The subscription is the number they advertise. The card rate is the number you pay all year.
The short answer
A studio doing $20,000 a month in sales pays between $0 and roughly $1,200 a month for its software once processing is counted, and the subscription is rarely the biggest part of that. Recess is free with about 5% paid by the member at checkout. Gymdesk publishes $75 to $200. Momence starts free but charges 3.9% plus 30 cents a sale, which is $780 a month at that volume. Mindbody starts at $79 per location and does not publish its tiers. The right comparison is the whole bill at your real volume, not the advertised price at zero.
| Platform | Subscription | Card rate | Branded app | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recess | Free, no tiers | About 5%, paid by the member | Included | Fewer integrations, no consumer marketplace |
| Gymdesk | $75 to $200/mo by member count | Published | Included | Price rises as you grow |
| Momence | Free, then $60 and $199 | 3.9% plus 30c in the US | $250/mo extra | The card rate is the highest here |
| Mindbody | From $79/mo per location | Not published | Not published | Tiers priced by sales call; per location |
| Walla | $320/mo Core, $599 Pro, per location | Stripe on top | Not published | The highest published subscription |
| Wodify | Not published | 3.8% on entry, 2.7% on top tier | $79/mo on every tier | The cheaper plan carries the worse rate |
| PushPress | Free, then $159 and $229 | Published | Not published | Rank tracking needs the $159 plan |
| ClubReady | Not published | Not published | Not published | $450 exit fee, 2-year term, 7% annual rise |
How This List Was Built
Every figure was read on the vendor's own pricing page or help centre on 8 September 2026. Where a company publishes nothing, this article says so rather than repeating a number from a review site. Prices change, so check before you buy.
Recess is our own product. The figures for it are on the same footing as everyone else's.
The Arithmetic Nobody Does
Take a studio turning over $20,000 a month.
On Momence's $60 plan, the subscription is $720 a year. The processing at 3.9% plus 30 cents is roughly $780 a month, or $9,360 a year. The plan is 7% of what you actually pay.
On Wodify's entry tier the card rate is 3.8% against 2.7% on the top tier. That difference is $220 a month at this volume, which means the cheaper subscription costs you more money. Add the $79 branded app on every tier and the pattern holds.
This is the single most useful thing to work out before switching, and almost nobody does it, because the subscription is on the pricing page and the card rate is three clicks deeper.
What Else Shows Up on the Bill
Per location. Mindbody and Walla both charge per location. A second studio doubles a line that looked fixed.
Per member. Gymdesk, Zen Planner, Kicksite and Jackrabbit all band by how many members or students you have. The month you fill your classes is the month the bill steps up.
The branded app. The range here is remarkable: included at no cost with Recess, $39 a month with Zen Planner, $79 with Wodify, $250 with Momence, and quoted on request elsewhere.
Texting. Zen Planner bills per message at around 2.1 cents. On a school sending class reminders to 300 families, that adds up quietly.
Leaving. ClubReady publishes a $450 fee for an exit file, which is the charge to take your own data out, alongside a two-year default term and a 7% annual increase clause.
The Five Questions to Ask
Ask these of every vendor, and get the answers in writing.
- What does a card sale cost, on the plan I would actually be on? Not the best rate on the best tier.
- Is the price per location or per member? Both mean the bill grows with your success.
- Is the branded app included, an add-on, or a higher tier?
- What is the contract term, and is there an annual increase clause?
- What does it cost to leave, and what does my data export contain?
Recess Fits Here
Recess has no subscription at any size. The member pays a service fee of about 5% at checkout, and that covers card and bank processing. There is no tier to unlock, no per-location fee, and the branded app is included.
Whether that is cheaper than a $75 plan depends entirely on your volume, which is exactly the point of this article. Work out your own number rather than taking anyone's word for it, ours included.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does gym management software cost per month?
Published subscriptions range from free to $599 a month per location. But the subscription is rarely the largest part of the bill: at $20,000 a month in sales, a 3.9% card rate is roughly $780 a month on its own, which is more than most subscriptions on the market.
Which gym software is actually free?
Recess has no subscription at any size, with a service fee of about 5% paid by the member at checkout. Momence and PushPress both have free tiers, though the features most studios need sit on their paid plans.
Why do some platforms not publish their prices?
Mindbody, Wodify, Glofox, Mariana Tek and ClubReady all route pricing to a sales conversation. That is a legitimate way to sell software, and it means you cannot compare or budget without contacting them, and you have no public benchmark at renewal.
What is a typical card processing rate for a studio?
Published rates run from about 2.7% to 3.9% plus a fixed amount per transaction. On $20,000 a month, one percentage point is $200, so the rate matters more than the subscription for any studio doing real volume.
Does gym software cost more as I grow?
On most platforms, yes. Gymdesk, Zen Planner, Kicksite and Jackrabbit band by member or student count, and Mindbody and Walla charge per location. Recess does not, because it has no plan fee.
What hidden costs should I ask about?
Five catch studios out: the card rate on your actual plan, per-location or per-member pricing, whether a branded app is extra, per-message texting charges, and what it costs to export your data and leave. ClubReady publishes $450 for the last one.
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