How Much Do Yoga Instructors Make?

There’s huge variation in terms of how much yoga instructors make per hour. The disparity is even greater for how much yoga instructors make a year. The table below gives a breakdown of how much the average person earns from teaching yoga.

Average Yoga Instructor Salaries

Note: Salaries were taken from Salary.com, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter. Median salary estimates were averaged and then rounded to the nearest $5 mark. Class rates were taken from anecdotal reports online.

How much yoga instructors make per class varies a lot more than their hourly rates because their earnings from classes depend on the number of students in each class and how much each student is paying.

There are typically three different ways that yoga teachers can get paid. Here’s a rundown of pay structures you might encounter during your yoga instructor career.

Fixed hourly pay rate

Part-time and full-time employees who teach yoga at a yoga studio or fitness center may get paid a set hourly salary, similar to other types of workers. With this type of pay structure, you’ll get paid roughly the same amount of money each month, regardless of how popular your classes are or how many students you get.

This type of yoga teacher pay structure offers the most reliable and steady income. The drawback is that it also means there’s a fixed limit to your earning potential from teaching yoga.

When you’re getting paid hourly by a gym or studio, you may also be expected to do more than just teach yoga. When you’re not teaching, you may need to provide other services, like hosting stretching labs or helping out with sales, marketing, or administrative tasks.

Pay per class

Yoga teachers who host their own classes often charge each student a set fee per class. In this case, a yoga teacher’s income per class will vary depending on the number of students who enrolled.

Similarly, yoga instructors working at a gym or studio may get paid a set rate per class. This could be a bonus on top of a fixed hourly rate or the only income that the yoga teacher is earning.

If you’re an employee yoga instructor receiving a fixed pay rate per class, your income from each class will be the same regardless of how big the class is. Additionally, you may make the same amount of money teaching an intense 30-minute hot yoga class as you would teaching a 1.5-hour relaxing Yin yoga session.

Variable rate based on number of students

This pay structure applies to staff yoga instructors, and it can be handled in a couple of different ways.

You may get paid a flat fee for each student who attends your classes, meaning you only earn money if you get students. Alternatively, you could get paid a small bonus or commission on top of your regular per-class rate, depending on the number of students who enroll in your classes.

With this pay structure, you have the ability to make the most of your earnings from classroom sessions. However, there’s no guarantee that lots of students will show up to each session, which can also make your income highly unpredictable and unstable.

Average yoga instructor salaries vary dramatically, and there are several reasons for that. Below, we’ll discuss the main variables that affect how much you can earn as a yoga instructor.

Location

The city and state you teach in can have a major impact on your earnings. For instance, ZipRecruiter estimates as of October 2024 show that yoga teachers in Florida have an average hourly income of only $22.86, whereas those in Alaska have a 59% higher average hourly wage of $36.28.

Highest-Paying Locations for Yoga Instructors

Sources: Indeed and ZipRecruiter.

Metropolitan areas with higher costs of living tend to pay yoga instructors the most. That said, if you live in a suburban or rural area where yoga classes are in high demand and there aren’t enough instructors to fulfill the need, you could command a higher wage.

Class setting

In addition to your geographical location, the type of place you teach in can also affect your yoga teacher earnings. For example, you can typically charge more for in-person yoga sessions than virtual yoga classes.

Additionally, while gyms and yoga studios tend to offer pretty standard yoga instructor wages, country clubs and ritzy resorts are often willing to pay much more. Corporate yoga companies generally offer decent pay as well. Usually, a place that caters to a wealthier clientele will offer higher wages.

Class size

You can charge a lot more for private yoga classes than you can for group classes. With that said, even if you’re charging a lower fee per student, you can end up earning a lot more overall if you have a large number of students.

Types of yoga taught and specializations

There doesn’t seem to be much of a difference in what yoga instructors get paid for studio classes. Your earnings probably won’t vary dramatically if you’re teaching one form of yoga or another. However, you can earn more for holding specialty yoga classes directed at students with particular needs or requests.

For example, you can tap into higher pay rates and greater demand for your services if you teach classes in yoga therapy, kids yoga, or somatic yoga. The reason is that these specialty classes are rarer, meaning clients are often willing to pay more for the privilege.

Certification and experience

Looking at the average rates of a yoga teacher, it’s common for certified yoga teachers to earn more money than yoga teachers without a certification. Notably, yoga teacher salary estimates indicate that yoga teachers without certification have lower starting rates, but they have the same maximum earning potential as certified yoga instructors.

This suggests that having a registered yoga teacher (RYT) certification can help you make more money at the start. However, accumulating years of experience as a teacher will eventually get you to the same point in terms of earning potential.

Studio and equipment costs

While costs won’t be a major factor influencing your yoga teacher earnings if you’re employed by a studio, they are something you’ll have to think about if you’re running your own yoga business.

