The main Mindbody alternatives for a small fitness studio are Vagaro, Fresha, Gymdesk, Glofox and Acuity Scheduling. On October 2026 list prices Vagaro, Fresha and Acuity start below Mindbody's $79 to $99 entry price, and Gymdesk charges by member count. On AI, Vagaro includes it, Fresha and Acuity charge for it, Gymdesk lists none and Glofox quotes only.
The ranking changes with your studio. A yoga room with 60 members and one teacher faces a different bill from a Pilates studio with five instructors and a retail corner. Per-instructor pricing (Vagaro, Fresha) punishes a big teaching team, member-based pricing (Gymdesk) punishes a big membership, and AI is bundled in one system, a paid add-on in another and missing in a third. So the cheapest system for one studio can be the dearest for the next, and the only reliable comparison is your own headcount run through each price list.
How the five were chosen and scored
I started with the systems that small studios most often mention alongside Mindbody, and with the places review sites such as G2 rank them. I then read each vendor's own pricing page in October 2026 rather than a review site's summary, since review sites often show stale or regional figures. Mindbody itself gives two different starting figures ($99 per location in its pricing header, $79 in its FAQ) and publishes no prices for its upper plans, so it is the unknown in every comparison below.
Scores are out of three on each of three points: cost clarity (can you work out a bill from public pages), class fit (does the page mention memberships, packages, groups or classes) and AI (stated and priced on the page). They are my reading of the pages, not a lab test, and a high score does not mean it suits your studio.
| System | Cost clarity | Class and membership fit on the page | AI stated on the page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vagaro | 3 | 2 (memberships and packages; classes only as a sync note) | 3 (Vera on every plan) |
| Fresha | 3 | 2 (memberships and group bookings listed) | 3 (priced add-on) |
| Gymdesk | 3 | 3 (built for gyms and studios) | 0 (none mentioned) |
| Glofox | 0 (quote only) | Not assessed (no page detail) | 0 (nothing published) |
| Acuity Scheduling | 3 | 2 (packages and memberships; classes unclear on pricing page) | 3 (Premium plan) |
Vagaro: low base price, per-calendar charges, AI included
Vagaro's pricing page lists a One Location plan at $23.99 a month as an exclusive rate for the first six months, shown beside $30.00, so the safer planning figure is $30. Each bookable calendar licence costs $10 a month per location, up to seven licences; beyond seven you can add more people at no extra cost. Multiple locations are by quote.
The page says memberships, packages and gift certificates are on every plan, and that Vera, its AI assistant, is part of the included AI-powered tools and marketing, with no separate AI price. It does not describe an AI receptionist, so do not assume phone answering. What Vera actually does, and where it stops, is covered in Vagaro AI explained.
Watch for: the per-calendar charge makes instructor count the main cost driver. Class capacity and waitlists are not described on the pricing page, so test them in a trial.
Fresha: low subscription, charges elsewhere
Fresha's page lists an Independent plan at $19.95 a month for one team member and a Team plan at $14.95 a month per bookable team member. Enterprise, for more than 20 team members, is quoted. There is a seven-day trial and the page says there is no long-term contract.
The extras are where bills grow. Card processing is optional, quoted at 2.79% plus $0.20 online and 2.29% plus $0.20 in person. New clients found through its marketplace carry a one-off 20% commission with a $6 minimum, while clients who come via your own links or social profiles carry none. Texts beyond a free allowance cost $0.02 each.
The AI Concierge is a per-location add-on: $29.95 a month for messaging only, or $99.95 a month for calls and messaging with 200 minutes included, then $0.60 a minute. Fresha's roots are salons, so check group classes and pass packs carefully; see Fresha pricing, marketplace fees and add-ons for the full breakdown.
Gymdesk: priced by active members, no AI listed
Gymdesk is built for gyms and studios, and it prices on active members rather than staff. Its pricing page could not be re-checked at review, so confirm these October 2026 tiers there before budgeting. With its own payments, the tiers were $75 a month up to 50 members, $100 for 51 to 100, $150 for 101 to 150 and $200 for 151 to 250; without its payments each tier costs $25 to $40 more. Staff accounts are unlimited. Extra locations are $50 a month with its payments. A branded member app is $100 a month, and door access (marked beta) is $100 a month for up to three doors plus hardware.
