Planet Fitness vs Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Planet Fitness vs Iron Tribe Fitness including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Planet Fitness Franchise
Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
Investment $968,100 - $4,113,000$300,000 - $433,500
Franchise Fee $20,000$42,000
Royalty Fee 7% of Gross Membership Fees6%
Advertising Fee 9%1%
Year Founded 19922010
Year Franchised 20032012
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Planet Fitness Franchise
Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
Experience --

Financing Options

 
Planet Fitness Franchise
Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees No/No-/-
Start-up Costs No/No-/-
Equipment No/Yes-/-
Inventory No/No-/-
Receivables No/No-/-
Payroll No/No-/-

Training & Support

 
Planet Fitness Franchise
Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
Training * Available at headquarters: 2 weeks * At franchisee's location: as needed On-The-Job Training: 20 hours Additional Training: Online pre-training course
Support * Newsletter * Meetings * Toll-free phone line * Grand opening * Internet * Security/safety procedures * Field operations/evaluations * Purchasing cooperativesPurchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing * Co-op advertising * Ad slicks * Regional advertising Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
Operations * 40% of all franchisees own more than one unit * Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (70% of current franchisees are owner/operators) Absentee Ownership Allowed Number of Employees Required to Run: 5

Expansion Plans

 
Planet Fitness Franchise
Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
US Expansion YesYes
Canada Expansion --
International Expansion --

Company Overviews

About Planet Fitness

Planet Fitness got its start in 1992 when Michael Grondahl acquired a struggling gym. He reduced membership prices to compete against better-known brands and focused on serving occasional or first-time gym users. Every Planet Fitness location holds a pizza night for members once a month, as well as a bagel morning, and Tootsie Rolls are available at all times.
Planet Fitness strives to promote health in a respectful atmosphere. For over a decade, Planet Fitness has gone to great lengths to provide its members with a friendly space to work out. We call it the Judgment Free Zone. We discourage weight dropping and obnoxious grunting so you can focus on your own workout and not the person next to you.

The total investment necessary to begin operation of a single Planet Fitness facility ranges from $968,100 to $3,072,000 if you finance your equipment.
This includes $48,000 to $297,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliate.
If you choose to purchase your equipment, the total investment necessary to begin operation of a single Planet Fitness facility ranges from $1,500,000 to $4,113,000.
This includes $295,000 to $912,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliate.
These estimated initial investment ranges also apply to each location that you develop under the Area Development Agreement (plus the Area Development Fee you pay at the time you sign the Area Development Agreement). If you sign an Area Development Agreement, you must develop one or more Planet Fitness facilities, and you will pay an Area Development Fee of $10,000 per planned location (paid in full when you sign the Area Development Agreement) in addition to the then-current initial franchise fee due for each location at the time the Franchise Agreement for that location is signed.

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About Iron Tribe Fitness

"Iron

Iron Tribe was founded by fitness industry veteran, Forrest Walden, back in 2008 in his 400 square foot garage. Initially, it was just to have a place for Forrest to do group-based workouts with his friends because he couldn’t find anywhere locally that offered the right amount of space and equipment. There was no charge to belong, but you had to have a personal invite. "The  As more and more friends begged to come and join his garage gym, Forrest began to dream about what it would look like to start a brand-new concept that would take his team-based, group workouts to the next level and allow more lives to be impacted. The first official Iron Tribe location opened in February of 2010. The response from the community was immediate and overwhelming. In fact, the 250 membership cap was reached in under 8 months with a growing waiting list .
That location has operated at max capacity since  September of 2010 eventually moving across the street and expanding the location to serve 300 clients.