DanceStudio-Pro is exactly what its name says — software built for dance studios, covering the recital cycle, costume ordering, family accounts, and the term-based enrolment rhythm that governs the dance year. Mako is the business platform underneath a studio: booking, payments, instructor pay, retail, and the reporting that shows which classes carry the business. The overlap is smaller than you might expect.
DanceStudio-Pro: Published. Essentials at $49/month, Premier at $79/month, and Elite at $165/month. Clear tiers, openly posted — which is more than most of this category manages.
Mako: Pulse is free. Basic at $139/month — the complete platform with three team members. Team at $249/month — fifteen team members, extra locations at $75/month each, advanced reporting, QuickBooks sync. Enterprise at $999/month — unlimited students. Roughly 20% off annually, no contract.
The crossover: at $49 and $79, DanceStudio-Pro is clearly cheaper than Mako Basic's $139. At the Elite tier, $165 against $139 tips the other way, though Elite includes dance-specific capability Mako does not have. For most studios, DanceStudio-Pro is the cheaper line item.
The recital and costume operation. Costume sizing and ordering, recital ticketing, program and lineup management, and the whole spring crunch that defines a dance studio's calendar. DanceStudio-Pro models it; Mako does not.
Family and term enrolment. Multi-child accounts, sibling discounts, and term-based registration. Mako does memberships and class credits; it does not have a purpose-built family enrolment structure.
If those two things are your operation, this is decided and you should stop here.
The single hardest part of running a dance studio, handled natively. Nothing general-purpose comes close.
Built for parents managing three children across five classes, which is the actual customer.
$49 and $79 undercut Mako Basic. For a small or mid-size studio that is real money.
Every workflow assumes a dance studio, so nothing needs bending to fit.
After instructor pay and studio time — plus cash-flow forecasting, unit economics, and LTV. DanceStudio-Pro tells you the class is full and the fees are collected. Mako tells you whether the class makes money after you have paid the teacher and the rent on that hour.
Per-class rates that vary by teacher and level, splits, tips, timesheets and payouts — native, at the rate that applied on the day.
Shoes, tights, leotards and merchandise with stock levels, low-stock alerts, and margin per item. Most studios run this on a spreadsheet and have no idea what the shop actually earns.
If you run adult fitness classes, a second studio, or private lessons alongside the children's program, Mako covers all of it on one platform with extra locations at $75/month.
Pulse compares your student retention against market averages and flags families who have stopped attending — free, imports from other platforms, and can run beside DanceStudio-Pro without changing anything.
Pick DanceStudio-Pro if:
Pick Mako if:
Your studio 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.
See Mako in action — no sales call required
Mako is built for independent studio owners who would rather spend their time teaching than on demo calls. Open the live demo, poke around, and see exactly how booking, payments, and financial intelligence come together in one place.
Try the demo: https://app.makocrm.so/demo
Self-serve. Instant access. No forms, no calendars, no "talk to sales."
