Is LA Fitness Better Than Planet Fitness?
LA Fitness is better than Planet Fitness on amenities (pool, classes, courts, free weights) but worse on price. Which one is "better" depends entirely on what you actually use at a gym.
Quick Answer
LA Fitness beats Planet Fitness on amenities, equipment quality and group classes. Planet Fitness beats LA Fitness on price, cleanliness and 24-hour access.
Which one is "better" depends entirely on what you want: LA Fitness for swimming, classes and heavy lifting; Planet Fitness for cheap cardio-and-machines access.
Head-to-Head Feature Comparison
LA Fitness has: pool, sauna, hot tub, basketball, group classes, dumbbells to 100 lbs, power racks, Kids Klub, nationwide Signature access.
Planet Fitness has: 24/7 access at most locations, hydro-massage beds, tanning beds, massage chairs, unlimited pizza night, judgement-free zone marketing, brighter cleaner facilities.
These two chains barely compete on the same terms. They serve different customers.
Price Comparison Over Two Years
- Planet Fitness Classic (24 months): ~$300 total.
- Planet Fitness Black Card (24 months): ~$650 total.
- LA Fitness single-club (24 months): ~$980 total.
- LA Fitness Signature (24 months): ~$1,300 total.
LA Fitness is roughly 1.5 to 3x the total cost.
When LA Fitness Is Better
You swim, take group classes, play basketball or racquetball, lift heavy free weights, have kids that need childcare, or want nationwide multi-club access. In these use cases the extra $20 to $30 a month is easily worth it.
Serious lifters especially prefer LA Fitness because heavier dumbbells, dedicated deadlift areas and power racks are standard.
When Planet Fitness Is Better
You only use cardio machines and lighter selectorized weights, you value 24-hour access, you want tanning or hydro-massage included, or you are cost-sensitive. Planet Fitness undercuts every full-service gym by a wide margin.
Beginners often feel more comfortable at Planet Fitness because the judgement-free marketing and no-heavy-weights culture reduce intimidation.
The Cleanliness Gap
Planet Fitness runs consistently cleaner facilities at the chain level. LA Fitness cleanliness varies wildly by club, with older locations sometimes struggling.
Visit both before committing. Cleanliness is one of the top three factors in long-term member satisfaction, and it does not show up on any marketing page.
The Real Answer
Neither is universally better. Pick the gym that matches how you actually train. If you would use LA Fitness' pool and classes twice a week, it is worth $20 more per month. If you would only use cardio machines, Planet Fitness saves you $250+ a year for functionally identical results.
The one thing not to do: pay LA Fitness prices for Planet Fitness usage patterns. That is the most common membership regret in fitness.
The Two Clubs Are Solving Different Problems
These chains are not really competitors in the way the price comparison suggests. One is a full service health club with pools, courts, studios and free weights. The other is a low cost, high volume machine gym built deliberately around beginners and consistency.
Asking which is better is therefore the wrong question. The useful question is which set of tradeoffs matches how you will actually train over the next twelve months.
Where The Budget Option Genuinely Wins
- Price, by a wide margin, and that matters most for anyone who is unsure they will stick with it
- Machine availability, because the equipment mix is weighted toward selectorised machines and cardio
- Long opening hours, with many locations running around the clock on weekdays
- A deliberately unintimidating atmosphere, which is a real benefit for a first time gym member
If your training is cardio plus machine circuits and you value paying as little as possible, the cheaper option is not a compromise. It is the correct choice.
Where The Full Service Club Wins
Free weight provision is the clearest difference. Squat racks, a full dumbbell range going properly heavy, benches, platforms and the space to use them are standard in a full service club and limited or absent in the budget model, which also tends to discourage very heavy lifting culturally.
Then there is everything that is not a weight: pools, whirlpools, saunas, group class schedules, basketball and racquet courts and childcare. Those amenities carry the price difference, and they are worthless if you never use them and excellent value if you use two or three of them weekly.
How To Decide In One Week
Write out the sessions you realistically plan to do each week for the next three months. Not the aspirational version, the honest one. Then tour both clubs at the exact time you would train and check whether that plan is physically possible in each building at that hour.
Take the free pass at both. A single visit tells you more about crowding, equipment queues and cleanliness than any comparison article, including this one.
Finally, read the contract terms rather than the headline rate. Annual fees, initiation fees, minimum terms and cancellation method vary between the two models and between individual clubs, and the total first year cost is frequently very different from the monthly figure on the sign outside.
Pro Tips Before You Commit
- Tour on a weekday evening between 5pm and 7pm. That is the busiest window. If the equipment is still accessible then, it will be fine any other time.
- Ask for the promotional rate, do not accept the rack rate. LA Fitness runs quiet in-club promos almost every month; sales counselors have discretion to waive the initiation fee if you ask.
- Get every quote in writing. Verbal promises about future price locks are worth nothing once the sales rep leaves the club.
- Read the exact clause on annual fees. Most members are surprised in month 8 by a $59 annual fee they were never verbally told about.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Planet Fitness have squat racks? No, and heavy deadlifting is discouraged. LA Fitness has both.
Does Planet Fitness have a pool? No, zero Planet Fitness locations have pools.
Is LA Fitness cleaner than Planet Fitness? Generally no; Planet Fitness has tighter chain-wide cleanliness standards.
Which chain is easier to cancel? Both require in-person or written cancellation. Roughly equal difficulty.
Bottom Line
Pick LA Fitness for amenities and heavy lifting. Pick Planet Fitness for cheap cardio and 24-hour access. There is no universally better answer; the right choice depends on how you actually use a gym.