Behind the Numbers: The Most Valuable Months to Sign Up New Gym Clients

Every gym owner has ideas about the “good” months of the year for signing up new clients. It might be a gut feeling or hard data that January brings the resolution crowd, summer gets quiet, and fall feels like everyone’s finally back in a routine.

Back in 2023, we tested gut feelings against real data and found that the month a client joins does actually affect how much they’re worth to your business.

Three years later, we ran the numbers again with fresh data. Some things held up, like the fact that September and October are still the top months to bring in new clients. And this time, a few things moved, too. One finding really surprised us: the month that brings in the most new clients is also the month those clients are worth the least. Let’s dive into what we uncovered.

Where the Numbers Came From

We looked at 92,837 new clients who bought their first paid membership at 756 fitness businesses in the U.S. using Wodify between April 2024 and March 2026. That window covers every calendar month twice, ensuring that one unusual year wouldn’t skew the results.

For each client, we added up everything they paid through Wodify in their first six months: memberships, drop-ins, personal training, retail, etc. When you see the “six-month client value” referenced throughout this post, that’s what we mean.

A few notes on the method, if you’re an owner that likes to check our math:

• We only included gyms that were on Wodify for at least six months before the study window started. When a gym switches software, its whole roster shows up as “new” on day one, and we didn’t want those imports muddying the results.
• We left out clients with no recorded payments, since those usually mean the gym collects that revenue outside of Wodify.
• We capped the top 0.5% of values at $3,400 so a handful of large training packages couldn’t skew the averages.

The Most Valuable Months to Sign Up New Clients

Across all 12 months, the average new client was worth $629 in their first six months. In our 2023 study, that number was $493. Part of that jump is price increases across the industry, while part is the way we measured this time. With that in mind, read it as a direction more than an exact figure.

Here’s how each month stacks up:

Our top five months for new client value:

1. October ($666)
2. September ($666)
3. April ($658)
4. January ($648)
5. February ($643)

September and October finished within 30 cents of each other, and both ranked in the top four in each of the two years we studied. June came in last both years.

Fall is Still the Sweet Spot

September and October topped the list in 2023 and that hasn’t changed. A new client who joins in the fall is worth about $96 more over six months than one who joins in June. That works out to 17% more revenue from the same single signup.

The reason probably hasn’t changed either. Summer is over, kids are back in school, vacations are done, and people are looking for a routine they can stick with. Someone who joins in September has a clear runway of uninterrupted months ahead of them before the holidays hit.

January is Strong, February and March Hold Up

The new year crowd has historically had a reputation for fading by Valentine’s Day, but our data says January joiners are worth $648, about 3% above average. February ($643) and March ($635) stay above average too. That aligns with what we’re seen in our Q1 gym marketing playbook: January brings the traffic, but the people who sign up in February and March tend to show up with real intent.

As a quarter, Q1 now edges out the rest at $642 per client, compared to $638 for Q4, $625 for Q3, and $616 for Q2.

April is the Newcomer

April didn’t make our top three in 2023, but this time it came in third at $658. Spring is a natural reset point (likely because of better weather and longer days), and April joiners still get a couple of full months in before summer travel starts.

August Dropped Off

In 2023, August was our third most valuable month. In this refresh, August joiners came in at $620, showing up a little under average. It’s still a solid month, but it’s no longer one we’d treat as a peak. If you’ve been launching your fall campaign in early August, it may pay to push that launch back a few weeks so it lands closer to Labor Day.

June Brings the Most New Clients and the Lowest Value

This was the finding that really surprised us. June was the lowest-value join month at $570. And at the same time, it was also the single-busiest month for new signups, bringing in 11.0% of the year’s new clients. December was the slowest at 6.2%.

Data showed that people who join during the summer are more likely to travel, pause, or sign up for a short-term pass with an end date already in mind. College students home for break show up in June, and so do people training for one event or trying it out while their schedule is light.

It’s important to not overlook the fact that you actually want those people in your gym. And therefore the goal is to set them up so their first six months look more like those of someone who joins in September.

Here are a few ways to do that:

• Build your summer offer as a bridge to fall. A six-week summer challenge that rolls into a regular membership at the end can be more impactful than a stand-alone summer pass that expires on Labor Day.
• Offer hold options as an alternative to canceling. Summer travel is real. Giving members an easy way to pause for a vacation keeps them in your system and on your schedule when they get back. Our post on how to reduce gym cancellations covers the early warning signs to watch for.
• Put extra attention on onboarding in June and July. You’ll have more new people in the building than any other time of year, so this is when a structured first 90 days matters most. Our client retention strategy guide has a simple 30-60-90 day plan you can borrow.
• Go easy on discounts. Summer promos can fill the roster with clients who joined for the deal. If you need to fill quieter class times, there are ways to fill off-peak classes without discounting that protect your pricing.

How to Use the Numbers for Your Marketing Strategy

Knowing your best months only helps if your campaigns are ready before those months arrive. Here’s a calendar you can work from, based on where the value showed up in the data:

Late July and Early August: Build Your Fall Campaign

Write your offers, line up your social content, and get your lead follow-up ready. Launch in mid-August so you’re in front of people in September and October, when new clients are worth the most.

Early December: Set Up Your January Campaign

If you’re like other gym owners, the holidays always seem to fly by and the new years rush sneaks up on you every single year. Get ahead of the game by spending the time in Q4 to set up your campaigns one step at a time, so you’re ready to go on January 1st.

Late January: Shift Messaging for February and March

For many gyms, the resolution crowd starts to thin out by the third or fourth week of January. Which means the February and March leads are serious about long-term goals instead of short-term resolutions. Focus on talking to them specifically about results and the community they’ll be part of.

March: Line Up an April Push

April is actually the most underrated month on this list. A spring challenge or bring-a-friend event in April can attract new clients whose ACV (average client value) ends up being higher than January’s average.

May and June: Switch to Onboarding Mode

The data shows that this is the time when you’ll get plenty of signups without much pushing. Put your energy into retention so that the people who join in the summer stick around into the fall.

Whatever month you’re in, the data can guide you but your marketing strategy will determine how many leads become members. If you want a quick audit of your current approach, check out these gym marketing mistakes that cost you members. And make sure your gym website is ready for the traffic before you turn your campaigns on.

Check the Numbers for Your Own Gym

First, it’s important to note that these are averages across hundreds of businesses. Your gym might look different. For example, a gym in a college town or a ski town could have a seasonal pattern all its own.

The good news is you don’t have to guess. Start by pulling a report of your new clients by the month they joined, and compare it to what those clients paid over their first six months. (Pro Tip: If you use Wodify, you can ask Ask Wodify to pull that for you in plain language). Once you know your own best months, you can put your marketing budget where it’ll go the furthest.

—

New to Wodify? Book a demo and see how our reporting and automated onboarding tools help you make the most of every signup season.

Already a Wodify user? Talk to our team about setting up automated welcome sequences before your next big signup month.