ManageMemberships

VS

MyStudio

ManageMemberships vs MyStudio

MyStudio markets itself as an all-in-one platform for martial arts schools, gyms, and fitness studios, with heavy emphasis on their branded mobile app and lead management tools. On paper, it looks comprehensive. In practice, studio owners we've talked to tell a more complicated story: features that get moved behind higher-priced tiers, branded apps that take months to deliver or never work properly, and a pricing structure that keeps changing.

This page compares the two platforms on specifics. We'll cover the features, the pricing models, and the two issues that come up most when we talk to former MyStudio customers: the pricing creep problem and the branded app delivery problem. We're not speculating. These are patterns reported by studio owners across public forums and in direct conversations with our team.

Side by side comparison

Feature-by-feature breakdown based on publicly available information and user-reported experiences.

The pricing creep problem

This is the single most common complaint we hear from studio owners leaving MyStudio: features they signed up for keep getting moved to more expensive plans. A feature that was included at one tier six months ago now requires the next tier up. New pricing tiers get introduced, and existing customers find that functionality they relied on is suddenly locked behind a higher monthly payment. This isn't speculation. Search any martial arts business forum, Facebook group, or review site and you'll find studio owners describing this exact experience.

The pattern works like this: MyStudio launches a feature and includes it broadly to attract sign-ups. Once adoption is established, that feature migrates upward in the pricing structure. Studio owners who budgeted for a specific monthly cost suddenly face a choice between paying more or losing functionality they've built their workflow around. For a small martial arts school running on tight margins, an unexpected jump from $149/month to $249/month isn't a rounding error. It's a material hit, and it's especially frustrating when the feature in question was part of the original sales pitch.

ManageMemberships takes a different approach. The Core plan at $99/month includes everything: CRM, automation, access control, classes, events, resources, communication tools. There are no premium tiers that gate features you need. The only add-ons are genuinely optional capabilities like the branded app and POS, and those have fixed, transparent pricing. We don't move features between tiers because there's only one full-featured tier. What you get on day one is what you get on day 365.

The branded app issue

MyStudio's branded app is central to their marketing. It's one of the first things they show in demos, and it's a genuine differentiator when it works. The problem is delivery. Multiple studio owners have reported paying for branded apps that took months to appear in the App Store, or never appeared at all. Others report receiving apps that crash frequently, fail to load schedules, or have persistent login issues that their members complain about. When the app is the centerpiece of your member experience, these aren't minor bugs. They're the kind of problems that make your studio look unprofessional.

The frustration compounds when studio owners report that MyStudio's support is slow to respond to app issues, or that fixes take weeks to roll out. Meanwhile, the studio is paying for a branded app that's damaging their reputation more than helping it. Some owners have described being charged for the app for months before it was functional, and finding it difficult to get credits or refunds for the non-delivery period.

ManageMemberships deploys branded apps within approximately four business days. You provide your logo, colors, and app name. We handle the App Store and Google Play submission. The app is built on a stable, shared architecture that receives regular updates, so it doesn't depend on a single developer remembering to push fixes to your specific build. When there's an issue, you talk to the person who built the platform, not a support queue. We won't pretend app development is trivial, but we can point to a consistent delivery track record because we've built the process to be repeatable, not bespoke.

Where MyStudio wins

MyStudio has strong name recognition in the martial arts and fitness studio market. They've invested heavily in marketing, partnerships with industry consultants, and presence at martial arts business conferences. If you're a BJJ school, karate dojo, or kickboxing studio, there's a good chance MyStudio has been recommended to you by someone you trust. That marketing presence is real, and it means there's a large community of MyStudio users sharing tips, templates, and workflows.

For studios that are currently on MyStudio and genuinely happy with it, the switching cost may not be worth it. If your branded app works well, your pricing tier hasn't changed, and you don't need door access control or a full POS, staying put is a reasonable decision. MyStudio's core membership and scheduling features do work, and familiarity with a platform has real value. The issues we've described above are common but not universal. Some studio owners have had perfectly fine experiences.

MyStudio also has a larger library of pre-built marketing templates and lead capture flows geared specifically toward martial arts schools. If you're looking for done-for-you marketing funnels targeted at parents searching for kids' martial arts classes, MyStudio has more of those out of the box than ManageMemberships currently does. That said, ManageMemberships' CRM and drip campaign tools let you build equivalent flows. It's just less turnkey for that specific niche.

Where ManageMemberships wins

Door access control is the most obvious gap. If you run a 24-hour facility, or even want to automate entry during staffed hours, ManageMemberships has it built in. Access is tied to membership status. When a payment fails, the door locks. When they renew, it unlocks. Camera integration provides visual verification. MyStudio has no native access control at all, which means you're running a separate system with no billing integration if you need controlled entry.

Transparent pricing is the second win. ManageMemberships doesn't gate features behind premium tiers. The Core plan includes everything: CRM with pipelines, automated retention triggers, classes, events, resource booking, communication tools, access control, and more. There's no anxiety about whether your current features will still be included next quarter. The branded app and POS are optional add-ons with clear pricing, not upsells hidden behind a tier upgrade. For studio owners who've been burned by MyStudio's pricing changes, this predictability matters.

ManageRegister gives you a full point-of-sale system for merchandise, supplements, gear, and anything else you sell at the front desk. It includes inventory tracking, barcode scanning, split payments, card-on-file charging tied to member profiles, and cross-platform gift cards. MyStudio offers basic in-app purchases but nothing approaching a real retail POS. And finally, support comes from the founder who built the platform. When you have a problem, you're talking to someone who can actually fix it, not a frontline rep reading from a script. For studio owners who've dealt with slow MyStudio support on critical app issues, that direct line matters.

Pricing comparison

The real pricing comparison with MyStudio is harder to make than with most competitors because MyStudio's pricing structure has changed frequently enough that any specific numbers we publish here could be outdated within weeks. What we can say with confidence is that ManageMemberships Core at $99/month with 5% all-in processing gives you a predictable, stable monthly cost that includes every feature the platform offers. There are no surprise tier changes, no features migrating to premium, and no hidden processing markups.

For studios currently on MyStudio paying $200+ per month for premium tier access, the switch to ManageMemberships often results in lower total cost while gaining access control, a full POS, and a CRM that doesn't require a third-party subscription. For smaller studios, our free tier (50 members, no credit card) lets you test the entire platform before committing any money at all.

Migration from MyStudio

If both platforms process payments through Stripe, payment tokens transfer via Stripe-to-Stripe migration. Your members don't re-enter their credit card information. Subscriptions continue without interruption. This is the biggest concern for studio owners considering a switch, and it's a solved problem when both sides use Stripe.

Member data, membership levels, class schedules, and waiver records can be exported and imported. We handle the migration directly. No onboarding fee, no setup charge, no multi-week implementation. Most studios are fully operational within a few days. We work alongside you during the transition to make sure member data is accurate, billing is uninterrupted, and your staff knows where everything lives in the new system.

If you're also switching from MyStudio's branded app to ours, the timeline is still fast. We can have your new branded app in the App Store and Google Play within approximately four business days. Your members download the new app, log in, and everything works. The transition from one app to another is the only part members will notice, and if your MyStudio app has been problematic, the switch is an upgrade they'll appreciate.

FAQ

See for yourself

Start with our free tier (up to 50 members, no credit card required) or book a walkthrough and we'll show you exactly how it maps to your current setup.