Gym Comparison Checklist: Score 5 Gyms Side by Side
A printable scoring worksheet for comparing 5 gyms across 10 factors. Includes a filled-in example comparing Equinox, LA Fitness, Planet Fitness, YMCA, and a local independent.
Print this page on letter-size paper. Score each gym on the 10 factors, total the columns, and write a one-sentence verdict per gym at the bottom.
What this checklist is
A printable worksheet that scores 5 gyms across 10 factors on a 1-to-5 scale. Total possible score: 50. A gym scoring 38 or higher is worth a tour. A gym scoring 30 or lower should be crossed off your list before you waste a Saturday morning on a free trial. The checklist turns the gut-feeling gym decision into a number you can compare.
Most people pick a gym based on one variable: the monthly fee. That is the wrong variable. The average American gym member pays $54 per month and visits 2.7 times, which works out to $20 per visit. The $24-per-month Planet Fitness membership you use twice a month costs $12 per visit. The $89-per-month independent strength gym you use 12 times a month costs $7.42 per visit. The cheaper gym is more expensive per workout. The 10-factor score makes you see that.
This checklist has an opinion built in. Location and hours are weighted equally to cost on purpose. A gym you cannot get to in under 12 minutes is a gym you will not use. The 10 factors below are the ones that actually predict whether you will still be a member in month 6. Read our broader guide on how to choose a gym for the reasoning behind each factor.
The 10 factors and what 5 and 1 mean
| Factor | Score 5 (excellent) | Score 1 (poor) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Location | Under 8 minutes from home or work | Over 25 minutes, requires highway driving |
| 2. Hours | Open 5am to 11pm weekdays, 7am to 9pm weekends | Closes at 8pm weekdays, closed Sundays |
| 3. Equipment | 2+ squat racks, 2+ benches, dumbbells to 100 lbs, no wait at peak | 1 squat rack, dumbbells to 50 lbs, 20-minute waits at 6pm |
| 4. Classes | 20+ weekly classes, free with membership, reservation system | 5 weekly classes, $15 extra per class, no reservations |
| 5. Trainers | On-staff trainers with NASM or NSCA certs, free 30-min assessment | No trainers, or commission-only sales staff posing as trainers |
| 6. Cleanliness | Wipes stocked, locker rooms cleaned hourly, no equipment grime | No wipes, paper towels on floor, smell hits you at the door |
| 7. Cost | Total year-1 cost under $600, no initiation fee | Total year-1 cost over $1,400, $300 initiation, 24-month contract |
| 8. Contract | Month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice, no cancel fee | 24-month commitment, $200 cancel fee, auto-renews at higher rate |
| 9. Guest policy | Free guest passes anytime, no limit | No guests, or $25 per visit guest fee |
| 10. Cancellation | Cancel in person or online, no fee, freezes allowed | In-person only during staffed hours, $99 fee, no freezes |
How to use the checklist in 4 steps
- 1.List 5 candidate gyms across the top of the worksheet before you tour any of them. Pull the candidate list from FITT Finder by searching your zip code and filtering by your preferred class type.
- 2.Tour each gym during peak hours (5pm to 7pm on a weekday). Tours during off-peak hours hide the problems. A gym that looks empty at 2pm may be unusable at 6pm.
- 3.Score each factor immediately after the tour, in your car, while the details are fresh. Do not score from memory the next morning. The 12-minute location factor becomes a 10-minute factor in your memory. Score on site.
- 4.Total the scores, then write one sentence per gym: would I join yes or no, and why. The sentence matters more than the score. A gym can score 40 and still be a no if the why is "the locker room smelled like mildew."
The filled-in example: comparing 5 NYC gyms
A composite user, Priya, 34, lives in Astoria, Queens and works in Midtown Manhattan. She searched FITT Finder for gyms within 2 miles of her apartment and her office, picked 5 candidates, toured each on a Tuesday or Wednesday at 6pm, and scored them. The results are below. Equinox scored highest but she chose the YMCA because the cost factor (7) and contract factor (8) combined gave Equinox a 4-point penalty she could not justify.