The page advertises a 30-day free trial, month-to-month billing and no cancellation fees. It does not mention AI at all, so if an assistant is on your list you would need another tool alongside it, such as a separate chatbot or answering service.
Watch for: a studio close to a tier boundary, say 98 or 148 active members, should price the next tier up, since growth pushes the bill up in steps.
Glofox: quote only
Glofox's pricing page publishes no plans, prices or feature list. All it offers is a route to a quote, plus review counts from review sites. Because I cannot verify its features or any AI from its own pages, I have left Glofox unscored on class fit and AI rather than repeat a claim from a third-party listing. If it makes your shortlist, request a written quote with the term, set-up charges, payment fees and a clear statement of which AI features, if any, are included.
Acuity Scheduling: appointments first, AI on the top plan
Acuity's page lists three plans, billed annually or monthly: Starter at $16 or $20 a month for one calendar, Standard at $27 or $34 for up to six, and Premium at $55 or $69 for up to 36. Packages, memberships, gift certificates, text reminders and a waitlist begin at Standard. The AI Booking Assistant, described as an AI chatbot for clients, is on Premium only, with no separate price.
The pricing page does not say which plans cover class scheduling, so a studio that sells fixed-capacity classes should confirm that in a trial before choosing. Acuity is strongest for one-to-one or small-group appointments. The detail on the AI feature is in Acuity AI Booking Assistant: what Premium adds.
Worked example: one studio priced five ways (illustrative)
Say a Pilates studio with 90 active members, two instructors plus the owner who also teaches (three bookable people), one location, and an enquiry volume that makes an AI messaging assistant tempting. The sums below use October 2026 list prices, in USD, before tax and card fees. They are a method, not a quote.
| System | How the bill is built | Approximate monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Vagaro | $30 base plus extra calendar licences at $10 each (two to three, depending on whether one is included) | $50 to $60, Vera included |
| Fresha | Team plan, 3 people at $14.95, plus AI Concierge messaging at $29.95 | About $75, plus card fees |
| Gymdesk | 51 to 100 member tier, with its payments or without | $100 with, $125 without; no AI |
| Acuity (Premium for AI) | Premium annual or monthly rate | $55 annual or $69 monthly |
| Acuity (Standard, no AI) | Standard for packages and memberships | $27 annual or $34 monthly |
| Glofox | Not published | Quote required |
Read it as a first pass. On this studio Vagaro looks cheapest with AI, Fresha is close but adds card and text fees, and Gymdesk costs more but is the system designed around members and classes. Mindbody's own figure is missing from the table because only its entry price is public, and its page states that price two ways. Get the quote, then compare the same row.
Same studio, different sizes: where the ranking flips
A solo teacher with 35 regulars
One calendar, no staff pay to split. Acuity Starter at $16 or $20 or Fresha Independent at $19.95 are the lowest starting points, and a free trial costs nothing. AI is unlikely to matter at this scale because you can answer a few messages a day yourself.
A five-instructor studio with 180 members
Per-calendar pricing now hurts: five calendars on Vagaro and five team members on Fresha add up, while Gymdesk's 151 to 250 tier is $200 with its payments and includes unlimited staff. Here the member-based pricing can win. The AI question becomes whether you pair it with a separate tool.
A studio that sells mostly private sessions
If most revenue is one-to-one sessions or small groups booked in advance, an appointments-first tool such as Acuity or Vagaro suits better than a class-first one, and the per-calendar charge is the cost of doing business.
What AI is actually worth at each price
Verified AI on these pages comes in three forms: an included assistant (Vagaro, described but not priced separately), a priced messaging or calls add-on (Fresha), and a chatbot gated behind the top plan (Acuity). Mindbody's AI Concierge is a fourth case, covered in which Mindbody plan includes it. Gymdesk and Glofox do not publish any.
