Mindbody has been the dominant player in fitness and wellness studio software for over two decades. With more than 60,000 businesses using the platform and millions of consumers on the Mindbody app, it’s the most recognized name in the industry.
But is Mindbody actually the best choice for your studio in 2026? We spent eight weeks using Mindbody to manage a real studio operation, testing every feature from scheduling to marketing. Here’s our honest, in-depth review.
Mindbody Overview
Founded: 2001 Headquarters: San Luis Obispo, California Users: 60,000+ businesses worldwide Best for: Established studios and gyms wanting marketplace visibility Starting price: ~$139/month
Mindbody positions itself as the most comprehensive platform in the fitness and wellness industry. It combines studio management, payment processing, marketing, and a consumer marketplace in one ecosystem.
Key Features
Scheduling and Booking
Mindbody’s scheduling engine is mature and powerful. It handles:
- Multi-resource scheduling — Assign rooms, equipment, and instructors to each class
- Recurring and one-off classes — Flexible schedule templates with easy exception handling
- Waitlist management — Automatic promotion with member notifications
- Series and workshops — Multi-session events with separate registration
- Private sessions — Appointment booking with provider availability
- Online booking — Members book through the Mindbody app, your website widget, or directly
The scheduling interface has been refined over many years and handles complex scenarios well. Multi-room studios with different class types, equipment requirements, and instructor assignments all work smoothly.
Our experience: Scheduling was reliable and comprehensive. The main complaint is that the admin interface can feel cluttered with options. Simple tasks sometimes require more clicks than they should.
The Mindbody Marketplace
This is Mindbody’s biggest competitive advantage. The Mindbody consumer app has over 3.5 million monthly active users searching for fitness experiences near them.
When your studio is listed on Mindbody, potential members can:
- Discover your studio when searching “yoga near me” or “Pilates classes”
- Book and pay for classes directly through the app
- Read reviews from other members
- View your schedule and pricing
The value proposition: Mindbody essentially provides a built-in marketing channel. Studios report that 10-30% of new members discover them through the Mindbody marketplace.
The catch: You’re sharing the marketplace with competitors. Members can easily compare you with other studios and may shop around. You also pay processing fees on marketplace bookings.
Our experience: We saw moderate traffic from the marketplace — about 15 new trial bookings per month attributable to marketplace discovery. For studios in dense urban areas, this number could be significantly higher.
Payment Processing
Mindbody handles all payment processing internally. Features include:
- Recurring membership billing with automatic retry on failed payments
- Class pack and drop-in purchases
- Gift card sales and redemption
- Retail POS for merchandise
- Contract management with flexible terms
- Refund processing and credit management
Processing fees: Mindbody charges approximately 2.75% per transaction. This is higher than some competitors (Momence charges 2.5% + $0.15) but competitive with industry norms.
Our experience: Payment processing worked reliably. Failed payment recovery (dunning) was effective, automatically retrying declined cards on a configurable schedule. We had a 94% collection rate on recurring memberships.
Marketing Tools
Mindbody’s marketing suite has expanded significantly in recent years:
- Email campaigns — Template-based email marketing with segmentation
- SMS messaging — Text campaigns and automated reminders
- Smart lists — AI-powered contact lists based on member behavior
- Promotional tools — Intro offers, discounts, and special pricing
- AI marketing assistant — Generates campaign content and subject lines
- Review management — Solicit and manage member reviews
Our experience: The marketing tools are competent but not exceptional. For studios that want advanced marketing automation, Momence’s marketing suite is more powerful. Mindbody’s marketing works best for studios that want basic campaign management without a separate tool.
Reporting and Analytics
Mindbody offers over 100 pre-built reports covering:
| Report Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Revenue | Daily sales, revenue by service, payment method breakdown |
| Attendance | Class attendance, no-show rates, peak times |
| Members | Retention rates, lifetime value, membership mix |
| Staff | Instructor utilization, payroll summaries, commission tracking |
| Marketing | Campaign performance, conversion rates, lead sources |
| Retail | Product sales, inventory levels, top sellers |
The reporting is comprehensive and one of Mindbody’s strengths. Custom report builder lets you create specific reports for your KPIs.
