How to open a Pilates studio: costs, reformer count and timeline
By Elara team · Published
By the Elara team. Franchise disclosure documents, equipment prices, rents and card fees read October 21, 2026.
Six reformer Pilates franchises' 2026 US disclosure documents estimate $328,620 to $1,029,811 to open one studio, and in every one of them the build-out of the space is the line that varies most. They also put 9 to 13 months between signing and opening, with presales running for the last few. An independent studio skips the franchise fee and can start smaller, but it still pays for the space, the build-out, the reformers and the months before the first class. This guide gives the sourced costs, a way to choose how many reformers to buy from what each class needs to break even, and the opening sequence the franchisors disclose.
What it costs to open
Every franchisor selling in the US must give buyers a disclosure document whose Item 7 lists the cost of opening a studio, line by line. The six reformer brands below are from their 2026 filings with Minnesota's franchise registry, in USD.
| Brand | Total | Build-out | Equipment | Opening marketing | First 3 months' funds | Franchise fee | Space and reformers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilates Addiction | $328,620 to $761,610 | $19,430 to $248,000 (net) | $22,955 to $70,025 (financed) | $20,000 to $22,000 | $10,000 to $50,000 | $65,000 | 1,500 to 1,800 sq ft |
| Pilates Republic | $375,137 to $584,106 | $36,687 to $135,734 (net) | $147,553 to $164,209 | $20,000 | $30,000 to $45,000 | $50,000 | 2,000 to 2,500 sq ft, 14 |
| Club Pilates | $413,289 to $1,029,811 | $123,056 to $519,381 (gross) | $128,986 to $170,034 | $33,300 to $46,600 | $7,000 to $44,000 | $65,000 | 1,500 to 1,800 sq ft, 12 |
| BODYBAR Pilates | $431,425 to $756,035 | $120,000 to $275,000 (net at the low end) | $105,000 to $128,660 | $20,000 to $30,000 | $30,000 to $90,000 | $60,000 | 2,100 to 2,500 sq ft, 12 or 14 |
| Studio Pilates | $502,732 to $869,732 | $220,000 to $380,000 (gross) | $69,000 to $80,500 | $12,000 | $10,000 to $25,000 | $50,000 | 1,200 to 1,700 sq ft, 12 to 14 |
| JETSET Pilates | $543,440 to $752,375 | $190,000 to $275,000 (net) | $52,500 to $70,100 (financed) | $45,000 | $45,000 to $60,000 | $60,000 | 1,500 to 2,500 sq ft, 12 to 16 |
Sources: Pilates Addiction (May 1, 2026, amended through September 1), Pilates Republic (December 31, 2025), Club Pilates (April 17, 2026, amended August 7), BODYBAR (April 10, 2026), Studio Pilates (May 14, 2026) and JETSET (April 17, 2026) disclosure documents, Item 7, from the Minnesota CARDS registry. The columns shown do not add to the total: each document also lists signage, deposits, professional fees, technology, insurance and smaller lines. JETSET's own rows add up to $17,900 less than its low total and Pilates Addiction's to $2,400 less than both of its totals; the table gives the totals as stated. Equipment means different things too: Club Pilates' figure is its whole furniture, fixtures and equipment package, Studio Pilates' is reformers only.
Some build-out figures are net of what the landlord pays. Pilates Addiction, Pilates Republic and JETSET give build-out after the landlord's tenant-improvement allowance; Club Pilates and Studio Pilates give it before any allowance; BODYBAR's low end assumes $55 per sq ft from the landlord and its high end none. What the line covers differs too: Pilates Addiction lists $106,000 to $127,000 of millwork, lighting and furniture separately, while Studio Pilates and BODYBAR include furniture and fixtures. Compare the totals, not this column. JETSET reports that gross build-out at its studios ranged from $270,000 to $398,000, with 40 of 45 landlords contributing. BODYBAR's median allowance in 2025 was $66,205. The allowance is negotiated in the lease, so it is worth as much attention as the rent.
Financed equipment looks cheaper than it is. JETSET's line is a down payment and the first lease payments on leased reformers; buying them outright would cost about $112,500 to $148,100. Pilates Addiction's outright price is $190,827 to $201,162. A lease moves that cost into the monthly budget.
Some lines are franchise costs only. An independent studio does not pay the $50,000 to $65,000 franchise fee or fees paid to the franchisor such as Studio Pilates' $25,000 opening package, and it buys reformers at the prices below instead of a required package. It still pays for the space, build-out, reformers, opening marketing and the months before opening, without a brand's name to sell its presales.
