As a yoga teacher or yoga studio owner, how much should you charge for yoga classes? Is there yoga studio software to help with pricing and scheduling?
Broadly speaking, there are 2 yoga class pricing options
- Per yoga class (low, average, and high)
- Creative pricing options including packages and memberships.
Cost per yoga class
Until you choose your yoga studio’s location and know your studio square footage and rent amount (or mortgage payment amount), you won’t be able to precisely determine your yoga class, pricing model. Essentially, you must have a handle on your fixed and variable expenses before setting yoga class prices. Moreover, you must also, in time, figure out how many yoga students you will attract.
That said, the pricing model you may want may determine your studio space and customer service level. It’s the class egg and chicken scenario.
That’s why your yoga prices are part of your unique selling position. Generally, most yoga studios price their classes fairly similarly. There are some low-cost providers, but that’s the exception. Of course, the low-cost model is easy to implement, but you have to make sure that you’ll generate enough revenue to survive or thrive.
Unless you’re in an upscale area or are the only yoga studio in town, you probably don’t want to price your classes too high.
Class pricing data
We’ve been surveying yoga studios for 4 years and have a great deal of class pricing raw data. Here’s a general breakdown:
- 2013 to 2014 Yoga Class Pricing Range: $10 to $20 per class for drop-in pricing.
- 2017/18 Pricing Range: $10 to $30 per class for drop-in pricing.
Do you want all our yoga business data? If you’re a yoga teacher or studio owner, click here to take our survey. Once done, you’ll be granted access to the data.
=> Make flexible pricing easy with this yoga studio tool
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Yoga classes aren’t super price elastic. In other words, you won’t greatly influence demand with a price. Of course, if you price classes at $100 per class per person, you’ll probably have no students. Likewise, if you offer and advertise free classes, yoga students will pound down your door. If your yoga prices are within the $9 to $20 range, you probably won’t see too much difference in demand.
It’s important that you deliver what your students want, and that is a superb yoga class experience. If you deliver this, you can charge more. If your classes are the same, your customer service is terrible, and you teach like you’re bored in a robotic manner, you’ll see a drop off in the number of students.
Your yoga studio’s success depends on a lot more than just price, but if you implement creative pricing packages, you can create exciting options for your valued clients. Also, your pricing will change as time goes on. If your classes are always full, think carefully about increasing your price. You don’t want to anger your students with too much and too frequent price changes. When you increase your yoga class prices, explain it and give a warning.
If your classes are empty, consider lowering your prices or run promotions. However, be cautious when lowering prices because it’s not easy to increase them again. Well, it’s easy, but your students may not appreciate it.
Consider target pricing your yoga classes. Target pricing is pricing based on demand. Classes that get fewer students may increase attendance with a lower price.
Pricing Packages and Memberships
I’m particularly keen on yoga class packages and memberships.
I suggest you offer a variety of yoga class pricing packages. Don’t just offer drop-in rates. Consider unlimited yoga packages (i.e. memberships), multiple class packages, batching packages, sharing packages, private packages, on-site packages, promotions, referral bonuses, first-class/week free, holiday specials, and any other pricing plans you can think of. Also, ask your yoga students what type of pricing package they would like. It’s important you seek and receive client feedback.
Ensure that the more expensive your package, the lower per/class the cost is. For example, if your drop-in rate is $18 per class. Make it so a 10 class package results in a per-class cost of less than $18.
Be sure to post your prices clearly in your studio and on your website. Create a menu. After each package, if it’s possible to calculate, give the per-class cost. This is a great way to sell larger packages. As a business person, you must always strive to receive a dollar today rather than tomorrow, because a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow.
You can steady and increase revenues with memberships set up with auto-pay. Memberships are attractive because students can then practice yoga at your studio as much as they wish. It’s good for you because you’re guaranteed a certain amount of money per month from a set number of students who are your members.
Unlimited Class Pricing
Our survey includes asking whether studios offer unlimited class memberships and if so, how much they cost per month.
Unlimited yoga pricing range: $55 to $500 USD per month. Most unlimited memberships fall in the $100 to $150 USD range.
Gift Cards
Don’t forget to offer gift cards. Make it easy for your students (or their friends and family) to buy more classes. This not only generates sales, but it’s a great way to attract new students.
An easier way to price classes and issue gift cards
Of course, you can run your studio manually with spreadsheets and the like. However, if your studio is humming along and you want to introduce more pricing options (drop-in, packages, and gift cards), you should check out yoga studio software to manage all this for you. It makes it much easier to computerize everything and sync it with your client database.
If you don’t have the technology to offer auto-pay, self-booking, and/or gift cards, check out MINDBODY Yoga Studio Software.
Creative Yoga Class Pricing Ideas
Here’s a list of yoga class pricing packages you could offer your yoga students:
Unlimited yoga package
For $X amount per month or year, your students can attend all the classes they want for the time period stipulated.
Multiple class packages
Let your students buy 10, 20, 30 class packages, or even more. The more in the package, the less per class.
Batching packages
Mix classes with any other products or services you have. For example, if you offer massage, offer a 5 class and two massage deal. Or if you sell supplements, offer a month’s supply of supplements and unlimited classes for a discounted rate. Or offer a free yoga outfit for a first-time unlimited monthly package purchase. Get creative with all your services and products.
Sharing packages
If more than one member from a household attends your classes, let them share packages (except the unlimited package of course). Offer household discounts such as 10 % off two unlimited monthly packages.
Private packages
An empty yoga studio is lost money. Offer private lessons or rent the space for other teachers to offer private lessons. Advertise private packages.
On-site packages
Offer to teach classes at schools, businesses, churches, nursing homes, and any other location an organization would like to pay to have yoga classes for its members on-site. Get creative to induce these packages. On-site is great because you aren’t even using your own studio space.
You can have a teacher teach at your studio while you teach off-site (or vice versa) to leverage your profits.
Promotions
Always run a promotion. This doesn’t cheapen your studio. It keeps your studio alive and fresh. It looks good on your website because it makes your website look up-to-date and alive.
Promotions give you a great excuse to communicate with your clients and prospective clients via your blog and/or your e-zine and on your website’s homepage and in print advertising. Direct your promotions to new clients because your existing clients may be a bit ticked off if they received a worse deal than the promotion.
To avoid upsetting existing clients with new promotions, restrict your promotions to your other products and services. If you come up with a great promotion for existing clients, be sure to apply that promotion to your existing already purchased packages. Your clients will really appreciate that.
Referral bonuses
If a client refers someone, give the referring client a deal or free class. Make your referral policy known. Word-of-mouth is extremely powerful.
You want people to try your studio because you’re confident that they’ll like it. Referral and cooperative partnering marketing is a very powerful way to fill your classes quickly.
First-class/week free
Have a standing first class/week promotion.
Daily specials
Different class prices depending on the time of day and day of the week.
Holiday promotions
Have fun with holidays and different occasions. This gives you another reason to communicate with your tribe and prospective tribe.
=> Make flexible pricing easy with this yoga studio tool.
The sky is the limit with pricing. You can create a lot of goodwill with your yoga students with creative and flexible yoga pricing packages.