The Best Gyms in NYC in 2027: Budget, Luxury and Boutique Picks

New York has more gyms per block than almost anywhere, from $19-a-month chains to members’ clubs that cost more than rent. The right one depends on what you want to do there, how far you will walk to get there, and what you are willing to pay. This guide covers the best gyms in NYC by type, with locations and the prices each gym publishes as of October 2026, plus what to check before you sign, and when training at home makes more sense than any membership.

Prices are the gyms’ own published rates or rates reported by NYC press as of October 2026. Gyms change prices often and many quote by club, so confirm before you join. Type A Training has no affiliation with any gym listed here.

The short version

• Cheapest: Planet Fitness (from $19 a month) and PureGym, the chain formerly known as Blink (from about $47 a month).
• Best all-around: Crunch for classes and value, Chelsea Piers Fitness and Life Time for pools, courts and recovery.
• Luxury: Equinox, TMPL, Mercedes Club and Gym U.
• Best for one thing: Gleason’s for boxing, VITAL and Movement for climbing, Tone House for conditioning, Physique 57 for barre, Peloton Studios for a live Peloton class.
• No gym at all: a trainer who comes to your apartment or building gym costs more per session than a membership, but you skip the commute and the crowds, and every session is yours.

How we picked

We have not reviewed these gyms in person for this guide. Our picks come from each gym’s own site, from NYC coverage in Time Out, Athletech News and Commercial Observer, and from what our trainers hear from clients who belong to them. We checked that every gym was open in October 2026, dropped the ones that had closed, and flagged the ones that changed hands.

Budget gyms

Planet Fitness

The cheapest big-box option in every borough. The Classic membership starts at $19 a month on a 12-month plan (or $24 month to month) and the Black Card, which adds guest passes and access to every club, is $37.99 a month, per Planet Fitness’s Harlem club page. Expect cardio, machines and a dumbbell rack, not heavy barbells or classes. Fees: a startup fee and a $59 annual fee apply on most plans.

PureGym (formerly Blink Fitness)

Blink Fitness, New York’s “mood above muscle” budget chain, filed for bankruptcy in 2024 and was bought by the British chain PureGym, which rebranded the New York clubs in December 2025; it now lists 49 in the five boroughs. The clubs are open 24 hours, and the Murray Hill club page lists a no-commitment Core membership from $49.99 a month plus a joining fee, with a cheaper rate on a 12-month plan. At the December 2025 launch, PureGym advertised memberships from $24.99 to $39 a month, per Athletech News and QNS, so prices are still moving.

Full-service gyms

Crunch Fitness

Crunch has about two dozen clubs across the five boroughs and the best class schedule at its price. Published rates vary by club: the Union Square club lists One Crunch (single club) at $114.75 a month and All Crunch at $127.20, while the W 54th Street club lists One Crunch at $102. Base and Peak tiers at some clubs start in the $20s and $30s. Most clubs offer a free one-day trial.

New York Sports Club

NYSC is the city’s legacy neighborhood chain, mostly in Manhattan. It has closed several clubs since 2025, including West 80th Street, so check that your nearest one is still open. Third-party trackers put a single-club membership at about $57 a month at some Harlem clubs on a one-year plan, and the all-club Passport at $103 to $114 a month, plus a $79.99 annual fee; NYSC quotes exact rates by club.

Chelsea Piers Fitness

Chelsea Piers runs athlete-scale clubs: the original at Pier 60 has a pool, a track, courts and a climbing wall, and there are clubs in Flatiron, Downtown Brooklyn and Prospect Heights. A fifth, in Hudson Square on West Houston Street, is due in late 2026, and a Midtown East lease has been signed. Pricing is by inquiry; its chief operating officer told Athletech News that memberships run about $230 to $275 a month.

Life Time

Life Time calls its clubs “athletic country clubs,” and its nine full-size New York City clubs live up to it: big pools, saunas and cold plunges, coworking lounges and long class schedules. Published memberships start at $348 a month at the Sky and Dumbo clubs. Life Time also sells 26 and Under and 65 Plus memberships; Time Out reported $299 a month for a single club at Atlantic Avenue. Its LT High Performance club on Fifth Avenue, opened in 2025, is $550 a month per Athletech News, and a Bryant Park club is due in 2027.

Luxury clubs

Equinox

Equinox was named Manhattan’s largest retail tenant by square footage in 2025 (CRE Daily, citing The Real Deal), with about 31 clubs in the borough plus Brooklyn and Queens. Memberships are quoted by club, and press and trackers put them at roughly $235 to $430 a month depending on how many clubs you want access to, and an initiation fee may apply. The Printing House club in the West Village has a rooftop pool. Note that New York State reached a $600,000 settlement with Equinox in 2025 over membership cancellation practices, so read the cancellation terms.

TMPL

Founded by David Barton, TMPL now has six Manhattan clubs per its site, including a new one on Madison Avenue with baths. The Hell’s Kitchen club has a saltwater pool. Rates are quoted by club; one tracker lists one-year memberships from $220 a month in the West Village to $320 at Madison.

