price jumped from $12.83 to $16.55 (+30%); their Pilates average went from $23.30 to $34.34 (+47%).
- Better margins. Studios report 15–70% year-over-year revenue increases after leaving — because every booking now pays a sustainable rate.
- Stronger community. Without a rotating cast of discount-seekers, studios report more consistent attendance, better class energy, and members who actually know each other.
- Owning the relationship. When clients book direct, you have their name, email, phone number, and booking history. You can follow up, personalise, and build loyalty. On ClassPass, the platform owns the customer data and controls the communication.
A San Francisco studio that opened a second location (never on ClassPass) reported nearly twice the revenue in its first six months compared to the first location's equivalent period on ClassPass.
7 things that actually build a loyal member base
The studios filling classes without marketplace apps share a common playbook. None of it is complicated, but it requires consistency over shortcuts.
1. Retain before you acquire
Acquiring a new client costs 5–7x more than keeping an existing one. Before spending energy on new channels, make sure the people already in the room are looked after: greet them by name, check in after their first few classes, reach out when a regular goes quiet. Small gestures compound into loyalty that no discount app can replicate. For a deeper dive, see our guide on attracting and retaining clients.
2. Make referrals easy and rewarding
"Bring a friend free" weeks, refer-a-friend credits, and simply asking your happiest clients to spread the word consistently outperform paid acquisition. Referral leads convert to paying members at 25–40% — compared to below 15% for ClassPass users — and acquisition costs are 50–75% lower.
The ask matters
Most clients would refer you — they just never think to. The single highest-impact thing you can do is ask. After a great class, in your follow-up email, or with a simple card at reception. Make it easy, and make it rewarding for both sides.
3. Build your Google presence
When someone searches "yoga near me" or "Pilates studio [your suburb]", your Google Business Profile is the first thing they see. A complete profile with accurate hours, photos, a booking link, and a steady stream of genuine reviews builds trust before a potential client ever walks through the door. This is free, high-impact, and often skipped. See our guide on growing your studio clientele for the full local SEO playbook.
4. Own your booking experience
A frictionless, mobile-friendly booking flow that works in two taps is the difference between a curious visitor and a paying client. When that booking happens through your system — not a marketplace — you capture the relationship from day one. You get their email, their phone number, their class preferences. That's the foundation everything else is built on.
5. Lower the barrier to the first visit
Intro offers work because they remove the financial risk of trying something new. A "first class free" offer, a 2-week intro pass, or a "3 classes for $X" deal gets people through the door. The difference between this and ClassPass? You set the price, you own the relationship, and you control the follow-up. Your only job is getting them in the room — a great experience does the rest.
6. Automate the admin that makes you drop the ball
The real threat to retention isn't ClassPass — it's the new member who doesn't get a follow-up because you were buried in invoices, or the regular who drifted away because nobody noticed until it was too late. Automated reminders, welcome sequences, waitlist management, and attendance tracking catch these moments before they become lost revenue. Our recent post on AI and automation for studios covers what to automate first.
7. Build community, not transactions
ClassPass users open the app 31 times a month. They're loyal to the platform, not your studio. Direct members who feel part of a community — who recognise other regulars, who feel seen by the instructor, who participate in studio events — don't leave for a $5 discount. They stay because leaving would mean giving up something money can't buy. For revenue diversification ideas that deepen community ties, see diversifying your studio revenue streams.
If you're currently on ClassPass
Leaving cold turkey isn't always realistic, especially if ClassPass accounts for a significant chunk of your revenue. Here's a pragmatic wind-down approach:
- Cap ClassPass to 10–15% of capacity and restrict it to off-peak slots only. This limits cannibalisation while you build direct channels.
- Manually follow up with every ClassPass visitor. After their class, send a personal message offering a direct intro deal. This is where conversion happens — or doesn't.
- Track your true numbers. Calculate revenue per booking for ClassPass vs direct, and monitor whether direct membership is growing or shrinking. If ClassPass bookings are displacing direct ones, that's your signal to throttle further.
- Invest in your direct booking flow. Make it easier to book direct than through ClassPass — online, mobile, two taps, and clearly promoted on your website and social media.
- Set a date. Once direct revenue covers 75%+ of your target and retention exceeds 70%, you're ready to exit.
How Bookamat helps you build direct
The whole point of owning your booking stack is that you own the client relationship from the first interaction. That's what Bookamat is built for — everything a studio needs to run without a middleman:
- Online booking and scheduling that clients can access 24/7 from your website or a direct link — no marketplace in between
- Intro offers and credit packs you configure yourself, at prices you set, with the follow-up automations to convert trial visitors into regulars
- Automated reminders and waitlists that reduce no-shows and keep classes full
- Client history and attendance tracking so you can spot who's drifting and reach out before they leave
- Memberships and recurring payments that renew automatically, with retry logic for failed cards
- SMS and email communications — you own the contact, not a platform
- Transparent pricing that scales with your active client count — no per-transaction markup, no feature gates, no annual lock-in
Every dollar a client pays goes through your payment processor at standard rates — not through an intermediary that takes 50–70% of the value. See pricing for how it works, or features for the full picture.
The bottom line
ClassPass isn't evil — it's a business optimising for its own growth. But its incentives are structurally misaligned with yours. It needs studios to provide discounted inventory. You need clients who value your studio enough to pay a fair price and come back week after week.
The studios thriving in 2026 aren't the ones with the most ClassPass bookings. They're the ones with 80%+ direct membership, strong word-of-mouth, and systems that handle the admin so the owner can focus on teaching and community. That's a slower path than "turn on ClassPass and watch the bookings roll in" — but it's the one that actually builds a business you can sustain.
Start your free trial — no credit card, no contracts, no middleman. Free for up to 10 active clients.