As a yoga studio owner, you may face these expenses:

• Rent or financing for studio space
• Insurance
• Utilities
• Website hosting and marketing
• Business software
• Equipment rental or purchases
• Studio maintenance and cleaning
• Employee salaries

Sometimes, spending more can allow you to charge higher prices for your services, especially if you’re providing equipment like yoga mats and weights to your students. But even if the costs associated with your yoga teaching side hustle or business don’t directly affect what students pay, they will affect your bottom line and your overall take-home pay.

The biggest expense to think about is the cost of renting space if you’re running your own yoga studio. Cleaning and maintaining your space and equipment will also cost you money. Since your costs will be higher than that of an employed or contract yoga teacher, you’ll need to charge higher rates. However, your profits will likely be about the same.

To give you a better sense of how different variables can affect yoga teacher pay, let’s take a look at some real world examples of yoga instructors and how their pay structures work.

Case A: Independent yoga instructor

Location: Seattle, WA

Nancy Lea is an independent yoga instructor who teaches four flow-and-restore group classes every week in various spots around Seattle. She also offers private one-on-one sessions for small groups as well as newly certified teachers. In addition, she has pre-recorded classes that students can pay a monthly fee to access. On top of that, she hosts remote yoga retreats a few times a year.

Nancy Lea Yoga Earnings Chart

Case B: Studio yoga instructor

Location: Glen Mills, PA

YogaSix is a chain of yoga studios around the United States. They offer classes in Slow Flow, Restore, Hot, Power, Sculpt & Flow, TRX, and 101. The table below shows the hourly rates recently offered for job openings at their Glen Mills location, which provide a bit of insight into how much part-time yoga instructors make.

YogaSix Yoga Teacher Earnings Chart

Case C: Online yoga studio

Location: Online

Ekhart Yoga is a 100% online yoga studio. Although the business was initially started by one yoga instructor, there are now over a dozen teachers who have contributed pre-recorded (and sometimes live) classes for the studio that students can access at any time.

Students pay a membership fee to access yoga classes. The business owner receives money either monthly or yearly from each student and compensates contributing instructors.

Eckhart Yoga Earnings Chart

It isn’t cheap to become a certified yoga instructor, nor is it a quick process. With hundreds of hours of training to complete and thousands of dollars spent on certification, you might be wondering why so many people become yoga teachers if it’s going to take years to pay off the initial investment.

While traditional yoga instructor jobs might not pay much, there are ways to make more money by teaching yoga. Here are some tips to help you maximize your earnings.

Know what your services are worth

After you finish all your education and training, you might be eager to land a job. While some studios pay well over the minimum wage, others barely do.

If you’ve spent the time fully immersing yourself in yoga training and have been an avid yoga practitioner for years, there’s no reason you need to accept the bare minimum in pay.

It’s one thing if you need in-person experience and are looking for a mentorship. It’s another thing if you bring years of experience, certification from an accredited institution, or even dozens of loyal students with you.

If you’re unhappy with what a studio or fitness center is offering, ask for a higher rate or find a different place to work.

Leverage social media

Social media marketing can be a great tool, whether you’re an employed instructor or working independently.

If you’re employed by a studio or gym, you can use social media to draw more students to your classes. Even if you don’t receive a bonus per head, you can use the big crowds as leverage when negotiating your rate.

You can also use social media to start building your own brand. If you record yourself during class or at home, post snippets of your sessions to social media to show off your skills and teaching style.

If or when you decide to strike out on your own, all that social media marketing will pay off. You can use it to give away a little bit of knowledge and training for free. As you gain traction, direct your followers to your website where you sell studio classes, pre-recorded sessions, merch, and more.

Work as an independent yoga teacher

Despite the benefits of working at a gym or studio, especially when you’re just starting out, going solo is ultimately the secret to high earnings as a yoga teacher. When you work for yourself, you can charge whatever you want. So long as your rates are commensurate with the value you’re offering, people will be willing to pay.

You also have more room to diversify your offerings as an independent yoga instructor. Here are examples of services you can provide in addition to teaching standard yoga classes:

• One-on-one private sessions
• Online yoga workshops
• Meditation sessions
• Sound baths
• Yoga retreats
• Pop-up yoga sessions at the park or beach
• Guest speaking at health and wellness conferences

There are countless ways to make money as an independent yoga instructor. It’ll require a lot more work than the part-time hours you might put in at a studio, but the payoff will be huge.

Sell pre-recorded yoga sessions

One of the easiest ways to boost your yoga instructor pay is to record a few yoga sessions and then sell them online. By selling online courses in yoga, you can substantially increase your earning potential without much effort.

What’s nice about going the online instructor route is that it’s a great way to generate passive income. You also won’t have to settle for measly per-hour or per-class fees. Compounded membership fees add up quickly.

The only catch is that it takes time to record enough sessions that you have a worthwhile product to sell. You are also going to have to invest in a great-looking studio setup as well as recording and editing equipment.