1v1 Pricing Showdown
Arketa vs Zen Planner
Side-by-side pricing breakdown for Fitness & Wellness Studio Management decision-makers
Prices in USD, verified from the United States. Regional pricing may vary.
When choosing between Arketa and Zen Planner for your fitness & wellness studio management stack, the right answer depends on three things: your budget, the specific features you actually use day-to-day, and your tolerance for renewal-price increases. Below we lay out the prices each vendor advertises today (verified against their live pricing pages), the plan limits that decide whether they'll fit your team, and the features that differ between them.
Arketa starts at $49/mo; Zen Planner starts at $39/mo. The cheaper headline price isn't always the cheaper total cost — renewal pricing, per-user fees, and overage charges can shift the math. Use the plan-by-plan tables below to model your actual spend.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| modern ux yoga wellness focus | Built for yoga + wellness studios with modern UX | — |
| unlimited scheduling | All plans — classes + privates + events | — |
| unlimited on demand library | All plans — video content library for streaming classes | — |
| ai powered email builder | Growth+ tier | — |
| automated workflows | Growth+ tier | — |
| 15k emails 1500 sms per month | Growth+ tier marketing allocations | — |
| custom branded website | Suite tier only | — |
| cms | Suite tier only | — |
| digital advertising integrations | Suite tier only | — |
| client crm | All plans | — |
| class packages memberships | All plans | — |
| programs workshops events | All plans | — |
| 3 percent transaction fee stripe | Transparent payment processing vs negotiated rates | — |
| 17 percent annual discount | All plans annual billing | — |
| studio tiers multi location | Studio Core + Growth + Suite support multiple locations | — |
| unlimited team studio tiers | Studio tiers unlimited team (vs Individual 1-team limit) | — |
| vc backed modern platform | Series A+ funding with modern product investment | — |
| martial arts crossfit gym specialty | — | Category leader for martial arts + CrossFit + gym + strength |
| belt skill tracking | — | Unique in category — martial arts belt progression |
| advanced workout tracking | — | CrossFit + strength workout tracking |
| sugarwod integration | — | Native CrossFit workout programming |
| tiered by active members | — | Starting $99/mo scales with active member count |
| full studio features all prices | — | 100% Studio package features at every price tier |
| membership management | — | All plans |
| online scheduling | — | All plans |
| payroll | — | All plans |
| branded app addon 39 | — | Cheapest branded mobile app in category |
| website addon 99 | — | $99/month website builder add-on |
| engage addon 249 | — | Premium marketing automation + AI-powered campaigns |
| emv devices 39 | — | Integrated payment hardware |
| community access | — | All plans — Zen Planner community forum + resources |
Affiliate links — you pay the same price
Dive Deeper
About the fitness & wellness studio management category
Fitness & Wellness Studio Management Software in 2026 spans transparent SMB pricing (WellnessLiving, Zen Planner, Arketa) to opaque enterprise custom-quote (Mindbody, Glofox). Published rates: WellnessLiving Starter $69/month ($62 annual), Business $199/month ($179 annual with 80% promotional 2-month discount = $39-35), BusinessPro $349/month ($314 annual with promotional = $69-62), Enterprise custom. Zen Planner Studio starting $99/month (tiered by active members) + Website add-on $99/month + Engage marketing automation $249/month + Branded App $39/month + EMV devices $39/month. Arketa Individual tiers: Basic $49/month, Growth $83/month, Suite $124/month. Arketa Studio tiers (Core/Growth/Suite) contact sales. Custom-quote only: Mindbody Starter + Accelerate + Ultimate tiers (no disclosed rates, all custom — industry estimates $129-349+/month depending on tier + add-ons), Glofox (acquired by ABC Fitness 2023 — operates within ABC Fitness Solutions platform, pricing page blocked in audit, industry estimates $110-500+/month). Major 2023-2025 category developments: Glofox acquired by ABC Fitness (2023) — joined ABC Fitness Solutions broader portfolio (also includes MINDBODY? NO — clarify: Mindbody + ClassPass merged 2021 but remain separate from ABC Fitness). ABC Fitness Solutions owns Glofox, Trainerize, Evolution, and others. Mindbody merged with ClassPass 2021 — combined company continues as separate Mindbody-ClassPass entity. WellnessLiving remains independent mid-market leader. Zen Planner remains independent with martial arts + gym + studio focus. Arketa is newer VC-backed platform specifically targeting yoga + wellness studios with modern UX. Category consolidation reflects fitness tech platform strategy: larger platforms (ABC Fitness, Mindbody-ClassPass) acquiring specialty vendors. AI integration is 2024-2025 development: Arketa AI-powered email builder + automated workflows, Zen Planner Engage AI-powered campaigns, Mindbody Ultimate marketing automation. Typical fitness studio management deployment includes: class/appointment scheduling + booking, membership management + billing + payments (integrated POS), client check-in + attendance tracking, staff scheduling + payroll, marketing automation (email + SMS campaigns), branded client app + studio mobile app, reporting + analytics, multi-location support (for franchises + chains). Target users: yoga studios, pilates studios, gyms, martial arts schools (Zen Planner specialty), CrossFit boxes, spas + wellness centers, personal trainers, franchise fitness brands, multi-location chains.