| Factor | Equinox (Columbus Circle) | LA Fitness (Astoria) | Planet Fitness (Astoria) | YMCA (Long Island City) | Astoria Strength (independent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Location | 5 (8 min from office) | 5 (6 min from home) | 4 (10 min from home) | 4 (12 min from home) | 5 (7 min from home) |
| 2. Hours | 5 (24/5 access) | 4 (5am to 11pm) | 5 (24/7) | 3 (5:30am to 9:30pm) | 3 (6am to 9pm) |
| 3. Equipment | 5 (full Hoist + 6 racks) | 4 (4 racks, waits at 6pm) | 2 (1 rack, dumbbells to 75 lbs) | 4 (3 racks, free weights area) | 5 (5 racks, dumbbells to 120 lbs, platforms) |
| 4. Classes | 5 (40+ classes, free) | 3 (12 classes, $10 extra) | 2 (no classes) | 5 (30+ classes, free) | 2 (3 strength classes only) |
| 5. Trainers | 4 (degreed, $110/session) | 3 (NASM, $80/session) | 2 (no trainers on staff) | 4 (NSCA, $65/session) | 5 (owner-coached, $90/session) |
| 6. Cleanliness | 5 (spotless, towel service) | 3 (wipes sometimes empty) | 3 (acceptable, not great) | 4 (clean, older facility) | 5 (owner cleans daily) |
| 7. Cost | 1 ($265/mo, $300 initiation) | 3 ($49/mo, $149 initiation) | 5 ($24/mo, $1 initiation) | 5 ($52/mo, $0 initiation) | 4 ($89/mo, $0 initiation) |
| 8. Contract | 2 (12-month, $150 cancel fee) | 3 (month-to-month, $99 cancel) | 5 (month-to-month, $0 cancel) | 5 (month-to-month, $0 cancel) | 4 (month-to-month, $50 cancel) |
| 9. Guest policy | 3 (1 free guest per month) | 3 ($20 guest fee) | 5 (free guest anytime) | 4 (2 free guests per month) | 3 ($15 guest fee) |
| 10. Cancellation | 3 (in-person only, 60-day notice) | 4 (online, 30-day notice) | 5 (online, no notice) | 5 (in-person or online, 30-day) | 4 (in-person, 30-day notice) |
| TOTAL | 38 | 36 | 38 | 43 | 42 |
| Verdict | No. $265/mo for someone going 3x/week is $22/visit. Too much. | Maybe. Wait times at 6pm killed it. | No. No squat rack means no real strength program. | Yes. Best balance of cost, classes, and cleanliness. | Backup. If YMCA fills up, switch here for strength. |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Touring during off-peak hours. A 10am tour tells you nothing about the 6pm experience. The 6pm experience is what determines whether you keep going. Tour between 5pm and 7pm on a weekday, or 9am to 11am on a Saturday.
- Scoring cost as the monthly fee only. The monthly fee is roughly half of year-1 cost. Initiation fees, annual fees, class add-ons, and trainer sessions add up. Use the gym membership cost comparison worksheet for the full picture.
- Treating guest policy as a nice-to-have. The guest policy is how you bring your partner or friend in for a workout without paying $25. If you have a partner who also works out, a free guest policy is worth $300 a year.
- Skipping the cancellation factor. Most people join a gym assuming they will never cancel. Half of new members cancel or stop attending within 6 months. A 60-day notice and $150 cancel fee on Equinox means you keep paying for 2 months after you stop going.
- Letting the tour guide set the pace. Sales reps walk you past the locker rooms and past the squat racks and into the smoothie bar. Stop them. Open lockers. Run the shower for 5 seconds. Ask to see the dumbbell rack. The smoothie bar does not matter.
How this connects to FITT Finder
FITT Finder is where you build the candidate list of 5 gyms. Search your zip code, filter by class type and price range, and pick 5. The 10-factor checklist is what you do after you have the list. The two tools work together: FITT Finder narrows the field, this checklist ranks the survivors.
Read our how to compare gyms near you checklist for the longer-form version of this checklist with photos and a gym-by-gym decision tree.
Frequently asked questions
What score should a gym hit for me to join?+
38 or higher out of 50. Below 30, cross it off. Between 30 and 37, only join if it is the only option within 15 minutes of your home.
Should I weight cost more heavily than the other factors?+
No. Cost is 1 of 10 factors for a reason. A gym that costs $24 but you visit twice a month is more expensive per visit than a gym that costs $89 but you visit 12 times. Weight cost by your expected visit frequency, not by the sticker price.
Can I use this checklist for boutique studios instead of gyms?+
Yes, but drop factors 3 (equipment) and 9 (guest policy), and add factors for class quality and instructor consistency. Boutique studios live and die by the instructor, not the facility.
How long should a gym tour take?+
30 to 45 minutes, including 10 minutes of working out (yes, ask to try a machine or two). Tours under 20 minutes mean the rep is hiding something. Tours over 60 minutes mean the rep is selling you something.
Should I trust online reviews over my own tour?+
Use reviews to eliminate obvious problems (cleanliness, billing scams) but score the gym from your own tour. Reviews are biased toward people who had extreme experiences. The middle 70% of members never write a review.
