How to Price Your Classes for Profit Without Scaring Students Away

Written by:

Matthieu Sewell

Marketing & Technical Director

Time to read: 8 minutes

Created on: 28/06/2025

Step 1: Know Your Numbers (Don’t Run Screaming)
Step 2: Think About Value (Not Just Price)
Step 3: Check the Competition (Then Come Back to You)
Step 4: Choose a Pricing Model That Supports You
Step 5: Set Your Prices (Without the Panic)
Step 5.5: Use a Bit of Pricing Psychology
Pricing Pitfalls to Avoid
Mindset Reframe: Pricing Is a Form of Self-Respect
Grow Confidently with StudioPro

Why Pricing Feels So Personal

Let’s be honest—pricing can feel icky. You want your classes to be accessible, your community to grow, and your space to feel inclusive. But you also need to pay rent, instructors, insurance… and, yes, yourself.

The truth? You can price with both profit and heart. In fact, when you price sustainably, you’re not pushing people away—you’re building something that lasts.

Let’s help you set prices that reflect your value, support your growth, and keep your students coming back for more.

Why is Insurance Important for Pole and Aerial Studios?

Before you price anything, you need to know what each class actually costs you.

Here’s what to factor in:

Rent and utilities
Instructor pay (even if that’s you)
Cleaning, insurance, and equipment
Admin time (booking, follow-ups, etc.)
Marketing spend
Studio software (👋 like StudioPro)

Example:
If running one class costs you £42 (including everything) and you allow 8 students per class, you’d need to charge £5.25 just to break even. But you’re not here to break even—you’re here to grow.

Add your profit margin on top. A healthy margin might be 20–40%, depending on your location and costs.

Step 2: Think About Value (Not Just Price)

Your students don’t just pay for 60 minutes on a mat or a pole.

They pay for:

Community
Confidence
Coaching
Convenience
Consistency

Value isn’t just what they get—it’s how they feel.

Pricing should reflect the transformation you’re delivering. If a class builds strength, joy, and self-esteem, that’s worth more than a gym pass.

💡 According to a 2023 study by ClassPass, students are willing to pay more for classes with consistent instructors, a sense of community, and easy scheduling. StudioPro helps you deliver all three.

Step 3: Check the Competition (Then Come Back to You)

Look at what similar studios charge—but don’t panic or blindly copy.

Are they charging more or less? Why?
Do they offer drop-ins, packs, memberships?
What kind of students do they attract?

Benchmarking is helpful, but your pricing needs to work for your business model, expenses, and goals.

Use their prices as context—not commandments.

Step 4: Choose a Pricing Model That Supports You

Let’s look at a few common models:

Drop-ins

Drop-ins make great marketing hooks (“First class £5!”) but aren’t ideal for sustainable revenue. They should be part of your funnel—not the foundation.

Benefits:

Often attracts less committed students
Ultimate flexibility for students who have unpredictable schedules.
Low barrier to entry, ideal for beginners or those trying out your studio.
Good for tourists, seasonal attendance, or side-hustlers.

Challenges:

Unpredictable revenue – You can’t count on consistent income from drop-ins.
Tends to attract less committed students who may not stay long-term or progress steadily.
Higher per-class pricing might discourage frequent attendance.

Best used when

Drop-ins work best as an entry point—a low-risk way for curious students to explore your studio. They’re especially helpful for beginners or those unsure of their routine, and they create visibility for your offerings without pressuring a commitment. But they’re best used as part of a broader pricing ecosystem rather than a standalone strategy.

Class Packs (e.g. 4 or 10 classes)

Class packs are your mid-tier product—great for revenue spikes and behaviour building, but not ideal for forecasting without strong analytics (which StudioPro can automate).

Benefits:

Encourages repeat attendance – students have a reason to come back while still keeping some flexibility.
Creates upfront revenue, even if students attend later.
You can use packs to incentivise bulk buying (e.g. “Buy 10, save 10%”).

Challenges:

Income is still non-recurring – you need to keep chasing renewals.
Some students will “hoard” credits or forget to use them, then complain when they expire.
Requires clear expiry terms to avoid admin stress or resentment.

Best used when

Class packs are great for semi-regular students—people who love your classes but can’t commit weekly due to shift work, travel, or childcare. They’re a middle ground: flexible enough to accommodate busy lives, but structured enough to build routine. Packs also work well as a step-up from drop-ins or a bridge into memberships, especially when tied to introductory or seasonal offers.

Memberships (e.g. unlimited monthly or 2x/week)

Benefits:

Often attracts less committed students
Ultimate flexibility for students who have unpredictable schedules.
Low barrier to entry, ideal for beginners or those trying out your studio.
Good for tourists, seasonal attendance, or side-hustlers.

Challenges:

Unpredictable revenue – You can’t count on consistent income from drop-ins.
Tends to attract less committed students who may not stay long-term or progress steadily.
Higher per-class pricing might discourage frequent attendance.

