What should I charge for personal training?

Trainers sell sessions but live in hours: client hours, programming time, gym floor rent or commission splits, and certification upkeep. Price a session from your time plus a markup for those unpaid hours and costs, and account for any gym split on top.

Price a session the way contractors actually do it: add up what the session costs you, then add a markup for your overhead and profit. Fill in your numbers — your bid updates as you type.

What this session costs you

Materials & supplies ($) — your cost for everything you'll buy for this session

Other direct costs ($) — fuel, equipment rental, disposal fees, permits

Your labor

Not sure what to charge for your time? Employed fitness trainers earn a median of about $22.67/hr (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A self-employed labor rate is typically higher — roughly $35–$45/hr (about 1.5–2×) — because it also has to cover self-employment tax, the benefits an employer would otherwise pay, and the hours that cannot be billed.

Hours this session will take

Your hourly labor rate ($) — what your time is worth per hour; e.g. $35–$45

Hired help ($) — paid to a helper or subcontractor; leave blank if solo

Your markup — overhead & profit

This is where your business actually makes money. Industry standard is roughly 20–30% overall for contractors; solo operators often need the higher end to cover insurance, tools, truck, admin time, and slow weeks. Adjust to fit your business.

Markup on your costs (%)

Materials & supplies	$0
Your labor (0 hrs × $0)	$0
Hired help	$0
Other direct costs	$0
Your costs (subtotal)	$0
Markup (30% — overhead & profit)	$0
Bid price	$0

Pricing method and standard percentages from contractor-industry sources (Angi, Buildern, NAHB): overall contractor markup 20–30%, materials markup 7.5–35%, labor markup 25–50%, recommended profit margin 15–25%. A markup is a percentage of your costs; the resulting margin (share of the bid that's profit) is lower — both are shown above. These are general benchmarks, not a guarantee for your market.

What your markup has to cover

The markup in your bid covers the costs no single job shows. For personal training, your overhead typically includes certification renewals and CEUs, liability insurance, gym floor fees or rent, programming/booking software, and marketing. None of that appears on one job, but all of it is paid out of the markup added to every job. Published contractor guidance (Angi, NAHB) puts a typical overall markup at 20–30%.

Be realistic about your hours

Most independent trainers cap out at 20–28 paid sessions a week — early mornings and evenings cluster, midday is dead, and programming/check-ins are unpaid. If a gym takes a split, run this calculator on your net per session, not the sticker price.

Personal Trainer pricing FAQs

How does a gym split change what I should charge?

If the gym takes 30–50% of each session, your client-facing price must be your session rate ÷ your keep-percentage. Needing $50/session take with a 40% gym commission means charging $83+. This is why many trainers move to per-hour floor rent instead.

Should I sell single sessions or packages?

Packages (10–20 sessions, paid upfront) stabilize income and improve client results through commitment. A modest 5–10% package discount is enough — deep discounts just cut your effective hourly rate on your most loyal clients.

How should I price online coaching?

Price online coaching monthly per client based on your hours: if check-ins and programming take 1.5 hours per client per month and your rate is $60/hr, the floor is about $90/month — most successful coaches charge $150–$300 with more service layered on.