Mariana Tek is purpose-built for premium boutique fitness chains — the kind that have 5+ locations, a full ops team, and a branded member app as a core product. If you're building that, Mariana Tek is worth the premium. If you're running a single studio or a 2–3 location independent operation, you're paying for infrastructure you don't need at a price that doesn't make sense for your margin.
What Each Platform Is Actually Built For
Mariana Tek targets premium boutique fitness chains. Think branded cycling studios, barre chains, boxing concepts with 5–20 locations. Its pricing model, onboarding process, and feature set all reflect that focus. It's polished, powerful, and expensive — and it earns the price for the business it was designed for.
Mako targets independent studios, gyms, and wellness businesses — single location or small chains under 5 locations, 50–600 members, owner-operator model. Flat pricing, no per-seat fees, native financial intelligence.
Pricing: The Number That Decides Most of This
Mariana Tek does not publish pricing. It's enterprise-priced with custom quotes — industry reports place most contracts in the $400–$900/month range for a single location, scaling with location count and feature configuration. Onboarding fees can add another $2,000–$5,000 upfront.
Mako publishes pricing: $99–$299/month flat-rate, month-to-month, no onboarding fees.
Annual cost for a single-location boutique studio:
- Mariana Tek (conservative estimate): $500/month = $6,000/year software only
- Mako Pro: $199/month = $2,388/year software only
- Delta: $3,600/year — before accounting for the onboarding fee
For a 3-location chain the delta narrows — Mariana Tek's per-location pricing becomes more competitive at scale, and its multi-location features start to justify the premium. For a single-location studio, the math is hard to defend.
Feature Comparison
Member Experience and Branded App
Mariana Tek: Best-in-category member-facing experience. The branded app is polished, fast, and built to feel like a premium consumer product. If the member app is a core part of your brand identity, Mariana Tek delivers.
Mako: Mobile experience for members included in the base plan. Functional and clean. Not a premium consumer app experience.
Edge: Mariana Tek on member-facing polish. Mako on not paying $500/month for it.
Class Scheduling and Operations
Mariana Tek: Strong class scheduling, instructor management, and multi-location coordination. Built for complex boutique-fitness scheduling with multiple class types, rooms, and high-frequency booking windows.
Mako: Full class and appointment scheduling, recurring sessions, waitlists. Handles all standard independent studio scheduling needs without complexity.
Edge: Mariana Tek for complex multi-location schedules. Tied or Mako for single-location operations.
Financial Intelligence
Mariana Tek: Revenue reporting, class fill rates, membership analytics. Chain-level consolidated reporting across locations. Does not natively surface MRR, LTV, or CAC in the way a business-health dashboard would.
Mako: Native MRR, LTV, churn, CAC, revenue per member, cash runway. Single-location financial picture visible without a secondary system.
Edge: Mako for owner-operators who need financial health visibility, not just chain-level booking aggregates.
Mariana Tek: Solid recurring billing. Payment processing integrated. Failed payment handling present but not its primary focus.
Mako: Full automated failed-payment recovery: retry sequences, dunning emails, SMS card-update requests.
Edge: Mako on automated recovery.
Multi-Location Management
Mariana Tek: Designed for it. Consolidated reporting, cross-location membership redemption, centralized staff and schedule management. The strongest feature of the platform for its target customer.
Mako: Handles 2–3 location operations. Not built for 10+ location chains.
Edge: Mariana Tek for chains. Mako for single-location and small independents.
Onboarding and Setup
Mariana Tek: Sales-led onboarding. Custom implementation project, typically $2,000–$5,000 upfront plus 4–8 weeks before go-live.
Mako: Self-serve. Live demo accessible immediately at app.makocrm.so/demo. Most studios fully live in 1–2 weeks without a dedicated implementation project.
Edge: Mako for operators who want to evaluate before committing and launch without a 6-week implementation timeline.
The Honest Verdict
Mariana Tek is the right platform if you're building a premium boutique fitness chain with 5+ locations, a dedicated ops team, and a branded member app as a core product differentiator. It's the best platform for that specific business.
It's the wrong platform for a 200-member yoga studio or a 400-member CrossFit gym with a single location and an owner who handles scheduling, finances, and coaching. The pricing model, onboarding complexity, and feature set all assume scale and resources that independent operators don't have.
If you're building a chain: Mariana Tek. If you're running a business: Mako.
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.
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: https://app.makocrm.so/demo
Self-serve. Instant access. No forms, no calendars, no "talk to sales."
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