Disclosure: Mako CRM publishes this comparison and is one of the products discussed. This is vendor-authored analysis, not an independent review or hands-on product test.
Method: We checked the official sources below on September 1, 2026. Features, prices, fees, promotions, limits, and contract terms can change. Quote-only or unverified items should be labeled; absence from an official page is not proof that a feature is unavailable.
| Publisher | Source | What it supports | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Club Automation | Club Automation product | Cloud member data billing payments calendars staff scheduling and reporting | Commercial terms are quote-only |
| Club Automation | Club Automation FAQ | Club focus recurring billing POS app PCI migration support custom quote and typical contract terms | No universal plan or contract price |
| Club Automation | Flex Fees | Configurable payment-fee model is described | Applicability limits and exact rate are account or state dependent |
| Mako CRM | Pricing - Transparent Plans for Service Businesses | Public plan prices, annual totals, included team members, additional-location price, and month-to-month contract statement | Vendor-authored and changeable; checked date required; does not independently prove value, superiority, or competitor differences |
| Mako CRM | Invoicing and Payment Software for Service Businesses | Invoice creation, payment links, partial-payment tracking, reminders, recurring billing, Stripe processing, and Mako fee statements | Vendor-authored; Stripe fees can vary by market and account; sample collection and speed figures are not independent outcome evidence |
Club Automation is enterprise health club software, and it is good at being that. Racquet and court reservations, aquatics scheduling, complex membership hierarchies, family billing across thousands of accounts, front-desk operations at a facility with real square footage — this is its territory. Mako is not competing for that business. If you run a multi-site athletic club with tennis courts and a swim program, most of this comparison will point you toward Club Automation. If you are an independent operator who ended up on their shortlist, read on, because the mismatch is usually the story.
Club Automation: No published pricing. Quote-only, sales-led, with implementation and onboarding priced separately. Contracts are typically annual or multi-year, and the evaluation process runs through discovery calls and a scoped proposal. This is standard for enterprise facility software and not a criticism in itself — but it does mean you cannot estimate your cost without entering a sales cycle.
Mako: Pulse is free. Paid plans are Mako Basic at $139/month, Mako Team at $249/month, and Enterprise at $999/month — roughly 20% less on annual billing at $1,334, $2,390, and $9,588 per year. Basic includes 3 team members, Team includes 15, Enterprise is unlimited and includes three locations. Published on the site, month-to-month, no sales call required to see the number.
The practical difference is how you evaluate. You can price Mako in thirty seconds, run the free retention benchmark the same afternoon, and try the product without speaking to anyone. Pricing Club Automation is a project.
The clearest way to separate these two is to ask what your hardest scheduling problem is. If it is allocating physical resources — courts, lanes, rooms, instructors across a large site — Club Automation is purpose-built for exactly that, and Mako is not. If your hardest problem is knowing whether the business is healthy — what your churn is doing, which services are actually profitable, where cash lands next month — that is what Mako is built around. Both are real problems. They are just not the same problem, and very few operators have both at once.
Club Automation: Deep. Reservation rules, court allocation, league and program management, aquatics — the reason large clubs buy it.
Mako: Class, appointment, and staff scheduling with waitlists and recurring sessions. No court-booking or league engine.
Edge: Club Automation, decisively.
Club Automation: Built for many locations, corporate memberships, complex family and dependent structures, and large front-desk teams.
Mako: Multi-location supported — additional locations on Team are $75/month each, and Enterprise includes three. Not designed for a twenty-site chain.
Edge: Club Automation above roughly five sites.
Club Automation: Extensive reporting, typically configured during implementation and often consumed by a finance team rather than an owner.
Mako: MRR, LTV, churn, cash flow, and service-level profitability visible on day one without configuration.
Edge: Mako for an owner-operator; Club Automation if you have a controller who will build the reports.
Club Automation: Implementation is a structured project measured in weeks or months, with training.
Mako: Self-serve setup, live demo, running the same day.
Edge: Mako, substantially.
Club Automation: Quote-only. You will not know your number until you have spent time with sales.
Mako: Published pricing, a free tier, no contract.
Edge: Mako.
Club Automation: Handles operational complexity that would break lighter platforms.
Mako: Deliberately simpler. That is the trade.
Edge: Club Automation for genuine facility complexity.
Pick Club Automation if:
Pick Mako if:
Your club is a business. Not a hobby, not a side project, not a calendar with a cash register. It deserves software that treats it accordingly. If your platform cannot tell you whether you are financially healthy, it is not doing its job. And in 2026, you have better options.
Related reading: Best Gym Management Software: 15 Platforms Compared (2026).
See Mako in action — no sales call required
Mako is built for independent operators who would rather spend their time on members than on demo calls. Open the live demo, poke around, and see exactly how scheduling, billing, and financial intelligence come together in one place.
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