How to pay a reformer instructor without breaking the studio
Instructor pay is the biggest cost most studios have after rent, and the first one a new owner has to set without any history to go on.
For the first months most owners teach everything themselves. The day that stops working, usually because a class is full every week and you cannot be in two places, you need a number to offer somebody. This is how to arrive at one you can keep paying in a quiet month.
The three common models
| Model | How it works | What it rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Flat per class | A fixed amount per class taught, whatever the attendance | Reliability. The instructor knows what they earn; you carry all the risk of an empty room |
| Base plus per head | A smaller fixed amount, plus a few euros for each client above a threshold | Filling classes. Shares the risk, and gives the instructor a reason to build a following |
| Hourly or salaried | Paid for time, including cover, prep and front desk | Being part of the studio rather than a visitor to it. Suits someone who also opens up and answers messages |
Flat per class is by far the most common for group reformer, and it is the right default for a studio's first hired instructor: simple to explain, simple to pay, no arguments about who counts as a head. Base plus per head becomes attractive once you have several instructors and want the ones who fill their classes to feel it.
What the going rate looks like
Rates vary a lot by city and by experience. Job listings in Spain commonly put a group reformer class in the region of €15 to €30, and experienced instructors in Madrid and Barcelona ask for more. Privates pay considerably better per hour than group classes, which is worth knowing because it is often what an instructor is comparing your offer against.
Market rate tells you what you have to offer to be taken seriously. It does not tell you what you can afford. For that, work from your own classes.
Working out your own ceiling
- 01Take a class you would hand over. Not your best class, the one you would realistically give away first.
- 02Count what it takes on average. Spots filled over the last month, multiplied by what a spot is worth after pack discounts. A class that is often four out of six at an effective €17 a spot takes about €68.
- 03Take off the fixed share. Rent, reformers and everything else have to be paid out of every class, taught by anyone. If those costs work out at €25 a class, you have €43 left.
- 04Decide how much of what is left you can give. Handing over most of it is fine if the point is to buy your own time back. Handing over all of it means the class runs, and you earn nothing from it.
Contractor or employee
Many instructors in Spain work as autónomos and invoice several studios. That is normal and often what they prefer. Be careful if the relationship looks like employment in everything but name: fixed hours set by you, working only for you, under your direction. That is the pattern the Spanish authorities call a falso autónomo, and the cost of getting it wrong falls on the studio. Your gestor will tell you where the line sits for your setup.
The things to agree in writing
- What happens when a class is cancelled for low numbers, and how much notice counts.
- Who finds cover when the instructor is ill, and whether the cover is paid by you or by them.
- When pay is calculated and when it is paid. Monthly, from a count of classes taught, is simplest.
- Whether they may teach your clients privately elsewhere. Ask once, kindly, up front; it is a much harder conversation later.
In Reformer Pilates Booking you assign an instructor to each class, so the schedule shows clients who is teaching and gives you one place to count from when it is time to pay.
Put instructors on the schedule from the first week you hire one.
Start for freeCommon questions
- How much does a reformer Pilates instructor earn per class in Spain?
- It varies by city and experience. Listings in Spain commonly put a group reformer class somewhere around €15 to €30, with experienced instructors in Madrid and Barcelona asking for more. Private sessions pay more per hour than group classes.
- Should I pay instructors per class or per client?
- Flat per class is the usual starting point and the simplest for a first hire. A smaller base plus a few euros per client above a threshold shares the risk of an empty room and rewards instructors who build a following, which becomes attractive once you have several.
- Can my instructors be autónomos?
- Yes, and many prefer it. The risk is a relationship that looks like employment, with fixed hours set by you and no other clients, which Spanish authorities can treat as a falso autónomo. Check your setup with a gestor.