24 Hour Fitness and LA Fitness are both mid-level gyms that don’t cost too much each month and do provide good value for money in the facilities and amenities provided at each club, though they do have some slight differences.
24 Hour Fitness vs. LA Fitness: Which is Better?
Of the primary categories that are important for most gyms, 24 Hour Fitness and LA Fitness rank closely together and even switch back and forth as the best gym depending on what is most important to you in a gym.
| 24 Hour Fitness | LA Fitness | |
| Cost | Winner | |
| Facilities And Amenities | Winner | |
| Equipment | Winner | Winner |
| Hours | Winner | |
| Locations | Winner | |
| Group Classes | Winner | |
| Personal Training | Winner |
24 Hour fitness is best for people that require extended hours from a gym or want to select the best personal trainer without the pressure of buying memberships or training sessions.
LA Fitness is best for people that want a reasonably priced gym with a bigger range of amenities, more locations, and a more extensive group class offering.
24 Hour Fitness vs. LA Fitness: Membership Cost
LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness have similar prices if you’re paying monthly and want access to multiple locations and the maximum amenities possible. However, if you’re willing to pay for a full year up front, then 24 Hour fitness has the best price at $25 per month.
| 24 Hour Fitness | LA Fitness | |
| Lowest Monthly | $29.99 | $34.99 + $99 Once |
| High Monthly | $44.99 | $44.99 |
| Yearly Price | $25 / Month | |
| Yearly Club Fee | $49 | $49 |
If you’re looking for the cheapest monthly option, then 24 Hour Fitness also has the best price, and in some locations, it can be even cheaper with a silver single club plan, but your access to other gyms and amenities will be more limited.
LA Fitness Prices
LA Fitness makes life easy by providing two pricing plans, either $34.99 per month with a $99 initiation fee of $44.99 per month with a $0 initiation fee. So unless you plan to leave before 10 months, it’s going to be better long-term to pay the initiation fee.
You’ll also be expected to pay your first and last month’s dues and an annual membership fee of $49, so your first payment could be $168.98.
24 Hour Fitness Prices
24 Hour Fitness has a more complicated pricing structure based on your location and the amenities that you want access to, but you can get better deals if you don’t need special amenities and you’re willing to pay yearly instead of monthly.
Pay for a gold membership for $29.99 per month or a platinum membership for $44.99 per month or $25 per month if you pay for the entire year. In addition, you have a $1 initiation fee and a $49 yearly club membership fee.
You’ll only be expected to pay $1 on your first day of membership, so the upfront costs are much lower with 24 hour Fitness.
24 Hour Fitness vs. LA Fitness: Facilities & Amenities
LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness have comparable facilities and amenities, including extra areas for things like basketball, swimming pools, and even racquetball courts. However, LA Fitness has a few value-added services, such as towel service and a kids club.
| 24 Hour Fitness | LA Fitness | Extra Cost | |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Group Fitness | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Pool | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Personal Training | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sauna | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Kids Club | ✓ | ||
| Racquetball / Squash | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Whirlpool Spa | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Towel Service | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Wifi | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Turf / Functional Training | ✓ | ✓ |
As with everything in this article, you need to double-check your local gyms to ensure that they have the amenities that you’re after. Not every location will have a basketball court or pool, but if you’re in a bigger city, you’re likely to find another one close by that has these facilities.
24 Hour Fitness Removing Amenities And Services
What should be a concern for most people when considering both gyms is that 24 Hour Fitness has previously had all the same amenities and services that LA Fitness currently has, but they’ve slowly been removing things like the towel service and kids club.
For many people, the kids club may not be a major decider, but if you do have kids, it can make your life much easier. The same is true for towel service, even at an additional cost, it’s beneficial to have free towels for working out and showers available.
LA Fitness Competitive Sports Leagues
Another area that LA Fitness beats out 24 Hour Fitness is by providing friendly but competitive leagues for things like basketball or racquetball, which run throughout the year in most states and bigger cities that LA Fitness has facilities in.
The leagues are members only, so you must be a member of LA Fitness to join, play, and even win prizes. So it’s well worth it if you’re looking to include some competitive sports into your workout routines.
24 Hour Fitness vs. LA Fitness: Equipment
LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness have similar equipment for cardio, strength training, and even turf areas for your functional training requirements. You won’t find a huge difference between the types of equipment, areas to use, or even the number of items in each category of equipment.
| 24 Hour Fitness | LA Fitness | |
| Cardio | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free Weights | ✓ | ✓ |
| Squat Racks / Power Racks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Strength Machines | ✓ | ✓ |
| Turf | ✓ | ✓ |
It is important to ensure that your specific location has the equipment that you want, most clubs have at least 2 squat racks or power racks, but some have much more based on the use and member requirements, so check both gyms in your area to see which has more of what you want.
24 Hour Fitness vs. LA Fitness: Open Hours
24 Hour Fitness lives up to its name and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. The only exception you may find is cities that don’t allow 24 hour operation, but that would be across all gyms, so it isn’t a mark against 24 Hour Fitness.
LA Fitness locations may vary but are typically open from 5 am – 11 pm on weekdays, but on weekends the gyms open and close earlier, around 8 am – 8 pm.
24 Hour Fitness has a clear advantage, especially on weekends when many people may want to get a workout in before 8 am or even after 8 pm.
24 Hour Fitness vs. LA Fitness: Locations
LA Fitness has more locations across the US than 24 Hour Fitness, though your specific area may differ, so if you’re paying for a regional or national membership, check that your areas have enough gyms to accommodate your requirements.
