Mindbody vs Glofox vs WellnessLiving: Which Fits a Single-Location Boutique Studio?

This comparison uses each vendor's own pricing page, checked on 28 October 2026, plus Capterra and G2 ratings as of October 2026. Vibefam publishes this guide and competes with all three, so we keep our own product to one section at the end and say plainly where it doesn't fit.

Which Fits a Single-Location Boutique Studio: Mindbody, Glofox or WellnessLiving?

In Mindbody vs Glofox vs WellnessLiving, WellnessLiving is the most transparent for one location: every standard tier is published from $62 a month, though teams need Business ($179). Mindbody suits studios wanting marketplace demand: $79 per location plus 20% (capped at $30) of a new app client's first purchase. Glofox, from $99 with tiers quoted, suits studios adding locations.

Prices and ratings last checked on vendor and review pages on 28 October 2026.

Mindbody vs Glofox vs WellnessLiving at a Glance

Only one of the three publishes every standard tier price: WellnessLiving, at $62 to $349 a month. Mindbody publishes a $79 entry price and quotes Accelerate and Ultimate, and Glofox publishes a $99 starting price with every tier on request. Ratings below are from Capterra and G2 as of October 2026.

Mindbody vs Glofox vs WellnessLiving: Who Is Each Really Built For?

Each platform was designed around a different buyer. Mindbody sits inside Playlist, which merged with EGYM in March 2026 per Athletech News. Glofox (now branded ABC Glofox) has been an ABC Fitness business unit since August 2022 per Thoma Bravo. WellnessLiving is founder-led and independent.

Mindbody is built around demand. Its pitch is the Mindbody app, which it says has more than 3 million active users and "more than 22,000 consumers per month" making a first purchase through it, with ClassPass as a sister brand under Playlist. Our Mindbody review covers the rest.

Glofox is built around growth into more locations. Its Elite tier bundles multi-location configuration and the branded app. That doesn't make it franchise-only, but the upper tiers are designed with multi-site brands in mind, as our Glofox review explains.

WellnessLiving is built for breadth. It serves fitness, yoga, Pilates and martial arts alongside spa and salon businesses, and PE Hub reported a combined $66 million growth investment from McCarthy Capital and CIBC Innovation Banking in 2022. There's no consumer marketplace.

What Does the Same Must-Have Setup Cost at Each One?

We priced one single-location setup at all three from their own pricing pages: several staff logins, a branded member app, an AI front desk and card processing. Two of the three hide the price of the tier that includes a branded app. Mindbody's $79 entry, set in its July 2026 US pricing update, excludes both the app and AI.

Mindbody. The $79 entry includes unlimited user access. But Starter has no branded app and no AI front desk. Both live on Accelerate or Ultimate, which are quote-based. Playlist's AI Concierge, launched in July 2026, comes at no extra cost only on single-location Ultimate.

Glofox. The branded app is an optional add-on on Essential and Boost and included on Elite, and none of those prices are published. Operators report Elite at roughly $250 to $400 or more a month in our Glofox pricing guide. ABC AI Agents handle calls, texts and chat, with pricing behind a demo.

WellnessLiving. A studio with instructors starts at Business ($179 annual, $199 monthly), because Starter is one staff member. The white-label app is an add-on on Business, with no price on the pricing page, and is included from BusinessPro ($314 annual, $349 monthly). Starter doesn't offer it. The CAASI AI front desk is also an add-on whose price isn't on the pricing page.

In our observations supporting boutique studios across North America and APAC, owners rarely need the enterprise depth they end up paying for. They need the four items in that table, priced before the sales call. For total-cost math across eight platforms, see our boutique studio software pricing breakdown.

Is the Mindbody Marketplace Worth the 20% First-Purchase Fee?

It can be, if you need new faces. Mindbody's pricing FAQ says the fee is 20%, capped at $30, on a new client's first purchase through the Mindbody app. Existing clients, tracked referrals and clients who name your studio as their source aren't charged, and later bookings are commission-free.

Run the math on your intro offer. A $25 drop-in costs you $5; a $150 intro month hits the $30 cap. If ten new clients a month come through the app and stay, up to $300 in fees is a cheap channel. If they're discount-hunters who never return, it's a tax on your intro price.

Glofox doesn't advertise a consumer marketplace and WellnessLiving has none, so neither charges a marketplace fee or brings built-in demand. Our WellnessLiving vs Mindbody comparison goes deeper on that trade. Our view: a full studio with strong word of mouth gets little from a marketplace; a new studio in a busy city might get a lot.

How Do Payments, Contracts and Switching Costs Compare?

None of the three publishes a full card-processing rate. Mindbody publishes only a fixed $0.10 to $0.30 per transaction, Glofox processes cards through Stripe, and WellnessLiving runs in-house processing with Nuvei as its partner since 2016. Contract terms are equally thin on the vendors' pages.

Mindbody says your contract "depends on the specific plan and billing terms you signed up for". Operators report 12, 24 and 36-month terms with early-termination fees and a data-export fee of around $500 at cancellation, compiled in our Mindbody pricing guide. Mindbody's own FAQ says data transfer "fees may apply".

Glofox promises "flexible contracts" without publishing terms, and a G2 reviewer reported a 70% price increase in December 2024, compiled in our Glofox pricing guide (operator-reported, older feedback). WellnessLiving offers monthly and annual billing; reviewers say annual plans auto-renew, per our WellnessLiving review. Capterra reviewer Krista M., a studio owner, wrote in March 2026: "Your actual contract is not what you sign, it's the terms and use located on their website."

