Every studio front desk gets the same question: should I buy the 10-pack or go unlimited? The answer is a visit count. A pack has a price per class; unlimited costs the same whether you come three times or thirty. Divide the unlimited price by the pack's per-class cost and round up, and that is the number of visits a month at which unlimited wins.
A $149 unlimited against a $120 10-pack ($12 a class): 149 ÷ 12 = 12.4, so from 13 visits a month unlimited is cheaper.
The example
Three pricing tiers side by side. The premium tier has a cheap per-class pack, so unlimited has to work harder to win.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tier | Unlimited $/mo | Pack price | Pack classes | $/class | Break-even visits |
| 2 | Standard | $149 | $120 | 10 | $12.00 | 13 |
| 3 | Intro | $129 | $95 | 5 | $19.00 | 7 |
| 4 | Premium | $179 | $200 | 20 | $10.00 | 18 |
The formula
Per-class cost first, because it is what the member is really comparing against:
How it works
The whole comparison is one ratio:
C2/D2is the pack's price per class: $120 over 10 is $12.B2/E2asks how many $12 classes fit in $149: 12.42.ROUNDUP(...,0)rounds to the next whole visit. At 12 visits the pack costs $144, still cheaper; at 13 it costs $156 and unlimited at $149 wins.- Read it as advice: a member who comes three times a week — 13 or so a month — should be on unlimited; twice a week should stay on packs.
Packs usually expire. If a 10-pack must be used in 90 days, a member who comes six times a month burns it in seven weeks and the comparison holds; a member who comes four times a month may lose classes to expiry, which tilts the answer toward unlimited sooner.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter the unlimited monthly price and the class-pack price and size.
Variations
Effective price per class on unlimited
What a member actually pays per visit, given how often they come.
Savings at a given attendance
Positive means unlimited saves money at that attendance; negative means the pack does.
Pitfalls & errors
Compare like periods. A 10-pack is not a month; only its per-class cost is comparable to a monthly membership. Never divide the pack price by the unlimited price directly.
Post the break-even number at the front desk. Members trust a studio that tells them the pack is the better deal when they come twice a week.
If the pack has no expiry and the member comes rarely, the pack always wins — the formula still returns 13, but the member will never hit it. Ask about attendance before recommending.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
Why round up rather than to the nearest visit?
Does this work for drop-in pricing too?
Stop fighting formulas. Learn them in a day.
This recipe is one of hundreds of real-world formulas we teach. Our Excel Formulas & Functions class covers lookups, logic, text, and dynamic arrays hands-on — live in Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Oklahoma City, Denver, or online.
See the Formulas & Functions Class