Corporate America is going to discount gyms

Does your employer offer wellness benefits? A monthly budget to spend every month on gym memberships, fitness app subscriptions, or other wellness-related services?

These funds took off in popularity during the pandemic, but a recent study questioning their benefits, alongside a broader shift toward cost-cutting among companies, made me wonder: what does Ramp data say about trends in wellness?

From the cost-side and the consumer preferences side, I found:

• Reduction in wellness benefits. Companies have reduced wellness benefits by approximately 20% since 2023. The typical wellness benefit now stands at $1,103 annually per employee, about $92 a month.
• Shift to lower-cost option. Employees have responded to the reduction in benefits by shifting spend toward lower-cost options. We’re seeing less Equinox and more Planet Fitness.
• Wellness is local. Equinox is the most popular gym for business spenders in New York and San Francisco. In Los Angeles, it’s Soho House. In Miami, it’s Barry’s.

Stretched benefits

In 2023, the typical wellness benefit for employees sat at $1,366 annually. In 2025, it fell to $1,103. That’s a 20% decline over two years.

This decline may be one reason why we’ve seen employees shift toward flexible, budget-friendly options as they stretch reduced wellness benefits. Our findings back this up:

• Usage of apps like Classpass and Wellhub increased 16%.
• Low-cost gym chains grew 20%.
• Luxury gyms, like Equinox and Lifetime, and boutique fitness studios fell 3% year-over-year.

I was shocked to see saunas down 20% (my followers had thoughts on “‘team bonding’ saunas” in the Bay Area).

My forecast

I don’t think wellness benefits are going away, but they will get leaner as more firms shift to cost-cutting mode, especially if the economy turns south.

The cost-optimization by employees is the type of behavior we’d expect from cost-conscious consumers, but here, they’re spending “free” company money. It’s interesting to see standard consumer behaviors present themselves, even when employees are spending what is technically the company’s money.