Zen Planner vs Mindbody (2026): Pricing and Fit for Pilates and Boutique Studios
Short answer: Zen Planner’s pricing page is titled “Gym Management Software Pricing.” Studio starts at $99 per month, priced by active members, with no charge for staff or prospects. The same page lists Website from $99 per month, Engage at $249 per month, a branded app at $39 per month, and card readers at $39 per month. It says billing is month to month, with an annual contract on request. The member-count breakpoints are not in that starting-price block. They are printed on Zen Planner’s active-member tiers page. Mindbody Starter is from $79 per month per location. Accelerate and Ultimate are quote-only. Zen Planner’s card rate is not published.
Checked November 3, 2026.
Disclosure. This site is run by Johnny Ni, who also runs hesurepilates.com, a Pilates reformer export business that works with studios in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Vendor links on this page are plain links to the vendors’ sites, not affiliate tracking links. Affiliate disclosure.
At a glance
| Zen Planner | Mindbody | |
|---|---|---|
| How the company describes itself | “Gym Management Software Pricing.” The FAQ says it was started in 2006 by a martial arts school owner. | Fitness, wellness, and beauty businesses. The US blog also names boutique studios and independent instructors. |
| Published entry price | Studio from $99/month | Starter from $79 USD/month per location |
| What the price scales with | Active members | Locations. No per-user fee on the published entry plan. |
| Staff | Not charged, per Zen Planner’s pricing page | Not charged per user, per Mindbody’s pricing page |
| Card rate | Not published. The page says additional charges may apply and to ask about Daxko Payments. | Percentage not published. Fixed fee described as $0.10–$0.30 in North America and Asia. |
| Contract | Month to month. Annual on request. | Depends on the plan and billing terms. Cancellation may require advance notice. |
Pricing models
Zen Planner’s pricing page says you pay for active members only: someone with a membership or who attended in the past month. Prospects, staff, alumni, and pay-per-session attendees are not counted. The bill adjusts monthly with that count. Multi-location gyms are priced in a demo. The page does not print a second-location dollar amount.
Mindbody’s published price is per location, with unlimited users at the $79 entry price. Higher US tiers are not published. Detail is on Mindbody pricing.
The pricing page shows package starting prices of $99 (Studio), $198 (Essentials: Studio plus website), and $348 (Ultimate: Studio, website, and Engage). It does not show what member count those starting prices stop at. This table is from the tiers page, checked the same day:
| Active members | Studio | Essentials | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–45 | $99/mo | $198/mo | $348/mo |
| 46–60 | $133/mo | $232/mo | $382/mo |
| 61–75 | $155/mo | $254/mo | $404/mo |
| 76–100 | $189/mo | $288/mo | $438/mo |
| 101–150 | $229/mo | $328/mo | $478/mo |
| 151–200 | $239/mo | $338/mo | $488/mo |
| 201–250 | $269/mo | $368/mo | $518/mo |
| 251+ | $289/mo | $388/mo | $538/mo |
Source: Zen Planner active-member tiers, checked November 3, 2026. If that page changes, these cells are stale. Do not treat a third-party blog as a substitute.
Add-ons and fees
From Zen Planner pricing, checked November 3, 2026:
| Add-on | Published price |
|---|---|
| Website | Starting at $99/month. Included in Essentials and Ultimate, and the tiers page says you are not billed twice if it is already in the plan. |
| Engage | $249/month. Included in Ultimate. |
| Branded mobile app | $39/month |
| Card reader | $39/month |
| Zen Planner Payments | Not published. “Additional charges and/or fees may apply.” No setup or gateway fee with select preferred processors. Ask for the rate. |
The $39 card-reader price is on that pricing page, which does not name the model. The active-member tiers page is the page that calls the reader Lane 3600.
Mindbody’s app fee (20%, cap $30) has no matching line on Zen Planner’s pricing page. Zen Planner does not describe a consumer marketplace fee there. That fee is not published because the product described is not that marketplace. Do not read the blank as “$0” unless Zen Planner prints $0. It doesn’t.
What matters for a Pilates studio
Zen Planner’s pricing page is written for gyms. It lists belt and skill tracking and SugarWOD. Those are martial-arts and workout-log features. They are not evidence that a reformer room map is included.
What the pages actually document:
- Scheduling and booking. Both pricing pages list class scheduling. Zen Planner does not use the words “reformer” or “Pilates” on the pricing page checked. Mindbody’s pricing page lists Client Pick-a-Spot on Accelerate and Ultimate, not on Starter.
- Waitlists. Not given a yes/no or a price on Zen Planner’s pricing page. Not published as a priced feature there.
