Momence Review for Pilates Studios
Momence is a general-purpose wellness platform used by yoga studios, gyms, spas, dance schools, and fitness businesses of all kinds. It is not built for pilates specifically. The platform has a clean interface and a good feature set, but it is middle-of-the-road for pilates studios. There is nothing that clearly differentiates it for pilates. Pricing is hidden behind a demo form, and its payment processing fee of 3.9 percent is the highest we track. Support has also become a concern since the platform was acquired and folded into a much larger corporate group. For studios that want a platform built with pilates in mind, StudioGrowth is a stronger option.
Momence started life as a platform called Ribbon, primarily used by yoga studios. It rebranded to Momence and expanded to serve a wider range of wellness businesses. The platform is now used by yoga studios, pilates studios, gyms, spas, dance schools, and other fitness businesses. It is a general wellness platform, not a pilates-specific one.
Momence is also no longer an independent company. It was acquired in January 2025, and that parent company has since merged into a much larger global software group. This has changed the company’s direction and, according to user reviews, has had a noticeable impact on the support experience.
This review evaluates Momence specifically for pilates studios. We looked at how well it handles scheduling, support quality, payment processing costs, and the needs of a growing pilates studio. We also reviewed real user feedback from Trustpilot and considered how it compares to pilates-specific alternatives.
If you are weighing Momence against the platform most studios leave, read our guide to the best Mindbody alternatives for pilates studios. It covers what each platform costs, what it does well, and what you give up when you switch.
Who Owns Momence Now, and Why It Matters
Momence was founded in 2020 and grew as an independent startup. That changed on 29 January 2025, when it was acquired by Clubessential Holdings, a fitness and club software group backed by private equity investors.
The ownership story did not stop there. In September 2025, Clubessential Holdings and Xplor Technologies agreed to merge. The combined business launched under a single Xplor brand on 30 March 2026. Momence now sits inside that group alongside ClubReady, Exerp, and Mariana Tek. The change is visible on the product itself: the Momence website now carries an Xplor logo above the Momence name.
That last name is worth pausing on. If you are comparing Momence against Mariana Tek, you are comparing two products owned by the same parent company. They are positioned at opposite ends of the market, but the ownership, and increasingly the payments infrastructure behind them, is shared.
Since the first acquisition, user reviews have noted a shift in the support experience. Several studio owners report that the personal, responsive support Momence was known for has become more corporate and less effective. This is a common pattern when a founder-led software company is absorbed into a large holding group.
Private equity owners typically work to a three to five year plan with firm return targets. In software, that often shows up as price rises, features moved into higher tiers, and less spending on support. It is not automatically bad, and the extra resources can improve a product. But if you are signing a multi-year contract, it is fair to ask how pricing and support commitments will hold up.
Momence Pricing
Momence does not publish its prices. Its pricing page is a lead capture form headed “Unlock your custom pricing package”, which asks for your name, email, phone number, company, website, and postal code before anyone will discuss a figure with you.
That means you cannot compare Momence on cost while you are shortlisting. You have to enter a sales process first. The figures below are what studios report paying, not published prices, so treat them as a guide rather than a quote.
Before you book that demo, work out your own numbers: how many active clients you have, how much card revenue you process each month, and whether you need a branded app. Quotes in this category are shaped by what the sales team thinks you can pay. Walking in with your figures already written down puts you in a much stronger position.
| Package | Reported Monthly Cost | Key Features | Good for Pilates? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio plan | Around $199 | Core scheduling, booking, client management, and payments | Adequate for basic needs |
| Studio plan with marketing suite | Around $299 | Everything above, plus the marketing automation tools | Better for growing studios |
| Branded mobile app add-on | Around $250 | Your own app in the App Store and Google Play | Adds up quickly on top of the plan |
The branded app is where the total cost climbs. A studio on the marketing package that also wants its own app is looking at roughly $549 a month before a single card payment is processed. That is well over double the entry figure most studios quote.
