Industry Benchmarks · Top 10
The Best KPIs for Boutique Fitness Studios in 2027
Direct answer
Average unit volume is the best KPI for boutique fitness studios in 2027, followed by same-studio sales growth and active paying members. Xponential’s 2024 10-K reported North America AUV of $662,000 and same store sales up 7%, and Xplor Mariana Tek reported an average Pilates class fill rate of 65% against 49% overall. Where no public benchmark exists, as with churn and payback, this page says so and explains how to measure it.
At a glance
| # | Pick | Definition | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Average Unit Volume (Boutique Studio) | Sales for all contributing North America studios divided by the number of contributing studios; the trailing-12-month version counts studios open at least 13 months with positive sales in each of the last 13 months (Xponential Fitness 10-K, franchisor) | Owners and lenders testing whether a studio’s sales can carry rent, payroll and build-out |
| 2 | Same-Studio Sales Growth (Boutique Studio) | Period-over-period sales for studios with at least 13 months of consecutive positive sales, which excludes new openings (Xponential Fitness 10-K, franchisor) | Owners who want growth from existing members and pricing, not from a new location |
| 3 | Active Paying Members (Boutique Studio) | Members billed on a recurring membership package, as against all members including packs and drop-ins (Xponential wording: “actively paying members on recurring membership packages”) | Studios that sell memberships alongside packs and drop-ins |
| 4 | Class Fill Rate (Boutique Studio) | Attendees divided by spots available for each class, tracked by format and time slot (this page’s working definition) | Owners deciding which classes to cut, add or move, and how many seats a room needs |
| 5 | Early-Visit Retention and Conversion (Boutique Studio) | The share of new clients who return for a second and later visit, and who convert from a trial or pack to a membership (this page’s working definition) | Studios paying for ads, intro offers or third-party booking listings |
| 6 | Visits and Attendance (Boutique Studio) | Registered individual workouts for a period, the way F45 defines visits; count in-studio and live stream separately (F45 Training FY2022 10-K) | Owners who bill monthly and need to see which members are slipping before they cancel |
| 7 | Average Class Price (Boutique Studio) | Revenue divided by paid visits, split by pass type: membership, pack, drop-in and intro (this page’s working definition) | Owners setting prices for a new studio or deciding whether a promotion paid off |
| 8 | Build-Out Cost, Fees and Payback (Boutique Studio) | — | Franchise buyers and independent owners sizing a lease and build-out |
| 9 | Payroll per Employee (Boutique Studio) | — | Owners setting instructor pay and deciding how many staff a schedule needs |
| 10 | Studio Count and Licenses Opened (Boutique Studio) | — | Franchise buyers, landlords and lenders reading how healthy a boutique brand is |
Pick by what you want
Best overall
Average Unit Volume (Boutique Studio)
Best for growth
Same-Studio Sales Growth (Boutique Studio)
Best for scheduling
Class Fill Rate (Boutique Studio)
Best for new members
Early-Visit Retention and Conversion (Boutique Studio)
Best for opening a studio
Build-Out Cost, Fees and Payback (Boutique Studio)
Best for staffing
Payroll per Employee (Boutique Studio)
The ranking
1
Average Unit Volume (Boutique Studio)
Photo: Ministry of Sound Group Limited / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictThe headline sales KPI.
Definition: Sales for all contributing North America studios divided by the number of contributing studios; the trailing-12-month version counts studios open at least 13 months with positive sales in each of the last 13 months (Xponential Fitness 10-K, franchisor)Xponential North America, 2024: AUV for the last twelve months was $662,000, against $613,000 in 2023; quarterly run-rate AUV was $668,000, against $612,000Xponential, Q4 2025: Run-rate AUVs decreased 2% for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, compared with the quarter ended December 31, 2024Orangetheory: Its franchising page lists studios, countries and members but no average sales per studioBenchmark: No independent AUV survey across Pilates, cycling, boxing and barre was found; the only public AUV is a franchisor’s all-brand figure for traditional studios
Average unit volume is sales per studio. Xponential reported North America AUV of $662,000 for 2024, against $613,000 in 2023, and a 2% decrease in Q4 2025 run-rate AUV. Orangetheory publishes no AUV, and no independent survey was found.
Go ifOwners and lenders testing whether a studio’s sales can carry rent, payroll and build-out
Skip ifYou need profit; AUV is sales and says nothing about margin
Why #1 over #2: It sizes the whole studio, which a growth rate cannot.
