Packs, memberships or drop-ins: which mix actually works
The three ways to sell a class are not three prices for the same thing. They produce completely different behaviour, and the mix decides how predictable your month is.
Most studios arrive at their mix by accident: a drop-in price because you needed one on day one, a ten-pack because someone asked, a membership because a competitor had one. It is worth choosing deliberately, because each one is really a different deal about commitment.
What each one actually does
| What the client is buying | What it does to your week | |
|---|---|---|
| Drop-in | One class, no commitment | Highest price per class, lowest predictability. Every week is a fresh decision, and some weeks the answer is no |
| Pack | A number of classes at a better rate, with an expiry | The workhorse. A client holding credits has a reason to come on a wet Tuesday. Revenue arrives up front, attendance spreads out |
| Membership | Unlimited or a set number per month, recurring | The most predictable revenue you can have, and the strongest habit. Also the hardest to sell to somebody who has been twice |
The mix to aim for
Financially healthy boutique studios take roughly 70 to 80 percent of revenue from recurring memberships and packs combined, with drop-ins as the edge. That is the target worth steering toward. Where a first-year studio usually sits is closer to half, and the gap is the work.
- 01Months one to three: drop-in heavy, and that is fine. Nobody commits to a studio they have been to twice. Sell single classes, be excellent, and do not push.
- 02Months three to six: move people to packs. The moment to ask is at the end of a third or fourth class, not by email. A five-pack is an easier yes than a ten.
- 03Month six onward: introduce a membership for your regulars. Not for everybody. For the people already coming twice a week, for whom it is straightforwardly better value and one less decision.
The pricing rules that make the mix hold
Keep a real gap between drop-in and pack
If a drop-in is €22 and a ten-pack works out at €20 a class, you have removed the reason to commit. Around fifteen to twenty-five percent below the drop-in rate, per class, is what the market does and what actually changes behaviour.
Give packs an expiry, and say it at purchase
A ten-pack with no expiry is a discount with no commitment attached, and it also parks revenue on your balance sheet indefinitely as a liability you will one day have to honour. Two to three months for a ten-pack, one to two for a five, stated at the point of sale rather than buried in a policies page.
Price the membership against two visits a week, not four
The people who come four times a week are your best clients and they will happily take an unlimited membership that costs you money. Price it so it works at the attendance your average member actually manages, which in reformer is usually about twice a week, and let the enthusiasts be a happy loss.
How to tell if it is working
One number: the share of this month's revenue that came from packs and memberships rather than single classes. If it is climbing quarter over quarter, the studio is getting more predictable, which is the same thing as getting less stressful. If it is flat and low, you have a lot of people who like you and none who have committed, and that is a conversation problem rather than a pricing one.
Sell packs, memberships and single classes from your own booking page, and pay nothing until your studio takes €1,000 in a month.
Start for freeCommon questions
- Should a small Pilates studio offer memberships?
- Eventually, but not on day one. Memberships are the most predictable revenue and the strongest habit, and they are also the hardest thing to sell to somebody who has been to two classes. Most studios do better introducing one around month six, aimed at the regulars who are already coming twice a week.
- How much cheaper should a class pack be than a drop-in?
- Around fifteen to twenty-five percent less per class. Smaller than that and there is no financial reason to commit, so most of your revenue stays in unpredictable single bookings.
- What percentage of revenue should come from packs and memberships?
- Financially healthy boutique studios are usually at 70 to 80 percent from packs and memberships combined. First-year studios commonly sit nearer half, and closing that gap is what turns an unpredictable month into a planned one.