Why ClassPass Has Become One of the Easiest Ways to Stick to a Workout Routine and How It Works
The $30 billion U.S. health and fitness industry has been growing 3% to 4% annually for the past decade, and much of that surge traces back to a shift in how people actually want to work out. Millennials traded one-size-fits-all gym memberships for boutique studios, specialized classes and social workout experiences, and ClassPass built a business model around exactly that appetite for variety.
More than a decade after its 2013 launch, the subscription service has become a case study in why people stick with fitness when they have options. As of January 2025, 94% of ClassPass users were brand-new to the venues they visited through the app, suggesting the platform is doing something traditional gyms haven’t cracked, namely getting people to keep showing up.
How ClassPass works and what it actually offers
ClassPass is a subscription-based service that gives members access to multiple studios and class types in a single city through one app. When it launched in 2013, the pricing was a flat $45 per month for five classes regardless of class type or location. Today, pricing varies by location and runs on a credit-based system rather than unlimited access. Popular studio classes may require up to 9 credits, while general classes can cost just 1 to 2.
The platform currently partners with more than 8,500 studios across 50-plus cities. Members can sample trending formats like aerial yoga, HIIT and dance cardio, and the app extends beyond fitness into recovery services like massage and meditation as well as beauty appointments such as nails and haircuts. That breadth is part of why the company sees so much first-time foot traffic at partner venues.
Why the boutique fitness boom set the stage
The boutique studio category has been one of the loudest growth stories in fitness over the past decade. Boutiques started from a smaller base than traditional gyms but now account for more than 35% of total industry revenue, according to IHRSA data reported by Forbes. That shift has been driven largely by health-conscious, social-media-driven millennials who prefer specialized, social and diverse workout experiences over a generic gym floor.
The fastest-growing and highest-adoption activities in 2017 included event-style classes, equipment-based classes, HIIT, barre, yoga and HIIT-style small group training. ClassPass essentially aggregates that fragmented universe into one login, which is part of its appeal to consumers who want to try a little of everything without committing to a single studio’s monthly fee.
Why variety drives retention more than the workout itself
Jeff Bladt, senior vice president of pricing and marketplace at ClassPass parent company Playlist, argues that variety, not any single workout, is the real engine behind people sticking with exercise.
“All those fundamental problems that prevent people from forming a fitness habit, ClassPass solves,” Bladt told Forbes.
The biggest friction points he identifies are price, discovery and availability. Consumers want optionality, flexibility and the ability to adapt their routines as tastes, schedules and motivation shift. A typical pattern might look like starting with yoga, shifting to Pilates, trying strength training and eventually dabbling in recovery services. Locking users into one studio or one modality, Bladt suggests, can create short-term commitment but long-term fatigue.
How the credit system creates a “use it or lose it” habit
Bladt describes fitness as a “habit-forming frequency thing,” and the ClassPass product is designed to reinforce that behavior. By giving members a target, say 40 credits, and a deadline to use them within a month, the structure forces people to think about when and how they’ll spend those credits. Waiting until the last few days of the month to burn through them is possible, but painful.
The model piles on further psychological pressure. Once a member misses a week, they feel motivated to catch up and avoid losing credits at month’s end. That “use it or lose it” rule creates a strong aversion to waste, which keeps members planning workouts throughout the month rather than letting motivation quietly fade.
What members say about the experience
For some users, the variety is what turns exercise from a chore into something they actually look forward to. Writer Alina Tang described her experience in a piece for Medium.
“It wasn’t until I started using ClassPass that I discovered the joy of exercise,” Tang wrote. “Not simply for results, but for pure pleasure. I have been a loyal ClassPass subscriber for almost two years now, and the best thing about it is the variety of classes it offers. Up to this point, I’ve tried more than 30 different studios, yoga, spin, boxing, pilates, Zumba, crazy cardio bootcamps. It’s addicting to sample all these different types of workout classes and see how far I can push my body.”
That kind of testimonial gets at the broader thesis behind the product. When working out feels like exploration instead of obligation, people keep coming back.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
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