Vagaro alternative for Pilates and yoga studios

BookYourMat vs Vagaro: an à la carte platform, or published pricing built for studios

Vagaro starts at $30/mo and you add what you need, across salons, spas and fitness. BookYourMat publishes its price by instructor count and is built only for class studios. On the monthly bill Vagaro usually comes out lower, so here’s what to weigh.

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Every competitor claim below is sourced to vagaro.com (pricing, card processing, Pilates software and text marketing pages), fetched 2026-11-06.

3.5% + 19¢

Vagaro’s published US rate per keyed-in transaction. Dips and taps are lower, at 2.6% + 10¢ or 2.29% + 19¢. Its rates page doesn’t say which charges count as keyed-in, so ask Vagaro how your online and membership charges are rated.

Choose BYM if

You want one number and studio-shaped tools

You’d rather not assemble a plan from add-ons, your clients text and pay by Venmo or Zelle, and most of your revenue comes through packs, memberships and online booking rather than a card reader.

Choose Vagaro if

You want a low start and a marketplace

You want a much lower monthly bill, or to appear on the Vagaro Marketplace, which it says can get you found by over 24 million potential clients. It’s also the better fit if you mix classes with spa or salon services, or if most clients dip or tap a card at your front desk, where its rates are low.

Switching

No Vagaro importer, no separate fee

BookYourMat has no automated Vagaro import. Per /switch, you send whatever export Vagaro can produce, our team builds your studio by hand at no extra charge, and you get a 30-day self-serve corrections window.

Feature comparison

A factual comparison with Vagaro.

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)

Vagaro

$30/mo ($23.99/mo for the first 6 months), plus $10 per added calendar, up to seven

Pricing model

BYM

Full product on every plan

Vagaro

“À la carte”: each location pays for the features it adds

Extra locations

BYM

+$79/mo per extra location after the first

Vagaro

Each location has its own cost by features; no added multi-location fee

Keyed-in and online card charges

BYM

About 2.9% + 30¢ online and on saved cards; Stripe adds 0.5% when a card number is typed in by hand

Vagaro

3.5% + 19¢ per keyed-in transaction; ask Vagaro which charges count

In-person dip or tap

BYM

No card reader; BookYourMat takes cards online and on file

Vagaro

2.6% + 10¢; 2.29% + 19¢ plus $10/mo above $4,000 a month; +6¢ per Tap to Pay

Reminders

BYM

Included, no per-message cost

Vagaro

Unlimited notifications and appointment reminders on every plan

Two-way client texting

BYM

Included

Vagaro

Lists text marketing and client messaging; cost and plan not stated on the pages reviewed 2026-11-06

Venmo/Zelle payment matching

BYM

Vagaro

Not found in Vagaro’s pricing or card processing pages, checked 2026-11-06

Consumer marketplace

BYM

None; clients book from your own page

Vagaro

Free listing on the Vagaro Marketplace

AI

BYM

Becky answers client booking texts, on every plan

Vagaro

Vera, for marketing, filling slots, descriptions and client messages

Trial

BYM

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

Vagaro

30-day free trial

Vagaro figures sourced from vagaro.com/pro/pricing, /pro/card-processing, /pro/pilates-software and /pro/text-marketing-software, fetched 2026-11-06. Pricing changes, so verify current numbers with Vagaro before deciding.

Honest tradeoffs

Where Vagaro is stronger

  • A much lower starting price: $30/mo, with $23.99/mo for the first six months, plus $10 per added calendar.
  • A 30-day free trial, and “cancel anytime with no cancellation fees” (Vagaro notes exclusions apply).
  • A free listing on the Vagaro Marketplace, which BookYourMat has no equivalent of.
  • Low in-person card rates: 2.6% + 10¢, or 2.29% + 19¢ plus $10/mo above $4,000 a month, per dip or tap, and a free card reader offer (Vagaro notes terms).
  • Several locations with no added multi-location fee: each location costs what its own features cost.
  • Vagaro says its team will migrate your requested data, typically in 1 to 2 business days.
  • Rewards and loyalty programs, livestream and virtual classes, and tools for salons, spas and fitness in one account.

Where BookYourMat is more focused

  • Built only for class studios. Vagaro serves salons, spas and fitness businesses too.
  • A published price by instructor count with client texting included, so no menu of features to price up.
  • Online and card-on-file charges at standard Stripe rates of about 2.9% + 30¢.
  • Venmo and Zelle matching, a credit ledger for packs and duets, and Becky answering booking texts.

Practical questions before you switch

On the software bill, yes. A three-instructor studio pays about $50/mo on Vagaro, reading $30 as covering the first calendar with $10 for each added one, against $179/mo on BookYourMat. Card fees can change that gap. Take $12,000 a month in 100 charges of $120. If every charge were rated keyed-in at 3.5% + 19¢, that’s about $439 plus Vagaro’s $10 large-merchant fee, against about $378 at 2.9% + 30¢, and Vagaro is about $58 a month cheaper. If every charge were a dip or tap at 2.29% + 19¢, it’s about $304 with the fee, and Vagaro is about $203 a month cheaper. Those are our examples, before any features you add, so ask Vagaro how your charges would be rated.

Check it against your own statement.

Put your own plan, card mix and features in the calculator. If Vagaro still wins, it will say so.

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