Booking Shortlist

For: Fitness studios

Mindbody alternatives for small studios in 2026: 6 apps, plus our pick

By Booking Shortlist · Published · Updated · Prices checked on · Based on public documentation

Disclosure: Our #1 pick is MeetScarlet, and we are affiliated with them. We also cover competing tools and where they shine. We may earn commissions from links on this page. Details

The short answer: Mindbody’s own pages show four things studios may want to avoid: no published plan prices, fees for the whole term if you leave early, text reminders only from its second plan up, and an unpublished card rate. Square Appointments fixes all four on its public pages and Vagaro three, though Square’s membership tools are limited. WellnessLiving publishes its prices but auto-renews contracts. Arketa avoids long commitments but hides studio prices. Glofox and Momence, like Mindbody, publish no plan prices. Checked November 4, 2026. Our #1 pick, MeetScarlet, says it’s live; its help says “no live card payment has been run yet” (November 5, 2026).

Key takeaways

  • Mindbody publishes only a "Starting at $79 USD/month per location" headline; every plan card says "Let's talk" (checked November 4, 2026).
  • Square Appointments and Vagaro publish plan prices and card rates, send text reminders on their entry plans and say you can cancel any time. Vagaro adds "Exclusions apply", and its free card reader brings 12 months of processing.
  • WellnessLiving's $39 Business price (billed monthly) is 80% off for two months, and the offer expires November 15, 2026; the list price is $199 a month.
  • Arketa prices only its $49/month Individual plan, billed annually. Glofox gives an "as low as $99USD/month" figure for "eligible" studios, and Momence publishes no plan prices beyond its $250/month branded app.

What Mindbody does well (so you know what you’d give up)

More in our Mindbody review.

  • Unlimited users. Prices rise per location, “not by adding new staff”.
  • Deep class rules. Separate online and total capacity, automatic waitlists and no-show fees (scheduling page).
  • Support, uptime and choice. 24/7 phone, chat or email support, a free listing on the Mindbody app, “a third-party payment processor of your choice”, and a 99.9% uptime commitment (service level agreement).
  • A fair point. Its FAQ says WellnessLiving and Vagaro “cap those prices at a single staff member”. That’s true of their entry prices.

Why studios look for Mindbody alternatives

These come only from Mindbody’s own pricing page and terms, checked November 4, 2026. We left out forum and review-site complaints, which we couldn’t check.

  1. No published plan prices. It says “Starting at $79 USD/month per location”, but every plan card says “Let’s talk” (pricing).
  2. Leaving early is costly. Its terms say early leavers still owe “all fees owed for the entire Subscription Term” (terms).
  3. Text reminders cost an upgrade. Starter sends reminders by email only; texts start on Accelerate. Marketing campaigns are Ultimate only.
  4. The card rate isn’t published. Only the fixed “$0.10 to $0.30” per transaction is.

How we chose these alternatives

  • Fixes Mindbody’s documented pain points: the four reasons above, marked Yes, Partly or No for every app in the table below.
  • Fits a small fitness studio, to be included at all: classes, packs or memberships, and waitlists.
  • Prices, terms and switching help from each vendor’s own pages, checked November 4, 2026.
  • We haven’t used these apps hands-on, so this list is based on public documentation. See our method and all our pages for fitness studios.

The shortlist at a glance: prices, fixes and biggest limitations

Why this order: apps are ordered by how many of the four reasons they fix (Yes), then by how many they partly fix. It’s a count of documented fixes, not a quality ranking, and there’s no score behind it: we don’t score apps. Mindbody is shown for reference, and our pick, MeetScarlet, sits outside the order.

