How much does it cost to open a martial arts gym?
· Co-founder of Matpass.
The cost to open a martial arts gym is the one-off cost of getting a space ready plus enough money to cover the running costs until membership income pays for them. The biggest items are usually the rent deposit, the fit-out and the mats or equipment, and the total depends mostly on the size of the space and your city.
This guide lists every cost for BJJ, boxing, MMA and Muay Thai gyms, with real equipment prices, a calculator for your own numbers and ways to open with less money up front.
What are the one-off costs of opening a martial arts gym?
The one-off costs are everything you pay before the first class. Most new gyms pay for these:
| Cost | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Rent deposit | Usually several months of rent, depending on the landlord |
| Fit-out | Changing rooms, showers, lighting, ventilation and wall padding |
| Mats and equipment | Mats for grappling, bags and pads for striking, a ring or cage |
| Legal and setup | Company registration, contracts, accountant and permits |
| Insurance | Liability insurance before anyone trains |
| Branding and website | Logo, signage, a website with your schedule and prices |
| Launch marketing | An opening event, local ads and a beginner course to fill classes |
Get at least two quotes for the fit-out and the mats. Those two lines vary the most between suppliers, and both are hard to change once the gym is open.
What are the monthly costs of running a martial arts gym?
The monthly costs are what you pay every month whether or not the gym is full. They decide your break-even point:
- Rent, often the largest cost
- Coach and staff pay, including your own if you take a salary
- Utilities, such as electricity, heating, water and internet
- Insurance, paid monthly or yearly
- Cleaning, including mat disinfectant and towels
- Software, for bookings, payments and check-in
- Payment fees on every membership payment
- Repairs and replacement, because mats, bags and gloves wear out
Add a monthly amount for replacing equipment from day one. Mats and bags last years, and the bill arrives all at once when they wear out.
Gym software is one of the smaller lines. Matpass costs €49 a month plus 1% of member payments, and your payment provider's card fees come on top.
How much does it cost to open a BJJ gym compared with a boxing or MMA gym?
The discipline changes where the money goes. Grappling gyms spend most on mats, striking gyms spend most on bags and floor space, and MMA gyms need both:
| Discipline | Biggest equipment cost | Space needs |
|---|---|---|
| BJJ | Wall-to-wall mats and wall padding | Open mat area, changing rooms and showers |
| Judo | Thicker mats for throws | A large open mat area |
| MMA | Mats, bags, and a cage or ring if you want one | Mat area plus a striking area |
| Muay Thai, kickboxing | Heavy bags, pads and gloves | Room to hang bags, a firmer floor |
| Boxing | Heavy bags, speed bags, gloves and a ring | High ceilings or beams for bags, a ring area |
So how much does it cost to open a BJJ gym? Mostly the price of the mats multiplied by the area you cover, plus the changing rooms and showers that grapplers expect. To open a boxing gym, you mostly pay for bags, a ring if you want one, and a building that can take the weight of hanging bags.
The martial arts gym equipment checklist goes through the equipment for each discipline in detail.
How much do mats, bags and rings cost?
Mats, bags and rings are the costs you can compare most easily, because suppliers publish their prices. These are list prices from two US suppliers, before shipping and tax. Greatmats last updated its price guide in October 2023, so check the current prices before you order:
| Equipment | Price range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Puzzle grappling mats, 1¼ to 1½ inches thick | About $2 to $3.50 per sq ft (about $22-38 per m²) | Greatmats price guide |
| Roll-out mats | Just under $5 per sq ft (about $54 per m²) | Greatmats price guide |
| 100 lb leather heavy bag | $300 to $430 each | Ringside |
| Freestanding boxing ring, 16 to 24 ft | $6,950 to $8,150 | Ringside |
| Rent, deposit, fit-out and insurance | Depends on your city and building | Ask your landlord, builders and insurers for quotes |
For a BJJ gym, covering 150 m² (about 1,600 sq ft) with puzzle or roll-out mats comes to roughly $3,200 to $8,100 at these prices. A boxing gym with eight heavy bags spends roughly $2,400 to $3,400 on bags, plus a ring if it trains competitive boxers.
Premium competition mats, wall padding, shipping and installation all add to these numbers. Use them to check quotes, and get at least two quotes before you buy.
