Why Australian studios are choosing Mariana Tek and making the switch with confidence.
For boutique fitness studios in Australia looking for a Mindbody alternative, Mariana Tek is the platform built specifically for your type of business. While Mindbody serves gyms, spas, salons, and swim schools alongside boutique fitness, Mariana Tek was built exclusively for boutique operators who compete on client experience, community, and brand.
That’s why more businesses are searching for Mindbody alternatives that offer a smoother, more intuitive experience without the unnecessary add-ons and high fees.
Why Mindbody feels like the default, not the right choice
For many studio owners, Mindbody was simply the first platform they came across. It’s been in the market long enough to appear in almost every conversation about fitness software, and that familiarity creates its own momentum. Studios sign up, build their operations around it, and stay not because the platform is working brilliantly, but because switching feels risky. That’s a pattern worth examining. Choosing to stay on a platform because switching feels hard is a different calculation to choosing it because it’s genuinely the best fit for your business. Mindbody serves gyms, spas, salons, swim schools, and martial arts studios alongside boutique fitness. That breadth shapes every product decision, every feature prioritisation, and every roadmap update. For boutique fitness operators who compete on client experience, community, and brand, that generalist approach creates a gap that grows more visible over time.
Why Australian studios are looking for a mindbody alternative
Mindbody is one of the most recognised names in fitness software. But recognition and fit are two different things. The studios looking for a Mindbody alternative aren’t doing it on a whim. They’ve hit consistent friction points that add up over time.
The most common pain points we hear from studios currently on Mindbody:
- Complicated, outdated workflows that slow down daily operations and result in staff using a fraction of what they’re paying for.
- Features that matter most to boutique fitness operators, a branded app, marketing automation, and pick-a-spot, sitting behind tier upgrades rather than included from the start.
- A shared marketplace that puts your studio alongside competitors, making your clients Mindbody’s audience first and yours second.
- A platform built to serve gyms, spas, salons, and swim schools as well as boutique fitness. That breadth means boutique studios are never quite the priority.
- Support that doesn’t understand the day-to-day reality of running a boutique fitness studio.
If any of those sound familiar, you’re not alone and you’re in the right place.
Why Mariana Tek is the right alternative for boutique fitness studios
Boutique fitness studios aren’t competing with big-box gyms or at-home apps. You’re offering something more specific. A sense of community, a premium experience, and a brand people are proud to belong to. The best software for fitness studios like yours should understand that.
Mariana Tek was built exclusively for boutique fitness. Not gyms, not spas, not swim schools. Every feature, every update, and every product decision is made around boutique fitness operators, their clients, and their growth.
What that means in practice:
- A fully white-labelled branded app included from the first tier, not a paid add-on.
- Automation tools that handle penalty fees, retention campaigns, and member communications without manual effort.
- A consumer booking experience so intuitive that 90% of reservations are made directly by the client.
- A white-glove onboarding experience with a dedicated specialist managing your migration from Mindbody, including direct transfer of client data, credit cards, and memberships.
- Support from a team that understands boutique fitness operations, not a generic helpdesk.
“When we looked at the studios we most admired around the world, we noticed a bit of a trend that all of the top studios were on Mariana Tek. As soon as it was available in Australia, we made the move.”
Elisha Dyck, Owner, Barre & Bike
What to look for in a Mindbody alternative
Not all boutique fitness software is built the same way and the difference matters more in boutique fitness than in most industries. When evaluating a Mindbody alternative, look for a platform that:
- Puts your brand at the centre of every client interaction, not its own.
- Includes the features that drive retention and engagement without requiring a tier upgrade to access them.
- Automates the operational work that doesn’t need a human, so your team can focus on the client experience.
- Gives you the reporting visibility to understand who your clients are, how often they’re coming back, and what’s driving revenue.
- Has a proven migration process that gets you live without disruption to your schedule or your clients.
