5 November 2026

Plexo illustration for Pricing Strategy for Wellness Businesses in Australia

Pricing Strategy for Wellness Businesses in Australia

A good wellness pricing strategy starts with three numbers: what it costs you to deliver the service, what your customers value, and what your positioning promises. Set the price where those three meet. Then review it at least once a year. This guide shows you how, with Australian rules and worked examples.

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TL;DR

  • Start with your costs and your margin. Then add value and positioning. Cost alone sets a floor, not a price.
  • Pick one main model: cost-plus, value, tiered, package or membership. Match it to what you sell.
  • Know your break-even before you discount. A 5% discount can need 14.3% more sales to pay off.
  • Show one total price, including GST. Since 1 October 2026 you cannot add card surcharges.
  • Raise prices in small steps, give notice, and track retention for three to six months.

Table of Contents

What a pricing strategy does for a wellness business

A pricing strategy is the method you use to set prices. It also tells you how to respond when the market moves. business.gov.au says a strategy can help you reach goals such as profit, market share or a stronger brand reputation.

In wellness, this matters more than in most categories. Your price tells people what kind of brand you are. A low price says accessible. A high price says premium. Neither is wrong. A mixed signal is the problem.

The price also pays for everything else. Rent, wages, products, software, marketing and your own time all come out of it. If the price is wrong, the growth plan cannot work.

Many wellness brands price in one of two ways. They add a margin to costs, or they copy the studio down the road. Both are easy. Neither tells you what your customers will pay for the result you deliver.

Step 1: Know your costs and margin

Start here, even if you plan to price on value. You need to know your floor.

The Australian Beauty Association says your price should cover treatment time, overheads, wages, profit, product and consumable costs, and equipment wear. It should also reflect the value of your expertise and results.

Here is a simple example. The numbers are illustrative, not benchmarks.

Cost per 60-minute treatment Amount
Practitioner wages and on-costs $45
Room and overhead share $18
Consumables $7
Equipment wear $3
Total cost $73

Add a 40% margin on the price. That means the price is about $122, not $102. Many owners mix up markup and margin. Markup is added to cost. Margin is the share of the final price you keep. Check which one you are using.

Count the non-billable time too. Cleaning, notes, rebooking and late cancellations all sit inside your hours. If a practitioner bills 22 hours in a 38-hour week, your cost per billable hour is higher than the wage suggests.

Step 2: Research your market

Look at what comparable providers charge in your suburb or city. Look at their quality too. business.gov.au suggests market research that shows your service to a sample of customers. You gather feedback on preferences and what they would pay.

Keep the research simple:

  1. List five to eight providers your customers might compare you with.
  2. Record price, session length, what is included and how they position themselves.
  3. Ask ten current customers what they value most. Ask what they would pay for it.
  4. Note where you are clearly better. Note where you are the same.

Do not copy the average. The average mixes cheap and premium brands. It fits neither.

Step 3: Choose a pricing model

There are several common models. The best one depends on what you sell and who buys it.

Model How it works Suits
Cost-plus Total cost plus a set margin New services, products with clear unit costs
Hourly Rate per hour Independent practitioners, contractors
Going-rate Match the market Commodity services with many similar providers
Value-based Price on results and perceived value Established experts with clear outcomes
Premium High price to signal quality Brands with strong reputation and experience
Tiered Good, better, best options Services where some clients want more
Package Several sessions sold together Programs and courses of treatment
Membership Recurring fee for ongoing access Studios, clinics, recovery and fitness spaces
Dynamic Price shifts with demand Classes and sessions with peak and quiet times

The list of models comes from business.gov.au, and a 2025 guide to beauty and wellness pricing describes how tiers, packages and memberships fit different needs.

When each model works best

Cost-plus is the safest start. You know you cover costs. It ignores value, so you may leave money on the table.

Value-based pricing sets rates by perceived value and results. The same guide notes it suits established experts with clear outcomes. If you can show what changes for the client, you can price on it.

Tiers and packages raise the value of each sale. A customer who came for one session often takes a block of six. See how we think about this in our post on service packaging strategy.

Memberships give you recurring income you can forecast. They work when customers use the service often. They need clear terms on what is included.

Dynamic pricing helps with quiet hours. A lower off-peak rate can fill a room that would sit empty. Keep the rules simple, so customers do not feel tricked.

Step 4: Let positioning set the price

Price is one of the 5 Ps of marketing. business.gov.au says your price should reflect your positioning and the value of what you offer. Its example is simple: a budget car rental company prices lower than a luxury one.

Wellness works the same way. A neighbourhood clinic and a destination recovery studio can sell a similar session at very different prices. Both can be right. The room, the service, the content, the brand and the results all need to say the same thing.

Cost can also shape positioning. Australian skincare brand TBH Skincare cut the price of its Rebound serum by $10 after it moved to larger production batches and bulk packaging. Its co-founder said the move fits the brand’s aim to stay accessible. The price cut followed a cost saving and a clear brand promise.

The lesson is to decide who you serve first. Then price for them. Segments matter here, because a loyal repeat client and a first-time visitor value different things. Our guide to customer segmentation for wellness brands covers how to split them.

Step 5: Discounts and bundles without losing margin

Discounts feel like growth. They can quietly cut profit.

