In October, the paper towel dispenser at my gym fell off the wall. The dispenser and spray bottle – used to wipe down weights and machines after use – sat on the floor beside the elliptical, directly below an outline of plaster casing where it used to hang. It remained there for a week. Then two weeks. When we passed the three-month mark, I realized this isn’t the kind of place that fixes things. That’s just where the dispenser lives now.

My gym also has a perpetually out-of-order stair climber and a mishmash of disorganized and broken weight plates. I once spent an arm day avoiding a rodent scurrying through the dumbbell rack: a bonafide gym rat. Still, the space is located so close to my apartment that it might as well be my garage. The membership lets me bring a guest for free and I can hit up the franchise’s other locations across town. For 40 bucks a month, I get to pick up heavy things with my friends and sweat it out with some basic cardio. What more does a person really need from their gym?

With people making workout and fitness resolutions for the new year, a lot of folks are asking that question. According to Statistics Canada, there are nearly 10,000 fitness centres across the country. With rates of home gym equipment spiking since the pandemic and inflation putting a pinch on household finances, those establishments are having to rethink what they offer their clientele on all ends of the spectrum.

Luxury gyms such as Equinox in Toronto and Vancouver or Midtown Sanctuaire in Montreal set members back just shy of $300 a month on top of an initiation fee. The costly price tag comes with high-end perks including unlimited boutique exercise classes and a eucalyptus steam room. Those looking for something cheap and cheerful can try Fit4less for $7.99 bi-weekly, or local community centres, which usually offer discount or sliding-scale rates.

The best gym is always going to be the one you’ll attend consistently, but there are arguments to be made for both high-end and discount options. Logic follows that if you’re paying a lot for a service, you’re more likely to actually go. The inexpensive place closest to your home has a similar upside. If something is easy to get to, it’s less of a lift to use it. As someone who has tried out several gyms at different price points over the years, here is a glimpse of what you get for your money.

The $1,000-a-month gym membership

With an exclusive lounge/co-working space, multiple fitness studios and a spa, Sweat and Tonic’s flagship location in Toronto’s the Well can feel more like a self-consciously hip hotel than a gym. If a Taylor Swift-inspired spin session or a heated pilates class feel like your jam, this is your spot.

For those looking to embrace the space and everything it has to offer, there is Club Transcend. At $1,000 a month, the membership offers unlimited classes, biohacking treatments such as red-light and compression therapies, IV drips, access to a dietitian, a Dexa scan, eight sauna/ice bath sessions with a guest, four personal-training appointments and more. It’s a huge list of options at a huge cost, with the sell being that if you were to buy all these services individually the price would actually be a lot more. A rough tally comes in at well above 3,000.

I was invited to try out some of Sweet and Tonic’s offerings at the Well. My HITT (High-Intensity Interval Training) class featured a mixture of boxing, jogging and weights. Our trainer belted out instructions over a microphone as fast-tempo pop mashups played in the background. The dance club-esque session stood in stark contrast to the boredom of a normal steady-state cardio class. The only time things slowed down during the hour-long class was when my treadmill briefly glitched out toward the end of the class’s jogging portion.

Later during a private sauna/ice bath, I spent a few minutes navigating an iPad programmed with recordings to guide users through the hot/cold immersion. Midway through, the speakers cut out for the rest of the session. It’s not that the silence or the treadmill glitch were deal-breakers but trying to view things through the lens of an exclusive membership, that attention to detail is important. That said, staff were apologetic and helpful when I let them know. Throughout the space they’re keen to make sure everyone is taken care of.

Ideal for: Those who can easily spend (a lot of) money for a community and clubhouse where wellness is the bedrock of your life, or folks who are obsessed with biohacking, curated classes and specialized trainers.

The $55-a-month gym membership

LA Fitness is my home fitness centre when visiting family. While not as upscale as a luxury gym, their locations allow me to get in every kind of workout I need, from heavy squats to recovery stretching. With locations in Alberta and Ontario, all gyms feature standard free-weights, machines and cardio equipment. Those looking for classes can try out Zumba, Pilates or aquafit, among others.

I’ve never had to fight for space in their giant buildings. I’ve also enjoyed swimming laps and shooting hoops at LA Fitness – a nice bonus for a pretty standard mid-range gym membership – but amenities vary by location. Not all franchises have basketball courts or lap pools. Some of the buildings are reportedly on the smaller side.

Costs range from $40 to $55 monthly, with the higher price point allowing members to bring a guest to their workouts, plus $70 annual and $40 start-up fees. For parents looking to exercise, a few locations also offer the Kids Klub, a space where children three months to 12 years can be babysat while their caregivers work out for an additional $10 a month.

Ideal for: Beginner to intermediate gym goers and folks wanting to use a pool or play a game of pick-up basketball.

The $15-a-month gym membership

Between the fact that the gym used to offer free pizza and bagels and the lunk alarm (a siren that goes off if you drop a heavy weight) the “judgment-free zone” of Planet Fitness isn’t always considered the most serious fitness centre. But if you’re not leaning toward powerlifting or bodybuilding, their locations are completely serviceable.

After sign-up fees of approximately $50, memberships cost $15 a month. That gives you access to their weight machines and cardio equipment; a kind of bare-bones experience useful for lifters who want to run through their own plans or anyone looking to get a sweat on with the rower. It’s pretty free-form compared with a comprehensive fitness class – though the company has an app with advice for new users and some clubs have implemented small group training – but that’s part of the appeal.

Planet Fitness was my home gym for a year or so. It wasn’t a great spot for chasing heavy deadlifts or bench-press personal records, and there were times when it got overcrowded, but the experience was perfectly adequate for running a basic machine-based push/pull program a few sessions each week. My location offered 24-hour access. It was clean with friendly staff and the change rooms offered plenty of lockers and showers. Planet Fitness’s Black Card services – costing double at $30 a month – also came with a number of bells and whistles such as a hydro massage machine and unlimited tanning.

Ideal for: Early-stage gym-goers looking to ease into new routines, folks looking for affordable access to basic gym equipment, or those looking to get in and out of the gym without a big investment.