Mindbody alternatives: what 5 rivals cost in 2026
2026-11-06 · 10 min read
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It's Tuesday, and the Mindbody renewal notice is open on your phone between clients. You have four people on the schedule. Your reminders still go out by email only, because text reminders live on a higher plan, and the rep's quote for that plan is sitting in another tab. You start looking at Mindbody alternatives to see what the same setup costs somewhere else.
Here is what five of them publish. I read each vendor's own pricing page on November 6, 2026, and every number below comes from those pages. Pricing pages change, so look again before you sign. If you want the detail on Mindbody itself first, see the Mindbody pricing post.
Mindbody alternatives at a glance
| Entry price on the page | How it scales | Reminder texts | In-person card rate | Trial | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mindbody | "Starting at $79 USD/month per location" | Unlimited users, per location, by quote | Accelerate and above | Percentage not published, plus $0.10 to $0.30 | Not stated |
| Vagaro | $23.99/mo for the first 6 months, shown next to $30.00 | $10 per bookable calendar, up to seven | "Unlimited notifications & appointment reminders" (channel not named) | 2.6% + 10¢ under $4,000/mo. 2.29% + 19¢ plus $10/mo over | 30 days |
| Fresha | $19.95/mo, one calendar | $14.95 per team member. Custom over 20 | 100 free a month (per team member on Team), then $0.02 each | 2.29% + $0.20 | 7 days |
| GlossGenius | $28/mo, or $24 billed annually | Gold $56 ($48), up to 9 staff. Platinum $168 ($148), 10+ | "Unlimited Client Notifications" (channel not named) | 2.4% + $0.15 | 14 days, no card |
| Boulevard | $143/mo, up to 5 providers | Premier $234 (normally $293) and Prestige $328 (normally $410), per location | Billed by texts sent and received. 250 free on Essentials and Premier, 2,500 on Prestige | Not published | Not stated |
| WellnessLiving | $69/mo for one staff member, $62 billed annually | Business $199/mo, or $39 for two months on a promo | "Email and SMS Notifications" from Starter. Two-way texting is pay per use | Not published | Not stated |
Boulevard's Premier and Prestige prices are a "limited-time offer" for new customers, and its page doesn't say which billing period the listed prices use. WellnessLiving's promo says it expires November 15, 2026.
What four staff costs on each one
Headline prices are hard to compare because each vendor counts differently. Here is the monthly subscription for a shop with four bookable people. This is my arithmetic from the published rates, before card fees, add-ons and message overages.
| Product | Monthly subscription for 4 staff | How I got there |
|---|---|---|
| GlossGenius Gold | $56, or $48 billed annually | The plan the page describes for up to 9 staff. Standard states no limit, so ask if $28 would cover you |
| Fresha Team | $59.80 | 4 x $14.95 |
| Vagaro | $60 after the intro rate | $30 plus three added calendars at $10, assuming the base price covers the first one |
| Boulevard Essentials | $143 | Flat, up to 5 providers |
| WellnessLiving Business | $199, or $179 billed annually, after the promo | Starter is limited to one staff member |
| Mindbody Accelerate | Quote only | Every plan on the page says "Let's talk," and text reminders start here |
Among the three that publish an in-person rate, the card fees come out closer than I expected. On a made-up month of $10,000 in dip-and-tap sales across 100 tickets, I get $249 on Fresha, $255 on GlossGenius and $258 on Vagaro, including Vagaro's $10 monthly fee. That leaves out any surcharge for tap to pay on a phone. Keyed-in cards cost more: 3.5% + 19¢ on Vagaro and 3.30% + $0.20 on Fresha.
Sort by the kind of business first
Mindbody sells to gyms and studios as well as salons, so the right alternative depends on what you run.
If you sell classes, memberships and class packs, WellnessLiving is the option here that lists classes as a plan feature, and Momence is built for yoga, pilates, dance and boutique studios. Momence publishes no prices at all. Its page says "Let's talk pricing."
If you sell appointments with a person in a chair or on a table, look at the other four. Square Appointments belongs on that list too, but its plan prices didn't render when I read the page, so check its site or my earlier Square Appointments pricing post.
Mindbody's own page also says it "may not be a fit for independent, one-person operators who rent time at a shared location." If that's you, price the entry plans at Fresha, GlossGenius and Vagaro first.
The five, in short
Vagaro
This is the closest swap for a small salon or spa that wants one plan with most things in it. The included list covers memberships, packages, gift certificates, SOAP notes, inventory, a waitlist and 1,000 free emails a month. Staff costs stop rising once you reach seven calendars. Ask what you pay from month seven, and what "Exclusions apply" means next to its no-cancellation-fee line. I compared the two directly in Mindbody vs Vagaro.
