Chartered Financial Analyst specializing in wellness and membership-based business models.
Find out how many classes or memberships your studio needs to sell each month to be profitable. Enter any three variables—Monthly Fixed Costs, Avg. Price per Student, Avg. Cost per Student, or Breakeven Students—to solve for the fourth.
Yoga Studio Breakeven Calculator
Yoga Studio Breakeven Formula
The breakeven formula for a yoga studio finds the number of students or members (Q) you need for your revenue to cover all monthly fixed and variable costs (like instructor pay and cleaning).
Q = F / (P – V)
Solve for Monthly Fixed Costs (F):
F = Q * (P – V)
Solve for Avg. Price per Student (P):
P = (F / Q) + V
Solve for Avg. Cost per Student (V):
V = P – (F / Q)
Variables Explained
- Monthly Fixed Costs (F): Your total, recurring monthly overhead (e.g., studio rent, utilities, insurance, booking software, salaried staff).
- Avg. Price per Student (P): The average monthly revenue per student (e.g., average membership price or total drop-in fees divided by students).
- Avg. Cost per Student (V): The average cost directly tied to one student (e.g., instructor pay (if per-head), payment processing fees, cleaning supplies).
- Breakeven Students (Q): The total number of students or members you need each month to reach $0 in profit.
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What is a Yoga Studio’s Breakeven Point?
A **Yoga Studio’s Breakeven Point** is the exact number of students or members (Q) you must enroll each month to cover all your operating costs. It is the minimum level of attendance required to stop losing money and begin building a profitable wellness community.
**Fixed Costs (F)** are your consistent monthly expenses, regardless of how many students attend class. This includes studio rent or mortgage, full-time staff salaries, utilities, insurance, and monthly fees for studio management software (like Mindbody).
**Variable Costs (V)** are the costs that increase *directly* with each student who signs up or attends. This can include payment processing fees, cleaning supplies, and, most importantly, yoga instructor pay if they are paid *per student* rather than a fixed rate per class.
The **Contribution Margin** (P – V) is the profit from a single student that goes toward paying your fixed costs. If your average member pays $100/mo (P) and costs you $5 in processing fees (V), your contribution margin is $95. This calculator finds how many $95 “profit chunks” you need to cover your total fixed costs.
How to Calculate Yoga Studio Breakeven (Example)
Let’s calculate the breakeven point for a new yoga studio.
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Identify Monthly Fixed Costs (F):
Your studio rent is $4,000, utilities/insurance is $500, and software is $150. You pay instructors a fixed rate *per class* (not per student), so their pay ($3,000/mo) is also a fixed cost. Your (F) is $7,650.
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Identify Avg. Price per Student (P):
You only sell monthly memberships at $120.
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Identify Avg. Cost per Student (V):
Your only per-student cost is the 3% payment processing fee. `0.03 * $120 = $3.60`.
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Apply the Formula: Q = F / (P – V)
First, calculate the contribution margin per student: $120 (P) – $3.60 (V) = $116.40.
Next, divide the fixed costs by this margin:
Q = $7,650 / $116.40 = 65.72 -
Conclusion:
You must have 66 members each month (rounding up) to cover all your costs and start making a profit.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
It depends on your pay structure. If you pay instructors a fixed salary or a flat rate per *class* (e.g., $50 per class), it’s a **Fixed Cost (F)**. If you pay them a percentage of sales or a rate *per student* who attends, it’s a **Variable Cost (V)**.
Use a weighted average. If 70% of your revenue comes from 50 members paying $100 ($5,000) and 30% from 100 drop-ins paying $20 ($2,000), your total students (Q) is 150. Your total revenue is $7,000. Your average (P) is `$7,000 / 150 = $46.67`.
Large, one-time purchases of durable equipment are capital expenditures. You should “amortize” them. If you paid $2,400 for equipment you expect to last 2 years (24 months), you could add `$2,400 / 24 = $100` to your monthly (F).
Enter your (F) (e.g., $7,650), (V) (e.g., $3.60), and your target number of members (Q) (e.g., 100). Solve for (P): `P = ($7,650 / 100) + $3.60 = $76.50 + $3.60 = $80.10`. You must charge at least $80.10 per member to break even with 100 members.