Mindbody was built for group fitness studios first. We were built for personal training first. Every plan includes unlimited clients, no per-client fees, and you own your Stripe account, not us.
Mindbody is the elephant in the studio software room. It was built around group fitness: a class on a schedule, an instructor, a room of clients dropping in. That model fits yoga studios, CrossFit boxes, and bootcamps. It does not fit personal training.
We built My Training Studio around the things a personal training studio actually cares about: 1-on-1 booking with conflict detection, session packages drawn down over time, trainer commissions and payouts, and payments that go straight to your own Stripe account. No per-client fees. No marketplace commissions on your first sale.
Mindbody has real strengths. The consumer marketplace and multi-modality scheduling are not nothing. Here is the honest breakdown.
| My Training Studio | Mindbody | |
|---|---|---|
| Booking and Scheduling | ||
| 1-on-1 in-person session booking | First-class | Workaround |
| Group class scheduling | Limited | Yes |
| Recurring weekly client sessions | From contract | Manual |
| Trainer availability and conflict detection | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar sync (Google, Apple, Outlook) | Yes | One-way |
| Session Packages and Contracts | ||
| Session package balances | Automatic | Manual |
| FIFO drawdown across overlapping packages | Yes | No |
| Contract-to-schedule linking | Yes | No |
| Sessions-remaining alerts | Yes | No |
| Studio Operations | ||
| Trainer commission tracking | Yes | Add-on |
| Trainer payouts | Yes | No |
| Custom branding | All plans | Premium tiers only |
| Mindbody's Core Strengths | ||
| Consumer marketplace exposure (Mindbody app) | No | Yes |
| Multi-modality scheduling (yoga + PT + classes) | PT-focused | Yes |
| Brand recognition with consumers | Newer brand | Yes |
| Payments | ||
| You own the merchant account | Your Stripe | Mindbody is the merchant |
| Recurring billing rate | 2.9% + $0.30 | 3.6% + $0.30 |
| Marketplace commission on first purchase | None | 20% (up to $30) |
| Take payment data with you if you leave | Yes | No |
Three things Mindbody charges extra for, gates behind tiers, or simply doesn't have.
| Trainer | Sessions | Revenue | Commission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coach Dan | 42 | $3,150 | $945 |
| Coach Lia | 28 | $2,100 | $630 |
| Coach Marc | 18 | $1,350 | $405 |
| Total commission | $1,980 | ||
We are cheaper than Mindbody at every tier we have, with no per-client fees and no marketplace commissions on your first sale.
| Your business | My Training Studio | Mindbody |
|---|---|---|
| Solo trainer | $50/mo | $139+/mo |
| Small studio, up to 5 trainers | $199/mo | $250 to $400/mo |
| Per-client fees | $0 | $1 to $3/client/mo |
| Marketplace commission (first purchase) | None | 20% up to $30 |
| Recurring payment processing | 2.9% + $0.30 (your Stripe) | 3.6% + $0.30 (Mindbody Payments) |
Mindbody pricing varies by region, plan tier, and add-ons. The numbers above reflect publicly listed entry pricing. The pattern, not the exact number, is what matters: Mindbody charges more, charges per client, and takes a cut of your payments.
Already on Mindbody? See our switching guide.
Mindbody can run a personal training studio, but it was designed around group fitness classes (yoga, CrossFit, group bootcamps). Its strengths are class-based scheduling, multi-modality booking, and the consumer Mindbody marketplace. For a studio that mostly does 1-on-1 personal training with session packages, the core primitives like package balances, FIFO drawdown, and trainer commissions are weaker, and the pricing is higher with per-client fees on top.
My Training Studio starts at $50/mo for a solo trainer compared to Mindbody at $139+/mo. For a 5-trainer studio, MTS is $199/mo flat compared to Mindbody's $250 to $400/mo plus $1 to $3 per client per month. MTS has no per-client fees and no marketplace commissions, so the gap widens as your client roster grows.
Yes. Mindbody plans include per-client monthly fees on top of the platform price, typically $1 to $3 per active client per month. My Training Studio includes unlimited clients on every plan with no per-client charges.
Mindbody Payments charges 3.6% + $0.30 per transaction (higher than Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30) and takes a 20% commission on the first purchase a client makes through the Mindbody marketplace, capped at $30. With My Training Studio, your business is the merchant of record on your own Stripe account and there is no marketplace commission.
Yes. We have a dedicated migration guide for studios moving from Mindbody. The main steps are exporting your client list, contracts, and session balances from Mindbody, mapping them into MTS, and connecting your Stripe account. Most studios are live in days, not weeks.