Planet Fitness’ $15 a Month Membership

If you’ve started the new year off looking for a gym membership, you know it can be a financial punch. However, according to Planet Fitness, its 24-hour gym will help you get strong for just $15 a month. Considering some popular fitness chains charge several times as much, it’s no wonder it’s reportedly the most popular gym in the country.

But while this advertising may inspire you to never miss a workout, be wary of missing something even more important – the fine print.

Two key facts, revealed in tiny, nearly unreadable script at the very bottom of the screen are that “memberships may include a 12-month commitment” and come with an “annual membership fee of $49.” So $15 a month may actually turn into $229.

And there are more terms that are not in the commercial’s fine print that you may want to be familiar with too. For starters, the $49 annual charge isn’t the only fee you could be on the hook for. The company’s website further discloses a startup fee (which isn’t mentioned in the ad at all) that serves as a one-time cost “to get your membership setup.” The fee appears to range from $1 to $59 and can vary over time and can also depend on the specific club.

What’s more, if you’re like many whose New Year’s resolutions fall by the wayside by National Quitter’s Day, canceling your Planet Fitness membership may have you breaking a sweat. While you can easily sign-up online, canceling could require a snail mail letter or in-person visit and may also cost you $58, according to the company’s FAQs.

Perhaps not surprisingly, there is an abundance of negative consumer reviews about Planet Fitness on the BBB’s website, where it has 1.17 stars out of 5, with many citing this problematic cancellation policy, among other things:

Planet Fitness did not respond to TINA.org’s request for comment.

The bottom line

Although Planet Fitness claims to offer the “best value on the Planet,” this deal may leave you working hard to count all the strings attached.