Comparison
Momence vs Mindbody for Pilates Studios
Mindbody vs Momence is the switch we get asked about most. More owners search for these two than for any other platforms we review.
The short version: Momence is the better fit for most independent pilates studios. Mindbody is the better fit for franchises, for studio groups, and for teams that run the studio from the staff app. Each section below picks a winner and shows the real prices.
Choose Momence if
- You run one location or a few, and you are not a franchise
- Your members book from their phones, and the client app matters more to you than the staff app
- You want marketing built into the same system as your bookings, with nothing bolted on
Choose Mindbody if
- You run a franchise, or a group of studios that needs one system across many locations
- Your staff run their day from the mobile app, not from an admin screen at reception
- You want the lower like-for-like price, and you will pay for Accelerate to get room and equipment tools
| At a glance | Momence | Mindbody |
|---|---|---|
| Studio plan | $199 to $299 a month reported. Pricing now sits behind a form | From $79 advertised. $229 to $349 reported for what a pilates studio needs |
| Branded app under your name | Around $250 a month reported | $75 to $300 a month add-on reported. Included only on Ultimate Plus |
| Online card rate | Not published. Until September 2026 the pricing page listed 3.9% plus 30 cents | Not published. Studios report around 3.5% |
| Classes, privates and duets in one calendar | Yes, with years of use | Yes. Room and equipment booking on Accelerate and above |
| Client app | Better, in our experience | Good |
| Staff app | Booking and check-in | Full workflow: booking, check-in, sales, memberships and retail |
| Marketing automation | Built in from the start, in the $299 package | Same product, but added through acquisitions, so it can feel disjointed. Full automation on Ultimate |
| Customer service score (Capterra) | 3.7 | 3.8 |
The Short Answer: Momence or Mindbody for a Pilates Studio?
Momence is the better choice for most independent pilates studios. It runs classes and privates in one calendar, its client app is the one your members will prefer, and its marketing runs on the same system as your bookings. Mindbody is the better choice for franchises and studio groups, and for teams that run their day from the staff app.
Both platforms can run a pilates studio well. Neither was built only for pilates. The difference is where each one is strong. Momence is strong where your members touch it. Mindbody is strong where your staff touch it, and at scale.
Read our full Momence review and Mindbody review for the detail behind each rating. The sections below compare them on the three things that matter most to a pilates studio: classes and appointments, the app, and marketing and retention. Cost and support come first, because they decide more switches than any feature.
Winner: Momence for most independent studios
Which Costs More, Momence or Mindbody?
Mindbody costs less. On paper it starts at $79 a month and Momence at a reported $199. Compared feature for feature, both land in a similar range, with Mindbody slightly cheaper. Neither publishes its card rate, so ask for it in writing before you compare totals.
Neither company publishes its full pricing. Mindbody advertises from $79 per location and puts a “Let’s talk” button on every tier. Momence’s pricing page is now a form that asks for your name, phone and website before anyone quotes a figure. The numbers below are what studios report paying, so treat them as a guide, not a quote.
For a pilates studio, the Mindbody tier that matters is Accelerate. That is where room and resource management and Pick-a-Spot live. On Momence, the package that matters is the one with marketing included, reported at $299.
| Monthly cost, like for like | Momence | Mindbody |
|---|---|---|
| Software | $299 reported, with marketing | $259 to $279 reported (Accelerate) |
| Branded app under your name | Around $250 reported | $75 to $300 add-on reported |
| Card processing | Quoted on the call. Last published US rate: 3.9% plus 30 cents | Quoted on the call. Studios report around 3.5% |
| Monthly total before card fees | $549 reported | $334 to $579 reported |
So Mindbody is slightly cheaper like for like: $334 to $579 a month against $549, before card fees. That is not the four-times gap the headline prices suggest, because the things a pilates studio needs from Mindbody sit on Accelerate, and the branded app is extra on both.
Mindbody’s full email and text automation is not on Accelerate. It sits on Ultimate, reported at $499 to $699 a month. If you want the marketing Momence includes at $299, Mindbody stops being the cheaper platform.
The card rate is the number to watch, and neither company prints it today. Until September 2026, Momence’s pricing page listed 3.9% plus 30 cents for US online card payments, the highest rate of the eight platforms we review. That page now shows no rates at all. Mindbody quotes its rate on the call, and studios report around 3.5%. Every half a point of difference is $100 a month on $20,000 of card sales, so get both rates in writing before you decide.
Winner: Mindbody, slightly
Can Both Handle Group Classes and Private Sessions?
