Men vs Women: Gym Prices in Kuwait

I wasn’t expecting my last post to get such an emotional reaction. I knew it would spark a respons but I expected more debate and less outrage. About 99.9% of the comments strongly disagreed with the gym’s explanation for why women’s prices were higher than men’s. That was made very clear.

One thing that stood out to me, since it was mentioned multiple times by different people, was the claim that women pay three times more than men for the same gym. So I decided to contact 16 gyms in Kuwait, basically every gym I could find that offered facilities for both men and women, to see which one was charging three times more for women. Here’s what I found:

Men pay more at 6 gyms
Women pay more at 4 gyms
6 gyms have the same price for men and women.

When men pay more, it’s by 18.8% on average.
When women pay more, it’s by 25.6% on average.

I couldn’t find a gym where the women’s membership was three times more than the men’s. Maybe that comparison is being made between different gyms, like a one-year subscription at Oxygen in Mangaf for men (KD 200) versus a one year subscription for women at Platinum Sabah Al-Salem (KD 720). In this specific case, women would be paying three times more, but it’s not a fair comparison.

There were comments about Platinum’s Sabah Al-Salem branch specifically. The membership there is KD 390 a year for men and KD 720 a year for women. Oxygen has a men’s gym in Sabah Al-Salem that charges KD 440 a year, so Platinum is likely keeping the men’s price lower to compete is my guess.

In any case, if you don’t like that your gym charges a pink tax, leave the gym. If a gym charges a pink tax and women are still paying it, the gym has little incentive to reduce their prices.

Check out the list below of gyms in Kuwait that offer membership to both men and women. These are the yearly membership prices:

ARGAN Albida’a Club
Men KD 1,250
Women KD 825

C Club
Men KD 1,750
Women KD 1,350

Circuit+
Men KD 670
Women KD 828

Elite Fitness
Men KD 1,100
Women KD 1,100

ERA Members Club
Men KD 650
Women KD 650

Flare Fitness
Men KD 595
Women KD 720

Edge Fitness (Holiday Inn)
Men KD 479
Women KD 445

Inspire
Men KD 1150
Women KD 1150

Platinum
Men KD 750 (all branches)
Women KD 870 (all branches)

Privus Health Club
Men KD 1,400
Women KD 1,200

Rafa Nadal Academy
Men KD 800
Women KD 800

Spark
Men KD 670 (single branch)
Women KD 950 (single branch)

SVN
Men KD3,000
Women KD2,600

The Burrow
Men KD 1,100
Women KD 1,100

The Champion
Men KD 250
Women KD 250

Viking Club (Radisson Blu)
Men KD 1050
Women KD 825

Note: When checking the prices, keep in mind that some gyms have offers or include additional services with the membership. For more details, DM the gym or call them.