How do you calculate the cost of opening your gym?
Add up the one-off costs, then add the running costs for every month until membership income covers them:
Money you need = one-off costs + (rent + other monthly costs) × months until break-even
The running costs before break-even are the part most people forget. A gym that takes six months to cover its costs needs six months of rent and coach pay in the bank, on top of the one-off costs to open.
Try it with your own numbers. The starting values are placeholders, so replace them with your quotes:
I'd keep at least six months of running costs in the bank before opening, so a slow start gives you time to adjust instead of forcing you to close.
How many members do you need to break even?
Divide your monthly costs by your average membership price, after payment fees. For example, €8,000 of monthly costs, an average price of €100 a month and 2.5% in payment fees means you need about 82 paying members to break even. (These numbers are made up for the example.) To check your price against other gyms, see BJJ prices in Europe by country and city.
The guide to pricing BJJ gym memberships has a calculator that works out your break-even price, revenue and profit from your own numbers.
How do you open a martial arts gym for less?
Start small and grow into the space. These are the most common ways to lower the cost of opening:
- Rent mat time first. Run classes in an existing gym, a community centre or a school hall until you have enough members to justify your own space.
- Share a space. Two disciplines with different peak hours, such as BJJ and yoga, can split the rent.
- Buy used mats and bags. Check the condition carefully, especially for torn covers and mats that no longer lie flat.
- Pre-sell memberships. Offer founding members a lower price if they pay before the opening.
- Start with a beginner course. A fixed course with a start date fills the first classes and gives new members a clear path.
Art of Ground Games in Helsinki starts every new member on a six-week beginner course, and makes an offer to everyone who finishes it so the step to a full membership is smaller. Its founder describes the setup in the interview on member retention.
In Matpass, a beginner course is its own kind of event, with a public page where people sign up and pay for their place before the course starts.
What should a martial arts business plan include?
A martial arts business plan should show that the gym can reach break-even before the money runs out. Keep it short and include:
- The programmes you'll teach, such as BJJ, Muay Thai and kids classes, and who they're for
- The timetable for the first months, with class sizes
- One-off costs, from the table above
- Monthly costs, from the list above
- Membership prices and how many members you expect each month
- The break-even month and how much money you need until then
- What you'll do if growth is slower, such as cutting classes or renting out mat time
Banks and landlords ask for a plan like this, and writing it shows you where the numbers don't work yet. The same structure works as a boxing gym business plan or an MMA gym business plan.
How to open a boxing gym or MMA gym: what's different?
Opening a boxing or MMA gym follows the same steps, with three extra checks for the building. Ask the landlord whether you can hang heavy bags from the ceiling and whether the structure takes the weight. Check that the floor can take a ring or cage, and that noise from bags and music won't cause problems with neighbours.
MMA and boxing gyms also tend to run competition teams. If you plan to, ask your insurer whether sparring and fights are covered.
Key takeaways
- The cost to open a martial arts gym is the one-off costs plus the running costs until you reach break-even.
- Rent deposit, fit-out and mats or equipment are usually the biggest one-off costs.
- Grappling gyms spend most on mats, and striking gyms spend most on bags and space.
- Keep around six months of running costs in the bank before you open.
- Money you need = one-off costs + (rent + other monthly costs) × months until break-even.
- Break-even members = monthly costs ÷ average membership price after fees.
- Rent mat time, buy used equipment or pre-sell memberships to open for less.
- Count software and payment fees in your monthly costs, such as Matpass's €49 a month plus 1% of member payments.
- A short business plan shows when you reach break-even and how much money you need until then.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to open a BJJ gym?
It depends mostly on the size of the space and your city. Mats for 150 m² (about 1,600 sq ft) cost roughly $3,200 to $8,100 at US list prices, and the rent deposit, fit-out and the running costs until break-even usually add much more. Use the calculator above with quotes from your landlord and suppliers.
Is a martial arts gym profitable?
It can be, once it has enough paying members to cover rent and coaches. Work out your break-even point before you sign a lease, because rent is hard to change later.
Do you need to be a black belt to open a BJJ gym?
No law requires it, but most students expect the head instructor to hold a black belt or to be affiliated with an academy that has one. Many new gyms open under an established team and its head instructor.