Best used when

Memberships are your most powerful growth tool. They’re perfect for committed students who attend regularly and want to feel part of your studio family. These plans foster habit-building and loyalty while giving you reliable monthly income. With the right setup—like StudioPro’s automation—memberships can scale effortlessly, reducing admin and improving retention with perks, consistency, and community.

You can combine these to give students options—but make sure your pricing model reflects your studio’s energy. If your vibe is deep transformation and regular attendance, a membership model fits better than pay-as-you-go.

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Step 5: Set Your Prices (Without the Panic)

Here’s a basic pricing formula:

Total Monthly Costs ÷ Monthly Class Spots + Profit Margin = Base Class Price

Then consider rounding:

£12.50 may feel more boutique
£11.99 may feel more accessible
£13.00 may feel cleaner

If in doubt, test it. Pricing isn’t permanent—it evolves.

Step 5.5: Use a Bit of Pricing Psychology

You don’t need to be a behavioural economist—just use a few clever cues to help your prices feel right.

Price Anchoring

Show options side by side so one looks like a great deal.

Price anchoring is a cognitive bias where people rely heavily on the first piece of information (the “anchor”) they receive when making decisions. In pricing, it’s the practice of setting a high-priced option first, which makes subsequent options appear more reasonable or like better value—even if those options are still expensive.

Example:
Drop-in: £14
4-Class Pass: £48 (£12/class)
Unlimited: £88 – Most will choose the class pass, feeling savvy.

Why it works:

Humans struggle to evaluate prices in isolation—we assess value relatively, not absolutely. Anchoring establishes a reference point, and our brains compare everything else against it. This mental shortcut helps us make quicker decisions but is easy to influence.

Backed by:

Tversky & Kahneman (1974) — Original research into anchoring and adjustment heuristics.

Goldilocks Effect

Three options help people choose the “middle” one.

The Goldilocks effect refers to the consumer tendency to avoid extremes and choose the “middle” option when presented with three choices—one low, one high, and one mid-range. It’s also called “extremeness aversion” or “choice bracketing.”

Example
If you offer a Bronze (£30), Silver (£50), and Gold (£80) membership, most people will choose Silver—it feels “just right.”

Why it works:

We often assume the middle option offers the best balance of quality and value. It feels safer—less risky than the cheapest, and more responsible than the priciest. The effect is stronger when one option is subtly labelled “Most Popular” or “Best Value.”

Backed by:

Simonson & Tversky (1992) — Demonstrated how adding a third “decoy” option nudges people toward the target price.
Joel Huber’s “decoy effect” studies — Show that adding a less attractive option makes the mid-tier look more appealing.

Charm Pricing

Yes, £9.99 still works. But match your style—if you’re premium, go for £10 instead of £9.97.

Charm pricing is the practice of ending prices in .99, .95 or .97 (e.g., £9.99 instead of £10.00). It’s a form of psychological pricing that makes the number feel significantly lower, even though it’s only 1p less.

Why it works:

Our brains process numbers from left to right. This is called left-digit bias. £9.99 is mentally processed as “£9 and change,” not “almost £10.” It creates a subconscious perception of a better deal, increasing the likelihood of a purchase.

Backed by:

Wadhwa & Zhang (2015) — Showed that customers associate round numbers with emotional purchases and non-round ones with rational evaluation.

Loss Aversion

People hate missing out.

Loss aversion refers to our strong tendency to prefer avoiding losses over acquiring equivalent gains. In pricing, it’s about framing options to highlight what customers would lose if they don’t take action (rather than what they gain).

Example
“Save £12/month” or “If you attend more than 2x/week, the Unlimited Pass pays for itself.”

Why it works:

According to Prospect Theory, losses are psychologically about 2x more powerful than equivalent gains. We’re more motivated to avoid pain than to pursue pleasure. This means people are more likely to act to avoid “missing out” than they are to chase a benefit.

Backed by:

Kahneman & Tversky (1979) — Foundational research on prospect theory and the principle of loss aversion.

Pricing Pitfalls to Avoid

We see these all the time—don’t fall for them:

Undercharging to stay “accessible”
Fearing price increases, even when costs rise
Over-discounting (devalues your offer long-term)
Competing only on price (not on value)
Changing prices too often without strategy
Not checking your profit margins regularly

Pricing emotionally or “by gut” may feel right—but it rarely sustains a business.

Mindset Reframe: Pricing Is a Form of Self-Respect

Every time you set a price, you’re showing your students what your time, energy, and expertise are worth. – Harvard Business Review Online

And when you do that with clarity and confidence, you’re modelling something powerful:

“I value my work, and you’re worth investing in.”

That’s leadership. That’s sustainability. That’s growth.

Grow Confidently with StudioPro

StudioPro helps you manage class packs, automate memberships, track revenue, and adjust pricing without the stress. Ready to stop guessing and start growing? Start your free StudioPro trial