A gym management software comparison is only useful if it covers the three things feature lists hide: what you will actually pay over twelve months, whether you are locked into an annual contract, and whether the platform can tell you if you are profitable — because on features alone, every platform below says yes to everything.
Feature lists are where comparisons go to die. Every platform on this page does class booking, memberships, and payments. If you pick on features you will end up with a spreadsheet where every column says "yes" and you are no closer to a decision.
Here's the comparison that actually separates them.
| Entry price | Contract required | Transaction fees | Financial reporting | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mako | $39/mo published | No | Standard processing | Real-time P&L | Independent studios, multi-service |
| Mindbody | Quote only | Annual typical | Yes, tiered | Revenue reporting | Large studios, marketplace reach |
| Glofox | Quote only | Annual typical | Yes | Revenue reporting | Boutique fitness, branded apps |
| WellnessLiving | Quote only | Annual typical | Yes | Revenue reporting | Multi-service wellness |
| Zen Planner | Quote only | Varies | Yes | Revenue reporting | Martial arts, CrossFit |
| Wodify | Quote only | Varies | Yes | Performance tracking | CrossFit, performance gyms |
| Vagaro | Published, per-user | Monthly | Yes | Revenue reporting | Salons, solo operators |
| EZFacility | Quote only | Annual typical | Yes | Revenue reporting | Multi-facility, sports |
| Pike13 | Quote only | Varies | Yes | Revenue reporting | Appointment-led businesses |
Contract and fee terms change and vary by negotiation. Confirm current terms in writing before signing — including what happens to your data if you leave.
Sticker price hides most of the difference. Three scenarios:
Solo studio, 50 members, ~200 bookings/month. On Mako that's Starter at $39/mo — $468 a year, plus standard card processing. On a quote-based platform expect a higher monthly minimum plus per-transaction fees on top; the transaction layer is usually where the gap opens.
Growing studio, 250 members, ~1,200 bookings/month. Mako Team at $149/mo — $1,788 a year, or $1,430 paid annually. This tier is where most platforms start adding per-location and per-staff charges, so ask specifically what happens when you add your fourth instructor.
Multi-location, 800 members, 3 sites. Mako Enterprise at $999/mo includes three locations. Elsewhere, per-location pricing is standard and the third site often costs as much as the first.
The number to ask every vendor for is not the monthly fee. It's: what will I have paid you, in total, twelve months from now, at my current volume? Anyone who won't answer that in writing has told you something.
This is the section most comparisons skip, and it's the one that costs the most.
Much of this category runs on annual commitments with auto-renewal. That's a defensible model for a vendor. It's a bad deal for a studio that's still figuring out whether the software fits, because the discovery that it doesn't usually happens in month three.
Three questions worth asking in writing before you sign anything:
Mako doesn't require a contract at any tier. We think that's the right way to sell software, and it's also a straightforward commercial bet: if the product works you stay, and if it doesn't, a contract was never going to fix that.
An honest comparison has to include the cases where you shouldn't pick us.
Mindbody has a consumer marketplace. If a meaningful share of your new clients discover you through the Mindbody app, that distribution is real and no competitor replicates it.
Glofox does branded member apps well. If you want your own app in the App Store, that's their strength.
Wodify is built around performance tracking — benchmark lifts, WOD results, leaderboards. If your members care about their numbers, that's a genuine fit no generalist matches.
Zen Planner has deep roots in martial arts and CrossFit, including belt and rank tracking.
EZFacility handles multi-facility sports operations — courts, fields, leagues — which is a different problem from studio classes.
Mako is the right pick if you're an independent operator running one to three locations, you're tired of not knowing whether you're profitable, and you don't want a contract. If you need a consumer marketplace or a custom-branded app, we're not the answer today.
Every platform in that table reports revenue. Almost none reports margin.
That gap matters more than it sounds. The fitness industry runs on thin operating margins, and industry bodies like the Health & Fitness Association (formerly IHRSA) have documented for years how tightly studio profitability tracks retention and utilisation rather than top-line sales. Yet the standard software reporting stack tells you what you sold and stops.
So studios make schedule decisions on vibes. The 6am looks busy, so it stays. Nobody's calculated that with two instructors and a 40% fill rate it loses money every week, while the underattended Thursday 7pm is the most profitable hour on the timetable because one instructor covers a full room.
Mako calculates profit per class, per service, and per location in real time, without an export to QuickBooks. That's the actual reason to consolidate onto one platform — not tool count, but the questions a single system can answer that ten separate ones can't.
See Mako's pricing — published in full, no contract, no sales call.