2
Same-Studio Sales Growth (Boutique Studio)
Photo: U.S. Air Force 148FW, Airman 1st Class Madeline Herzog / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictThe organic-growth KPI.
Definition: Period-over-period sales for studios with at least 13 months of consecutive positive sales, which excludes new openings (Xponential Fitness 10-K, franchisor)Xponential North America, 2024: Same store sales rose 7% in 2024, against 16% in 2023F45 Training, FY2022 10-K: Its comparable base is franchise studios that have been operating for more than 16 monthsBenchmark: No independent same-studio benchmark for single-location Pilates, cycling or boxing studios was found
Same-studio sales growth strips out new openings. Xponential reported same store sales up 7% in 2024, against 16% in 2023, and F45 counts studios open more than 16 months in its comparable base.
Go ifOwners who want growth from existing members and pricing, not from a new location
Skip ifYou opened or moved a studio in the last year; the comparison base is then too small
Why #2 over #3: It shows whether existing studios are growing, which member counts alone do not.
3
Active Paying Members (Boutique Studio)
Photo: Clubpilatesbrest / CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictThe base-size KPI.
Definition: Members billed on a recurring membership package, as against all members including packs and drop-ins (Xponential wording: “actively paying members on recurring membership packages”)Xponential, December 31, 2024: Studios had approximately 813,000 members, of which approximately 742,000 were actively paying members; actively paying members grew 15% from December 31, 2023Xponential, December 31, 2025: Studios had approximately 774,000 members, of which approximately 704,000 were actively paying membersOrangetheory: Says it has nearly one million members across more than 1,500 studios in 25 countries; the page gives no dateBenchmark: No per-studio member benchmark by class type was found; divide billed members by studios, or by the seats your rooms hold
Active paying members are the billed base. Xponential reported approximately 742,000 actively paying members at the end of 2024 and approximately 704,000 at the end of 2025, and Orangetheory says nearly one million members.
Go ifStudios that sell memberships alongside packs and drop-ins
Skip ifYou count every email signup or trial as a member; only billed members belong here
Why #3 over #4: It is the volume half of revenue, which price and retention then adjust.
4
Class Fill Rate (Boutique Studio)
Photo: Maddie4753 / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictThe schedule KPI.
Definition: Attendees divided by spots available for each class, tracked by format and time slot (this page’s working definition)Xplor Mariana Tek, December 2025 data: Average fill rate per Pilates class was 65%, against a 49% overall average; the data covers Reformer and Lagree classes and no sample size is givenXponential, December 31, 2024: Typical studios are designed for up to 12 people at Club Pilates, 26 at Pure Barre, 36 at BFT and 50 at CycleBar; Rumble studios are designed for about 48 or about 60 depending on formatBenchmark: The Pilates and overall fill rates come from one software vendor’s studios; no cycling, boxing or barre fill-rate benchmark was found
Class fill rate is attendees divided by spots. Xplor Mariana Tek reported 65% for Pilates against 49% overall, while Xponential’s typical studio is designed for up to 12 people at Club Pilates and 50 at CycleBar.
Go ifOwners deciding which classes to cut, add or move, and how many seats a room needs
Skip ifYou run private one-on-one sessions only; capacity is then not the constraint
Why #4 over #5: It works class by class, which a monthly member count hides.
5
Early-Visit Retention and Conversion (Boutique Studio)
Photo: Shixart1985 / CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictThe funnel and first-month KPI.
Definition: The share of new clients who return for a second and later visit, and who convert from a trial or pack to a membership (this page’s working definition)Xplor Mariana Tek, 2026 report: Retention holds above 90% once a client reaches visit five; the fifth visit is the most common conversion point to membership, and reaching a second class nearly doubles conversion oddsXplor Mariana Tek, 2026 report: Only 2% of visitors from third-party booking platforms convert to membership, and word of mouth is the top acquisition channel for 86% of studiosXplor Mariana Tek, December 2025 data: 17% of monthly Pilates studio visitors are new, compared with 9% in other modalitiesXponential 10-K, 2024: Customers may cancel memberships at any time after giving proper advance notice, and franchised studios experience attrition
Early-visit retention follows new clients through their first classes. Xplor Mariana Tek reported retention above 90% once a client reaches visit five, with the fifth visit the most common conversion point to membership.
Go ifStudios paying for ads, intro offers or third-party booking listings
Skip ifYour members come only from referrals; track referral-to-member conversion instead
Why #5 over #6: It shows where marketing spend leaks, which total visits cannot.