What Australian studios are experiencing on Mindbody
The studios switching from Mindbody to Mariana Tek in Australia aren’t doing it because of price. The pattern is more consistent than that.
The client experience stopped reflecting the quality of the studio.
When a client opens the Mindbody app to book a class, they’re inside Mindbody’s platform. Your studio sits alongside competitors in a shared marketplace. Clients who find you through the app are Mindbody’s audience first, not yours. For studios that have invested in building a recognisable brand and a premium experience, that arrangement creates a friction that’s hard to ignore.
“With Mindbody, I’d spend hours troubleshooting, being on hold, waiting for calls back. That’s time I needed to be building the business, not fixing someone else’s problems.”
Elisha Dyck, Owner, Barre & Bike
Manual work that doesn’t scale.
Penalty fees, guest management, member communications, and reporting all require manual intervention that works at one location but becomes unsustainable as a studio grows. The automation that boutique fitness operators need to run efficiently across multiple locations simply isn’t there at the tiers most studios are actually on.
Marketing tools that fall short.
Marketing automation on Mindbody sits behind the Growth tier. For studios on lower tiers, lifecycle marketing, segmentation, and retention automation aren’t available. Studios that have grown to a point where client retention and re-engagement are critical find that Mindbody’s marketing capability doesn’t keep up.
Reporting that can’t keep pace with growth.
Understanding class performance, membership trends, intro offer conversion, and multi-location data becomes increasingly critical as a studio scales. The reporting available at the tiers most operators are on doesn’t give them the visibility they need to make confident decisions.
The branded experience became non-negotiable.
A growing number of Australian boutique fitness operators have built brands that people genuinely recognise and want to belong to. The idea of those clients booking through a platform that carries a competitor’s studio alongside theirs, that doesn’t carry the studio’s colours, name, or identity throughout the booking journey, starts to feel like a contradiction.
What the switch to Mariana Tek looks like
Mariana Tek was built exclusively for boutique fitness. Not gyms, not spas, not swim schools. Every product decision is made with boutique fitness operators in mind, from single-location studios to growing multi-site brands and boutique franchises.
The client experience is the foundation.
90% of reservations on Mariana Tek are made directly by the client, with fewer booking steps, one-click rebooking, and afully white-labelled app that reflects the quality of the studio. Every interaction a client has reinforces who they belong to.
“Our members thought that we’d developed the app ourselves. They don’t really understand that studios run off booking platforms. We got a lot of compliments on it, and we still believe it’s the best one out there.”
Elisha Dyck, Owner, Barre & Bike
Engagement tools that build lasting habits.
Gamification, milestones, challenges, and pick-a-spot arebuilt into the platform. Members who consistently show up visit 5x more frequently and spend 2.6x more per month. These are the tools that turn first-timers into long-term members, and they’re included rather than locked behind a tier upgrade.
“The automation tools mean we never miss a moment to connect with a member. Every touchpoint feels personal, even when it’s running in the background.”
Kyle Riley, Co-Owner, Therapy
Reporting that gives operators real visibility.
The insights reporting on Mariana Tek gives studio owners a clear picture of who their clients are, how often they’re coming back, and what’s driving revenue.
“The insights reporting was a revelation. I could see for the first time that only 15% of our customers were coming back. I kind of knew it was a problem, but I didn’t know the scale of it until I found that feature. Once I had that visibility, I could actually do something about it. We introduced memberships and intro offers, started targeting first-timers and lapsed customers, and our repeat customer rate doubled.”
Rob Dempster-Smith, Owner, Cedar & Salt
Native appointments, now live.
Mariana Tek now hasnative appointment booking for private training, built with the same consumer-first philosophy as the rest of the platform. Studios that need to offer personal training alongside group classes can now manage both in one place.
Marketing that runs without manual effort.
