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Comparing gym memberships in South Africa: The cost of getting fit
With so many gym memberships available to us, we wanted to see what each gym contract was offering. Here is a breakdown of what is on offer.
Image by LouisBauer from Pixabay
Are you getting enough value from your gym membership? Gym membership fees can turn into an unneccesary expense should you be tied into a contract that doesn’t really suit your needs.
Why pay for a national gym contract if you only train locally? Or pay for full rate when you could only pay for off peak hours?
Gym memberships in South Africa – the rands and cents
We are aware that at this time of year there is usually an influx of new members who are looking to shed the winter fluff and as summer looms and we panic to get to the gym, we want to know what the cost of getting fit is in South Africa.
Virgin Active
“Training is my escape. The minute I step inside the gym, it’s me time & there’s no better experience than having a personal trainer believe in me & be the best source of motivation” @qaanitaorrie If you’d like to be featured tag us in your gym posts using #vasacommunity pic.twitter.com/QVHk8THpGT
— Virgin Active (@virginactiveSA) July 31, 2019
Virgin Active is the most recognisable gym franchise in South Africa. They offer the most options in terms of gym memberships and you would be hard pressed to not find a Virgin Active Club somewhere in South Africa.
Virgin Active have two clubs: Health Clubs and Collection Clubs.
The Health Clubs are their standard clubs whilst their Collections Clubs feature a lot more bells and whistles.
Health Clubs have various membership options ranging from R240 to R1095 per month. There are four gym membership options available to you:
- Virgin Active Off-Peak Health Club membership: *R240 – R750 per month.
- Virgin Active Health Club membership: *R270 – R995 per month
- Virgin Active Health Club Premier Select membership: *R640 – R780 per month
- Virgin Active Premier membership: *R890 – R1,095 per month
The classic collection membership will cost you *R1,500 – R2,350 per month.
*This is excluding a subsidy if you join through one of their Wellness & Reward partners.
VIVA GYM
Train in our world class facility nationwide. https://t.co/d3bI8m8tnZ pic.twitter.com/3n53rL6rR0
— Viva Gym SA (@VivaGymSA) August 19, 2019
Viva gyms are currently in four major cities: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria.
They have a single session drop-in option and 2 contract options: monthly and yearly.
The single-session drop-in fee is R100 and perfect should you only want to train for one-day or have your friends pop in for a bro sesh with you.
The month to month contract option eliminates the hassle of having to commit to a long term contract.
The yearly contract has a 12-month commitment and then rolls into a monthly membership
Both the contracts require that you pay a joining fee. For the monthly contract, this ranges from R330 – R350 depending on the gym.
For the 12 month membership, the joining fee is R260 – R290.
Monthly contracts are in the region of R329 – R349 and yearly contracts range from R259 – R289.
Planet Fitness
Hey there, Planet Fitness Brackenfell! Take a closer look and sign up for your 1 week free trial membership today: https://t.co/mbEcnbgvZD pic.twitter.com/BJsvJnKSSb
— Planet Fitness (@PlanetFitnessZA) August 3, 2019
Planet Fitness has four different membership options.
Their joining fees range from R100 – R300.
Just Gym is their value gym group which offers members all the offerings of Planet Fitness, without the trimmings.
There are differences in class offerings as well.
A Just Gym membership starts at R199 whereas the Planet Fitness membersships vary depending on the area of the gym. The lowest membership begins at R399 and escalates to R899.
Should you want national access, your joining fee will be R600 with a monthly rate of R999.
Platinum members will be charged an R900 joining fee and a monthly fee of R1199.
Zone Fitness
Exercise more. Soon, it’s going to feel amazing. Visit our gym and reach your long term fitness goals.#zonefitness_SA #zonefitness #fitlife #fitspiration #squat #workouts #dedicated #motivation #fitness #healthy #workout #fit #health #goals #exercise #lovefitnesslife pic.twitter.com/VqlHSjXsUq
— Zone Fitness Clubs (@zonefitness_SA) August 21, 2019
Zone Fitness membership options range from R200 – R600.
Their joining fees are between R50 – R100 and the access cards cost R50.
A 12-month contract is R250 per month and their 24-month local membership with access to a single club is R225. Should you want a Super Club membership, this will set you back R299 per month.
How to choose the best gym membership for you
All of the gyms listed above offer a free consultation to asses your needs and help you select the best gym membership for you.
We suggest popping in and chatting to a consultant or making use of thier free trials.
Planet Fitness and Just Gym are offering a free trial week.
Zone Fitness and Viva Gym offer a complimentary workout. Viva Gym is also offering R100 off thier joining fee in August.
Virgin Active is offering a free month if you sign up between 1st and 19th August 2019. You will only start paying for October, i.e. your September 2019 Debit Order is on them.
