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In Summary:
An app improves the client experience, increases bookings, and saves you time.
- Building a fitness app from scratch costs $55,000–$150,000+ and takes months.
- Using Fitune is free, instant, and comes with all the features you actually need.
Let's dive deeper.
Thinking about giving your fitness studio or boutique fitness brand its own app? A custom fitness app can boost membership retention and make booking easy for your clients.
But the investment can be significant. Below, we compare the easy, free route versus the traditional development path, then explore why your studio needs an app and what features it should include.
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The Easy Way: Get Your App with Fitune
With Fitune, you get a branded fitness app for free. No coding, no contracts, no hidden fees. With your own fitness app your clients can:
- Book classes and private sessions
- Buy memberships and packages
- Access courses and challenges
- Manage their own profiles and payments
Just create a free account and download your apps from a QR code, no need for the expensive and lengthy App Store approval process.
Fitune handles updates, security, and user support — all while you focus on growing your fitness studio.
The Traditional Way: Step-by-Step App Development
Building a custom fitness app from scratch involves several phases. Unless you’re a seasoned developer, you’ll start by finding someone to handle the technical part and they’ll guide you through each step.
1. Planning & Research
- What happens? You define your goals, pick key features (like booking or livestream), and sketch out how the app will work. Depending on the developer, they might provide feedback to ensure a great user experience or simply develop whatever you ask of them.
- Why it matters: Clear planning prevents wasted time and money. Imagine starting cooking without a recipe or a clear goal, just throwing things in the pot randomly, the end product probably won’t be great. Ensuring you have a clear goal and development milestones is basic when developing your app.
- Time & Cost: ~2–4 weeks, $2,000–$5,000
2. Design (UI/UX)
- What happens? Designers create on-screen layouts (wireframes) and color schemes so your app looks good and is easy to use. If you already have a brand manual they should stick to it ensuring the app looks and feels as a natural extension of your studio.
- Why it matters: A clean, intuitive design keeps clients coming back. We’ve all experienced frustration with apps filled with confusing menus and taking over 10 minutes doing the most simple tasks. A great interface will allow your clients to book and pay for their classes easily.
- Time & Cost: ~3–6 weeks, $5,000–$15,000
3. Development
Finally we’re at the actual building stage, split into two parts:
- Front-End (what users see): Developers turn designs into interactive screens—buttons, calendars, video players.
- Back-End (behind the scenes): They set up the server, database, and payment system so data (like bookings) is stored safely and delivered quickly.
Why it matters: Strong front-end makes the app feel smooth, solid back-end keeps it reliable.
- Time & Cost: ~12–20 weeks, $40,000–$100,000+
4. Testing & Fixes
- What happens? The app is used like a customer would. It’s time to test every button, the payment flow, account information, videos playing, etc. Any errors (commonly called bugs) are fixed.
- Why it matters: This step ensures clients don’t see crashes or broken features. There are few things more frustrating than an app suddenly closing when you were about to make a payment.
- Time & Cost: ~2–4 weeks, $3,000–$10,000
5. Deployment & Maintenance
- Deployment: The app is submitted to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, you pay a fee to get your app tested and poster. Both storefronts have their own requirements and depending on how development went you might need to try a few times before actually getting your app on both stores.
- Maintenance: Regular updates add features, fix issues, and keep the app secure. Updates might be a nuisance when you’re trying to open an app but they are essential to make sure the app works correctly. This means keeping a dev team ready to handle any sudden issues and developing new features to make sure you’re up to your clients wants and needs.
- Cost: $100–$300 to launch; $5,000–$20,000 per year for upkeep
Total Estimated Investment: $55,000–$150,000+ and 4–6+ months of work.
Why Does Your Fitness Studio Need an App?
- Boost Membership Retention: Push reminders and easy renewals keep clients active and your classes full.
- Save Time: Automated booking and payments free you from manual admin. No more endless DMs just to book a class or appointment
- Better Client Experience: An app allows your clients to book whenever they want and handles payments easily, leading to an increase in bookings.
- Increased Sales: One-tap purchases for classes or merch to increase your revenue and ensure timely payments always.
What Should a Fitness App Include?
An app can include many fancy features like a library of exercise examples, calorie count, fitness plans management and more.
But it’s best to cover your basics well and then slowly build towards features tailored to your studio’s needs.
- Class & Session Booking: Real-time availability, waitlists, and spot selection.
- Memberships & Payments: Auto-renewals, class packs, and secure in-app checkout.
- Push Notifications: Reminders, promotions, and schedule changes.
Should I Develop My Own Studio App?
- Yes, if… You’re a large chain with unique processes, a large budget, you need custom integrations, and very specific features no tool in the market offers.
- No, if… You’re a small to mid-sized fitness studio or boutique fitness brand. A ready-made solution like Fitune covers booking, payments, and marketing without the high cost or complexity.
Conclusions for fitness app development
Building a custom fitness app can cost $55,000 to $150,000+ and take six months or more. Pule you’ll need to take into account ongoing maintenance
For most fitness studios, boutique fitness brands, and personal trainers, the free branded app from Fitune offers every essential feature in two clicks, while boosting membership retention, simplifying operations, and delighting clients.
Choose the smart, budget-friendly route and start growing your studio today.
Ready to try Fitune? Start now for free or book a demo to learn how to grow your fitness business.