The test before paying for any of them is the same. Log a fortnight of routine client messages, work out the minutes, and price them at your hourly value. If that total is under two or three hours a month, a saved-replies list does most of the job free. If it is a full working day, an assistant may pay for itself, but only if its answers are right. Do not buy a bigger plan only because it includes an assistant you might not switch on.
A sample message to test each assistant with
During a trial send the same awkward message to every system's assistant and compare the replies. Here is one to copy (illustrative):
Hi, I'm 14 weeks pregnant and a friend recommended your Tuesday class.
Is it OK for me to come? Also, do you have a trial price, and can I
cancel the booking tomorrow if my work changes?A good reply passes the pregnancy question to a human instead of answering it, quotes your real trial price, and states your real cancellation rule. A bad one says "yes, all levels welcome" and invents a policy.
Weighting the table for your own studio
The scores above treat every column equally, which no studio does. Give each need a weight from 1 to 5, multiply it by how well each system meets it (0 to 3), and add up. Here is a filled-in version for the example Pilates studio, again illustrative.
| Need (weight) | Vagaro | Fresha | Gymdesk | Acuity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-capacity classes and waitlist (5) | 1 x 5 = 5 | 1 x 5 = 5 | 3 x 5 = 15 | 1 x 5 = 5 |
| Passes and memberships (4) | 2 x 4 = 8 | 2 x 4 = 8 | 3 x 4 = 12 | 2 x 4 = 8 |
| Low monthly cost (3) | 3 x 3 = 9 | 3 x 3 = 9 | 1 x 3 = 3 | 2 x 3 = 6 |
| AI messaging (2) | 2 x 2 = 4 | 2 x 2 = 4 | 0 | 2 x 2 = 4 |
| Total | 26 | 26 | 30 | 23 |
The scores for classes are low for three systems because their pricing pages do not describe fixed-capacity classes, not because they cannot do it. Replace those numbers with what you see in a trial. If you weight AI at 5 instead of 2, the order changes, which is the point: the weights are the decision, and writing them down stops a demo from choosing for you.
A trial plan that fits into one fortnight
Most of these vendors offer a free trial or month-to-month billing, so test your shortlist on real work rather than on a demo account.
- Day 1 to 2. Build next week's timetable in each system: class names, times, capacities, instructors, and the late-cancel rule you really use.
- Day 3 to 4. Set up your three most common passes, such as a ten-class pack, a monthly unlimited and an intro offer. Book a dummy client into each.
- Day 5 to 6. Try the awkward cases: a full class with a waitlist, a cancellation inside the window, an instructor swap, a refund.
- Day 7 to 10. Send ten real-sounding enquiries to any AI assistant and mark each reply right, acceptable or wrong.
- Day 11 to 14. Ask one regular member to book through the system from their phone and tell you where they got stuck.
Time yourself: if building one week of timetable takes three hours in one system and forty minutes in another, that gap repeats every term. A before-and-after example makes the point. In one system a recurring Tuesday class takes one form and four clicks; in another each week is created singly, so a term of twelve classes takes an afternoon. Neither fact appears on a pricing page.
What to tell members when you switch
Here is a short wording you can adapt, with placeholders for your own details (illustrative):
Subject: Our booking system is changing on [date]
Hi [first name],
From [date] you'll book classes through [new system] instead of [old system].
Your pass balance of [number] classes and your membership carry over.
You'll get a link to set up your login on [date]. If you have a card on file,
we'll ask you to re-enter it once.
Questions? Reply to this message and we'll help.
[your name]Check the pass balances against the export on the day. A single member who loses four classes of credit will tell more people than twenty who switch smoothly.
Switching checklist: what to confirm before leaving Mindbody
- Contract end. Find your notice date and any minimum term. Cancelling in the wrong month can cost a full renewal.
- Data export. Ask what you can take: client records, visit history, notes, waivers, active passes with remaining credits, recurring memberships.
- Payments. Check whether members' stored cards can move between payment providers. If they cannot, plan a message asking members to re-enter details and a grace period for failed payments.
- Timetable rebuild. Re-create classes, capacities, waitlist rules, late-cancel windows and pass rules by hand and test them with a dummy client.
- Parallel run. If possible, run both for a fortnight at a quiet time such as a school holiday, rather than switching mid-term.
