Cost of private studio rental vs opening your own gym in Amsterdam

You have three choices as a personal trainer in Amsterdam: rent a studio by the hour, lease a space, or open your own gym. Each path has completely different costs, different risks and a different break-even point. No sales pitch — pure math with real 2026 Amsterdam numbers.

The three options at a glance

Before we look at the numbers, the definitions. These are the three models most freelance trainers in Amsterdam consider:

• Rent per hour: You book a private studio per session (like SculptClub). No fixed costs.
• Lease space: You rent your own space for a year or longer. Fixed monthly costs, your fit-out.
• Open your own gym: You buy or commercially lease, do your own fit-out and investment. Full control.

In practice 95% of Amsterdam freelance trainers weigh the choice between renting per hour and opening their own gym. Leasing commercial space just for your own clients tends to be too expensive as a middle option. So we focus on those two extremes.

Renting a private studio at SculptClub — what €12/hour gets you

At SculptClub on Egelantiersgracht in the Jordaan you rent a private studio per session. You only pay for the time you actually use. No membership, no contract, free cancellation anytime.

With a session pack you save up to 23%:

• Starter — €89: 10 sessions, ~10% off
• Routine — €179: ~15% off, most popular pack
• Pro — €299: ~20% off
• Volume — €499: ~23% off for trainers running 3+ sessions/week

Included: all equipment (Rogue power rack, cable machine, dumbbells, sled, Echo Bike, kettlebells), wifi, music, cleaning and door code via WhatsApp. No add-ons.

Monthly cost at 8 sessions/week: 8 × 4 weeks × €12 = €384/month. With Routine pack: ~€326/month.

Leasing space in Amsterdam — what it really costs

Opening your own gym starts with a commercial ground-floor unit. In Amsterdam Jordaan and centre you pay around €500 to €700 per square metre per year in 2026. A workable PT studio is at least 60 to 80 m².

Rough cost calculation for a 70 m² gym in central Amsterdam:

Plus the startup investment: equipment (power rack, benches, dumbbells, cable machine, flooring) runs €15,000 to €40,000 depending on how serious you go. Build-out and acoustics another €5,000 to €25,000. Realistically you’re €30,000 to €60,000 in before you take your first client.

Opening your own gym — investment math + payback time

Say you open a gym with €5,050 in monthly fixed costs and a €45,000 startup investment. What do you need to break even?

Break-even on fixed costs first: at €65 per session you need 78 sessions per month just to cover fixed costs. That’s ~18 sessions per week — five workdays, three-plus sessions per day. Zero room for your own income.

To also pay yourself a Dutch median income (≈€3,000 net/month, so ≈€4,500 gross profit/month), add ~70 sessions per month on top. Total: ~148 sessions/month, ~34 sessions/week.

Add depreciation on your investment (€45,000 over 5 years = €750/month) and that’s another ~12 sessions per month. Realistic break-even for a healthy own gym: 38-40 sessions per week.

That’s achievable for established trainers with a full client book and a waitlist. For starters or mid-career trainers it’s an aggressive target with serious risk.

Which option fits which trainer

The choice isn’t really about what you want — it’s about where you currently are. An honest matrix:

The mistake a lot of starting trainers make: they want their own gym before they have 20 paying clients. The result is fixed costs eating your net, stress about utilization, and burnout within 18 months.

Tax breaks + deductions per option

This is not tax advice — for your situation go to a tax advisor or the Belastingdienst. The below is informational.

Both models share that costs are deductible from your profit. But the structure differs:

• Per-hour studio rental: Direct expenses, no inventory or depreciation. Simple: invoice in, expense out.
• Own gym: Equipment depreciates (3-5 years), rent is directly deductible. KIA (small-scale investment deduction) kicks in above €2,601 in qualifying investments.
• Both: Zelfstandigenaftrek (€2,123 in 2026) and MKB-winstvrijstelling 14% — identical in both models.

The full breakdown of KvK, VAT, insurance and pension is in our freelance PT registration and tax guide.

What Jordaan trainers actually do in 2026

A short round-up of trainers we know — anonymous:

• Trainer A (3 years in, ~12 sessions/week): rents at SculptClub per hour. Took the Pro pack. Saves ~€200/month vs renting their own space.
• Trainer B (8 years in, ~30 sessions/week): opened their own 60 m² studio in West last year. Fixed costs €4,200/month. It works — but it’s hard.
• Trainer C (5 years in, ~22 sessions/week): keeps renting per hour, even though they could afford their own space. Reason: "With no fixed costs I sleep better. No client = no expense."

The thread: an own gym is not a status symbol — it’s an operational decision with immediate cashflow consequences. Those who can carry it, do. Those who hesitate rent per hour and build their book first.

Curious what renting at SculptClub looks like in practice? Rates, equipment and how per-hour booking works are on our for-trainers page.

Three concrete scenarios

Three concrete situations:

• You have 4 regular clients and run 8 sessions/week. → Studio per hour with Starter pack (€89 for 10 sessions). Your fixed costs stay at zero.
• You have 12 regular clients and run 22 sessions/week. → Studio per hour with Pro or Volume pack (~€10/hour). Own space doesn’t pencil yet.
• You have 25 regular clients + waitlist and run 38 sessions/week. → Own gym is mathematically interesting. Investment pays back within 2-3 years with stable utilization.