8 min readMember management
Gym software price in India: what it costs, what is free and what to compare
By Himanshu Thakur, Founder, Jimwala · Updated · 8 min read
Search for the cost of gym software in India and you will see anything from a few hundred rupees a month to many thousands. Those numbers cannot be compared until you know what each one includes, and the word "free" hides even more.
This is how we would read a price page if we were buying.
Why the range is so wide
The core features are rarely what differs. The extras around them are:
- Member count, with a price jump when you cross a limit
- Number of branches or staff logins
- WhatsApp or SMS, billed per message or per pack
- Payment gateway fees on online collections
- A website or member app sold separately
- Onboarding, data import or training fees
What free means
"Free" comes in three forms and they are not alike. A free plan stays free but with limits on members, features or messages. A free trial gives full access for a fixed time and then asks for money. A free template, like an Excel sheet, is free but does nothing by itself.
- Before you move members into a free plan, ask what happens at the member limit, and whether reminders are included or paid per message.
- Ask whether you can export everything if you leave, whether your members will see adverts, and how the company makes money. If the answer involves your members' data or money, think harder.
Our trial is 14 days of full access with no card. It is a trial, not a free plan, and we would rather say so.
What Jimwala costs
Three plans, by number of members. Every feature is in every plan. Starter (up to 100 members) is ₹549 a month month to month, or ₹399 a month paid yearly. Growth (up to 300) is ₹849 or ₹599 a month. Pro (unlimited) is ₹1,249 or ₹899 a month.
WhatsApp reminders and receipts are included. You only buy credits if you send broadcast offers to groups. Prices are final: Jimwala is not GST-registered, so nothing is added on top.
A worked year for one gym
Take a gym with 90 members, each getting about three WhatsApp messages a month: a renewal reminder, a dues reminder and a receipt. The three vendors below are invented to show the method. They are not real companies.
- Vendor A advertises ₹300 a month and charges about ₹0.80 per WhatsApp message. 90 × 3 = 270 messages, about ₹216. Real cost: ₹516 a month, or ₹6,192 a year.
- Vendor B charges ₹700 a month with messages included, plus a ₹3,000 onboarding fee. Year one: ₹11,400.
- Vendor C charges ₹450 a month up to 50 members and ₹900 from member 51. At 90 members, the year costs ₹10,800.
- Jimwala Starter: ₹6,588 for twelve months month to month, or ₹4,788 paid yearly. Messages included, no onboarding fee.
The lesson is the method. Ask every vendor for a twelve-month total at your member count and your real message volume.
Monthly or yearly
Most products discount a year paid up front. Take it only after the trial has convinced you. On Jimwala the yearly saving is ₹1,800 on Starter, ₹3,000 on Growth and ₹4,200 on Pro. That is why we say "from ₹399 a month, billed yearly": it is the yearly rate. A fair price page shows both numbers, so check that anyone you compare does too.
What it should earn back
Software is worth its price if it recovers more than it costs. Suppose your plan is ₹1,000 a month and reminders keep five members a month who would have drifted away. That is ₹5,000 you keep. Add dues: 15 members owe an average of ₹600, and a clear list with a one-tap WhatsApp message gets a third of them to pay this week, so ₹3,000 recovered. Put your own numbers in. Our renewal loss calculator does the first half for you.