- Member message. Tell members what changes, when, and what they must do. A short, clear email avoids a spike in questions.
For a detailed pairing, Vagaro versus Mindbody for Pilates and yoga memberships goes class by class, and Acuity versus Mindbody looks at the class model and instructor pay.
A realistic mistake: comparing fees and forgetting card rates
A typical error looks like this. An owner compares three monthly fees, picks the cheapest and moves over. Three months later the bill is higher than before, because the old system's card rate was negotiated down over years and the new one charges its standard rate on every membership payment. On $9,000 a month of takings, a difference of half a percentage point is $45 a month, which is more than the subscription gap that drove the decision.
The fix is a ten-minute sum before you commit: take last month's total card takings, apply each vendor's quoted rate and per-transaction fee (a per-transaction fee matters most when members pay small amounts often), and add the result to the subscription. Then compare totals, not subscriptions.
Things the price pages will not show you
- Card fees. A cheap subscription with a high processing rate can cost more than a dearer one. Ask each vendor for the rate on your expected monthly takings, in writing.
- Text and email costs. Reminders and marketing messages are charged after a free allowance on some systems.
- Branded app. Members expect an app. Some systems include it, others charge extra every month.
- Support hours. A studio that teaches at 6am wants support at 6am, or an honest answer that there is none.
- Promotional prices. Introductory rates, such as an exclusive first six months, end. Budget from the list price after the offer.
Prices and features change often, and vendors sometimes alter AI packaging within weeks. Treat this tutorial as a snapshot from October 2026 and check each vendor's page again on the day you decide. If you want to work through your own shortlist with someone, that is what my AI implementation consultation covers.
Questions before you switch from Mindbody
Which Mindbody alternative is cheapest for a tiny studio?
On list prices read in October 2026, Fresha's Independent plan and Acuity's Starter plan are the lowest entry points, and Vagaro is close once calendars are counted. Cheapest on paper is not cheapest in use: card fees, per-instructor charges and the features you need on a higher plan can reverse the ranking, so price your own set-up.
Do all five have built-in AI?
No. Of the pages I read, Vagaro says its assistant, Vera, is included on every plan. Fresha sells an AI Concierge as an add-on. Acuity puts an AI Booking Assistant on its top plan. Gymdesk's pricing page mentions no AI, and Glofox publishes no plans or prices at all, so its AI cannot be judged from public pages.
How hard is it to move members from Mindbody?
Plan for a few weeks of careful work rather than a weekend. Export client records, active passes and memberships, then check how each system handles recurring payments, since cards stored with one payment provider may need members to re-enter details. Ask each vendor in writing what they import and what stays behind.
Should I choose software for the AI features?
Only after the basics fit. Class capacity, waitlists, passes, memberships and payments decide whether a system works for your studio. AI add-ons are priced and packaged differently and are changing quickly, so treat them as a tie-breaker, and test any claim on your own enquiries before you rely on it.
Further reads
- Small Gym Software: Built-In AI or a Separate AI Tool? — Built-in AI or a separate tool, for Gymdesk-style systems.
- Best AI Chatbot for a Gym: Website, Instagram and WhatsApp Compared — Adding a chatbot to a system that has none.
- Boxing Gym Software Checklist: Memberships, Class Caps and AI Help — Class caps and memberships checklist for combat gyms.
- Gym Retention Software With AI: What It Costs and Delivers — Retention tools and their cost for small gyms.
- Can AI Answer Gym Enquiries and Book Trial Sessions? — Using AI to answer enquiries and book trials.
- How to Reduce No-Shows With AI Reminders and Automatic Rebooking — Reminder timing that cuts no-shows.
- Can AI Write a Yoga Studio Policy? Injury and Refund Wording to Verify — A yoga studio policy drafted with AI, split into parts, with the late-cancel, refund and injury clauses a professional must verify.
- AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.
Sources: the vendors' own pricing pages for Vagaro, Fresha, Gymdesk and Acuity Scheduling, and Mindbody's pricing and AI Concierge pages, read October 2026. Glofox publishes no prices. Prices are USD list prices and change often.