6
Visits and Attendance (Boutique Studio)
Photo: Airman 1st Class Lane Plummer, U.S. Air Force / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictThe engagement KPI.
Definition: Registered individual workouts for a period, the way F45 defines visits; count in-studio and live stream separately (F45 Training FY2022 10-K)Xponential, 2024: 60.0 million in-studio and live stream visits in 2024, an increase of 19% over the prior yearXponential, 2025: 59.2 million in-studio and live stream visits in 2025, an increase of 12% over the prior year, on a basis the FY2025 10-K says is adjusted to remove CycleBar and Rumble (divested July 2025) and Lindora; Q4 2025 membership visits increased 6%HFA, 2025: An estimated 7 billion visits to U.S. fitness facilities in 2025, surpassing the 2019 pre-pandemic peakBenchmark: The 2024 total includes CycleBar and Rumble and the 2025 total does not, so compare each filing’s own growth rate, not the two totals; no per-member boutique visit benchmark was found
Visits measure engagement. Xponential reported 60.0 million visits in 2024, up 19%, and 59.2 million in 2025, up 12% on a basis that removes the divested brands, while HFA estimated 7 billion visits to U.S. facilities in 2025.
Go ifOwners who bill monthly and need to see which members are slipping before they cancel
Skip ifYou sell only class packs with long expiry; use pack-use rate instead
Why #6 over #7: It moves before cancellations do, which price does not.
7
Average Class Price (Boutique Studio)
Photo: Clubpilatesbrest / CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictThe pricing KPI.
Definition: Revenue divided by paid visits, split by pass type: membership, pack, drop-in and intro (this page’s working definition)Xplor Mariana Tek, 2026 report: Class prices increased 6% year over year, from $20.10 to $21.32Xplor Mariana Tek, December 2025 data: The average Pilates class cost $25, which is 29% above the average; Pilates membership costs were 48% higher than other modalitiesXponential, 2024: Suggested models sell recurring monthly memberships of four, eight or unlimited classes, plus single walk-in classes; Club Pilates also sells one-on-one private classesBenchmark: The price averages are from one software vendor’s studios and show no sample size; no published price benchmark exists for barre, cycling or boxing alone
Average class price is revenue per paid visit. Xplor Mariana Tek reported class prices up 6%, from $20.10 to $21.32, and an average Pilates class at $25; the sample size is not given.
Go ifOwners setting prices for a new studio or deciding whether a promotion paid off
Skip ifYou have not tracked pass type; a blended average hides discounting
Why #7 over #8: It separates price from volume, which fill rate blends together.
8
Build-Out Cost, Fees and Payback (Boutique Studio)
Photo: Clubpilatesbrest / CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictThe return-on-investment KPI.
Xponential, 2024: Weighted average initial franchisee investment of approximately $560,000 in 2024; studios are generally designed to be between 1,500 and 2,500 square feetXponential, 2025: Weighted average initial franchisee investment of approximately $554,000 in 2025Xponential, fee load: Xponential receives approximately 7% of franchisee sales as royalty revenue and 2% as marketing fund revenueF45 Training, FY2022 10-K: Aggregate initial investment between approximately $221,700 and $846,600, and U.S. franchise fees generally 7% of gross monthly studio revenueBenchmark: No independent payback-period benchmark was found; divide your total initial investment by monthly cash profit after royalties
Build-out cost, fees and payback decide whether a studio can pay back its owner. Xponential reported weighted average initial investment of approximately $560,000 in 2024 and 7% royalty revenue; no payback benchmark was found.
Go ifFranchise buyers and independent owners sizing a lease and build-out
Skip ifThe space is already built out; track rent and equipment replacement instead
Why #8 over #9: It matters before opening, but a running studio cannot act on it as directly as on payroll.
9
Payroll per Employee (Boutique Studio)
Photo: U.S. Air Force 148FW, Airman 1st Class Madeline Herzog / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictThe biggest controllable cost KPI.
BLS QCEW, 2024: Private fitness and recreational sports centers (NAICS 713940) averaged 654,500 employees at an average annual pay of $21,949, across 44,983 establishmentsBLS QCEW, 2023: The same industry averaged 620,848 employees at an average annual pay of $21,530, across 44,125 establishmentsBLS QCEW, 2022: The same industry averaged 574,241 employees at an average annual pay of $21,104, across 42,887 establishmentsXponential, 2024: Club Pilates has a 500-hour teacher training program; its filings say brand training offers instructors technical advancement and increased earnings potentialBenchmark: No per-class pay or payroll-to-sales benchmark for boutique studios was found; the BLS figures cover all fitness centers, part-time staff included
Payroll is the largest cost an owner controls. BLS reported average annual pay of $21,949 across 654,500 employees in private fitness and recreational sports centers in 2024; no per-class benchmark exists.