How to choose between fitness & wellness studio management options
First: studio type + use case? Yoga + wellness studios + boutique fitness: Arketa Individual Basic $49/month or WellnessLiving Starter $69/month. Martial arts + CrossFit + gym + strength: Zen Planner $99/month (belt tracking + advanced workout tracking unique). Multi-service wellness centers (yoga + pilates + spa + massage): WellnessLiving or Mindbody (category breadth). Second: staff team size? Single-practitioner + 1 staff: Arketa Individual Basic $49 or WellnessLiving Starter $69 (both include 1 staff). Small team (2-5 staff): WellnessLiving Business $179 annual ($199 monthly) includes unlimited staff. Multi-location franchises: Mindbody Enterprise or WellnessLiving Enterprise or Arketa Studio tiers (all custom-quote). Third: transparent vs custom pricing? WellnessLiving + Zen Planner + Arketa Individual offer transparent tiered pricing. Mindbody + Glofox require sales contact. For procurement simplicity: WellnessLiving / Zen Planner / Arketa. For comprehensive platform + multi-location: Mindbody custom-quote. Fourth: marketing automation priority? WellnessLiving Business+ includes email + text marketing. Arketa Growth $83/month includes email + text campaigns + lead gen + automated workflows + AI email builder + 15,000 emails + 1,500 SMS/month. Zen Planner Engage add-on $249/month for advanced marketing automation + AI-powered campaigns. Mindbody Ultimate includes automated email/text campaigns + sales pipeline management. For best AI-powered marketing: Arketa Growth or Zen Planner Engage. For integrated marketing: WellnessLiving Business. Fifth: branded client app? Arketa Suite $124/month includes custom branded website (but not branded mobile app — inquire). WellnessLiving BusinessPro $349/month ($314 annual) includes White Label Achieve Client App. Zen Planner Branded App add-on $39/month. Mindbody custom-quote for branded apps. Zen Planner cheapest branded mobile app at $39/month add-on. Sixth: payment processing rates? Arketa Individual plans charge 3% transaction fee + Stripe fees (transparent). Other vendors' processing rates typically 2.5-3.5% + per-transaction fees negotiated. For transparent processing: Arketa (with Stripe standard). For volume discounts: larger vendors (Mindbody) negotiate rates at scale. Seventh: multi-location support? WellnessLiving Enterprise includes parent/HQ account + multi-location reporting + cross-location visits. Mindbody Enterprise multi-location + franchise-focused. Arketa Studio tiers support multiple locations. Zen Planner Studio supports multi-location. For franchises + chains: Mindbody or WellnessLiving Enterprise. For 2-5 locations: Arketa Studio or Zen Planner Studio tiers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Arketa cheaper than Zen Planner?
- Zen Planner is cheaper starting at $39/mo. Arketa starts at $49/mo and Zen Planner at $39/mo.
- Which is better, Arketa or Zen Planner?
- Arketa scores 9/10 compared to Zen Planner's 8.6/10 in our analysis. Arketa ranks higher on features and value, but Zen Planner may suit specific use cases — see the feature comparison above.
- Is Arketa cheaper than Zen Planner for a team of 5?
- For a team of 5, Arketa costs $49/mo (flat rate) and Zen Planner costs $39/mo (flat rate). Zen Planner is the cheaper option at this team size.
- Are there other fitness & wellness studio management alternatives besides Arketa and Zen Planner?
- Yes. Our [Fitness & Wellness Studio Management pricing comparison](/pricing/fitness-studio-management/) page covers all major providers with daily-verified prices. You can also see the [cheapest fitness & wellness studio management](/pricing/fitness-studio-management/cheapest/) for budget-focused options.