An app under your own studio's name costs, in 2026, between about $124 and $3,000 in its first year depending on the platform — and the wide range is mostly because "branded app" means two different products. The cheap version is a skin: your logo and colours inside the vendor's app, which clients still find by searching the vendor's name. The real version is a separate listing in the App Store and Google Play under your name, with your icon on the client's home screen. Apple charges $99 a year and Google $25 once for the accounts that make the second one possible, and both are paid by you, not the vendor.
This post is about the second kind, because for a PT business that's the one worth having. It covers what it costs on each platform, what you need to have ready, why Android launches before iOS, and — honestly — when it isn't worth it yet.
Why a PT business wants its own app more than a gym does
A gym member walks through a door with your name over it. A PT client, especially one trained at home, might never see your logo at all: they see their trainer. The relationship lives with the coach, and when the coach leaves, it leaves with them.
The app is where the studio gets to be present in that relationship. The client's session balance, their next booking, the nudge at two sessions left, the receipt for the next pack — all of it arriving under your name rather than the trainer's WhatsApp or a vendor's brand. It's the practical version of clause 8 in the package agreement: the package is with the studio, and the client's phone says so every day. That's also why the renewal routine works better through an app than through messages — the three-day nudge comes from the studio, and the "pay for the next pack" is one tap under your icon.
Skin or listing? The question to ask before the price
| Skin (white-labelled inside the vendor's app) | Own listing (your name in the stores) | |
|---|---|---|
| How the client installs it | Searches the vendor's name, then finds your studio inside | Searches your studio's name; your icon on their home screen |
| Whose name is on the icon | The vendor's | Yours |
| Store accounts needed | None — the vendor's | Your own Apple and Google developer accounts |
| Apple / Google fees | None | $99 a year / $25 once, paid by you |
| Typical vendor price | One-time or small add-on | Higher tier, monthly add-on, or included |
| What breaks when you switch vendor | Nothing; there was nothing to keep | The listing is yours; the app inside it is theirs |
Trainerize's $169 one-time "Pro Branded App" is a skin — their page says it plainly: a "white-labeled version of the mobile app, powered by ABC Trainerize". Their own-name listing comes with the Studio Plus tier. PTminder's $40-a-month branded app is a listing. Ours is a listing, included. When a vendor says "custom-branded", ask: will my client search for my name in the App Store and find me? If the answer is a pause, it's a skin.
What it costs in 2026, platform by platform
Every figure below was read from the vendor's own pricing page on 17 September 2026. Year-one cost is for an own-name listing at a 30-client studio, and includes Apple's $99 and Google's $25 where they apply — you pay those whoever you use.
| Platform | Own-name app | App cost | Base plan at 30 clients | Year one, all in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ManageYourGym | Included, every plan, set up during onboarding | $0 + $124 store fees | $79/mo Starter | $1,072 |
| PTminder | $40/mo add-on | $480 + $124 | $59/mo (50-client plan) | $1,312 |
| ABC Trainerize | Studio Plus tier only ($169 one-time on Pro buys a skin, not a listing) | $124 store fees | $248/mo Studio Plus | $3,100 |
| TrueCoach | Bundled on Standard and above (listing type not stated on the page) | $124 store fees | ~$174/mo (3 coaches × Standard) | ~$2,212 |
| Mindbody | Add-on on Accelerate and Ultimate | Not published | From $99/location; upper tiers contact sales | Not published |
| Exercise.com | Included in a custom build | Quote | Quote | Quote |
USD, monthly billing, 12 months. Trainerize's Studio Plus is priced for 500 clients, which is why a 30-client studio pays so much for the listing there. Google's $25 is one-time; Apple's $99 recurs.
The spread isn't about the app. Building and submitting a white-label app is roughly the same job for every vendor. The spread is about which tier the vendor attaches it to. At 30 clients the listing itself costs nothing extra with us, $480 a year with PTminder, and the price of a 500-client tier with Trainerize — and at 120 clients the gap barely moves, because our plan doesn't change until 150 clients. The full ranking has the rest of the numbers.
What you need to have ready
The vendor builds the app. You own the shop it sits in. Here's the list, and the first item is the one that decides your launch date.