Business Victoria tells owners to know their current margin, markup and break-even point before cutting prices. Its example: with a 40% gross margin, a 5% discount needs sales volume to rise by 14.3% just to make the same profit.

Run that sum before every promotion. Ask whether you can realistically get that extra volume. If you cannot, skip the discount.

Bundles

Bundling works when the customer can see the benefit of buying related services together. Business Victoria gives the example of a manicure and pedicure sold as one package.

The Australian Beauty Association adds two rules. Create bundles only if they protect your margins, and do not discount premium services.

A practical bundle looks like this:

  • Pair a high-margin service with one that has a high cost.
  • Add a fixed end to the bundle, such as a use-by period for sessions.
  • Never bundle your best-selling service at a deep discount. It teaches customers to wait.

Higher value instead of lower price

Often you can add value without cutting the price. Add a follow-up check-in, a home program or a loyalty perk. This keeps your headline price intact. It also improves retention. We cover the long-term side in our guide to customer lifetime value services.

Step 6: Check the Australian rules

Pricing is regulated. Get these right before you publish a price list.

Show the total price. Under Australian Consumer Law, a displayed price must include all mandatory charges, taxes and fees such as GST. Optional charges, like delivery, are separate. If you show a part price, the total must be just as prominent. business.gov.au sets this out.

Be careful with “was” prices. Price comparisons can mislead if the service was not sold at the higher price for a reasonable period. The same page covers comparisons with a competitor’s price or an RRP. Keep records of your past prices.

No sustained below-cost pricing to push out competitors. business.gov.au lists this as a rule to watch.

No card surcharges. From 1 October 2026, businesses cannot add surcharges for eftpos, Visa or Mastercard payments. If you added a surcharge before, build the cost of payments into your base price. Check the Reserve Bank and the ACCC for the detail that applies to your payment setup.

If you are unsure about a specific claim or promotion, ask your accountant or a lawyer who works in consumer law.

Raising prices

You will need to raise prices. Costs rise. Skills grow. Demand builds.

The Australian Beauty Association says a small yearly increase is expected and often respected. Here is how to do it well.

  1. Raise in small steps. Xero’s guide suggests 3 to 8% a year, not large jumps every few years.
  2. Give notice. The Beauty Association recommends four to six weeks. Xero suggests 30 to 60 days.
  3. Say why. New equipment, training or better results are clear reasons.
  4. Look after loyal clients. One option is to let VIPs pre-purchase at current rates for a limited time.
  5. Use plain words. The Association suggests “price update” over “increase”.
  6. Pick your timing. A SPA+CLINIC article quotes a practitioner who avoids February, when Christmas card bills and school fees land, and prefers October.

Xero also lists options such as a segmented increase, where founding customers keep old prices, and a value-added increase, where you offer loyalty rewards alongside the change.

Track results and review

Review your prices at least once a year, or when costs or market conditions change. That is the advice from business.gov.au.

After any change, track customer retention, sales volume and profit margin for three to six months. Watch these:

  • Bookings per week
  • Average spend per client
  • Repeat rate
  • Gross margin per service
  • Cancellations after the change

A live view of these numbers makes the review easier. If they sit in four tools, nobody looks. One dashboard that shows revenue, retention and acquisition cost makes pricing a regular decision, not a yearly scramble.

Our perspective

Price is not a standalone choice. It sits inside a system. Content makes the offer clear. Operations deliver it. Revenue tracking shows whether the price works.

Most wellness founders we meet have a price problem that is really a systems problem. The price is fine. The offer is vague, or the follow-up is missing, or no one can see which customers come back.

That is why we start with a 90-minute audit. We look for the operational constraint that holds revenue back. Then we build a plan around it. When we worked with P3 Recovery, monthly revenue moved from $65k to $110k by improving operations and marketing integration. Pricing was part of the picture, not the whole of it.

We also stay on to run the plan with you. A deck does not change your price list. Ownership of delivery does.

Jordan

Work out your price with us

If you want a second set of eyes on your pricing, our Plexo Business Audit is the place to start. It is a 90-minute session, priced at $499 AUD one-off. It finds the operational constraints in your business and gives you a tailored 90-day plan.

You can then keep us on for hands-on work across content, operations and revenue. See the services overview for what that covers. You can also read what the audit includes in our wellness business audit guide, or see the P3 Recovery case study.

FAQ

How often should I review my wellness prices?

At least once a year. Review sooner if your costs or the market change. After any change, track retention, sales volume and margin for three to six months.

Is value-based pricing better than cost-plus?

They do different jobs. Cost-plus protects your floor. Value-based pricing suits established experts who can show clear outcomes. Most owners use cost to set the minimum and value to set the final price.

Can I charge extra for paying by card?

No. From 1 October 2026, Australian businesses cannot add surcharges for eftpos, Visa or Mastercard payments. Build the cost into your base price instead. Show the total price, including GST.

How much notice should I give before a price update?

Four to six weeks is a common recommendation from the Australian Beauty Association. Xero suggests 30 to 60 days. Explain the reason, such as new equipment or training. Consider a limited pre-purchase window for loyal clients.

Should I discount to fill quiet times?

Only after you check your break-even. A 5% discount on a 40% gross margin needs 14.3% more sales to pay off. An off-peak rate or a bundle with a clear end date is often safer than a general sale.

Sources

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