In our observations supporting boutique studios across North America and APAC, the switching cost owners underestimate is stored card data. Before you sign anywhere, ask who holds your members' saved cards, whether they can move to a new processor, and what an export costs. A platform that's easy to join and hard to leave isn't month-to-month in practice.

What Do Studio Owners Say About Support?

On Capterra's customer-service subscore as of October 2026, Glofox leads at 4.4, WellnessLiving follows at 4.3 and Mindbody trails at 3.8. On ease of use the order is the same: Glofox 4.5, WellnessLiving 4.3 and Mindbody 3.9. Individual reviews add texture to those averages.

On Mindbody, Andrew H., an owner reviewing on Capterra in February 2026, wrote: "All customer support goes through AI, which is often useless."

On Glofox, Henry L., a self-employed owner who rated it 5/5 in April 2026, flagged that "It doesn't offer a grace period after a client misses a payment, as access is blocked immediately." On WellnessLiving, Christine B., a Pilates studio owner, rated it 3/5 in April 2026: "The app never worked correctly and I felt that I lost business."

Best For: Our Verdict on Each Platform

For a single-location boutique studio, pick Mindbody if you want its consumer app sending you trial clients, Glofox if you plan a second location and want hands-on onboarding, and WellnessLiving if you want published prices and free migration. As of October 2026, Capterra rates Mindbody 4.0, Glofox 4.4 and WellnessLiving 4.4 out of 5.

Mindbody: best for studios that want marketplace discovery. Pick it if you're new in a busy market and want the Mindbody app sending you trial clients. Its $79 entry with unlimited staff logins is real value for a lean setup. Skip it if you're cost-sensitive and need the branded app, which means a quote-based tier.

Glofox: best for studios planning a second or third location. Pick it if you want an easy-to-use platform with dedicated onboarding and Elite's multi-location tooling fits your plans; its Q2 2026 update also listed Interactive Spot Booking as rolling out. Skip it if you want to see tier prices before a call.

WellnessLiving: best for owners who want published prices and broad features. Pick it if you want free migration, free training and a price list you can read, and you're comfortable with in-house processing. Skip it if you'd rather choose your own processor, if annual auto-renewal worries you, or if you want a published price for the branded app below BusinessPro. Already on it? Our WellnessLiving alternatives guide compares five options.

Single-Location Decision Checklist

Use these ten questions on every sales call, including ours. They come from the gaps above: hidden tier prices, gated branded apps, unpublished processing rates and contracts written elsewhere. On support, compare Capterra's customer-service subscores, which run from 3.8 to 4.4 across these three.

1. Do I want marketplace discovery enough to pay 20% (capped at $30) on first purchases?
2. How many staff need their own login, and does my tier allow it?
3. Which tier unlocks the branded app, and what does that tier cost in writing?
4. Can I see the tier price without a sales call?
5. Is the contract monthly or annual, how much notice does renewal need, and what does leaving early cost?
6. Who holds my members' stored card data, and what does exporting it cost?
7. What's the processing rate, the fixed fee per transaction, and can I choose my processor?
8. Is migration free, and how long until I'm live?
9. Will I have a named support contact or a ticket queue? Check the Capterra customer-service subscore too.
10. Do I need ClassPass, and how does this platform connect to it?

When None of the Three Fits

Vibefam is an AI-powered, all-in-one studio management platform for boutique fitness studios in North America and Asia-Pacific. It publishes every plan and add-on price: $89 to $239 a month on annual plans and $109 to $289 month-to-month, per Vibefam's pricing page. Vibefam adds no per-transaction markup beyond processor fees.

If none fits, look for published prices and a month-to-month option. Vibefam is comprehensive software across operations and marketing, with ClassPass sync on Most Popular and up, Vibefam Spot Maps for reserved spots, and a dedicated Studio Success Manager on every plan. Vibefam Fast Migration is free and moves member records, contact details, packages and recurring memberships.

And here's where it doesn't. Vibefam isn't the cheapest entry price: WellnessLiving Starter ($62) and Mindbody ($79) start lower. The branded app is a +$80 add-on, not included. There's no consumer marketplace, so Vibefam won't send you new customers the way the Mindbody app can. Annual plans are a 12-month commitment; only month-to-month cancels anytime. And we don't claim lower card processing than any of the three.

If Mindbody vs Glofox vs WellnessLiving leaves you without a clear winner and that trade sounds right, start the 7-day free trial or book a demo and bring your current bill. We'll price your must-haves side by side. If one of the three wins on your numbers, pick it.

Sources

Vendor pages and ratings checked on 28 October 2026. Operator-reported figures are marked as such in the text:

1. Mindbody pricing
2. Mindbody: new US pricing announcement
3. Mindbody marketplace
4. Playlist: AI Concierge launch
5. Athletech News: Playlist and EGYM close merger
6. Thoma Bravo: ABC Fitness completes acquisition of Glofox
7. Glofox plans
8. Glofox: ABC AI Agents
9. Glofox Q2 2026 updates
10. WellnessLiving pricing
11. PE Hub: McCarthy Capital minority interest in WellnessLiving
12. Nuvei: WellnessLiving payments case study
13. Mindbody on Capterra
14. Glofox on Capterra
15. WellnessLiving on Capterra
16. Mindbody on G2
17. Glofox on G2
18. WellnessLiving on G2
19. Vibefam pricing
20. Vibefam: Mindbody pricing
21. Vibefam: Glofox pricing 2026
22. Vibefam: WellnessLiving review