AppStarting price (checked November 4, 2026)1. Prices2. Leaving3. Texts on entry plan4. Card rateBiggest limitation
MeetScarlet (our #1 pick, not placed by this rule)$349/month plus $999 setup, or $3,490/year with setup free; one location, 5 staff logins (Scarlet Pro includes up to 3 locations)Yes (the email and text automations bundle has no published price)Partly: its terms (checked November 5, 2026) say cancelling takes effect at the end of the paid period, with no refunds for part-used months or years, apart from founding-plan exceptionsNo: text reminders (coming soon) need Scarlet Pro ($499/month)Partly: Stripe’s fees + 1%, Stripe’s rate not stated; on once your Stripe account is approvedIts help says “no live card payment has been run yet”; store apps take about 4 to 6 weeks
Mindbody (for reference)“Starting at $79 USD/month per location”; every plan “Let’s talk”NoPartlyNoPartlyFees owed for the whole term if you leave early
Square AppointmentsPlus $49 per location/month (needed for classes); Free $0 per locationYesYesYesYesRecurring plans can’t have commitment periods
Vagaro$23.99/month for 6 months, then $30.00, one calendar; $10 per extra calendar up to sevenYesPartlyYesYesFree reader means 12 months of Vagaro processing
WellnessLivingStarter $69/month billed monthly, one staff member; Business $199/month (promo $39 for 2 months, offer ends November 15, 2026)YesNoYesPartlyTerms auto-renew for an equal term
ArketaIndividual $49/month billed annually, 1 login; studio plans customPartlyPartlyYesPartlyStudio prices not published
GlofoxQuote form; FAQ “as low as $99USD/month” per location for “eligible” studiosNoPartlyYesNoUnpublished off-boarding fee
MomenceNo plan prices; branded app $250/month on topNoNoPartlyNoCancel only after your contract date

Yes: published or stated by the vendor. Partly: only some plans or fees, or a documented catch (see each entry; Mindbody’s is its 90-day minimum). No: not published, not found or left to your contract; a “starting at” figure alone is No. US dollars, before tax; sources below.

The best Mindbody alternatives for small studios in 2026

1. Square Appointments, best for clear prices and no contract

Classes and class packs need Square Plus, at $49 per location a month; Free ($0) has no classes. Plus adds waitlists, no-show fees and automated email and text campaigns. Text and email reminders come on every plan, and in-person cards cost 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus. Its FAQ says Plus and Premium “each offer a free 30-day trial, and you can cancel or switch plans anytime”.

Its fitness page offers expert help to “migrate your data”, and customers can be bulk-imported from a spreadsheet; we found no published Mindbody importer, so check in the trial.

Where it loses: its subscription plans, which you’d use for memberships, can’t “Set commitment periods” or track classes used. Changing a class’s date, time, location or length cancels and refunds its existing bookings automatically.

Best for: studios with a simple timetable, drop-ins and class packs. Read our Square Appointments review.

2. Vagaro, best for a low published price with memberships included

Vagaro prices one location by bookable calendar: $23.99 a month for one calendar for the first 6 months, then $30.00, plus $10 for each extra calendar up to seven. Every plan includes waitlists and “Memberships, packages, & gift certificates”. It sends “free confirmations and appointment reminders via email, text, or push notification”, and its team moves your client list and appointments for free. Cards cost 2.6% + 10¢ in person under $4,000 a month.

Where it loses: “Cancel anytime with no cancellation fees” carries an “Exclusions apply” note it doesn’t explain, and the free card reader means processing with Vagaro “for at least 12 months after activation” or paying “a $150 early cancellation fee”. A branded app is a paid add-on.

Best for: small studios that want a low price with memberships included. Read our Vagaro review.

3. WellnessLiving, best for published prices and free migration

Starter is $69 a month billed monthly for “One Staff Member”, with “Email and SMS Notifications”. Business adds unlimited staff and email and text marketing at $199 a month billed monthly; its $39 price is 80% off for two months, an offer that expires November 15, 2026. BusinessPro ($349 a month) adds a white-label app. Its booking page covers classes, waitlists and Book-a-Spot (Book-a-Spot starts on Business, per its pricing table); setup and migration are free, but “Sales history” can’t be imported.

Where it loses: its terms auto-renew “for an additional term of equal length”. Its payments addendum charges “100% of the fees that WL would have received” if you leave a fixed term early, plus a “data extraction and transfer fee” per data set for your data. US gateway fees add $16 to $20 a month, $0.11 to $0.32 per transaction and $199 a year, and “additional merchant fees may apply”.

