How to save money on a gym membership in 2026

It’s the season of resolutions, and whether your budget for a new gym is £20 or £200 a month, our research reveals how to optimise your experience and avoid overpaying.

In September 2025, we asked nearly 6,500 gym-goers (members of the Which? Connect panel and the public) about their experiences. We used this to calculate customer satisfaction scores for areas such as customer service, range of classes and value for money, revealing the UK’s best and worst-performing gym brands and what makes a great gym.

How to make the most of new member offers

In two thirds of responses in our survey, people told us they used some form of introductory offer across one or more of their memberships in the past two years.

In a saturated gym market, brands will do their best to entice you into signing up with them – especially at the busiest point of the year, when lots of new gym-goers are joining for the first time. It’s worth using this to your advantage to get as much off your bill as possible.

If you don’t find the available offers appealing enough, try contacting the gym directly by phone to haggle for a cheaper membership. Failing that, see if you can get some extra perks on top of the standard membership such as free classes, guest passes or discounted personal training sessions.

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Sign-up offers

The most common introductory offers for new gym memberships include waiving the usual joining fees and slashing the subscription price for the first month. Joining fees are often overlooked and can make your first month more expensive than you anticipated, so skipping them where possible is beneficial. The most widespread gym chains, such as PureGym and The Gym Group, will also offer heavily discounted membership prices for their new locations to boost numbers off the bat.

Boutique and premium gyms sometimes offer free personal training sessions and discounted class bundles, which are useful for more experienced gym-goers looking for a high-end workout experience.

Concessions

Discounts are often available for students, seniors and joint memberships for couples and families. Getting a concession discount can cut a significant chunk off your monthly gym bill.

Vitality insurance members may be eligible for discounts of up to 50% on memberships with PureGym, Virgin Active and Nuffield Health, depending on their Vitality status and activity levels.

Your job may also trim the fat off your monthly bill. NHS workers, education and civil service employees are occasionally offered cut-price subscriptions. 

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Trials and passes 

It’s key to know how much use and enjoyment you can get out of a gym, so taking advantage of free trials and day passes could save you from being locked into contracts with gyms you don’t want to go back to. If day passes aren’t available online for your local chains, request one from the staff yourself to get your foot in the door!  

If you know a friend who’s a gym member, check if they have guest passes so you can try it out. Some brands also have refer-a-friend schemes that offer benefits and discounts if you end up signing up with a mate’s gym.

Beware of expensive contracts

Of those with a gym membership in the past two years, respondents told us they paused or cancelled their subscription within the same time period in just under half of cases, so it’s important not to be trapped under a huge weight on your finances.

If you are thinking of cancelling your membership, double-check the terms of your contract about when you need to give notice. Most brands require a month's notice, but the process varies. 

Some chains such as David Lloyd Clubs and Village can require up to three months’ notice on certain contracts, and with premium subscriptions, you could easily miss that deadline and be forced into another year of costly payments.

If you can prove pregnancy, illness, injury or a significant change in your financial situation, some gyms may allow early cancellation without penalty, depending on the terms of your contract and whether consumer fairness rules apply. Citizens Advice has a useful consumer guide to cancelling gym memberships. 

Don’t forget, always keep the correspondence when cancelling your gym membership as proof.

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Find what's right for your goals

With such a range of styles, locations and price points in the market, it’s more likely than ever that there’s a gym out there suitable for your needs. In our updated best and worst gyms survey, Third Space and Halo Leisure received the highest customer scores, highlighting that a £250-a-month luxury London gym and a selection of rural leisure centres in South Wales and Western England can work out tops, depending on what you’re after.

Despite the savings you get from signing up to a long-term contract, you shouldn’t rush into it, especially if you're a less experienced gym-goer, as you may find what you've chosen isn’t suitable for you. It’s always better to pay slightly more each month with the freedom to cancel than to be stuck paying £50+ a month for a couple of runs on a treadmill and that one swim you had.  

If you're expecting to work out at an unconventional time, choosing an off-peak membership could work. These differ from gym to gym, but usually permit access on weekends, late nights and during work hours.