24 Hour Fitness has around 300 clubs in 12 states, while LA Fitness has around 700 clubs in 27 states.
| 24 Hour Fitness | LA Fitness | |
| Number Of Clubs | 300 | 700 |
| Number Of States WIth Clubs | 12 | 27 |
You may find that there are many LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness locations around your work, but one may have less or even none around your home, so check anywhere you may want to use a gym as your specific requirements are the most important thing.
States With Each Gym Available
LA Fitness is available in many more states and in higher numbers than 24 Hour Fitness. However, 24 Hour Fitness is available in some states where you won’t find an LA Fitness, so that can be a big deciding factor on which gym to try.
| State | 24 Hour Fitness | LA Fitness |
| Arizona | ✓ | |
| Arkansas | ✓ | |
| California | ✓ | ✓ |
| Colorado | ✓ | |
| Connecticut | ✓ | |
| Delaware | ✓ | |
| Georgia | ✓ | |
| Hawaii | ✓ | |
| Illinois | ✓ | |
| Indiana | ✓ | |
| Kentucky | ✓ | |
| Lousiana | ✓ | |
| Maryland | ✓ | |
| Massachusetts | ✓ | |
| Minnesota | ✓ | |
| Missouri | ✓ | |
| Nevada | ✓ | |
| New Jersey | ✓ | ✓ |
| New York | ✓ | ✓ |
| North Carolina | ✓ | |
| Ohio | ✓ | |
| Oregon | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pennsylvania | ✓ | |
| Rhode Island | ✓ | |
| South Carolina | ✓ | |
| Tennesea | ✓ | |
| Texas | ✓ | ✓ |
| Virginia | ✓ | ✓ |
| Washington | ✓ | ✓ |
24 Hour Fitness vs. LA Fitness: Classes
Both 24 Hour Fitness and LA Fitness provide group classes as part of their memberships, and you have a range of different types of classes throughout the day. However, LA Fitness has a wider range of classes and more classes per day.
| 24 Hour Fitness | LA Fitness | |
| Pool Fitness Classes | ✓ | |
| Group Cycling | ✓ | |
| Dance Cardio | ✓ | ✓ |
| Martial Arts Cardio | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pilates | ✓ | ✓ |
| Senior Fitness Classes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Yoga | ✓ | ✓ |
| Zumba | ✓ | ✓ |
| Virtual | ✓ | ✓ |
| Strength Cardio | ✓ | ✓ |
| HIIT Training | ✓ | ✓ |
You can check the classes available for each location that you may be joining to see which days and times the classes are available. If any particular gym doesn’t provide the classes you want to take at the times you want, then you have a strong case to join the other gym.
Both gyms offer group classes for yoga, pilates, and Zumba, but neither gym provides a big enough range of classes to replace a dedicated membership at a yoga or pilates studio if that’s something you were looking for in a gym.
Virtual classes are something that many people enjoy and may need if they can’t get out of the house and both LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness provide their group classes virtually if you want to be part of those for added motivation at home.
24 Hour Fitness Group Classes
24 Hour Fitness provides the typical group classes that you’d expect from a larger gym, including dance cardio like hip-hop, strength training and cardio classes, pilates on mats, and a range of different yoga classes for you to try out.
For seniors, there are much more classes available at 24 Hour Fitness, so if you need a slightly lower intensity workout or some classes specifically designed for seniors, then 24 Hour FItness will be a much better option than LA Fitness.
LA Fitness Group Classes
LA Fitness has a range of group fitness classes to meet most people’s needs, including HIIT training, martial arts inspired cardio classes, mat pilates, yoga, and many strength-inspired cardio classes.
LA Fitness group classes excel in two areas: the group cycling classes and the aqua classes that utilize the pools in LA Fitness. Unfortunately, neither of these options is available at 24 Hour Fitness at all.
LA Fitness does have some senior classes but not to the level that 24 Hour Fitness can provide, though many of the classes can be suitable for all ages, such as the aqua classes.
24 Hour Fitness vs. LA Fitness: Personal Trainers
LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness both provide personal training, which can start with a free assessment that will match you with the best personal trainer and give you your full pricing option. However, LA Fitness is around $20 cheaper per hour for personal training, so from a cost perspective, they’re a much better option, especially for beginners.
24 Hour Fitness Personal Training
24 Hour Fitness allows you to search and view information on each available personal trainer at the gym you plan to go to. Being able to view personal trainers online gives you a much less stressful and pushy experience when trying to select a personal trainer.
You’re able to determine the strengths of each personal trainer, how many years they’ve been with the gym, and their qualifications. All of which allow you to easily search and match yourself with the type of trainer you want.
24 Hour Fitness personal trainers must have an undergraduate degree in a fitness-related field or hold a personal training certification from 1 of 13 organizations.
LA Fitness Personal Training
To get a personal trainer at LA Fitness, you must come in for a personal assessment where a senior trainer will review and assign the trainer they believe best matches your needs. You won’t have the opportunity to select or get full information on each trainer.
LA Fitness personal trainers must hold a valid personal training certification. However, there are a large range of certifications that are accepted, with some being more comprehensive than others.
Austin is the author of loveatfirstfit.com and a personal trainer with extensive knowledge in nutrition. Austin is passionate about helping others to find a suitable healthy lifestyle and feel good about themselves. Austin’s goal is to help people push their limits and achieve their physical performance.
