Functional Fitness Gym Break-Even Analysis: $38K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $34.1K/mo Overhead + base payroll

Contribution margin 89.5% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $38.1K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 1 Launch month

Break-even calculator

Test how monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs stack up against break-even for a group fitness gym.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the margin available to cover fixed costs each month. $ Low revenue High revenue Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise with sales, like processing fees and coach bonuses. $ Low costs High costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $55,958 $61,000 revenue - $5,042 variable expenses

Margin ratio

92%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly overhead the gym must cover before profit starts. $ Low overhead High overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed and which move with sales for this functional fitness gym?

Cost classification

Break-even only works if rent, payroll, and revenue-linked fees sit in the right buckets. Treating a 5.0% coach bonus like overhead can overstate the sales needed to break even.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Facility Rent	Fixed	Include the $7,000 monthly rent in base overhead.	Spreading rent across members and treating it like usage.
Utilities	Semi-variable	Use the $1,200 monthly baseline, then flex usage if class volume rises.	Treating all power, water, and HVAC spend as fixed.
Cleaning Services	Semi-variable	Start with the $600 monthly baseline and scale for higher traffic.	Ignoring added cleaning from more classes and members.
Membership Software	Fixed	Include the $250 monthly platform fee in overhead unless pricing changes by member count.	Modeling it as variable without a per-member fee.
Payment Processing Fees	Variable	Apply 2.5% of revenue as sales are collected.	Putting card fees in fixed overhead.
Coach Performance Bonuses	Variable	Apply 5.0% of first-year revenue, falling to 3.0% by the fifth year.	Forgetting bonuses improve or hurt margin as sales move.
Affiliation Fees	Variable	Apply 2.0% of first-year revenue, stepping down to 1.5% by the fifth year.	Using a flat monthly fee when the model ties it to revenue.
Coach Payroll	Semi-fixed	Step payroll up as scheduled headcount rises from 2.0 to 4.0 coach FTEs.	Treating every added member as needing immediate new payroll.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full gym setups?

Scenario table

The lean case still misses overhead, the base case is close, and the full case clears break-even with room left. The shift comes from a better class mix and more coach load spread across the same fixed rent and staff base.

Planning figures only; actual break-even will move with enrollment, pricing, and coach utilization.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$234k	$25k	$341k	89.5%	-$132k	Still below overhead by $132k.
Base launch plan	$359k	$38k	$341k	89.4%	-$20k	Close, but still about $22k short of break-even.
Full-capacity mix	$610k	$56k	$341k	90.8%	$213k	Covers overhead and adds about $213k of cushion.

What pushes this gym past break-even?

Stress test

The plan has a thin cushion: base revenue is about $20k short of break-even, so a 10% sales miss or a 10% jump in rent and payroll widens the gap fast. The biggest risks are discounting, slow pre-sales, and adding coaches before the room is full.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$379k	$20k gap	The base plan sits just below break-even.
Revenue shortfall	Member revenue drops 10%.	$379k	$56k gap	A small sales miss quickly doubles the hole.
Fixed costs	Facility rent and payroll rise 10%.	$419k	$60k gap	Higher overhead pushes break-even up fast.
Margin pressure	Variable margin falls to 84.5%.	$404k	$45k gap	Less margin means less room for discounts and bonuses.
Combined pressure	Revenue drops 10%, fixed costs rise 10%, and margin falls to 84.5%.	$425k	$102k gap	Slow pre-sales, extra coaches, and rent pressure can break the plan.

Can this high-intensity gym carry rent, coaches, and launch cash before you sign the lease?

Founder checklist

Don’t sign the lease until rent, staffing, and startup cash all clear the break-even test. In this model, monthly break-even revenue is about $381K, and Month 1 minimum cash is $885K, so the opening plan needs real pre-sales before money goes out.

1Lease Test$381K/mo

Test $7,000 monthly rent against the about $381K monthly break-even revenue, and do not commit if the opening mix cannot support that load.

2Payroll Load$23.7K/mo

Use the Year 1 payroll run rate of about $23.7K a month to decide when to add coaches, because staffing rises from 2.0 to 2.5 FTE for coaches and 1.0 to 1.5 for trainers.

3Cash Cushion$885K

Keep at least $885K of Month 1 cash ready, because $252K of startup capex goes out across buildout, equipment, IT, furniture, signage, inventory, security, and HVAC before the gym is fully ramped.

4Equipment Buy$120K

Confirm the $120K core equipment order before you buy, since it is the biggest launch asset and the class schedule depends on it from Month 1 through Month 6.

5Pre-sell Goal131 or 196

Pre-sell to 131 active group members if add-ons are real, or 196 if they are not, because Year 1 occupancy starts at 55% and weak traffic will stall the launch.

6Capacity Ramp120→220

Watch group slots rise from 120 to 220 and occupancy from 55% to 90%, because break-even only gets safer when the schedule fills faster than fixed costs grow.