Virtuagym is a fitness software company with roots in Europe that has expanded globally. It offers gym management software, a member-facing app with workout and nutrition tracking, and coaching tools. If you've seen it in a shortlist alongside Mako, you're probably a studio owner who wants both management tools and member engagement features in one platform.
This comparison lays out where Virtuagym and Mako overlap, where they diverge, and which platform makes more sense for different studio types.
Virtuagym's Core Strengths
Virtuagym built its reputation on the member-facing app experience. Members can track workouts, follow nutrition plans, join challenges, and stay connected to the studio through a branded mobile app. For gyms where member engagement means "helping people reach fitness goals," Virtuagym's app layer is genuinely differentiated.
The platform covers standard gym management functions: membership management, class scheduling, check-in systems, billing, and staff management. It's a broad platform that can serve health clubs, boutique studios, personal trainers, and corporate wellness programs.
Virtuagym also has a strong online coaching and digital product angle. If you want to sell workout programs, run virtual coaching, or build a digital revenue stream alongside your in-person studio — Virtuagym has infrastructure for that.
Mako's Core Strengths
Mako CRM is narrower in scope and deeper where it counts for independent studio operators. The platform is built around three pillars: member retention, revenue recovery, and business visibility. Everything in Mako connects back to those outcomes.
Where Virtuagym focuses on member engagement through fitness content (workouts, nutrition), Mako focuses on member retention through relationship management (behavioral signals, automated outreach, re-engagement). These are different theories of what keeps a member paying — and both have validity depending on your studio's model.
Feature Comparison
Member Management
Virtuagym provides solid member profiles with membership history, billing records, check-in data, and connection to the app. Members have a rich experience through the Virtuagym app.
Mako's member management is built around CRM data: engagement trends, retention risk scores, lifetime value, communication history. It's less about giving members a fitness app and more about giving the studio operator a complete picture of each relationship. When a member starts missing classes, Mako surfaces it; when their payment fails, Mako initiates recovery automatically.
Scheduling and Class Management
Both platforms handle class scheduling, booking, and recurring sessions. Virtuagym's scheduling integrates with the member app — members book from their phone, get reminders, and can see the class in their fitness journey context. Mako's scheduling is straightforward and connects to member engagement tracking without the fitness-app layer.
For standard boutique studio scheduling — yoga, pilates, HIIT, spin — both platforms handle it adequately. Virtuagym has an edge if members booking through an app with fitness tracking is important to your value proposition. Mako has an edge if you want scheduling data feeding directly into retention analysis.
Billing and Revenue Recovery
Virtuagym handles billing, membership plans, and payment processing. It covers the standard payment workflows for a gym or studio.
Mako's billing layer includes automated dunning and payment recovery. Failed payment sequences, retry logic, and member outreach on billing issues are built into the CRM — not bolted on. For studios where involuntary churn is a significant revenue leak, Mako's recovery tooling is a direct financial return.
Coaching and Digital Products
This is Virtuagym's strongest differentiator for certain studio types. The platform has workout library tools, coaching templates, nutrition tracking, and the ability to sell digital products — workout plans, online programs, coaching packages. If you want to build a hybrid in-person/digital business, Virtuagym provides the infrastructure.
Mako doesn't offer workout tracking or digital product sales. It's focused on the CRM and operational side of the studio business. If digital fitness products are a meaningful part of your revenue model, Virtuagym is more complete for that use case.
Automation and Communication
Virtuagym supports automated messages — booking confirmations, class reminders, birthday messages, and some marketing automation.
Mako's automation is more strategically oriented. The platform's built-in automation library covers re-engagement sequences, lapsed member outreach, payment recovery flows, and milestone communications — the automations that directly affect retention and revenue rather than just operational logistics.
Pricing
Virtuagym's pricing varies by gym size and feature tier. For a small independent studio, expect to start around $99–$149/month, scaling upward for larger memberships or premium features like the branded app. The branded app tier can add significant cost.
Mako is priced as a single flat rate for independent studios — one to three locations, all features included, no per-member or per-location scaling fees that penalize growth.
Which Studios Should Choose Virtuagym?
Virtuagym fits well for studios where the member experience app is central to the value proposition — where workout tracking, nutrition guidance, and fitness progress are part of what you're selling, not just incidental features. Health clubs, performance gyms, and studios with a strong digital fitness component will find Virtuagym's app layer genuinely valuable.
It's also a strong option if online coaching or digital product sales are part of your business model.
Which Studios Should Choose Mako?
Mako fits studios where retention and revenue predictability are the core operational challenges — yoga studios, pilates studios, boutique fitness, and multi-discipline studios that need to understand why members leave and stop losing revenue to failed payments and preventable churn.
If your members aren't asking for workout tracking in your app, and your biggest problems are retention visibility, payment recovery, and understanding your member base — Mako is purpose-built for those problems.
Try Mako's self-serve demo to see the retention and revenue tools in action.
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