Momence charges 3.9 percent plus $0.30 on online card payments and 3.7 percent plus $0.05 in person. That 3.9 percent is the highest rate of any platform we review. On $20,000 of monthly card revenue, the difference between 3.9 percent and a standard Stripe rate of around 2.9 percent is roughly $200 every month. That is more than the cost of the plan itself. Always model your own transaction volume before comparing monthly prices.
How Momence Scores for Pilates Studios
We rated Momence on nine features that matter most to pilates studio owners. These are pilates-specific ratings, not general fitness software scores.
The Support Problem: What You Need to Know
Momence advertises 24/7 chat support, which sounds like a major advantage. In practice, the experience is more complicated than that.
The support model relies on call center agents who handle initial inquiries. These agents can help with basic questions, but they do not have deep product knowledge. When an issue goes beyond a simple FAQ, it gets escalated. And escalated issues often take days or even weeks to resolve, because they require engineering support.
This is a meaningful limitation for a pilates studio. If your booking system breaks on a Saturday morning before a full class schedule, you need a fast answer from someone who knows the product. A call center agent who logs the ticket and says someone will get back to you is not the same thing.
Momence’s 24/7 support is handled by call center agents. They can answer basic questions but cannot resolve technical issues. Anything beyond a simple fix gets escalated to engineering, which can take days or weeks. If you run a busy pilates studio and need fast, knowledgeable support, this is a significant risk to factor in.
This is reflected in the mixed Trustpilot reviews. Many positive reviews praise individual agents for being friendly and helpful with simple questions. But a pattern of negative reviews describes frustration with escalated issues that take too long to resolve, or problems that never get fixed at all.
A Generic Platform, Not a Pilates Platform
Momence is used by yoga studios, gyms, spas, dance schools, and wellness businesses of all kinds. It is a general wellness platform. Pilates is one of many verticals it serves, not the focus.
This matters because the features, workflows, and defaults in Momence are designed for the broadest possible use case. Clients can pick their spot when they book, which covers the most visible reformer need. What is missing is the layer underneath: tracking individual reformers as assets, logging maintenance, or blocking a specific machine that is out of service. You can make Momence work for a pilates studio, but you are adapting a general tool rather than using one built for your needs.
Compare this to a platform like StudioGrowth, which is built specifically for boutique fitness studios including pilates. The difference shows up in the details: how the calendar handles mixed class types, how equipment capacity is managed, and how the client experience is designed around a pilates studio’s workflow.
Where Momence Does Well
Despite the limitations, Momence has genuine strengths. The interface is clean and modern. Setting up a schedule and taking bookings is straightforward. The marketing automation tools are solid, particularly on the higher-tier plan. The platform handles group classes and private appointments in the same calendar without major issues. Its client-facing app is well rated by the people who actually use it to book.
For a yoga studio or general wellness business, Momence is a capable platform. For a pilates studio, it is adequate but not exceptional. You will not find features missing, but you will also not find features built specifically for how a pilates studio operates.
What Works and What Does Not
What Works Well
- Clean, modern interface
- Good marketing automation tools
- Handles group and private scheduling
- Clients can choose their spot when booking
- Well-rated client booking app
- Free trial available without a sales call
Where It Falls Short for Pilates
- Not built for pilates specifically
- 3.9% processing fee, the highest we track
- No published pricing, demo call required first
- Support is call center model, not expert-led
- Technical issues can take days or weeks to resolve
- Support quality has slipped since acquisition
- No equipment maintenance or asset tracking
- Total cost climbs fast once add-ons are included
- Nothing that clearly stands out for pilates
What Real Users Say
“We just transitioned from Mindbody yesterday and the level of customer service and quick response during some glitches have been great. Brian was super helpful today and everyone is very responsive.”
“Having worked on both sides as a wellness clinic manager and as a Pilates and yoga instructor, I can honestly say this is the most seamless and unified platform for growing a business. It is intuitive and easy to navigate.”
“Extremely poor. Not worth switching to them. No onboarding despite their promises, terrible user experience. Bad user journey. Poor functionality. Low customisation. ZERO customer service.”