- A D-U-N-S number for your business. Apple requires it for an Organisation developer account, and Dun & Bradstreet issues it free — but it takes days to a couple of weeks. Start here, today, before you've chosen a vendor.
- An Apple Developer Program membership as an Organisation ($99 a year). Apple verifies the business, and that's the 1–2 weeks nobody can compress. Don't register as an Individual to save time; you can't list a business app under a person's name and moving later is painful.
- A Google Play developer account as an Organisation ($25 once). Google verifies in days. Register as an organisation, not a personal account — personal accounts created since late 2023 must run a 14-day closed test with a dozen testers before they can publish; organisation accounts skip that.
- Your logo at 1024 × 1024 pixels, your two brand colours, and the exact name you want on the icon (eleven characters or fewer, or it truncates).
- A privacy policy URL, a support email and a short description. The stores won't publish without them, and the vendor can draft all three.
- A card on file with Apple and Google in the business's name. Both fees are non-refundable, which makes paying them the moment you've actually decided.
How it goes, step by step
- Register both developer accounts as an organisation and invite the vendor as an admin on each. That's the standard model — PTminder's help articles and ours ask for the same thing — so the vendor can upload builds and manage listings without holding your login.
- Send the logo, colours and name. The vendor generates the branded builds and the store listing text; you approve the screenshots and description.
- The first upload to each store is done by hand and reviewed. Google reviews in hours to a few days. Apple's first review of a new app is typically a day or two once the account is verified — it's the account verification before it that takes the time.
- Android goes live first. Not because it's better, but because Google's organisation verification takes days and Apple's takes weeks, so there's no reason to hold the Android app for the iOS one.
- After launch, updates arrive over the air for the parts of the app that change often, and through the stores for the rest. You don't re-upload anything yourself.
Timing, honestly: with the D-U-N-S and Apple account started on day one, expect the Android app in a couple of weeks and iOS whenever Apple finishes verifying you — usually two to four weeks after you applied. Every date in that sentence is Apple's or Google's, not the vendor's, which is why any vendor promising you a launch date before your accounts exist is guessing.
When it isn't worth it yet
Under about fifteen clients, don't. Your clients know your trainer's face and your WhatsApp number, and an app they open twice a week to see "8 sessions left" is nice, not necessary. A web version of the same client view — a link they save to their home screen — does 80% of the job with none of the store admin, and it's the right first step for most solo coaches.
Also don't if you won't keep it current. A studio app whose schedule is three weeks stale is worse than no app; it teaches clients the studio's information is soft. The app only earns its icon if the trainer marks every session and the balance on the client's phone is the balance.
Above fifteen clients with a team, it changes. Fit Habitat Sports in Dubai — an at-home PT business with no gym floor, no membership plans and no front desk — runs its clients, trainers and packages on ManageYourGym with the client and trainer apps carrying Fit Habitat's name, icon and colours. For a business whose clients never visit a building, the app is the building.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a white-label fitness app cost?
The unavoidable part is Apple's $99 a year and Google's $25 once for your own developer accounts. On top of that, PT platforms charge anywhere from nothing (ManageYourGym includes it on every plan) to a $40-a-month add-on (PTminder) to a higher tier ($248 a month at Trainerize). Custom-built apps from an agency are a different category — five figures, and you then own the maintenance.
Do I need my own Apple Developer account for a branded app?
For an app listed under your studio's name, yes — an Organisation account, which needs a D-U-N-S number and takes Apple one to two weeks to verify. A "branded" skin inside the vendor's app doesn't need one, which is exactly how you can tell the two apart.
How long does it take to get a branded app in the App Store?
Usually two to four weeks from applying for the Apple Organisation account, nearly all of it Apple's verification. Google Play is typically live within a couple of weeks. Start the D-U-N-S and Apple application before anything else; every other step waits on them.
What happens to my branded app if I change software vendor?
The developer accounts and the listing are yours; the app inside it is the vendor's. Because the app identifier lives in your account, a new vendor can build against it and ship into the same listing as an update — and at worst, clients install a new app under the same name. Either way you keep the name and the reviews, which is the strongest reason to register the accounts in your business's name rather than letting a vendor hold them.