Home Gym Vs. Gym Membership: When Does Buying Your Own Equipment Become Cheaper?

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

If you're looking to get in shape, the first thought that likely will come to mind is that you need to purchase a gym membership. The two most common gyms in the U.S. — which are thus the easiest for anyone to access — are Planet Fitness and Anytime Fitness. Monthly memberships at Planet Fitness range from $15 for a basic membership or $25 for a Planet Fitness Black Card with a $49 annual fee for both. Anytime Fitness memberships cost between $25 and $35 every two weeks. However, if you purchase one of these memberships and ultimately don't end up following through with your exercise goals, you will end up losing money in the long run. This is why many people decide to purchase their own exercise equipment and put together a home gym instead, as it's easier to access and once you buy the equipment, it's yours. That said, with the up front cost to do so ranging anywhere from $300 to $2,000i or more, t begs the question: when does buying your own equipment become cheaper than paying for a gym membership?

I you purchase a set of LifeGO multi-weight dumbbells for $134.99, an Elseluck walking pad for $99.99, and an Orinar adjustable workout bench for $69.99, on Amazon it'll cost you a one-time fee of roughly $300 plus tax. This is far less than the annual fees for a membership at Anytime Fitness which range from $600 to $840 a year, cumulatively.

Generally speaking, you really only need three pieces of equipment to set up a basic home gym. This includes a walking pad for light cardio, a set of adjustable weights, and workout bench for strength training. The aforementioned options from the previous section are a great place to start, and the best part about buying them is you only have to do so once. Also, in the case that you want to start working out and end up falling off of your planned regime at any point, you will always have this equipment on hand to return to.

The only situation where a gym membership would be more affordable than this is by purchasing a Planet Fitness basic membership for $15 a month plus an annual fee of $49, as overall this will cost you $229 a year. You will also have access to a greater range of equipment than you would from the aforementioned basic home gym set up, and generally speaking the company doesn't have cancellation fees. The only issue here is that you actually have to use the membership consistently for a full year in order for it to cost less than the $300 basic home gym set up. If you stick to your work out routine for two years, you will have effectively paid around $560 total for your membership compared to the $300 one time fee you could've spent on the aforementioned basic gym equipment.

Ultimately, it's important to be realistic with yourself about your fitness goals before deciding to purchase a gym membership or home exercise equipment. Think about it like this: according to a study conducted by Forbes, the most popular New Year's resolution is to exercise more. Baylor College of Medicine found that 88% of people who set New Year's resolutions like this end up abandoning them before the first month of the year is over.

One of the best solutions to this commitment issue is to purchase exercise equipment for your home. The reason being is that it will be much easier for you to work out simply because you don't have to actually get up and drive to the gym in order to do so — everything is right there. This means you can also do some brief exercises throughout the day if you're feeling lethargic and don't want to commit to a full workout. Overall, by purchasing your own exercise equipment, you officially own it forever and can access it whenever you please. You can also avoid many of the sneaky ways gyms trick you into spending more money. On the other hand, gyms have a larger variety of exercise equipment than a basic home gym set up. This can be greatly beneficial to your exercise routine just so long as you actually make use of your membership, otherwise that's just money down the drain.