Most yoga studio software is gym software with the word yoga added to the marketing page.
The short answer
For most independent yoga studios, Recess is the strongest option in 2026: it is free, with no tiers, and it handles the things a yoga studio actually needs rather than the things a gym needs. Class packs alongside memberships on one roster, waitlists that refill themselves, workshops and teacher training sold separately, and a branded app included. Momence is the cheapest paid route if you can absorb a 3.9% card rate. Walla is the most polished at $320 a month. Mindbody is the only one whose consumer app brings you students who have never heard of you.
| Platform | Best for | Subscription | Card rate | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recess | Independent studios wanting the whole toolkit free | Free, no tiers | About 5%, paid by the member | Fewer integrations, no consumer marketplace |
| Mindbody | Studios where discovery brings new students | From $79/mo per location | Not published | Tiers by sales call, charged per location |
| Momence | Studios trading a card rate for a cheap plan | Free, then $60 and $199 | 3.9% plus 30c | Branded app is $250/mo extra |
| Walla | Studios where the front desk experience matters | $320/mo per location | Stripe on top | The highest published subscription here |
| Arketa | Studios running a lot of online classes | $49/mo solo; studio plans not published | 3% plus Stripe | Studio pricing needs a call |
| Glofox | Studios inside the ABC Fitness ecosystem | Not published | Not published | No public pricing at all |
How This List Was Built
Every figure was read on the vendor's own pricing page on 8 September 2026. Where a company publishes nothing, this article says so rather than guessing.
Recess is our own product. Each competitor here gets a real reason to be chosen.
What a Yoga Studio Actually Needs
This is where most comparisons go wrong. A list of features that suits a gym does not describe a yoga studio's week.
Class packs and memberships on the same roster. A student on a ten-class pack and a student on unlimited monthly both walk into the same 6am class. Software that treats those as separate systems makes the front desk do arithmetic.
A waitlist that fills itself. Someone cancels at 5.40am for a 6am class. If a person has to notice and text the next student, that spot goes empty.
Workshops and teacher training as their own thing. A 200-hour training is not a class. It has deposits, payment plans, a roster that runs for months and its own waitlist. Bodging it into the class schedule is the most common complaint studios have about general fitness software.
Mat or spot booking, where it matters. Some studios assign spaces, most do not. If yours does, a real seat map beats a capacity number.
A schedule that reads well on a phone. Most students book from bed the night before or on the walk over.
Recess
Best for independent studios that want everything without a monthly bill. Free, no tiers.
Class packs and memberships on one roster. Waitlists that refill themselves automatically. Workshops and teacher training sold as their own products with deposits and payment plans. Spot booking with a real map where you use it. Retail at the front desk for mats and props. Failed payment recovery that chases a declined card. Per-class teacher pay, including the cover teacher. And a branded app in both app stores under your studio's name, included.
Where Recess loses. Fewer third-party integrations than the larger platforms, and no consumer marketplace. If new students currently find you by browsing an app, we do not replace that.
Mindbody
Best for studios where discovery brings new students. From $79/mo per location.
The consumer app is the reason to pay. People browse for a yoga class the way they browse for a restaurant, and in a competitive city that reach is hard to replicate with a marketing budget.
Where Mindbody loses. Tier prices above the $79 floor are not published, and it is charged per location. The marketplace that brings you students also shows those students the studio down the road.
Momence
Best for studios trading a card rate for a cheap plan. Free, then $60 and $199.
The free tier is genuinely usable rather than a demo, and the paid tiers are among the cheapest published.
Where Momence loses. A US card rate of 3.9% plus 30 cents. At $20,000 a month that is roughly $780 before the subscription. A branded app is a further $250 a month.
Walla
Best for studios where front-of-house matters most. $320/mo per location.
Built for boutique fitness specifically, and it shows in check-in and how a student experiences booking.
Where Walla loses. $320 a month for Core and $599 for Pro, per location, with Stripe processing on top.
Arketa
Best for studios running a lot of online classes. $49/mo for a solo instructor.
Arketa is built with online and hybrid teaching in mind, which suits a studio whose livestream is a real part of the business rather than an afterthought.
Where Arketa loses. Only the solo price is published at $49 a month plus 3% and Stripe's own fees. Studio plans require a conversation.
Glofox
Best for studios inside the ABC Fitness ecosystem. Pricing not published.
A strong branded app and a community feed that students do use.
Where Glofox loses. No published pricing at any tier, and it now sits alongside Mindbody under ABC Fitness.
What to Check Before You Choose
- Can it sell a teacher training properly? Deposits, payment plans and a months-long roster.
- Does the waitlist fill itself? Ask what happens at 5.40am for a 6am class.
- What does a card sale cost? At $20,000 a month, one percentage point is $200.
- Is the branded app included? Answers range from free to $250 a month.
- Is it per location? A second studio can double the bill.
Recess Fits Here
If you run an independent yoga studio and the software bill is what brought you here, Recess is worth twenty minutes. Free, no tiers, class packs and memberships on one roster, teacher training handled properly, and the branded app included.
If your students find you through the Mindbody app, that is a real advantage we do not have.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free yoga studio software?
Recess is free with no tiers and includes class packs, memberships, waitlists, workshops, teacher training, retail, instructor payroll and a branded app. Momence also has a free tier, though its card rate of 3.9% plus 30 cents is the highest among the platforms compared here.
Can yoga studio software handle teacher training?
It varies more than any other feature. A 200-hour training needs deposits, payment plans and a roster running for months, which is not a class booking. Ask any platform to show you that specific flow before choosing, because bodging it into the class schedule is the most common complaint studios have.
Which yoga software has a consumer marketplace?
Mindbody's consumer app is the one that genuinely brings new students who were not looking for your studio specifically. Vagaro also has a marketplace. Recess does not, and if discovery is central to how you fill classes that is the strongest argument for staying with Mindbody.
How much should yoga studio software cost?
Published subscriptions range from free to $599 a month per location. The more useful number is the total at your real volume: at $20,000 a month in sales, a 3.9% card rate adds roughly $780 a month on top of whatever the plan costs.
Does yoga studio software handle class packs and memberships together?
It should, and not all do it well. A student on a ten-class pack and one on unlimited monthly attend the same class, so they need to appear on one roster. Ask to see a single class list containing both before you commit.
What should I ask before switching yoga studio software?
Five things: what a card sale costs on your actual plan, whether the branded app is included, whether pricing is per location, how the waitlist behaves when someone cancels twenty minutes before class, and exactly what data migrates rather than being retyped.