Both do. Momence has run group classes, privates and duets in one calendar for years and does it with less setup. Mindbody handles the same schedule and adds room and equipment tools on Accelerate, including Pick-a-Spot, which lets clients choose their reformer when they book.
A pilates studio needs three things from its calendar: group classes with capacity limits, one-to-one sessions and duets, and a waitlist that fills a spot the moment someone cancels. Both platforms do all three.
On Momence, classes and appointments live in the same view. A client books a reformer class and a private from the same screen, and your instructors see both on one calendar. Package tracking and late-cancel fees run without you touching them. This is the part of Momence we noticed first when we ran both.
Mindbody does the same job with more moving parts. Classes and appointments are separate modules, which means more setup and more places for a setting to go wrong. In return, Accelerate gives you room and equipment management and Pick-a-Spot, where a client picks reformer three from a room layout. If your studio sells by the reformer, that is a real advantage. If it does not, it is a tier you are paying for.
Winner: Momence, unless you need Pick-a-Spot
Which Has the Better Custom App, Momence or Mindbody?
It depends on who is holding the phone. Momence has the better client app: booking, packages and reminders are cleaner for your members, in our experience. Mindbody has the more functional staff app: your team can run their whole day from it, sales included, without an admin screen at reception. Both charge extra for an app under your own name.
Start with the client side, because that is what your members see every week. Momence’s app is the one members find easier. Booking a class, buying a pack and managing a membership take fewer taps, and the design feels current. We say that from our own use of both, not from a feature list.
Now the staff side. Mindbody’s staff app is the more complete tool. Your team can book a client, check them in, sell a package or a membership, and ring up retail from a phone or tablet. For a studio where staff work from the app instead of a desktop at reception, that is the deciding feature. Momence’s staff app covers booking and check-in. It is not built to run the whole day.
On price, both make you pay for an app that carries your studio’s name. Momence includes a Momence-branded app on the studio plan and charges a reported $250 a month for one under your own brand. Mindbody sells its branded app as an add-on, reported at $75 to $300 a month, and includes it only on Ultimate Plus. Without it your studio appears inside the shared Mindbody app.
Both platforms connect to ClassPass and Wellhub, and so do most of the platforms we review. How new clients find you is not a reason to pick either app.
Winner: Momence for the client app, Mindbody for the staff app. Pick the one your studio uses more
Which Has Better Marketing and Retention Tools?
Momence. Its email and text automations, lead follow-up and win-back flows run inside the same system as your bookings and come with the $299 package. Mindbody’s marketing tools are part of the same product, but they were added through acquisitions, so they can feel like separate tools. Full automation also sits on the Ultimate tier.
The difference here is not the feature list. Both send automated emails and texts, both chase lapsed members, and both run intro offers. The difference is how the tools were built.
On Momence, marketing was built in from the start. The automations read the same booking and purchase data as everything else, so a “you have one class left on your pack” text fires off the real pack balance. You set it up once, in the same place you manage your schedule.
On Mindbody, marketing is the same product on paper, but it grew through acquisitions. Mindbody bought other companies and bolted their technology onto the platform. It works, and at the Ultimate tier it adds a sales pipeline and dashboards. It also takes longer to set up, and moving between booking and marketing can feel like moving between two different tools.
On retention, they match. Late-cancel and no-show fees, waitlists that auto-fill, memberships that renew and packs that expire all run on both. Where they differ again is that Momence’s flows are already there at $299, and Mindbody’s arrive with the tier you pay for.
Winner: Momence
Which Has Better Support, Momence or Mindbody?
Mindbody, narrowly. It scores 3.8 for customer service on Capterra against 3.7 for Momence, and those are the two lowest scores of the eight platforms we review. Do not choose either one for its support.
Momence advertises 24/7 chat, which sounds better than it is. The agents handle basic questions well. Anything technical is escalated, and recent reviewers describe payment failures followed by scripted replies, a string of different agents and waits of a week or more.
Mindbody is a much larger company, and its support is bigger rather than better. The score is a shade higher, and that is the honest size of the difference. Reviewers on both platforms describe the same pattern: a problem that costs the studio money, and a support queue that treats it as a ticket.
If support is the reason you are switching, neither of these is the answer to that problem. Pick between them on the calendar, the app and the price, and plan for support to be average.
Winner: Mindbody, narrowly
Do Momence and Mindbody Have the Same Owner?
No. Mindbody is owned by Playlist, the Vista Equity Partners-backed parent of Mindbody, Booker and ClassPass, which completed a merger with EGYM in March 2026. Momence is owned by Xplor Technologies, which also owns Mariana Tek.
