Employee benefits for gyms and fitness studios,made easy.
84% of U.S. fitness and recreation centers have fewer than 20 employees.
You want great benefits for your team. You don’t have the time or the resources to get them.
That isn’t on you. For decades, the benefits industry has been built for big companies, and small businesses have been left to figure it out alone. Cakewalk was built for you.
How it works
You run your business. We handle the benefits.
Tell us about your business.
Start with your business name. We fill in what we can find. Connect payroll and your team comes with it.
Hundreds of options. One tailored package.
We compare hundreds of plans for your team. You get one package, priced and ready to adjust.
We get your team covered.
We invite your team. You see who has started. Each person gets help choosing. Everyone is covered.
Benefits admin. Off your plate.
New hires and departures sync from payroll. Each employee gets a benefits wallet. Their questions come to us, not you.
Your benefits team. On the house.
You pay for coverage. Insurance carriers pay us a commission, so we can handle everything from building your package to supporting your team year round, at no cost to you.
Fitness studios at a glance
Offering benefits at a gym or studio
Instructors teaching a few classes a week, trainers who could go independent, and a small full-time core. Here’s what shapes a benefits plan for a fitness business.
- of U.S. fitness and recreation centers have fewer than 20 employees
- 84%
- average weekly hours at fitness and recreational sports centers in 2025
- 17.6
Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics: fitness and recreational sports centers, 2025
- openings a year projected for fitness trainers and instructors, 2025–2035
- 68,000
Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: fitness trainers and instructors
Instructors on contract
Whether an instructor is an employee depends on behavioral control, financial control, and the type of relationship, and offering insurance is itself one of the relationship factors.
A few classes a week
Many instructors work variable or part-time schedules. Employees’ hours count toward the tax credit’s limits (hours divided by 2,080), but SHOP coverage only has to be offered to those averaging 30 or more hours a week.
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: fitness trainers and instructors; IRS Form 8941 instructions; HealthCare.gov: who qualifies for SHOP
How part-timers count toward 50
To see whether you’re near 50, add part-timers’ monthly hours (up to 120 per person) and divide by 120. Forty full-time employees plus 20 people working 60 hours a month comes to 50.
Source: IRS: employer shared responsibility questions and answers
If you own the business through an S corporation
Premiums for an owner with more than 2% of an S corporation are deductible by the company and reported as wages on the owner’s W-2, but they aren’t subject to Social Security or Medicare tax. The owner may then be able to deduct them personally.
Source: IRS: S corporation compensation and medical insurance
Benefits are your choice under 50
Employers with fewer than 50 full-time employees, counting full-time equivalents, aren’t subject to the federal requirement to offer coverage. Offering benefits is a decision you make for your team, not a mandate.
Source: IRS: applicable large employers
The small business tax credit
The federal credit can cover up to 50% of premiums for employers with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees and average wages under $68,200 in 2026, if you pay at least half of employee-only premiums and buy through the SHOP marketplace. Owners and their families don’t count toward the totals. SHOP plans aren’t offered everywhere, so check your state’s guide.
The whole benefits package.
Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and income protection. Built around your business and the people who power it.
Start with your team’s needs and your business’s budget. Explore medical coverage online, or work with a benefits advisor to understand your options and choose your next step.
Questions studio owners ask.
A group plan covers employees, generally the people you pay on a W-2. Independent contractors buy their own coverage, through the Marketplace for example. Whether someone is a contractor follows the IRS’s common-law test.
Tell us about your studio.
We’ll follow up to learn about your business and walk you through your options. There’s no cost to work with us.
Prefer to start on your own?