Methodology & About us
Fair for Fitness compares gyms by their real total cost rather than the advertised teaser price. This page transparently explains how we calculate, where the data comes from and why our ranking is independent.
Who is behind it
Fair for Fitness is an independent project from Germany. You can find the operator and full contact details in the legal notice; how we handle data is set out in the privacy policy.
How we calculate: the effective cost
The advertised monthly fee is rarely the real price. We spread all mandatory costs across the contract term (at least 12 months) into an honest monthly figure, the effective price:
If a gym bills in short cycles (28 days, 4 weeks or weekly) instead of calendar months, we convert the fee to a calendar month: fee per cycle × (365.25 ÷ days per cycle) ÷ 12. A fee of €34.90 per 4 weeks therefore becomes €37.94 per month. Without that conversion, 13 payments a year would look like 12 and the gym would appear cheaper than it is.
We calculate flexible (monthly cancellable) plans fairly over a 12-month horizon, so their one-off fees don't distort the value in a single month. Pure day passes don't feed into the monthly ranking. Details in our guide “Hidden costs at the gym”.
The Fair-for-Fitness score
Every ratable studio with an online price gets a fairness rating from 1 to 10 (10 = fairest). Two groups are deliberately not rated: high-class studios above the rating threshold and pure EGYM circuit studios without their own free-weight, class or functional area (the circuit is a different product from free floor training). Full gyms that also offer an EGYM circuit are rated as usual. The rating bundles several factors into a single figure, so you can gauge offers at a glance:
- • Price fairness (greatest weight): How cheap is the effective cost on a fixed regional price scale? Each German state (and Austria and Switzerland) has published anchor values: up to the lower anchor you get full marks, towards the regional midpoint the score falls linearly. Cheap is always cheap, no matter who opens next door. EMS studios have their own price scale.
- • Commitment for the best price: How long do you have to commit to get the cheapest rate? Monthly cancellable counts as fairer than a long minimum term. We always rate the tariff that also provides the price, so price and commitment belong together instead of forming a mix you cannot actually buy. If a studio also offers shorter terms at higher prices, we show that next to the rating on its studio page.
- • Standout amenities: Rare extras such as childcare, a pool, 24/7 access or a sauna nudge the rating up moderately, but they never lift a studio above a clearly cheaper one.
The price scale is calibrated per region and therefore fair towards more expensive states. Joining fees are already included in the effective price and aren't counted twice. The levels are Very fair from 8.5, Fair from 7, Average from 5 and Less fair below that. Studios above the rating threshold (Germany €54, Austria €64, Switzerland CHF 79, EMS €133 effective monthly cost) receive no score and are listed as High Class Studio, not rated. The Fair Score measures price fairness; we deliberately don't measure premium offerings against a discount yardstick.
Important: the score rates the fairness of the offer (price, contract, amenities), not the quality or cleanliness on site. It is unpaid and cannot be influenced by studios.
Where the data comes from
- • Exclusively publicly available rates from the providers (studio and chain websites). Every studio page links to the source.
- • Currently around 4,766 recorded studios in Germany. Not every studio has an online price: studios without a published price we honestly mark as such and never invent a price.
- • All prices without warranty, with an as-of date per studio. What matters is always the respective studio's terms. Please double-check before signing a contract.
- • Some of the rates are extracted from studio websites with AI assistance, automatically sanity-checked and editorially reviewed. Where and how we use AI is explained on the AI transparency page.
Independence
The effective-cost ranking is unpaid: there is no paid reordering. We clearly label promotional offers and ads as such and keep them strictly separate from the neutral ranking. If we earn a commission via partner links, that never changes the order of the results.
Limits & corrections
Data can become outdated or contain errors. If you notice something or a price is missing, feel free to help out via Contribute. We review tips and correct them.