Class booking software is the system that takes reservations for your classes, manages the waitlist when they fill, charges the client, and enforces your cancellation policy — and the last two are where platforms actually differ.
The booking part is solved. Everyone does it. If you are comparing options right now, you will find that every product page lists the same six features, and none of them tells you what happens on a Tuesday night when a class is full, two people cancel forty minutes out, and three more are waiting.
That is the part worth comparing. Here is the honest version.
| Entry price | Contract | Waitlist auto-promote | Late-cancel charging | Financial reporting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mako | Free (Pulse), then $139/mo | None | Yes | Yes, configurable window | Real-time P&L |
| Mindbody | Not published | Annual typical | Yes | Yes | Revenue only |
| Momence | Not published | Varies | Yes | Yes | Revenue only |
| Vagaro | Published, per-user | Monthly | Yes | Yes | Revenue only |
| WellnessLiving | Not published | Annual typical | Yes | Yes | Revenue only |
| Glofox | Not published | Annual typical | Yes | Yes | Revenue only |
Two things stand out before you compare a single feature.
Evidence note: Mako current first-party pricing lists those monthly prices, approximately 20% annual savings, and no long-term contracts. Prices and terms can change and exclude processor fees and taxes. Sources: Mako first-party: Mako Pricing.
And almost nobody reports on profit. Every platform will tell you what you sold. Very few will tell you whether the 6am class is worth running.
This is the feature you use most and evaluate least.
Ask three questions of any platform you are considering:
Does the waitlist promote automatically, or does someone have to do it? If a spot opens at 5:40pm for a 6pm class and promotion is manual, that spot goes empty. Every empty spot in a full class is revenue you already earned and then gave back.
How long does the promoted person get to respond? Too short and they miss it. Too long and the class starts with an empty mat. A configurable window is the right answer; a fixed one is a compromise someone else made for you.
Does the promoted person get charged? Surprisingly often, the answer is no — the spot transfers but the payment doesn't, and you find out at the end of the month.
Most studios write a cancellation policy and then don't enforce it, because enforcing it means an awkward conversation. Software that charges the fee automatically removes the conversation entirely.
What to check: whether the cancellation window is configurable per class type (a 6am class needs a different window than a Saturday workshop), whether the charge happens automatically or needs approval, and whether the client sees the policy at the moment of booking rather than buried in a terms page.
Evidence note: Stripe documents Smart Retries, automatic card updates, email notifications, and recovery analytics. Documentation does not provide a universal recovery share; results vary by failure type and configuration. Say these features can help recover failed payments and report the account's observed recovery rate. Sources: Revenue recovery.
Here is the part nobody writes down.
Evidence note: Use dated, named-vendor fee examples with region and volume assumptions. Vendor, region, payment method, volume, and plan are unspecified. Source status: No primary source was found for the earlier universal claim as of 2026-09-01.
Evidence note: Three percent of $20 is $0.60; 500 bookings produce $300 and $139 divided by $0.60 is about 232 bookings. Applies only to the stated price and fee and ignores caps, taxes, refunds, and other fees. Source status: No primary source was found for the earlier universal claim as of 2026-09-01.
The crossover arrives exactly when the business starts working. Free is the right choice when you are teaching two classes a week and testing whether this is a business. It stops being the right choice quickly.
Thin tools handle a weekly class. They break on the things that come after: a six-week series where the client buys the whole block, a class pack with an expiry date, a membership that includes four classes a month and charges for the fifth.
If you sell anything other than single drop-ins, test these specifically during a trial. This is the most common reason studios migrate a year in.
Every platform in the table will tell you that you sold 340 classes last month. Almost none will tell you that your Tuesday 6am costs more to run than it brings in.
The information is right there — you know the instructor's rate, you know the headcount, you know the room. Connecting them is the difference between a booking system and a business system. Mako calculates profitability per class as bookings come in, so the schedule decision gets made on margin instead of on a feeling about which classes seem busy.
That is the actual argument for consolidating. Not "one platform instead of ten." One platform that can answer a question the ten couldn't.
Evidence note: HMRC says VAT-registered businesses generally charge VAT unless exempt, apply the correct rate, show VAT details separately, and keep records. UK registration, exemptions, rates, and place-of-supply determine treatment. Keep the check and tell readers to confirm current HMRC rules and invoice fields. Sources: Charge, reclaim and record VAT.
If you teach a handful of classes a week and take payment in person, start free and revisit at around 200 bookings a month.
If you run a schedule, sell packs or memberships, and employ instructors, pick on waitlist mechanics and cancellation enforcement — those two decide how much of your scheduled revenue you actually collect.
If you already know both of those work and you still can't tell which classes make money, that's the gap worth closing.
See Mako's pricing — published, no contract, no demo required.
Related reading: Calendly alternatives for taking payments.
