Standard monthly membership for an individual runs from £80 at Salford Quays on Adult to £300 at Chiswick Riverside on Adult. The typical club charges £120 a month for its cheapest adult plan. Every club sets its own rates, so the club page is the figure that matters.

Usually yes. Joining fees on standard plans currently range from £20 to £250; the most common fee is £25. Clubs run joining-fee offers regularly, and those appear on the plan itself on each club page.

Salford Quays from £80 a month on Adult; Streatham from £80 a month on Adult; Chelmsford from £100 a month on Adult. These are standard individual rates on the club's cheapest general plan.

Chiswick Riverside, from £300 a month; Mayfair, from £250 a month; Kensington, from £200 a month. The priciest clubs are in London and at the top of each chain's tier ladder, where membership also reaches the widest set of other clubs.

A short contract costs more per month than the longest one. Adult typically runs £162 a month against £120 on the longest commitment. That is around £42 a month extra for the flexibility.

Adult costs the same either way, £1,440 a year. The annual figure is shown as a yearly total on club pages; switch the term tabs to see it.

Each club is priced on its own facilities, location and tier. Virgin Active groups its clubs into tiers, and a membership at a higher-tier club lets you use more of the chain's other clubs, which is part of what you pay for. Rack Rate shows each club's tier next to its prices.