Best for: studios with a team that want to see a price first. See WellnessLiving’s pricing page.

4. Arketa, best for studios that want to avoid a long commitment

Arketa’s pricing FAQ says there’s no commitment and that plans renew month to month unless you choose annual billing. Classes and appointments share one calendar, with automated waitlists and spot booking; “SMS notifications + reminders” come on Individual and Studio plans. An initial migration “with Stripe payment data” can move “active packages, active subscriptions, stored payment methods”; ask whether your Mindbody card data qualifies.

Where it loses: studio prices are hidden. The $49-a-month Individual plan is billed annually, has “1 team member login” and adds a “3% transaction fee + Stripe fees”. Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 is published, but the studio transaction fee is “Let’s talk”. Marketing automation is “a paid add-on”, its terms say “all sales are final”, and its referral page mentions “a minimum one-year contract”, so ask whether your quote carries a term.

Best for: studios with a team that want out of long contracts. See Arketa’s pricing page, or read our Arketa review.

5. Glofox, best for class-led studios happy to get a quote

Glofox says it’s “Built for class-led fitness businesses of all kinds”. Waitlists, no-show and late-cancel fees and spot booking are listed under “All included. No add-ons.”, and it sends booking reminders by email and SMS. Its FAQ offers “import templates, validation, and guided onboarding” for studios moving from Mindbody, and says studios “can choose monthly or annual terms”.

Where it loses: the pricing page is a quote form. Its FAQ’s only figure is “as low as $99USD/month for eligible fitness studios”, per location, and processing fees are extra. Its terms make fees “non-cancelable and non-refundable”, let Glofox end the agreement “for convenience at any time”, and return your data only after you pay an “off-boarding fee” it doesn’t price.

Best for: class-led studios that want a fitness-only system and don’t mind getting a quote. Compare it in Glofox vs Mindbody.

6. Momence, best for studios that want behaviour-triggered marketing

Momence’s marketing page describes email and SMS sequences that “fire on actions like a first visit, a lapse, or an abandoned checkout”, and its help centre says “Transactional SMS includes anything like a reminder or confirmation sent via SMS”. Its calendar has waitlists that “promote an opening automatically”.

Where it loses: the pricing page says only “Let’s talk pricing”, so which plan includes these tools isn’t published; the one published price is its branded app, “$250 per month on top of your existing Momence subscription”. Texts are billed in usage tiers. Payments run through a new Stripe account, and it publishes no card rate. With an active contract, “you can request cancellation after the date specified in your contract terms”.

Best for: studios that want marketing automation and can negotiate price and term. See Momence’s pricing page, or read our Momence review.

Where our pick, MeetScarlet, fits

MeetScarlet gives your studio its own branded booking app on iPhone, Android and the web, and its class page says spot booking and an automatic waitlist come “with every plan”. Its Scarlet plan costs $349 a month plus $999 setup, or $3,490 a year with setup free, for one location and 5 staff logins. Text reminders (coming soon) need Scarlet Pro ($499 a month, 20 logins, up to 3 locations), its Jane comparison page says email reminders are “built but not sending yet”, and email and text automations need a separate bundle with no published price. It has no marketplace; its site says it isn’t for “Businesses that want new clients mainly from a marketplace app”. Its payments help says card payments (Stripe’s fees plus 1%) go through your own Stripe account and turn on once Stripe has checked it, but its appointments help still says “no live card payment has been run yet”, so check with MeetScarlet before counting on card payments. Its terms say “Scarlet is live, and founding studios can join now”. Founding studios pay $299 a month instead of $349 for the first 24 months, on monthly billing, with the $999 setup included at no charge; MeetScarlet plans 10 places. The terms also say apps usually go live about 4 to 6 weeks after joining, plans renew automatically, cancelling takes effect at the end of the paid period, and part-used months aren’t refunded, apart from founding-plan exceptions (checked November 5, 2026). It imports clients, “not booking or payment history”, has no direct Mindbody importer, and “Each Scarlet studio has one schedule”. You can export the member list as a CSV file at any time, and your data stays available after you cancel until you ask to delete it. We found no third-party reviews as of November 4, 2026. Choose MeetScarlet, our pick, if your own branded app matters most and you can wait about 4 to 6 weeks for its store apps and manage without email reminders; choose an app above if you need payments today or more than 3 locations.