What reformers cost
Manufacturers' list prices for studio reformers, read October 21, 2026, before tax and usually before freight:
| Reformer | US list price | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Peak Pilates fit | $3,195 | |
| Merrithew SPX Max | $3,649 | C$4,744 |
| Balanced Body Allegro 2 | $4,050 | C$6,199 at a Canadian dealer, Northern Fitness |
| Peak Pilates MVe bundle | $4,495, shipping included in the 48 contiguous states | |
| Balanced Body Studio Reformer | $4,700 | |
| Gratz Universal, aluminum | $4,995 | |
| Merrithew V2 Max | $4,999 | C$6,499 |
Eight Allegro 2 reformers come to $32,400 and twelve to $48,600 at list, before freight, sales tax, a tower or chair for privates, and mats and small equipment. Studio Pilates budgets $5,750 a reformer for its own machines, plus import duties. Leave out models sold for home use: Peak Pilates says its casa reformer "is not recommended for commercial or high-traffic studio environments", and Merrithew's At Home warranty excludes commercial use.
Choose the reformer count from break-even, not from the room
Every extra reformer is another place to sell in every class, for the cost of one more machine and the floor space it takes. The test is how many clients each class needs to cover its costs, and what share of the reformers that is.
The studio below is hypothetical, with the same planning inputs as the reformer class pricing guide, in USD. They are not market rates.
- Eight reformers and 120 classes a month.
- $12,600 a month of costs the classes have to cover, $105 a class, plus $60 instructor pay: $165 a class before anyone arrives.
- Each visit brings in $33 (a $330 ten-class pack) and costs $2, so each client adds $31.
At eight reformers, a class breaks even at 165 / 31 = 5.32 clients on average, two thirds of the room. More reformers cost more each month. The table adds, for each reformer above eight, the list price of an Allegro 2 spread over 36 months ($112.50 a month) and 125 sq ft of space at the US average shopping-center asking rent of $25.82 per sq ft a year ($268.96 a month), and takes the same off for each reformer below. The 125 sq ft is an assumption from Club Pilates' 12 reformers in 1,500 sq ft; it spreads the lobby and changing rooms over each reformer, so it overstates the space one more reformer needs, and the 36-month spread leaves out the cost of financing.
| Reformers | Extra cost a month | Class cost | Clients to break even | Share of reformers filled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | -$762.92 | $158.64 | 5.12 | 85% |
| 8 | $0 | $165.00 | 5.32 | 67% |
| 10 | $762.92 | $171.36 | 5.53 | 55% |
| 12 | $1,525.83 | $177.72 | 5.73 | 48% |
A bigger room raises break-even by less than one client a class, but it only earns more than eight reformers when classes would sell more than eight places. A full eight-reformer class leaves $83; a twelve-reformer room beats that only above about 8.4 clients a class on average, and a ten-reformer room above 8.2. A six-reformer room has to fill 85% of its places on average just to cover its costs. For scale, the 12 US Studio Pilates franchises open all of 2025, a format that recommends 14 reformers and requires at least 12, averaged 8.5 clients a class (Item 19 of its 2026 disclosure). The bigger room also adds four reformers and 500 sq ft to the build-out before it opens.
The table holds instructor pay at $60. If you pay per client or raise pay for bigger classes, the larger rooms cost more; the per-class or per-head guide shows how. The calculator below works the other way round: it gives the price each visit has to bring in at the clients you expect. At its defaults (this studio, six clients a class and a $2,400 monthly surplus), each visit has to bring in $29.50 to break even and $32.83 with the surplus; break-even reaches the pack's $33 a visit at about 5.3 clients a class, the table's eight-reformer figure. To test a larger room, add its extra monthly cost from the table to the monthly costs.
Price floor for a reformer class
Divides what a class costs to run by the clients you expect, not the reformers you own, then checks each product's price per visit against the target. The defaults are the guide's USD example; enter amounts in your own currency.
At 6 clients a class, each visit has to bring in $32.83 to leave the surplus and $29.50 to break even.
| Target price per visit, with the surplus | $32.83 |
|---|---|
| Break-even price per visit, expected clients | $29.50 |
| Break-even price per visit, every reformer full | $22.63 |
| Cost to run one class | $165.00 |
| Drop-in per visit | $40.00 ($7.17 above the target) |
| Class pack per visit, every credit used | $33.00 ($0.17 above the target) |
| Membership per visit | $32.38 ($0.45 below the target) |
| Intro offer per visit | $19.67 ($13.16 below the target) |
| Most member visits a month at which the membership still meets the target | 7.8 |
- The floor moves with the clients you expect, so test the attendance you see today, not a full room.
- A pack's price per visit assumes every credit is used. Credits that expire unused are not counted as income.