Mercedes Club

An 80,000-square-foot club in Hell’s Kitchen with an indoor lap pool, an outdoor pool with sundecks, a basketball court and more than 50 classes a week. Membership is by inquiry.

Gym U

David Barton’s other project, a 35,000-square-foot former YMCA in Chelsea with Italian Panatta equipment, a bar and lounge, and recovery technology. Membership is by inquiry.

Boutique and specialty gyms

Tone House

Often called the hardest workout in New York: sprints, harness drags and turf work in team-style classes. Tone House now lists only its NoMad studio; the Upper East Side location is gone from its site. A single class is $45, a 10-pack is $400, and first-timers can try a week of classes for $50.

Solace New York

An 11,000-square-foot strength and conditioning gym in NoMad, now built around HYROX-style training, with 24-hour access for members. Open gym is $300 a month or $60 a week, and class drop-ins are $40. If you are training for HYROX, see our HYROX guide.

Grind House Fitness

A no-frills Muay Thai, boxing and strength gym with locations in Flatiron and Williamsburg. A dual-location membership is $243 a month with no signup fee, a class drop-in is $43.20, and there is a free three-day trial.

Physique 57

The original New York barre method, founded in 2006. Physique 57 closed its original Manhattan studios, including 57th Street, during the pandemic and reopened in 2025 with a two-floor NoMad flagship, plus studios in SoHo and at 60th and Fifth. A class is $44, an unlimited month is $350 on a three-month minimum, and new clients get three classes for $99.

Peloton Studios New York

You do not need a membership to ride or run in a live Peloton production at the Hudson Yards studio. Classes are $35 each and book up fast; anyone can book up to six classes a week, two a day. The studio closes for maintenance a few weeks a year, including a week in early November 2026.

DOGPOUND

The SoHo private training gym known for its celebrity clients. An intro session is $250 and ongoing training is by inquiry, so it belongs here for the curious rather than the budget-minded.

Climbing gyms

VITAL Climbing Gym

VITAL has grown to four 24-hour bouldering gyms: Williamsburg, the Lower East Side, West Harlem and the Upper East Side, with rooftop climbing, saunas and classes. Williamsburg and the Lower East Side are $155 a month with a $38 day pass; West Harlem and the Upper East Side are $125 a month with a $28 day pass, plus 4.5 percent tax and a $10 key card. No initiation or cancellation fees.

Movement Harlem

Formerly The Cliffs at Harlem and still the largest climbing gym in Manhattan, across from the Apollo. Memberships start at $119 a month and a day pass is $32. Movement also has gyms in Gowanus and Long Island City.

Boxing

Gleason’s Gym

Brooklyn Paper calls it the oldest active boxing gym in the country; Ali, Tyson and Jake LaMotta all trained there, and it has been in Dumbo since 1987. It is $120 a month, a day of training is $25, and spectators pay $20. Want to box without the commute? Our boxing for fitness guide covers a workout you can do at home.

What to check before you join

• The cancellation terms. New York’s health club law lets you cancel within three business days of receiving your contract, and later if you move more than 25 miles away, are disabled for more than three months, or the club closes or substantially changes. Beyond that, notice periods, early termination fees and annual fees are set by the contract. Ask for them in writing.
• Which clubs your plan covers. Many chains sell single-club and all-club tiers. The cheaper one may not include the club near your office.
• Peak-hour crowding. Visit at the time you would train. A gym that is empty at 2 p.m. can have a line for every squat rack at 6 p.m.
• Trial passes. Most chains offer a free day or week. Boutique studios usually have a discounted intro offer.
• Personal training rates. Gym trainers are an extra charge on top of membership, and the trainer is assigned by the gym.

When a trainer at home beats a membership

A gym membership only works if you go. If you have a building gym, a corner of your apartment and 45 minutes, a trainer who comes to you removes the commute, the crowds and the guesswork, and every session is built around you. A Type A Training trainer comes to your home, your building gym or a park in Manhattan, brings any equipment you need and builds a program around your goals and your schedule. Learn more about in-home personal training, or see our guide to hiring a personal trainer in NYC and our rates.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest gym in NYC?

Planet Fitness, from $19 a month on a 12-month plan, followed by PureGym (formerly Blink). Both are basic gyms without classes or heavy free-weight areas.

How much does Equinox cost in NYC?

Equinox quotes prices by club, but NYC press and membership trackers put most memberships between about $235 and $430 a month, plus an initiation fee, as of October 2026.

What happened to Blink Fitness?

Blink filed for bankruptcy in 2024 and was bought by PureGym, which rebranded the New York clubs as PureGym in December 2025. The clubs stayed open.

Which NYC gyms have pools?

Chelsea Piers at Pier 60, Life Time, Mercedes Club, TMPL Hell’s Kitchen and Equinox Printing House, among others.

Is a gym membership or a personal trainer better value?

It depends on whether you will use it. A membership is cheaper per month, but a trainer gives you a program, coaching and accountability, and many clients train with us in their building gym for no membership cost at all.