Fresha
Fresha has the lowest published entry price of these five, and it charges by usage after that. Automated email and app notifications are free and unlimited, but texts run out at 100 a month per team member, then cost $0.02 each. Marketing texts are $0.08 each. There's no contract. The catch is the marketplace: new clients who find you there cost a one-time 20% commission with a $6 minimum. Mindbody's marketplace fee is also 20%, but capped at $30. Fresha's page shows no cap.
GlossGenius
I'd look here if you're solo or a small team and want a simple bill. Standard includes a booking website, email and text marketing, packages and memberships. Gold adds forms, Google booking, a waitlist, and room and resource management. Med spas have separate plans: Practice Essentials at $168 ($148 annually) and Practice Advanced at $298 ($248 annually). The page says there are no contracts and data transfer is free.
Boulevard
Boulevard costs more than the three above, so I'd only price it for a busier salon or spa with a real front desk. Forms start at $65 a month per location and QuickBooks sync is $45 a month per location. ePrescribe, which matters to med spas, is $45 per prescriber. The page also says you have to buy its Boulevard Duo point of sale, and it doesn't print that price.
WellnessLiving
WellnessLiving covers classes and appointments, and its page lists gyms, salons and med spas among the businesses it serves. Starter includes free data migration, and onboarding training is free. Watch the jump from the promo to the list price on Business and BusinessPro ($349 a month, or $69 for two months). API access is $19 a month.
When staying on Mindbody beats switching
Stay if your front desk runs on it, and your real complaint is one missing piece. Moving means exporting clients, memberships, package balances, gift cards and notes, then teaching everyone a new screen and telling every client where to book. Mindbody's page says data transfer "fees may apply," with no amount, so ask before you plan a move.
Some reasons to stay:
- You schedule rooms and equipment, or clients pick their spot in class, and your staff has it working.
- You have many staff. Unlimited users on every plan can beat per-person pricing as you grow.
- Your problem starts before a booking exists, like a caller who hangs up or a web form nobody saw. A new calendar won't touch that.
Switch if the quote for the plan you need is well above what a comparable tool publishes, or if the software fights the way you work every day.
Send this before you switch
Paste this into an email to any vendor you're considering, and keep the answers in writing:
We have [number] bookable staff at [number] location(s) and we're moving from Mindbody. Please confirm in writing:
- Our total monthly price after any intro rate ends, and the month it changes.
- Which plan includes text confirmations and reminders, and how many texts a month before we pay more.
- Our card processing rates for in-person, online and keyed-in payments.
- Whether you can move saved cards, memberships, package balances and gift card balances, and what that costs.
- The contract length, the notice needed to cancel, and any fee for leaving.
Question 4 is the one that can sink a move. If saved cards don't come across, every member has to re-enter one. WellnessLiving's FAQ, for one, says processors may provide encrypted card data "for a nominal fee," so expect the old processor to be part of the answer. Fresha says it imports clients and inventory and offers paid packages for larger partners. Boulevard says "only certain data types may be available." Vagaro says "We'll help you switch for free" and that a transfer typically takes 1 to 2 business days.
What none of these do on their own
All of them can run a calendar. Bookings still get lost around the edges of it: the call you couldn't answer mid-color, the text to your personal cell asking to move Thursday, the regular who is three weeks past their usual rebook.
Some vendors now sell an automated front desk for this. Fresha lists one at $29.95 a month per location for messaging, or $99.95 with calls (200 minutes, then $0.60 a minute). Mindbody includes one on Ultimate and offers it as an add-on on Accelerate, with no price listed. Check what those cover before you buy anything else.
You can also build the same pieces around whichever tool you keep:
- A missed-call text back sends the caller a text within a minute, with your booking link.
- Confirmations and reminders go out by text with a way to reply. A "C" marks the visit confirmed, a request to move gets the rebooking link, and anything else comes to you. The wording I'd start with is in these appointment reminder templates.
- A few weeks after a service, one rebooking text goes out, timed to that client's usual gap.
That's the work I do for salons and med spas. Builds start at $500 one-time, then a flat monthly from $99 after an included run-in period, and you can cancel. If a vendor's add-on covers your gap for less, take it. One login and one support line are worth something.
What stays human
A person should talk through the color correction, the first injectable and the bad visit. Someone also has to decide whether to charge the six-year regular who got stuck at school pickup, because the software can only flag the no-show. Choosing a platform is your call too. Sit your busiest staff member in front of the trial on a real schedule before you commit.
Before you move
If you're not sure whether you need a new system or one small addition to the one you have, book the free 20 minute process audit. I'll look at how booking, reminders and missed calls run today and tell you plainly what's worth paying for.