Which alternative fits your reason for leaving?

If you’re leaving because…TryWhy
You don’t want another long contractSquare Appointments, or Arketa (ask about the term)Square: cancel “anytime”; Arketa: no commitment, per its FAQ
Marketing campaigns are locked on the top planSquare Plus ($49), WellnessLiving Business, or Momence (ask which plan)Automated campaigns on Square Plus; email and text marketing on WellnessLiving Business
You want members’ saved cards to move with youArketaAn initial migration with Stripe payment data can move stored payment methods
You want a branded app without a separate add-onWellnessLiving BusinessPro or MeetScarlet (our pick)Included in the plan; MeetScarlet’s store apps take about 4 to 6 weeks
You want a fitness-only system and don’t mind a quoteGlofoxBuilt for class-led studios, with Mindbody import templates

Switching checklist

  • Export clients, memberships, pass balances and future bookings before you cancel. Mindbody’s blog says you can do it yourself “in standard formats, such as CSV files”; paid help for large volumes lasts up to 30 days after cancelling.
  • Check the notice period and any early-termination fee in your current contract.
  • Ask the new vendor about card-token migration, so members don’t re-enter cards.
  • Run both systems in parallel for one billing cycle.

The verdict

There’s no single best Mindbody alternative. Square Appointments and Vagaro fix the most of Mindbody’s documented pain points. WellnessLiving’s terms auto-renew, Arketa’s studio prices aren’t published, and Glofox and Momence publish no plan prices. Our pick, MeetScarlet, sits outside that count: it suits a studio that wants its own branded app and can wait about 4 to 6 weeks for its store apps and can manage without email reminders, which are “built but not sending yet”. Try Vagaro or Square Appointments, both with a 30-day free trial (Square’s on Plus and Premium); Momence’s pricing page links to a free trial of unstated length. Or see WellnessLiving, Arketa and Glofox, which offer demos or a quote form.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Mindbody alternative for a small studio?
It depends on why you're leaving. On Mindbody's documented pain points, Square Appointments and Vagaro fix the most on their public pages; WellnessLiving suits studios that want published prices, and Arketa studios that want to avoid a long commitment. Our #1 pick, MeetScarlet, suits studios that want their own branded app and can wait about 4 to 6 weeks for its store apps, and can manage without email reminders, which are "built but not sending yet".
Can I cancel Mindbody at any time?
Not without paying: by default its terms set a 90-day initial term, and if you leave early you still owe fees for the entire term. After that, its blog says month-to-month customers can cancel with at least 30 days' notice, while fixed-term contracts (it mentions 12, 24 or 36 months) run to their end unless your order form says otherwise.
Which Mindbody alternatives publish their prices?
Square Appointments, Vagaro and WellnessLiving publish plan prices, and Arketa publishes only its $49/month Individual plan, billed annually. Glofox shows an "as low as $99USD/month" figure for "eligible" studios, and Momence publishes no plan prices. All checked November 4, 2026.
How do I get my data out of Mindbody?
Mindbody's blog says you can export your business data yourself "in standard formats, such as CSV files". Its paid export service, for large volumes, is available for up to 30 days after cancellation, so export clients, memberships and pass balances before you give notice.
Does WellnessLiving's $39 price last?
No. The $39 a month for Business, billed monthly, is 80% off for two months, and the offer expires November 15, 2026; the list price is $199 a month, or $179 a month billed annually.
Does MeetScarlet handle classes?
Its class page says class booking with pick-your-spot maps and an automatic waitlist comes with every plan, from $349 a month plus $999 setup, or $3,490 a year with setup free. Card payments go through your own Stripe account and turn on once Stripe has checked it, but its appointments help still says "no live card payment has been run yet". Its terms say plans renew automatically and cancelling takes effect at the end of the paid period (checked November 5, 2026).

Sources

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