Virtuagym is gym management software with an unusually strong member-facing side — workout programming, nutrition coaching, habit tracking, and a branded app that members actually open between visits. Mako is the business platform underneath a gym or studio: booking, memberships, payments, staff pay, retail, and the reporting that tells you what makes money. They emphasise opposite ends of the same business.
Virtuagym: No plan pricing is published. Packages are quoted per business after contact, and typically scale by member count and which modules you take. We have not printed a figure because we could not verify one.
Mako: Pulse is free. Basic at $139/month — the complete operational 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 members across three locations. Roughly 20% off annually, no contract.
When you get a Virtuagym quote, pin down: the base platform, which modules are included versus extra, whether the price scales with member count, app and branding costs, onboarding fees, contract length, and the renewal rate.
Virtuagym's argument is that engagement drives retention — give members programming, nutrition and progress tracking in a branded app, and they stay. That is a real strategy and for some gyms it works.
Mako's argument is that you cannot manage what you cannot measure — know which classes and services are profitable, what each trainer costs against what they bring in, and which members are drifting before they cancel. Also a real strategy.
The honest version: these are complementary, not opposed. If you have budget for both, a coaching app plus a business platform is a strong stack. If you have budget for one, pick the one that addresses your actual bottleneck.
Workout programming, nutrition plans, and habit tracking in a branded app. Deep, mature, and not something a business platform replicates.
The daily contact that keeps a member connected when they have not been in for a week.
Account management and structured onboarding matched to how larger groups buy.
You can budget in thirty seconds without a call, and the number is the same for everyone.
Profit per class after trainer pay and floor time, cash-flow forecasting, unit economics, LTV. Virtuagym reports engagement and membership well; it is not built to tell you which parts of the gym pay for themselves.
Session rates, splits, tips, timesheets and payouts — native, and calculated at the rate that applied on the day.
Supplements, merchandise and consumables with stock levels and margin per item.
Pulse compares your churn against market averages and names who has stopped attending. Free, imports from other platforms, and you can run it alongside Virtuagym today.
Pick Virtuagym if:
Pick Mako if:
Your gym 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 gym owners who would rather spend their time on members 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."
