Evidence note: Compare dated invoices using a stated headcount, processing volume, add-ons, taxes, and contract basis. Vendor scope, add-ons, seats, processing, taxes, and contract terms are not normalized. Source status: No primary source was found for the earlier universal claim as of 2026-09-01.
Figures below were checked on 24 August 2026 against each vendor's own pricing page. Where a vendor does not publish a price, this post says so rather than repeating a number we cannot verify. Prices change — confirm before you decide.
Before the platform-by-platform breakdown, two cost categories that appear on almost no pricing page but show up on every invoice:
Evidence note: Stripe publishes rate-card examples including a standard US online domestic-card rate of 2.9% plus $0.30. Rates vary by country, payment method, card type, currency, manual entry, FX, and contract; custom rates can differ. State the exact payment method, geography, date, and current rate-card assumptions. Sources: Stripe Pricing.
The math for a 300-member gym at $140/month average membership ($42,000 MRR):
On a $75,000/month revenue gym, processing fees alone are $1,875/month = $22,500/year. This is a standard business cost, not a trick. But it needs to be in your budget from the start.
Several platforms charge additional fees per staff member above the included headcount. A 10-person gym on a plan that includes 3 staff seats pays 7 additional seats. At $35–$50/seat, that's $245–$350/month in overage fees that don't appear anywhere on the pricing page.
This is the single biggest reason two gyms quoted the same headline price end up paying very different amounts. When you compare platforms, compare them at your headcount, not at one seat.
Published price: None. Mindbody lists three tiers — Starter, Accelerate, and Ultimate — and every one of them says "Let's talk" instead of a price.
What a 300-member gym can expect:
You will see specific Mindbody figures quoted around the web. We are not repeating them here, because none of them can be checked against Mindbody's own page. Get your number in writing, and ask what happens to it at renewal.
Evidence note: Official vendor pages display the stated list-price cards and member bands. Active-member definitions, promotions, add-ons, processing, taxes, and contract terms vary. Sources: Official Zen Planner, Gymdesk, and WellnessLiving pricing pages; Official Zen Planner, Gymdesk, and WellnessLiving pricing pages; Official Zen Planner, Gymdesk, and WellnessLiving pricing pages.
What a 300-member gym typically pays:
A smaller box that only needs the Studio plan lands considerably lower, at $99 plus processing.
What a 300-member gym typically pays:
BusinessPro at $349 adds the marketing automation layer, which pushes the annual figure to roughly $16,788.
Published price: Not published. Quote only — confirmed on Glofox's own pricing page, which asks you to request a quote rather than listing tiers.
What a 300-member gym can expect:
We've written up what actually drives a Glofox quote, and the questions to ask before signing, in Glofox pricing.
What you actually pay (300-member gym):
Gymdesk publishes a full tier table and includes unlimited staff accounts. Note the tier is set by member count, so a growing gym crosses into a higher band automatically — past 400 members you are into Enterprise.
Evidence note: Mako public pricing page displays those monthly and annual prices. Vendor-authored terms can change; price does not establish comparative value or efficacy. Sources: Mako first-party: Mako CRM Pricing - Transparent Plans for Service Businesses.
Mako's tiers are worth reading carefully, because they are structured by team size rather than by feature set. Basic at $139 is the complete operational platform — CRM, booking and class scheduling, memberships and credits, estimates and invoicing, payments and customer portal, email and SMS automation, and automated win-back journeys. Moving up does not unlock the product; it adds seats, shared team workflows, advanced reporting, QuickBooks sync, and support level.
What you actually pay (300-member gym):
Which line applies is a headcount question, not a features question. A 300-member gym running with an owner and two coaches sits on Basic. One with a front desk, six coaches, and a manager sits on Team.
For nine platforms side by side on contract terms and twelve-month total cost, see our gym management software comparison.
All figures include $12,600/year of payment processing, which every platform on this list charges in some form.
Three things stand out, and none of them is what the marketing pages would lead you to expect.
First, four of these six platforms now publish a real price — Zen Planner, WellnessLiving, Gymdesk, and Mako. Two years ago that number was one. The quote-only model is losing.
Evidence note: Arithmetic can be recomputed from the article's selected prices and stated 300-member assumptions. Quote-only vendors, add-ons, taxes, processing, and tier comparability are not normalized. Show a dated comparable TCO table and avoid generalizing the 9% spread. Source status: No primary source was found for the earlier universal claim as of 2026-09-01.
Third, and most usefully: the thing that moves your bill is headcount, not features. Gymdesk charges by member count. Mako charges by team size. WellnessLiving and Zen Planner charge by feature tier. Work out which of those three axes your gym is about to grow along, and pick the platform whose pricing does not punish that growth.
Paying more for gym software makes sense when:
Paying more does NOT make sense when:
Your wellness business 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 CRM can't tell you whether your business is financially healthy, it's not doing its job. And in 2026, you have better options.
Related reading: Recurring Billing for Studios: How to Stop Involuntary Churn.
See Mako in action — no sales call required
Mako is built for independent studio and service-business owners who'd rather spend their time on clients than on demo calls. Open the live demo, poke around, and see exactly how scheduling, billing, and financial intelligence come together in one place.
Try the demo: Open the Mako CRM live demo
Self-serve. Instant access. No forms, no calendars, no "talk to sales."
