Cost5 min read
Gym and club membership apps: plans, freezes, QR check-in and which package fits
By Sannan MalikPublished
Short answerA gym or club membership app fits one of my fixed packages when it is scoped around the membership rules. Launch at $999 suits a branded app on top of gym software that already has an API. Growth at $1,699 adds your own backend for plans, renewals, freezes, QR check-in and class booking. Scale at $2,500 adds a full admin dashboard and separate logins for staff roles. Turnstile hardware is quoted separately.
The membership record does the heavy lifting
Most gym apps look alike on the surface. A member opens it, sees their plan, books a class and shows a code at the door. The cost difference sits in one place: the membership record and the rules attached to it.
A membership is not a single yes or no. It has a plan, a start date, a renewal date, a payment status, maybe a freeze, maybe a family attached to it, and a list of what it allows. Every screen in the app asks that record a question. Can this person enter today? Can they book the 7am class? Can they bring a guest? If the rules are vague, the app is vague, and the front desk ends up overriding it by hand.
So before any design, write the rules down. Where the record lives today, in gym software, a spreadsheet or nowhere, usually decides the package.
Seven membership features and the rule each one forces you to decide
This is how I would scope each feature. The middle column is the question you answer in writing before a quote. The last column is the smallest of my packages that can hold it, assuming one location unless stated.
| Feature | The rule you have to decide | Smallest package that holds it |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Which plans exist (monthly, annual, off-peak, class packs) and what each one allows | Launch if your gym software already defines plans and has an API; otherwise Growth |
| Renewals | Automatic or manual, what happens on a failed payment, and how many days of grace | Growth, with one payment provider and a simple recurring flow |
| Freezes | Minimum and maximum length, how often per year, whether a fee applies, and whether the end date moves | Growth |
| QR check-in | Who scans whom, whether a frozen or unpaid member is refused, and what staff see when they are | Growth for app plus staff scanning; door or turnstile hardware is quoted separately |
| Guest passes | How many per member per month, whether the guest must register, and whether a guest can come twice | Growth |
| Class capacity | Spaces per class, waitlist order, booking and cancellation cut-offs, and a no-show penalty if any | Growth for one site; Scale when trainers manage their own classes |
| Family accounts | One payer and several members, age limits, and what a child's login can see or book | Growth for a simple family plan; Scale when corporate and family structures sit side by side |
QR check-in is cheap until it opens a door
The simple version is a QR code in the member's app that a staff phone or tablet scans at reception. The backend checks the membership record and shows green or red with the reason. That is software only and fits a package.
Opening a turnstile or door lock is different. The scanner has to talk to the hardware, the hardware has its own protocol, and someone has to decide what happens when the internet drops. Hardware integrations are quoted separately from my packages, and I would price them only after seeing the make and model you have.
One detail I would always add: the code should change regularly or be checked against the live record. A screenshot of a static code works forever, including for the friend it was sent to.
Selling memberships in the app: what Apple and Google allow
A gym membership is a service used outside the app, at your premises. Apple's guideline 3.1.3(e) says payments for physical goods or services consumed outside the app must use methods other than in-app purchase, such as Apple Pay or card entry. Google Play's payments policy goes further and names gym memberships in its list of physical services that must not use Google Play's billing.
The line moves when you sell something digital. Apple's guideline 3.1.1 requires in-app purchase for subscriptions and premium content unlocked inside the app, and Google lists fitness among the subscription services that use its billing. A library of workout videos or an online programme is digital. A club that sells both door access and an on-demand video plan needs two payment paths.
Live training has its own rule. Apple's 3.1.3(d) lets one-to-one real-time services, fitness training among its examples, use other payment methods. One-to-few and one-to-many live services, such as an online group class, must use in-app purchase. Settle which of these you sell in the first conversation, because it changes the payment scope.
When a club has outgrown a membership app
A gym can run on a membership app and a backend. A club with dining, rooms and events usually cannot.
My Membership Club and Restaurant ERP case study shows that shape: membership management, subscriptions, membership cards, rooms and events, restaurant POS and kitchen, inventory, HR, payroll and accounting with a general ledger in one system. Once members charge dinners to their account and the finance team needs those charges in the ledger, you are scoping membership and club software. That is a fixed-quote build, not a package price.
Which package I would put a gym or club app on
Launch at $999, up to 10 screens, when your gym software already holds plans, members and classes and offers an API. The app becomes a branded front end for it.
Growth at $1,699, up to 25 screens, when you need your own Node.js backend and PostgreSQL database: plans, renewals, freezes, guest passes, QR check-in at reception, class booking and admin tools to manage the basics. This is where I would put a single-site gym with no usable software.
Scale at $2,500, up to 50 screens, when trainers, front-desk staff and managers each need their own login and a full admin dashboard, with push notifications where supported.
Complex payment gateways and hardware integrations are quoted separately. Payment provider fees, hosting and maintenance are not included. Send me your list of plans and the rules from the table above, and I will tell you which package fits and what, if anything, sits outside it.
Questions
- Can members pay for their membership inside the app?
- Yes, through a card gateway, Apple Pay or Google Pay, because a gym membership is a service used at your premises. Digital content such as on-demand workout videos is different and goes through Apple's and Google's in-app billing.
- Can the app work with the gym software we already use?
- If that software has an API, yes, and that is the Launch case at $999. If it has no API, I would build your own backend on Growth and move the member list across once.
- Do I need turnstiles for QR check-in?
- No. Staff can scan member codes with a phone or tablet at reception. Turnstiles or door locks are an extra hardware integration, quoted after I see the equipment.
Sources
Platform rules and fees in this article were checked against these official pages on 9 November 2026. They change, so confirm before you rely on them.
Sannan Malik is a software architect and product builder with 8+ years in software, CEO of Alpha Notic FZC and a Certified Scrum Product Owner. He builds mobile apps and business software for companies in the UAE, UK and US.