So the Mindbody vs Momence decision is a choice between two products from two large, private equity backed groups. Neither is a small company, and both answer to a parent group.
It matters in two practical ways. First, roadmaps. Both parents own several booking products, and features tend to be built once and shared. Ask each sales team what is planned for the product you are buying, and get it in writing. Second, stablemates. Momence’s is Mariana Tek, which we compare with it in Mariana Tek vs Momence. If you leave one for the other, you are staying inside Xplor.
Winner: Neither. Both sit inside large groups
Which Pilates Studios Should Choose Momence?
Momence is the right choice for an independent pilates studio with one location or a few, but not a franchise, where privates and duets share the calendar with classes, members book from their phones, and the owner wants marketing that runs on the same system as the bookings.
Momence fits your studio if
- One location or a few, owner-run, and not a franchise
- Privates and duets make up a real share of your revenue
- Your members book from their phones and you want the cleaner client app
- You want email and text automations that read your real booking data, with nothing bolted on
- Your staff work from a desktop at reception, so the staff app matters less
Winner: Momence for the independent studio
Which Pilates Studios Should Choose Mindbody?
Mindbody is the right choice for a franchise or a studio group that needs one system across many locations, for teams that run their day from the staff app, and for studios that will pay for Accelerate to get room and equipment booking. It is also the choice if the lower like-for-like price matters more than the client app.
Mindbody fits your studio if
- A franchise, or a group of studios that needs one system across many locations
- Your staff run their day from the mobile app, not from an admin screen at reception
- You need room and equipment scheduling with Pick-a-Spot, and you will pay for Accelerate
- You want the lower subscription like for like
- Your card volume is high, so the rate you are quoted matters more than the client app
Winner: Mindbody for franchises and studio groups
Bottom Line: Momence vs Mindbody
Choose Momence if you run an independent pilates studio, one location or a few, and want classes, privates, a client app your members like and built-in marketing from one system. Choose Mindbody if you run a franchise or a studio group, your staff run their day from the app, or you want the slightly lower like-for-like price. Mindbody vs Momence is a closer call than the price tags suggest.
The score is three sections to two for Momence. Momence takes the calendar, marketing and the overall fit for an independent studio. Mindbody takes cost and, by a hair, support. The app is split down the middle: Momence for your members, Mindbody for your staff.
If neither fits, StudioGrowth is the platform we rank first for independent pilates studios, and you can see all eight side by side in our guide to the best pilates studio software.
Common Questions About Momence and Mindbody
I run a small reformer pilates studio. Should I choose Mindbody or Momence?
Momence. For a small reformer studio, classes and privates in one calendar, a client app your members like, and marketing that is already built in matter more than anything Mindbody adds on Accelerate. StudioGrowth is also a good option for a small reformer studio: it is built for independent studios and includes a branded app on every plan. See where all three rank in our best pilates studio software guide.
Should I switch from Mindbody to Momence?
Yes, if you are leaving Mindbody because the tier you need costs more than you were quoted, because the marketing tools feel bolted on, or because your members find the app clunky. Momence fixes all three. You give up the more complete staff app, Pick-a-Spot, and a slightly lower like-for-like price. Our Mindbody alternatives for pilates studios guide covers the other options.
Should I switch from Momence to Mindbody?
Only if you are becoming a franchise or a studio group, your staff need to run their day from the app, or the card rate you are quoted is clearly lower. Do not switch for support. Mindbody’s score is one tenth of a point higher, and reviewers describe the same waits. If you are leaving Momence over support, see the Momence alternatives section of our guide.
Is Momence cheaper than Mindbody?
No. Mindbody is cheaper on paper, from $79 against a reported $199, and slightly cheaper when you compare like for like at the tiers a pilates studio needs: $334 to $579 a month against $549, before card fees. The exception is marketing. Momence includes it at $299, and Mindbody’s full automation sits on Ultimate at a reported $499 to $699. Neither publishes its card rate today, so get both in writing.
Which is easier to use, Momence or Mindbody?
Momence, on both sides. The admin side has fewer settings to get wrong, because classes and appointments live in one calendar and marketing is part of the same system. The client side takes fewer taps to book and buy. That is our experience from using both, and it is the most common reason studios give for the switch.
Two of Eight Platforms We Tested
Momence and Mindbody are the two most common platforms in pilates studios, and neither was built only for pilates. See all eight ranked on price, apps and support.
Best Pilates Studio Software