WHOOP is a wearable fitness and health-tracking device company. But what differentiates WHOOP from the Apples and Garmins of the world? Is it the fact that it literally can’t tell time even though it’s a watch? Or its focus on performance and recovery optimization? Well, yes—but what really sets WHOOP apart is how it makes money.



WHOOP has built its business around a subscription model. Instead of selling its tracker, it gives the device as part of a membership that costs $200 - $360/year. If a user stops paying, the device stops tracking data. This significantly lowers the upfront cost barrier for consumers and shifts the pressure on WHOOP to earn back the input costs through recurring fees over time.



Success, therefore, depends on customer retention.



To keep users engaged, WHOOP continually adds features—like sleep coaching and stress monitoring—and offers perks such as free device upgrades for long-term members.

In this sense, WHOOP creates a long-term relationship between customer and seller, where both depend on each other for lasting benefit—users need their subscription to access data, and WHOOP needs those users to keep running its business.

Apple and Garmin, by contrast, rely on one-time sales. You buy an Apple Watch, mourn the $250 spent on it, but there are no further costs — so Apple earns revenue just from the product.



Risks and Opportunities for WHOOP’s Model



Risks:

WHOOP relies on professional athlete endorsements—from people like Cristiano Ronaldo—to drive sales. This niche positioning is a bit risky: if athletes switch devices or the novelty fades, WHOOP could lose brand appeal. That’s especially risky for a business model built on long-term retention.

Another challenge is the need to provide hardware upgrades at a faster rate than competitors.

Unlike one-time product sales, a subscription implies the hardware must improve over time, and these upgrade cycles create extra costs and operational complexity, putting pressure on margins. This naturally increases WHOOP’s back-end costs and creates an opportunity cost — they have to proportionately outspend their competitors on R&D, which could take away from other areas such as marketing or after-sales service.



Opportunities:

WHOOP has plenty of growth potential if it can leverage its data-driven platform. The wellness economy is booming, and individuals and organizations are increasingly willing to pay for health insights.

There’s also opportunity in healthcare partnerships, given WHOOP’s biometric data. Such deals could include longer, more secure contracts.

Essentially, WHOOP’s business model boils down to this: a loyal subscriber base gives you a compounding revenue stream that investors love, simply for its predictability. And with the opportunities it has because of this revenue stream, the sky really does seem to be the limit — or the CITGO sign, since that’s where it’s headquartered.



Works Cited

WHOOP. "Membership Pricing." WHOOP Support, 20 Aug. 2025, https://support.whoop.com/s/article/Membership-Pricing?language=en_US

Oura Health Oy. "Membership." Oura Ring, https://ouraring.com/membership?srsltid=AfmBOorrow2a_CUDg6DN5cKTey7ATnJWSyikKfmpbX-Jdu4EGgR8-Qxc

WHOOP. "CR7 × WHOOP." WHOOP, https://www.whoop.com/us/en/cr7/