Acuity alternative for class studios

BookYourMat vs Acuity: a good scheduler, or software that runs the studio

Acuity is a low-cost scheduler that also handles classes and packages. BookYourMat costs more, and it’s built around the parts a class studio does by hand: credit tracking, Venmo and Zelle matching, and client texts. Here’s how to tell which one you need.

Book a demoSee the comparison

Every competitor claim below is sourced to acuityscheduling.com (pricing, features, and class scheduling pages), fetched 2026-11-06.

$34/mo

Acuity Standard billed monthly, its first plan with packages, memberships and text reminders. That’s well below BookYourMat’s price, so the question is what the difference buys you.

Choose BYM if

You spend your evenings on the admin

You run classes as well as privates, you track who has credits left, clients pay you by Venmo or Zelle, and they text you to book. BookYourMat handles those in one place, from $149/mo.

Choose Acuity if

Your bookings are the whole job

You mostly teach one-to-one and a booking page covers what you need: $34/mo on Standard, or $20/mo on Starter if email reminders are enough. It’s also the better pick if clients should pay by Venmo, Square or PayPal inside the booking itself, or if you need a signed HIPAA BAA, which Acuity offers on Premium.

Switching

We have an automated Acuity import

Your client list and appointment history import automatically, and there’s no setup or migration fee. Clients re-enter a saved card once, from a one-tap link, because saved cards don’t come across in our move.

Feature comparison

A factual comparison with Acuity.

Most studio software assumes every payment runs through a card processor. BookYourMat is built around the off-platform payments small studios already receive.

Published price

BYM

$149/mo (1 instructor), $179/mo (2 to 5), $249/mo (6 or more)

Acuity

$20/mo Starter, $34/mo Standard, $69/mo Premium, billed monthly

Annual discount

BYM

Monthly billing only

Acuity

“Save 20%”: $16, $27 or $55 a month paid annually

Staff and locations

BYM

Priced by instructor tier; +$79/mo per extra location after the first

Acuity

1, 6 or 36 calendars by plan, used per employee or location

Group classes with limits

BYM

Acuity

One-time or recurring, with class limits

Packages and memberships

BYM

On every plan, with a credit ledger

Acuity

From Standard; not on Starter

Text reminders

BYM

Included, no per-message cost

Acuity

From Standard, subject to Acuity’s global availability

Two-way client texting inbox

BYM

Acuity

Not found in Acuity’s pricing, features or class pages, checked 2026-11-06

Venmo

BYM

Payments sent to you directly, matched to the client from your email

Acuity

Listed as a payment option on every plan

Zelle matching

BYM

Acuity

Not found in Acuity’s pricing, features or class pages, checked 2026-11-06

AI help with bookings

BYM

Becky, on every plan, by text

Acuity

“AI Booking Assistant”, a chat bot for clients, on Premium

Trial

BYM

No free trial: $50 off month one, with a 30-day money-back guarantee

Acuity

7-day free trial, no credit card

Acuity figures sourced from acuityscheduling.com/pricing, /features and /features/class-scheduling, fetched 2026-11-06. Pricing changes, so verify current numbers with Acuity before deciding.

Honest tradeoffs

Where Acuity is stronger

  • Much lower price: $20/mo Starter, $34/mo Standard and $69/mo Premium billed monthly, or $16, $27 and $55 a month paid annually.
  • A 7-day free trial with no credit card. BookYourMat has no free trial.
  • Payments through Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo on every plan, so you can keep the processor you already use.
  • Handles one-to-one services, group classes, workshops and events, so it suits a business that sells more than classes.
  • Shared-resource booking for rooms and equipment, and a signed BAA for HIPAA compliance on Premium.
  • An appointment waitlist from Standard: when a spot opens, Acuity says clients are notified to grab it.
  • If you work solo with one calendar and email reminders are enough, $20/mo on Starter covers it, with no packages or text reminders.

Where BookYourMat is more focused

  • A credit ledger built for packs: guest and duet bookings, late cancels, and what’s applied versus still reserved.
  • Venmo and Zelle money sent straight to you, matched to the right client from your payment emails, including payments that never went through a checkout.
  • Two-way client texting in one inbox with the reminders included, plus Becky, an assistant that answers booking texts, and you choose how much she handles alone.
  • Client self-service for class studios: book, cancel and see remaining credits in a portal.

Practical questions before you switch

For a small or mostly private practice, it can be. Acuity supports group classes with limits, class packages and subscriptions from its Standard plan. It may stop fitting if the work around the booking, such as tracking credits or matching payments sent outside checkout, starts taking up your evenings.

See the real monthly gap for your studio.

Put in your plan, card fees and admin hours. If Acuity still wins, the calculator will say so.

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