Comparison · 15 material differences
The Rainier Club vs Soho House
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact; it is not a zero.
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining: The Rainier Club: Under 40 Membership is for members aged 18 to 39; Soho House: Applicants under 27 qualify for Under 27 pricing.
- Minimum age: The Rainier Club: Resident Membership is for members aged 40 and over; Soho House: No published minimum age.
- Geographic restriction: The Rainier Club: Non-Resident Membership requires living and working outside a 50-mile radius of the club; Soho House: Local House membership is tied to the House nearest the member's home; Cities Without Houses is for applicants based where the group has no House.
- Annual dues: The Rainier Club: All three tiers publish both an initiation fee and dues. Resident and Under 40 dues are billed monthly; non-resident dues are billed quarterly.; Soho House: $6,000 a year.
Side by side
| The Rainier Club | Soho House | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Private club | Private club |
| Founded | 1888 (The club describes itself as "a storied social club since 1888" and as Seattle's oldest private social club. Secondary accounts date the founding meeting to 25 July 1888, following a proposal on 23 February 1888.) | 1995 (Founded by restaurateur Nick Jones above his Cafe Boheme restaurant on Greek Street in London's Soho, per Wikipedia's account of the club. The corporate parent is incorporated in Delaware; operational headquarters and the original House are in London.) |
| Headquarters | Seattle, United States | London, United Kingdom |
| Geographic footprint | Single clubhouse at 820 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle | Houses across the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the Middle East, North and South America and Asia; the club states Every House members reach 48 Houses in 19 countries |
| Members | Not publicly disclosed | 269,606as of September 2025 |
| Chapters | Single clubhouse; no chapters | 48 |
| Primary audience | The club describes its members as founders, freelancers, entrepreneurs and executives, and markets separate tiers to residents of the Seattle area, to people under 40, and to non-residents living and working more than 50 miles from the club. | People working in the creative industries, described by the club as "a home for the world's creatives to come together"; the application asks for occupation and interests rather than income or job title |
| Typical member | Members are Seattle-area business, professional and civic people, with a distinct under-40 tier and a non-resident tier. The club publishes no membership total or occupational breakdown. | Members are drawn largely from film, television, music, art, design, fashion, media and adjacent creative businesses. The club publishes no income, net-worth or seniority test, and Wikipedia records that the club has publicly emphasised creativity over net worth and job title. |
| Qualification | ||
| Maximum age at joining | Under 40 Membership is for members aged 18 to 39A separate resident tier applies from age 40verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Applicants under 27 qualify for Under 27 pricingThe club states the discount runs "until your 30th birthday", so the age test applies at joining rather than throughout membership. There is no published upper age limit on membership itself.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum age | Resident Membership is for members aged 40 and overMembers aged 18 to 39 join the Under 40 tier at a lower rateverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum age |
| Geographic restriction | Non-Resident Membership requires living and working outside a 50-mile radius of the clubNon-resident members receive a complimentary Palmer Advantage golf and travel membershipverified September 2026 · source ↗ | Local House membership is tied to the House nearest the member's home; Cities Without Houses is for applicants based where the group has no HouseEvery House membership carries no geographic restriction.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | Not documented | Not documented |
| Application process | Prospective members schedule a clubhouse tour through the club's website or membership office and are then quoted the published tier rate for their age and location. The club does not publish a sponsorship, proposal or ballot requirement, nor a review committee. | Applicants complete an online form on the club's application portal, which the club says takes around 15 minutes and requires a recent profile photograph, credit or debit card details and information about the applicant's interests and occupation. The portal also offers a pricing calculator before submission. Soho House does not publish the criteria used to assess applications, nor whether proposers or seconders are required. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. The club publishes prices and tiers but no acceptance criteria, waiting list or approval process. | Not disclosed as a rate. Soho House told members in December 2023 that it would stop accepting new members for New York, Los Angeles and London from 2024 after complaints about crowding; CNN reported the club then had about 185,000 members and 98,000 people on its waitlist. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | All three tiers publish both an initiation fee and dues. Resident and Under 40 dues are billed monthly; non-resident dues are billed quarterly. | $6,000 a yearEvery House membership, New York or Los Angeles home House, standard (non-Under-27) rate. The club's own pricing calculator returns "Quarterly cost $1,500.00 / Annual cost $6,000.00".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Monthly dues | $575 a monthResident Membership, age 40 and oververified September 2026 · source ↗ | Prices are taken from Soho House's own public pricing calculator on 2026-09-06 and vary by home House, membership type and age band; the figures above are the New York, Los Angeles and London cases. Local supplements at some Houses and Soho Works access are billed separately. |
| Initiation fee | $4,000 one-timeResident Membership, age 40 and over. No-APR financing of the initiation fee is available for up to one year under contract, with conditions.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $1,000 one-time"One-off House Introduction Fee $1,000.00" for Every House and Local House membership at New York and Los Angeles. The club states it "will be converted to Members credit and can be used on food, drinks and bedrooms across the Houses".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Monthly dues for resident and under-40 members; quarterly dues for non-resident members | Rolling membership billed quarterly or annually, plus a one-off House Introduction Fee |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | More than 400 member and signature events a year; clubhouse and gym accessible 24 hours | Houses are open daily; the club advertises more than 2,400 member events and experiences a month |
| Peer forums | Not documented | Not documented |
| Confidentiality | Not publicly disclosed | Could not be independently verified |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Clubhouse premises, Event-focused | Clubhouse premises, Chapter-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | No | No |
| Local chapters | No | Yes |
| Virtual membership | No | No |
| Online community | No | Yes |
| Member directory | Not documented | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Partial | Partial |
| Leadership development | Partial | No |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | Yes | Yes |
| Family programming | Not documented | Not documented |
| Spouse and partner programming | Yes | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | Not documented |
| Investment discussions | No | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Partial | Not documented |
| Networking emphasis | High | Medium |
| Social emphasis | High | High |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: The Rainier Club · Soho House