Our experience: Reporting was excellent. We particularly valued the retention cohort analysis, which shows exactly when and why members are leaving. The dashboard view provides a quick snapshot of business health.
Staff Management
- Instructor scheduling with availability management
- Substitution management and notifications
- Payroll calculation with commission, hourly, and per-class rates
- Performance tracking by instructor
- Staff permissions and role-based access
Mobile Apps
Mindbody provides two mobile experiences:
- Mindbody Business App — For studio staff and owners to manage operations on the go
- Mindbody Consumer App — For members to book classes, make purchases, and check in
Our experience: The business app handles essential tasks well but can’t replace the desktop interface for complex operations. The consumer app is polished and familiar to fitness consumers.
Pricing
Mindbody doesn’t publish pricing publicly, which is frustrating for comparison shopping. Based on our research and industry contacts:
| Plan | Estimated Cost | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | ~$139/mo | Scheduling, payments, app listing, basic reporting |
| Accelerate | ~$279/mo | Marketing tools, advanced reporting, branded web tools |
| Ultimate | ~$499/mo | Branded app, AI marketing, premium support, API access |
| Ultimate Plus | Custom ($700+) | Multi-location, dedicated account manager, custom integrations |
Additional costs:
- Payment processing: ~2.75% per transaction
- Branded mobile app: Included in Ultimate and above
- SMS messages: Purchased in bulk packs
- Premium support: Extra cost on lower tiers
Total monthly cost estimate for a mid-size studio:
- Subscription (Accelerate): $279
- Payment processing (~$10K in transactions): $275
- SMS pack: $20
- Total: ~$574/month
Pros
- Largest consumer marketplace — No other platform matches Mindbody’s built-in discovery channel
- Comprehensive feature set — Everything you need in one platform
- Mature, stable platform — 20+ years of development and refinement
- Strong reporting — Over 100 reports with custom builder
- Industry recognition — Members already know and trust the Mindbody brand
- API access — Extensive API for custom integrations (higher tiers)
- Multi-location support — Robust tools for managing multiple studios
Cons
- Expensive — The most costly option in the market, especially with processing fees
- Opaque pricing — Requires a sales call; not transparent
- Contract requirements — Annual contracts with early termination fees
- Complex interface — Steep learning curve with cluttered admin panel
- Customer support issues — Premium support costs extra; base support can be slow
- Marketplace competition — Your studio competes with others on the same platform
- Feature bloat — Many features you may not use but still pay for
Who Should Use Mindbody?
Mindbody is ideal for:
- Established studios with 100+ active members
- Studios in urban areas where marketplace discovery is valuable
- Multi-location businesses needing centralized management
- Studios that prioritize brand visibility over cost efficiency
- Businesses already using Mindbody (switching costs are high)
Mindbody is NOT ideal for:
- New studios with tight budgets
- Solo instructors or very small operations
- Studios that don’t value marketplace discovery
- Tech-savvy owners who want modern, clean interfaces
- Studios that prefer transparent, predictable pricing
Mindbody vs Competitors
| Feature | Mindbody | Momence | Vagaro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $139/mo | $99/mo | $30/mo |
| Marketplace | ★★★★★ | ★★ | ★★★ |
| Marketing tools | ★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Interface design | ★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Value for money | ★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Reporting | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Customer support | ★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★ |
Our Verdict
Mindbody remains a powerful, comprehensive platform with the industry’s best marketplace for consumer discovery. If you’re an established studio in a competitive market and can justify the premium pricing, Mindbody delivers genuine value through its marketplace and extensive feature set.
However, for studios prioritizing cost efficiency, modern design, or marketing automation, alternatives like Momence (for features) and Vagaro (for value) offer compelling alternatives at significantly lower price points.
Rating: 4.0/5 — Excellent features, but high cost and interface complexity hold it back from a top rating.