“Stay as far away from this company as possible. Hard sell from the manager, misleading contracts, and they squeeze in every add-on they can. Just sales people, no real support.”
“Momence is a great platform for running my business. I appreciate the ease of flow with setting up and maintaining all the background elements to my schedule, payments, reports, and more.”
Who Momence Is and Is Not For
A Reasonable Fit If You Are
- Running a yoga or general wellness studio
- Processing a low volume of card payments
- Focused on marketing automation
- Running a simple pilates schedule
- Not dependent on fast technical support
Not the Best Fit If You
- Want software built for pilates
- Need fast, expert-level support
- Require equipment maintenance tracking
- Process high card volume each month
- Want to compare costs without a sales call
- Prefer to use your own Stripe account
How Momence Compares to Alternatives
Momence sits in the middle of the market. It is more expensive than Mindbody’s entry-level plan, but less capable than pilates-specific platforms. Here is how it compares to the two most relevant alternatives for pilates studios.
| Feature | Momence | StudioGrowth | Mindbody |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | Around $199/month reported | $159/month | From $79/month |
| Pricing Transparency | No, demo call required | Yes, fully published | Partial |
| Built for Pilates | No (generic wellness) | Yes | No (generic fitness) |
| Support Model | Call center (escalation delays) | Expert-led, fast response | Mixed reviews |
| Client Spot Selection | Yes | Yes | Accelerate tier and above |
| Equipment Maintenance Tracking | No | Yes | Accelerate tier and above |
| Marketing Automation | Strong (higher plan) | Strong (Bloom+) | Higher tiers only |
| Payment Processing Fee | 3.9% + $0.30 online | Your own Stripe account | Standard, processor locked |
| Overall Pilates Rating | 3.5/5 | 4.6/5 | 3.8/5 |
For a pilates studio that wants a platform built with their workflow in mind, StudioGrowth is the more logical choice. It is cheaper to start, publishes every price, lets you connect your own Stripe account, and is designed specifically for boutique fitness studios including pilates. Momence is a capable platform, but it is a general tool adapted for pilates rather than built for it.
Bottom Line
Momence is a capable platform that can handle a pilates studio’s basic needs. The interface is modern, the marketing tools are solid, and the scheduling works. But it is a generic wellness platform, not a pilates-specific one. There is nothing that clearly differentiates Momence for pilates studios.
Cost is the hardest part to pin down, because Momence will not tell you a price until you have given a sales team your details. Once you get a quote, the number that matters most is not the monthly fee. It is the 3.9 percent processing rate, the highest we track. Model your own card volume before you compare monthly prices, because for a busy studio that fee can cost more than the software.
The support concerns since the acquisition are worth taking seriously too. If you run a busy studio and need fast, expert-level help when something breaks, the call center model with escalation delays is a real risk.
If you are a yoga studio or general wellness business, Momence is a reasonable choice. If you run a pilates studio and want software built for your specific workflow, there are better options available.
Full Rating Breakdown
| Feature | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid Scheduling | 4/5 ★★★★ | Handles group and private sessions adequately |
| Equipment and Room Scheduling | 3/5 ★★★ | Clients can pick a spot, but no asset or maintenance tracking |
| Online Booking and Payments | 4/5 ★★★★ | Clean interface, but the highest processing fee we track |
| Client Management and Segmentation | 4/5 ★★★★ | Good CRM with segmentation tools |
| Marketing and Retention Tools | 4/5 ★★★★ | Strong marketing automation on the higher plan |
| Branded Mobile App | 3/5 ★★★ | Available as an add-on, price not published |
| Reporting and Analytics | 3/5 ★★★ | Adequate reports, not pilates-specific |
| Ease of Use and Onboarding | 4/5 ★★★★ | Clean interface, easy to learn |
| Customer Support | 3/5 ★★★ | Call center model, escalation delays for technical issues |
| Overall Average | 3.5/5 | Middle-of-the-road for pilates studios |