How to price BJJ gym memberships
· Co-founder of Matpass.
To price BJJ gym memberships, start from your monthly costs and the number of members you can realistically fill, then check the result against what other gyms in your area charge. Most gyms build their pricing around one unlimited adult membership, with a few cheaper plans for kids, families and people who train less.
Use the calculator below to work out your break-even price, and read on for how to set up plans, discounts, contracts and price increases.
How much should a BJJ gym charge per month?
A BJJ gym in the United States typically charges $120 to $200 a month for an unlimited adult membership, but prices depend heavily on the country and city. White Belt Club, which I also run, researched BJJ prices across seven countries in 2025:
| Country | Typical monthly adult membership |
|---|---|
| United States | $120–$200 |
| United Kingdom | £80–£140 |
| Canada | C$140–C$180 |
| Australia | A$130–A$220 |
| Germany | €50–€120 |
| Japan | ¥10,000–¥15,000 |
| Brazil | R$100–R$300 |
Big cities sit at the top of these ranges, and well-known competition academies charge more. For Europe, our own check of 190 gyms in 15 countries has BJJ prices in Europe by country and city, with and without a contract. For the UK, our check of 95 gyms has BJJ prices in the UK by region, affiliation and timetable. For the US, our check of 239 gyms has BJJ prices in the US by state, city size and affiliation. The research found that location and rent explain most of the difference, more than the quality of the teaching.
Use these ranges as a reality check for your BJJ membership price. Your own costs decide the lowest price you can charge, and local prices tell you how high you can go.
How do you calculate the right membership price?
Add the profit you want on top of your monthly costs, divide by the number of paying members, add the fixed card fee for one payment and raise the price to cover payment fees:
Price per member = (monthly costs × (1 + profit %) ÷ paying members + fixed card fee) ÷ (1 − fees)
Say your gym pays €3,000 in rent, €4,000 for coaches and staff and €1,000 for everything else each month, and has 100 paying members. Members pay by card through Matpass, which costs 1% plus Stripe's standard 1.5% + €0.25 per payment for EEA cards. With 25% profit on top of costs, which is €2,000 a month, your price works out at about €103 a month. That brings in €10,300 a month and leaves about €2,020 in profit. Your break-even price, with no profit at all, is about €83. (These numbers are made up for the example.)
Try it with your own numbers:
If you haven't opened yet, the guide on how much it costs to open a martial arts gym lists every one-off and monthly cost to put into the calculator.
Be honest about the member count. Use the number of paying members you have today, or a careful estimate for a new gym, and remember that kids and family plans usually pay less than a full adult membership.
The fee setting in the calculator starts at Matpass's 1% plus Stripe's standard card fee for the currency you pick: 1.5% + €0.25 for EEA cards, 1.5% + 20p for UK cards and 2.9% + 30¢ for US cards. International cards cost more, so raise the fee if many of your members pay with cards from abroad. Add Matpass's €49 monthly base fee to your other costs.
Which membership plans should a BJJ gym offer?
Start with three to five plans. Every extra plan adds questions at the front desk, and most members end up on the unlimited plan anyway.
These martial arts membership plans cover most BJJ gyms:
| Plan | Who it's for |
|---|---|
| Unlimited adult | Most adult members, and the plan your price is built on |
| Limited adult | People who can train once or twice a week |
| Kids | Children in kids classes, usually at a lower price |
| Family | Parents and children, or siblings, on one payment |
| Class pack or drop-in | Visitors and people with irregular schedules |
| Trial | New people trying their first classes |
Keep the limited plan clearly cheaper than unlimited, so members who train less still feel the price is fair. Set the drop-in price high enough that a regular member is better off with a membership.
Should you offer discounts?
Offer a few clear discounts, and avoid one-off deals that you have to remember for each member. Common BJJ discounts include:
- Family discounts for a second family member or a sibling
- Student discounts for people in full-time education
- Prepaid discounts for paying six or twelve months up front
A beginner course can lead into a membership with its own offer. Art of Ground Games in Helsinki makes an offer to everyone who finishes its six-week beginner course, so the step to a full membership is smaller. One membership also works at all three of its gyms, which keeps the plan list short. Its founder explains the setup in the full interview.
Avoid very low launch prices for a new gym. Members who joined at half price often leave when the price goes up, and it's hard to raise prices for your first members later.
Should BJJ memberships have a contract?
Most members prefer a monthly membership they can cancel, and a clear cancellation policy builds trust. A longer commitment, such as six or twelve months, works best when it comes with a lower monthly price.
Write your gym membership cancellation policy down and show it before members sign up. It should answer four questions:
- How much notice does a member need to give?
- When does the last payment happen?
- Can members pause instead of cancelling, for example for an injury?
- What happens to prepaid months if someone leaves early?
Consumer rules for subscriptions and cancellations vary by country, so check the rules where your gym operates before you set the notice period.
In Matpass, each plan can have a minimum contract in months and a cancellation notice in days, and members can pause their own plan from the billing page in the member app.
How do you raise prices without losing members?
Give members at least a month's notice, explain why the price is going up and keep the increase modest. A short, honest message about rising rent or more coaching hours lands better than a surprise on the next invoice.
Many gyms raise the price for new members first and keep current members on their old price for a while. This rewards loyalty and gives you a clear picture of whether new members accept the new price. In Matpass, a new plan price applies to new purchases only, so current members keep the price they signed up with.
A price increase is one of the moments when members think about leaving, so watch attendance and cancellations closely in the months after. The BJJ gym member retention guide covers how to spot members who are drifting away.
How should members pay for their membership?
Collect membership payments automatically every month by card or direct debit. Automatic billing saves the front desk from chasing payments, and members don't have to remember to pay.
Plan for failed payments as well. Decide how many days a member can keep training after a failed payment, and who contacts them. The guide on how to handle failed payments at a martial arts gym covers both.
Matpass handles this through the gym's own Stripe account. It supports subscriptions, class packs, drop-ins, trials and family plans, with discount codes, card payments and local methods such as SEPA direct debit and iDEAL wherever Stripe supports them. Failed subscription payments are retried automatically, and the member gets an email with the date their grace period ends.
Key takeaways
- Work out your price from your monthly costs, the profit you want and the members you can fill.
- Price per member = (monthly costs × (1 + profit %) ÷ paying members + fixed card fee) ÷ (1 − fees).
- Check your price against local gyms, which mostly reflect rent and location.
- Build your pricing around one unlimited adult plan, with three to five plans in total.
- Use a few clear discounts, and avoid very low launch prices.
- Write down your cancellation policy and offer pauses for injuries and busy periods.
- Take payments through software such as Matpass that handles subscriptions, class packs, drop-ins and failed payments for you.
- Give at least a month's notice before raising prices, and consider keeping current members on their old price for a while.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average price of BJJ classes?
In the United States, most BJJ gyms charge $120 to $200 a month for unlimited adult training, according to White Belt Club's 2025 research. Prices in the UK are around £80 to £140, and in Germany around €50 to €120.
Should kids BJJ classes cost less than adult classes?
Most gyms charge less for kids, because kids classes are shorter and usually run fewer times a week. Set the kids price with the same calculation, using the coaching hours and space the kids classes take up.
Should a BJJ gym charge a sign-up fee?
A small sign-up fee can cover the cost of a gi or a starter pack, but a high fee puts people off joining. If you charge one, say clearly what it includes.