- An intro offer below the floor is a cost of finding clients; whether it pays depends on how many buyers stay.
Plan the timeline from the lease, not the opening date
The franchisors' disclosure documents give the time from signing to opening their studios, which includes finding a site:
| Brand | Signing to opening (Item 11) |
|---|---|
| Pilates Republic | By the earlier of 180 days after the lease or 9 months after signing |
| JETSET Pilates | 9 to 12 months |
| Studio Pilates | About 9 to 12 months |
| BODYBAR Pilates | 270 to 330 days |
| Pilates Addiction | About 11 to 13 months |
| Club Pilates | About 13 months |
Treat the short end with care. In June 2026, New York's Attorney General settled with Xponential, Club Pilates' parent company, over disclosure documents filed from 2020 to 2024 that "represented estimated studio opening times of three to six months" (press release); across its brands, its New York franchised studios took about 13.3 months from signing on average (settlement).
Club Pilates' current document lays out about 13 months: the lease signed within 6 months of the franchise agreement, presales starting about 8 months in and lasting about five months (at least 60 days), and the soft opening at about 13 months. A build-out cannot start until a permit is issued. In Boise, Idaho, for example, tenant-improvement permits averaged 14 business days for the simplest projects and 43 to 44 for more complex ones, from application to ready to issue between May and July 2026, including the applicant's time answering corrections (City of Boise). Ask your building department for its current times before you agree a rent start date with the landlord.
Presales are the franchisors' main defense against an empty first month, and their documents show the scale:
- JETSET's franchise agreement will not let a studio open until it has presold at least $45,000 (the disclosure's Item 11 summary says at least 100 packages and memberships); its studios that launched in 2025 averaged $60,748 of presale revenue.
- Pilates Addiction requires at least 200 members, or $25,000 a month of recurring membership sales.
- BODYBAR's 27 studios that opened in 2025 averaged 183 founding members.
An independent studio has no franchisor holding it to a number, but the same question applies: how many members you need signed before opening to cover the first months' costs.
Budget the running costs
| Cost | Sourced figure |
|---|---|
| Rent, US | $25.82 per sq ft a year average asking rent at shopping centers, Q3 2026 preliminary; New York City metro $43.19, Miami $44.22, Los Angeles $35.65, Dallas/Fort Worth $24.95, Chicago $22.57 (Cushman & Wakefield). The report does not say whether taxes and shared costs are included |
| Rent, Canada | Toronto C$36.36 and Vancouver C$38.83 per sq ft a year, average triple-net asking, Q2 2026 (Lee & Associates, CoStar data). We found no national figure |
| Insurance | Median quotes for gyms and fitness studios: general liability $69 a month, business owner's policy $86, workers' compensation $102 (Insureon, updated June 11, 2025) |
| Card processing | Stripe: 2.9% + 30¢ per online payment with a US card (capture of October 20, 2026), 2.9% + C$0.30 in Canada (Stripe Canada) |
| Instructors | Job ads from 14 US employers that posted a per-class rate, read October 21, 2026, had a typical midpoint of $52.50 a class (Pilates instructor pay) |
At the US average, a 1,500 sq ft space rents for $38,730 a year, $3,227.50 a month, plus taxes and shared costs if the landlord charges them separately. JETSET tells its franchisees to expect rent of $7,500 to $12,000 a month, for studios of 1,500 to 2,500 sq ft; even the lowest rent over the largest space works out to $36 per sq ft a year, so the break-even table's space cost is on the low side for the sites franchisors choose.
What a business plan needs from these numbers
A lender or landlord reading a studio business plan wants the same numbers this guide covers, written down for your site:
- The opening budget, line by line, using the Item 7 columns above as a checklist, with the landlord's allowance shown.
- The break-even class: clients per class and share of reformers, from your rent, reformer count and instructor pay.
- The price list checked against that floor; the reformer class pricing guide tests the drop-in, the pack, the membership and the intro offer.
- The timeline from lease signing to opening, with the presale target you need before the first class.
- The first year's revenue, without assuming a franchise's numbers. Club Pilates' new studios in 2025 averaged $25,338 in the calendar month they opened (a partial month, not counting presales), $68,672 in month three and $63,630 in month twelve; fewer studios report each later month (141 in month one, 18 in month twelve) because those that opened later in 2025 had not reached it, not because any closed. Those studios had a national brand's marketing behind them.
When you set up the timetable, credit packs and memberships, the memberships page shows how Elara sells packs, recurring plans and intro offers (an intro offer sells like any other plan, so check at the desk that buyers are new), and the Pilates studio page shows reformer classes and credits together. Elara is sold by quote: ask for a quote and tell us your reformer count, classes and offers.