Go ifOwners setting instructor pay and deciding how many staff a schedule needs
Skip ifYou are the only instructor; your own time still needs a cost
Why #9 over #10: It has government data behind it, which studio-count figures do not.
10
Studio Count and Licenses Opened (Boutique Studio)
Photo: Farragutful / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictThe system-health KPI.
Xponential, December 31, 2024: Operational studios against licenses sold: Club Pilates 1,200 of 1,856; Pure Barre 626 of 800; StretchLab 529 of 1,005; BFT 331 of 766; CycleBar 204 of 565; Rumble 103 of 394Xponential, December 31, 2025: Operational studios against licenses sold: Club Pilates 1,414 of 1,996; Pure Barre 625 of 806; StretchLab 531 of 1,012Xponential, 2025 terminations: 284 franchise licenses were terminated in North America and 65 in other international locations between December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2025CycleBar and Rumble: Xponential divested both brands in July 2025; Extraordinary Brands acquired themF45 Training, FY2022 10-K: 882 Total Studios in the United States at December 31, 2022, ; its count of studios not operating was not verified here
Studio count and licenses opened read the health of a brand. Club Pilates had 1,200 operational studios and 1,856 licenses sold at the end of 2024, and Xponential divested CycleBar and Rumble in July 2025.
Go ifFranchise buyers, landlords and lenders reading how healthy a boutique brand is
Skip ifYou run one studio; track your own lease and break-even date instead
How we ranked these
We ranked boutique fitness KPIs on how directly they measure what a studio earns and spends and how clearly a public source defines them, using Xponential Fitness 10-Ks for Club Pilates, Pure Barre, StretchLab, BFT, CycleBar and Rumble, F45 Training’s FY2022 10-K, Orangetheory’s own statements, Xplor Mariana Tek, the Health & Fitness Association and BLS data for NAICS 713940. Most figures come from franchisors or one software vendor, not independent studio surveys, and each carries its own period. Facts are taken from each maker's own published information; check the official site before you buy.
Questions people ask
What is the most important KPI for a boutique fitness studio?
Average unit volume is the one public per-studio sales figure: Xponential reported North America AUV of $662,000 for 2024. It is sales, not profit, so pair it with active paying members and payroll.
What is a good class fill rate for a boutique studio?
Xplor Mariana Tek reported an average Pilates class fill rate of 65%, against 49% overall, from its December 2025 data. No cycling, boxing or barre fill-rate benchmark was found.
What is a good retention rate for a boutique fitness studio?
No published monthly churn rate was found. Xplor Mariana Tek reported that retention holds above 90% once a client reaches visit five, so the first visits matter most.
How much does it cost to open a boutique fitness studio?
Xponential reported a weighted average initial franchisee investment of approximately $560,000 in 2024 and approximately $554,000 in 2025. F45 disclosed a range of approximately $221,700 to $846,600 in its FY2022 10-K.
Operational studios by Xponential brand, December 31, 2024, global (Xponential Fitness 10-K) at a glance
Rumble (boxing)103 studios
YogaSix (yoga)194 studios
CycleBar (indoor cycling)204 studios
BFT (functional training and HIIT)331 studios
StretchLab (assisted stretching)529 studios
Pure Barre (barre)626 studios
Club Pilates (Pilates)1,200 studios
Official sites
- Average Unit Volume (Boutique Studio) · investor.xponential.com
- Same-Studio Sales Growth (Boutique Studio) · investor.xponential.com
- Active Paying Members (Boutique Studio) · investor.xponential.com
- Class Fill Rate (Boutique Studio) · marianatek.com
- Early-Visit Retention and Conversion (Boutique Studio) · athletechnews.com
- Visits and Attendance (Boutique Studio) · investor.xponential.com
- Average Class Price (Boutique Studio) · athletechnews.com
- Build-Out Cost, Fees and Payback (Boutique Studio) · investor.xponential.com
- Payroll per Employee (Boutique Studio) · data.bls.gov
- Studio Count and Licenses Opened (Boutique Studio) · investor.xponential.com
Sources
Prices, specs and availability change; confirm on the official site before you buy.