Crunch Fitness Sued Over Hidden Annual Fee on Gym Memberships

Crunch Fitness is being sued over a mandatory annual fee that members allegedly don't see until late in the online checkout process.

A new class action lawsuit filed in California federal court by plaintiff Meng Gao accuses Crunch of "drip pricing" — the practice of advertising one price for a gym membership and then tacking on a required fee before the customer hits confirm. The complaint alleges that Crunch advertises specific monthly prices on its website, but every member is also charged an undisclosed annual fee that isn't shown with the initial price.

According to the complaint, that practice violates California's Honest Pricing Law, which took effect July 1, 2024. The law requires businesses selling to California consumers to include all mandatory fees in the advertised price. The state Attorney General's guidance on the statute is blunt: the price a Californian sees should be the price they pay.

Gao says he relied on the price Crunch displayed when he signed up and claims he overpaid because of the fee he wasn't told about upfront. The lawsuit also alleges violations of California's Consumer Legal Remedies Act, False Advertising Law, and Unfair Competition Law.

Who could qualify

The proposed class covers anyone who bought a Crunch Fitness membership online while in California and was charged an annual fee or other mandatory fee that wasn't displayed with the initially advertised membership price. If the case gets certified and a payout is reached, eligibility will likely be defined by when you signed up and whether you paid the fee.

What happens next

No settlement yet. The case — Gao v. Crunch Holdings LLC, Case No. 5:26-cv-01170 in the Northern District of California — was just filed. Gao is asking for damages, a jury trial, and a court order forcing Crunch to stop the practice.

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