- Intro offers. Mindbody’s US blog lists intro offers inside the $79 plan. Zen Planner’s pricing page describes lead capture and follow-up on the website and Engage tools. It does not print a separate intro-offer fee.
- Privates. Not priced as a separate Zen Planner module on the pricing page. Mindbody’s blog lists self-serve booking generally, not a privates price.
A Pilates studio can still buy Zen Planner. The honest fit is: the published product is member-based gym and martial-arts software, with class scheduling included, and without a Pilates-specific claim on the pricing page. Confirm spot booking, waitlists, and privates in a demo. Do not assume belt tracking or SugarWOD helps a reformer schedule.
Marketplace versus brand-only booking
Mindbody sells a listing in its consumer app and publishes the 20% first-purchase fee. Zen Planner’s pricing page talks about a member app, a branded app at $39 per month, and the studio’s own site. It does not describe a Zen Planner consumer marketplace or a commission on new clients from one. If a marketplace fee exists, it is not published on the pages checked.
Owner ratings
Capterra’s Zen Planner comparison URL returned HTTP 403 on November 3, 2026. This page does not quote a star rating or a review count.
Contracts and switching
Zen Planner: month to month, annual contract on request, free onboarding sessions, and data migration during those sessions. The page does not print a migration fee. It says the timeline varies.
Mindbody: no onboarding fee; contract depends on the agreement; cancellation may require advance notice; data-transfer fees may apply and are not priced.
Who owns Zen Planner is not stated on the pricing page. The page does name Daxko Payments as an in-house payment option. That is not the same sentence as a corporate-owner claim, so this guide does not add one.
Verdict
Use Zen Planner’s published ladder when the studio wants a US member-based price and can ignore, or live with, gym and martial-arts packaging. Use Mindbody’s published $79 entry price when the studio wants per-location pricing, unlimited users, and the Mindbody app, and will quote Accelerate if it needs Pick-a-Spot. Neither page publishes a full card rate, so neither sticker price is a full monthly cost. Add only the printed lines in the calculator. Other alternatives are on Mindbody alternatives.
Zen Planner pricing · Zen Planner tiers · Mindbody pricing
How we compiled this
The information on this page comes from each vendor's public pricing pages, help docs and terms, read on November 3, 2026.
We have not run hands-on tests of these products, so this is a research-based comparison, not a lab test.
Prices change, so check the vendor page before buying.
Some links are affiliate links, and that does not change what we write.
The Studio Owner is operated by Hesure Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., which also sells Pilates reformers.
FAQ
How much does Zen Planner cost per month?
The pricing page says Studio starts at $99 per month. The tiers page lists Studio from $99 per month at 0–45 active members through $289 per month at 251 or more. Essentials runs $198 to $388. Ultimate runs $348 to $538. Website add-on from $99, Engage $249, branded app $39, and a card reader at $39. The tiers page names that reader Lane 3600. Card processing is not published.
What counts as an active member?
Zen Planner’s pricing page: anyone with a membership or who attended an event in the past month. Prospects, staff, alumni, and pay-per-session attendees are not counted.
Is Zen Planner good for Pilates studios?
The pricing page does not say it is Pilates software. It is titled for gyms and describes a product started by a martial arts school owner, with belt tracking and SugarWOD. Class scheduling is included. Reformer spot booking, waitlists, and privates are not priced on that page. Treat it as gym software you would have to test against a Pilates schedule, not as a Pilates-specific system.
Does Zen Planner have a consumer marketplace?
Not on the pricing or tiers pages checked November 3, 2026. A commission like Mindbody’s 20% app fee is not published there.
Is there a long-term contract?
Zen Planner says no. It is month to month, and an annual contract is available on request. Mindbody says the contract depends on the plan you signed and that cancellation may require advance notice.
Who owns Zen Planner?
Not stated on the pricing page checked. The page does say Zen Planner Payments can be Daxko Payments, described as an in-house provider, and that there is no setup or gateway fee with select preferred processors. The processing rate itself is not published.
How do processing fees compare?
Both are not published as a percentage on the pages checked. Mindbody prints a fixed fee of $0.10 to $0.30 per transaction in North America and Asia and does not print the US percentage. Zen Planner says to ask for current payment pricing.
Sources (checked November 3, 2026)
- Zen Planner pricing: https://www.zenplanner.com/pricing/
- Zen Planner active-member tiers: https://www.zenplanner.com/pricing/active-member-tiers
- Mindbody pricing (US): https://www.mindbodyonline.com/business/pricing
- Mindbody pricing blog, last updated October 2, 2026: https://www.mindbodyonline.com/business/education/blog/new-mindbody-pricing-united-states