Vagaro has quietly become one of the most popular business management platforms in the fitness and wellness industry. Originally built for salons and spas, it expanded into fitness with impressive results. Today, over 220,000 businesses use Vagaro — and its combination of comprehensive features and affordable pricing makes it a compelling choice for fitness studios.
We tested Vagaro for eight weeks, managing real classes, memberships, and payments. Here’s our complete review.
Vagaro Overview
Founded: 2009 Headquarters: Pleasanton, California Users: 220,000+ businesses Best for: Budget-conscious studios wanting comprehensive features Starting price: $30/month Free trial: 30 days
The Value Proposition
Vagaro’s pricing model is simple and refreshing: $30/month for one staff member, $10 for each additional. Unlike competitors that lock features behind expensive tiers, Vagaro includes everything at every price point. A single-instructor yoga studio paying $30/month gets the same features as a multi-location gym paying $200/month.
This makes Vagaro the best value in studio management software by a significant margin.
Key Features
Scheduling and Booking
Vagaro handles both class scheduling and appointment booking effectively:
- Group class scheduling with capacity limits, waitlists, and series
- Appointment booking for private sessions with provider availability
- Online booking through your Vagaro page, website widget, or the Vagaro marketplace
- Recurring schedule templates with easy exception management
- Multi-room and resource scheduling for equipment-based classes
- Automated reminders via email and text
The scheduling interface is clean and functional. It’s not as visually polished as Momence, but it gets the job done efficiently. The drag-and-drop calendar makes schedule changes intuitive.
Vagaro Marketplace
Like Mindbody, Vagaro has its own consumer marketplace where potential members can discover your studio. While smaller than Mindbody’s marketplace, it still drives meaningful discovery traffic.
The Vagaro consumer app lets users search for fitness classes by location, type, and availability. Your studio appears in search results alongside other local businesses.
Payment Processing
Vagaro’s payment system handles all common scenarios:
- Memberships with recurring billing and dunning
- Class packs with session tracking and expiration
- Drop-in payments at the time of booking
- Gift certificates for retail and services
- POS system for retail merchandise
- Tips for instructors and staff
Processing fees are 2.75% per transaction on the standard plan, dropping to 2.2% for premium subscribers. Vagaro also offers its own card reader hardware for in-studio purchases.
Marketing Tools
Vagaro includes solid marketing features:
- Email campaigns with templates and scheduling
- SMS messaging for promotions and reminders
- Social media integration with booking links
- Review management through the Vagaro platform
- Promotional pricing for intro offers and specials
- Automated birthday and anniversary messages
The marketing tools are functional but not as sophisticated as Momence’s automation. You won’t find complex behavior-triggered workflows, but for basic campaign management, it works well.
Staff Management
Vagaro’s staff management is surprisingly comprehensive for the price:
- Payroll processing with direct deposit
- Commission tracking by service, product, or class type
- Staff scheduling with availability management
- Performance reports by instructor
- Tip management and distribution
- Tax document generation (W-2s and 1099s)
Having built-in payroll is a significant differentiator. Most competitors charge extra for payroll or require a separate tool like Gusto or ADP.
Forms and Waivers
- Digital waivers that members complete before their first class
- Health intake forms with customizable fields
- SOAP notes for private session documentation
- Consent forms for special activities
- Auto-assignment — forms are automatically sent based on service booked
Branded App
Vagaro offers a custom branded mobile app as an add-on. While not included in the base price, it’s available at a fraction of what competitors charge for branded apps.
Reporting
Reports cover essential business metrics:
| Report Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Revenue | Daily, weekly, monthly sales by service and product |
| Attendance | Class attendance rates, peak times, no-shows |
| Members | Active members, new signups, retention rates |
| Staff | Revenue per instructor, class attendance by instructor |
| Marketing | Campaign performance, new member sources |
| Inventory | Product sales, stock levels, reorder alerts |
Pricing
| Staff Members | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| 1 | $30 |
| 2 | $40 |
| 3 | $50 |
| 5 | $70 |
| 10 | $120 |
| 20 | $220 |
Add-ons:
- Branded mobile app: ~$200/month
- Premium marketing tools: Included
- Payroll: Included
- Forms and waivers: Included
- Marketplace listing: Included
Payment processing: 2.75% standard, 2.2% for premium subscribers
Total monthly cost for a 5-instructor studio:
- Subscription: $70
- Processing (~$10K in transactions): $275
- Total: ~$345/month
Compare this to Mindbody at ~$575/month or Momence at ~$465/month for the same studio size.
Pros
- Unbeatable pricing — Most features per dollar of any platform
- All features included — No feature gating behind expensive tiers
- Built-in payroll — Saves $50-100/month on separate payroll software
- Consumer marketplace — Free discovery channel for new members
- 30-day free trial — Generous trial period to test everything
- Comprehensive POS — Full retail management with hardware options
- Forms and waivers — Built-in without extra cost
- No contracts — Month-to-month billing
Cons
- Design isn’t modern — Interface feels dated compared to Momence
- Salon heritage — Some fitness-specific features feel bolted on
- Basic marketing automation — No behavior-triggered workflows
- Support wait times — Customer support can be slow during busy periods
- Learning curve — Many features means many menus to learn
- Marketplace is smaller — Less consumer traffic than Mindbody
- Branded app costs extra — Not included in base pricing
Who Should Use Vagaro?
Vagaro is ideal for:
- Budget-conscious studios of any size
- Studios with 1-10 instructors wanting maximum value
- Businesses that need built-in payroll
- Studios switching from expensive platforms to save money
- Multi-modality businesses (yoga + massage + wellness)
Vagaro is NOT ideal for:
- Studios wanting the most modern user experience (choose Momence)
- Studios prioritizing advanced marketing automation (choose Momence)
- Large enterprises needing custom solutions (choose Mindbody)
- Studios where design and branding are paramount
Our Verdict
Vagaro is the best value in studio management software. Period. No other platform delivers this breadth of features at this price point. The built-in payroll alone saves enough to cover the subscription cost for many studios.
It’s not the most beautiful platform, and it lacks advanced marketing automation. But for studios that need reliable scheduling, payments, and staff management without overspending, Vagaro is the smart choice.
Rating: 4.4/5 — Outstanding value with comprehensive features, held back slightly by dated design and basic marketing tools.