ClassPass, the popular fitness subscription service that allows members to take workout classes at multiple gyms and studios, announced today it is discontinuing its 'Unlimited' offering. The top tier of ClassPass subscription offerings allowed D.C.-area residents to attended unlimited fitness classes at participating gyms and studios for $155 per month.
“After much consideration and several attempts to appropriately price the Unlimited plan, I have ultimately made the decision to discontinue the offering to achieve better alignment between ClassPass, our customers and our partners,” said Payal Kadakia, ClassPass founder and CEO, in a blog post.
Users currently on the Unlimited plan will be migrated to the company's Core plan—$105 per month for 10 classes—after the next billing cycle. To ease the transition, those members will also receive an additional 10 free classes for the first three months. But for frequent users, the change comes as a disappointment.
"It's pretty crazy how much I think this is going to alter my day to day life"
"It's really upsetting. I'm considering getting a membership at another studio just to supplement my workout routine now that I've gotten used to the unlimited classes," says Marja A., a 28-year old D.C. asset management analyst who takes five to six classes a week through her Unlimited ClassPass membership.
Christine Hayek, 28, a member services director at a D.C.-based media company, also uses ClassPass on a near-daily basis. She says the access to unlimited classes has changed her daily routine and that losing that option will be a blow to her regimen. "It's pretty crazy how much I think this is going to alter my day to day life," Hayek says. "That sounds dramatic, but I would actually say that ClassPass changed my habits, social life, schedule, everything."
But, Hayek says, she can understand from a business perspective that the unlimited model probably wasn't sustainable for ClassPass. "Always felts a little too good to be true." She says she will likely stick with ClassPass through the three-month transition period, "then join a more expensive studio like [spin and barre studio] Flywheel."
Lucy Samuel, a 28-year old matchmaker at a local dating service, echoed Hayek's sentiment about ClassPass' effect on her workout routine. "Joining ClassPass was the first time a major lifestyle change actually worked for me," she says. However, she will likely stick with the reduced class option. "I probably won't cancel, since paying for 10 classes per month without ClassPass would still be prohibitively expensive. But I am going to have to get creative with finding ways to fill in the gaps in my routine."
The change could prove a boon to local studios and other services offering class discounts or packages. Nakesa Kouhestani, a 24-year old digital marketer, says she currently takes 15 to 20 classes a month on the Unlimited plan. Kouhestani plans to continue with the 10 classes per month package, but will, "likely purchase smaller class packs from Gilt or Groupon," to supplement her workout schedule.
The three-year-old startup, based in New York, has undergone a number of pricing adjustments in the past year, much to the frustration of users. The Unlimited package used to cost users $99 plus tax per month before a 50% price increase earlier this year to the current rate. Marja A. says, while this may not quite be the last straw for her, she's considered dropping ClassPass entirely "since they seem to keep changing their pricing structure."
Kouhestani also lamented the frequent pricing changes. "I have a few friends who are also extremely frustrated with the changes from ClassPass," she says. "First they raise the price from $109 to $155, but then they completely take away the unlimited option altogether? It doesn't seem right that these changes are happening so close together."
