Cheap gyms: How to exercise for less from £10 a month

Looking for a good-value gym membership? We've found lots of UK gyms without fixed contracts and pay-as-you-go gym membership for as little as £10 a month.

exercise for less
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Looking for a good-value gym membership? We've found lots of UK gyms without fixed contracts, or with pay-as-you-go gym membership for as little as £10 a month.

Are you put-off by sky-high gym membership and expensive joining fees? Think again because these cheap gyms will make it a whole lot easier to exercise for less.

The world of fitness has changed dramatically and there are now a whole new breed of cheap gyms where you can exercise for less by paying as little as £10 a month.

The majority of these cheap gyms even include classes. So, whether it's the treadmill, free weights or a body blast class that you're after, you can exercise for less no matter how you work out.

Cheap gyms to exercise for less

PureGym

Locations: PureGym is the UK’s biggest gym operator, with over 200 gyms across the UK from Aberdeen and Belfast to Cardiff and Bournemouth. They’re opening new cheap gyms all the time, so if there’s not one in your area at the moment, there might be soon.

What's on offer? Each PureGym has at least 220 pieces of top quality fitness equipment and more than 50 classes a week are included in the fee. These include indoor cycling, Pump and circuits classes. Gyms also have changing rooms, showers and functional training zones with equipment such as kettlebells and TRX suspension trainers. Most gyms are open 24/7, so you can train whenever suits you.

How much does it cost? Each gym has a different price, but membership starts from £14.99 a month and there's no fixed contract. PureGym’s Extra membership gives additional perks, like access to other gyms and the ability to bring a friend for free. For those on a limited budget, most gyms have off-peak memberships available, with discounted prices for those who train at quieter times.

Find out more puregym.com

PayasUgym

Locations: You can uses passes at 1,200 gyms across the UK.

What's on offer? PayAsUGym cheap gyms allow customers to buy day passes to their gym of choice or pay by class. They offer both pay as you go with no long-term commitment, but they also offer full memberships at lower costs. By purchasing passes to the gym, rather than signing up to a contract, you pay for as much as you want to use. You can choose from one session, one month and three months passes. The passes are sent as codes to you via text and you buy the passes online so it couldn't be simpler.

How much does it cost? It depends on the gym, with prices starting at around £5.40 per pass. If you buy your gym visits in bulk - as either a five visit bundle or a 10 visit bundle - it gets even cheaper!

Find out more payasugym.com

The Gym Group

Locations: There are 141 of these cheap gyms across the UK from Glasgow and Swansea to Norwich and Reading.

What's on offer? You get 24-hour access, seven days a week, to the gym and each one offers over 170 pieces of brand-new, energy-efficient fitness equipment - 70% of their machines use no electricity whatsoever. New products include indoor cycling experience Myride and there's a range of video classes covering yoga, Pilates and dance.

How much does it cost? Membership costs from £10.99 a month and there's no contract. Some gyms have a one-off joining fee and others may offer dual membership (e.g. Glasgow has two gyms) for no extra cost. But on the whole, this is a gym that prides itself on offering a 'no pressure membership' that you can stop and start whenever you want.

Find out more thegymgroup.com

Better Health & Fitness

Locations: There are currently 279 FitSpace gyms all over the UK, from St Ives all the way up to Gosforth.

What's on offer? These cheap gyms offer over 100 pieces of fitness equipment and free weights. Some gyms have a spin room and dedicated weights room. Fitness classes are also included in the fee such as Circuits, Combat, Ab Toning, Indoor Cycling, Body Blast and Kickboxing – the actual classes available depend on the gym. Some of the gyms also have pools, and for those interested personal training is available - but for an extra charge.

How much does it cost? Prices vary depending on location, with some gyms starting at as little as £15.95 a month. For your membership, you get inclusive access to all of Better Leisure gyms, swimming pools and fitness classes in your home area. If you don't want to be restricted by location, there's also a 'Better Health and Fitness UK' membership which is more expensive, but allows you to use any of the Better gyms across the UK.

Find out more better.org.uk

easyGym

Locations: Currently there are currently 16 easyGyms around the UK with eight in London, three in and around Birmingham and others in locations such as Liverpool, Cardiff and Southampton.

What's on offer? Each easyGym offers premium gym equipment and free group classes with every membership. Classes include interval training and spinning.

How much does it cost? Prices vary depending on location. Joining an easyGym in central London could set you back as much as £26.99 a month, whereas a gym outside of London there are a lot more cheap gyms and it can cost from just £12.99 a month. You will need to pay the gym's joining (around £5) when you first sign up, but there is no contract. You can also buy a day pass if you want to go and try out the gym, from as little as £6.99 with no joining fee.

Find out more easygym.co.uk

exercise for less

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MoveGB

Locations: Available nationwide (Barnsley, Bath, Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Chelmsford, Doncaster, Exeter, Glasgow, Gloucester, Manchester, Hastings, Huddersfield, Leeds, Lincoln, London, Maidstone, Middlesborough, Plymouth, Sheffield, Southampton, Sunderland)

What's on offer? MoveGB is a mobile app that offers 'the UK's largest Every Activity membership'. With the app you can get nationwide access to 35,000+ activities at 5,500+ venues, including thousands of mainstream cheap gyms (e.g. Virgin Active) - all for one affordable monthly membership.

How much does it cost? Prices vary nationwide. For example, in London prices start from £19.99 per week,  whereas in Bath prices start from £13.99 per week - and those membership rates include entry to all the classes offered to different gyms on the app. In each city you can choose from three packages/tiers, which dictates the number of studios/gyms you can access. There is no joining fee and you can cancel anytime.

Find out more movegb.com

Xercise4less

Locations: There are currently 52 of these cheap gyms across England, Wales and Scotland, and access to all of the gyms nationwide is included in your membership.

What's on offer? All the clubs offer over 400 pieces of up-to-date equipment and offer 40 classes per week included in the membership. Classes are varied and include Boxercise, yoga, belly dancing and spin, depending on the gym. Some classes, such as Baby Ballet and Kickboxing, have an extra cost, but the majority are included in the fee.

How much does it cost? There are several membership options. Off-peak membership starts from as little as £9.99 per month, with peak membership starting from just £15.99 per month. Those with peak membership can access the gyms during opening hours seven days a week, but those with an off peak membership are abut more restricted, with access only between 10am and 4pm Monday to Friday, but anytime at the weekend.

Find out more xercise4less.co.uk

Prices correct at time last updated. Please check websites for any price changes.

How to exercise for less

With many of the options to exercise for less below, you won't have to worry about getting stuck in a contract as they don't have fixed terms.

In many cases you can pay by the month and cancel at any time, as long as you give a certain amount of notice.

Always make sure you ask about the contract and the Ts&Cs before signing up to any gym. Knowing how long the contract is and what your cancellation rights are important to consider when picking the right gym for you.

Make sure any Ts&Cs or contract conditions are in writing - and that they are the same as what you've been told in person.

Some gyms also let you freeze your membership, either for no cost or for a small re-activation fee. Ask about this if you know there will be a significant period of time where you won't be using it. This is a great way to exercise for less because you're not wasting money on a pricey direct debit during time periods when you can't make it there.

We've also found several gym companies who will let you exercise for less with low-cost memberships, flexible or even no contracts and better opening hours – some of them with 24-hour access.

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