Automated segmentation, lifecycle journeys, lead capture, and retention campaigns are all part of the platform. Studios can buildautomations that nurture intro offer clients into memberships, re-engage lapsed members, and stay connected with their community without a dedicated marketing team.
The best Mindbody alternative for your studio type
Different studio types have different needs. Here’s how Mariana Tek serves the most common boutique fitness formats in Australia.
Mindbody alternative for Pilates studios
Pilates studios running reformer, mat, or Lagree formats need a platform that handles spot-based booking, reformer selection, intro offer conversion, and a client experience that reflects the premium nature of the session. Mariana Tek’s pick-a-spot feature lets clients choose their reformer directly from the app. Gamification and milestone tools celebrate client progress and build the kind of community that keeps Pilates clients coming back consistently. For Pilates studios looking for a Mindbody alternative in Australia, Mariana Tek is the platform built around the experience your clients expect.
Mindbody alternative for yoga studios
Yoga studios depend on community, consistency, and a booking experience that feels as considered as the practice itself. Mariana Tek’s white-labelled app puts your studio’s brand at the centre of every client interaction. Automated retention campaigns and re-engagement tools mean no client falls through the cracks between visits. For yoga studios looking for a Mindbody alternative that understands the relationship between the digital experience and the in-studio one, Mariana Tek is built for exactly that.
Mindbody alternative for barre studios
Barre studios build their client base on habit, community, and a premium in-studio experience. Mariana Tek’s gamification suite, including milestones, challenges, and streaks, reinforces those habits digitally. The fully white-labelled app means every touchpoint reflects the studio’s identity rather than a third-party platform. For barre studios seeking a Mindbody alternative in Australia, Mariana Tek delivers the engagement tools and brand experience your clients notice.
Mindbody alternative for cycling studios
Indoor cycling studios need fast, frictionless booking, spot selection, and a client experience that matches the energy of the class. Mariana Tek’s pick-a-spot feature works seamlessly for cycling formats, and the consumer-first booking experience means 90% of reservations are made directly by the client. For cycling studios looking for a Mindbody alternative, Mariana Tek gives you the tools to fill every bike and keep riders coming back.
Mindbody alternative for HIIT and bootcamp studios
High-energy studios need a platform that keeps up with their pace. Mariana Tek handles class scheduling, automated communications, membership management, and retention campaigns without manual effort. For HIIT and bootcamp studios looking for boutique fitness software that scales with their growth, Mariana Tek is built for the way these studios actually operate.
What about switching? Is it really that complicated?
The fear of switching is real and understandable. Data migration, staff retraining, and the disruption to clients are all legitimate concerns.
Migrating from Mindbody to Mariana Tek is one of the most straightforward transitions available. Client data, credit cards, memberships, and passes transfer directly. No CSV exports. No manual re-entry. A dedicated onboarding specialist manages the process from contract through to go-live, with live training built in along the way.
“The onboarding process was really well structured. There were emails, calls, a clear process the whole way through. It made the transition a lot more manageable than I expected.”
Rob Dempster-Smith, Owner, Cedar & Salt
“Mariana Tek is very reliable, it’s very user-friendly, and it’s definitely worth the switch.”
Elisha Dyck, Owner, Barre & Bike
Australian studios that have made the move
“Moving to Mariana Tek felt like the platform had been built specifically for studios like ours. The difference was immediate.”
Emma Masters, Co-Owner, Therapy
“Our members don’t realise it’s a booking platform. To them, it just feels like our brand.”
Elisha Dyck, Owner, Barre & Biked
“Since switching to Mariana Tek, our team spends less time on admin and more time with members. That’s exactly where we want their energy to go.”
Kyle Riley, Co-Owner, Therapy
Ready to see the difference?
If you’re at the point where Mindbody is creating more friction than it’s solving, it might be time to see what boutique fitness looks like on a platform built exclusively for it.
Yes. Mariana Tek is the only boutique fitness software built exclusively for boutique fitness studios. Unlike Mindbody, which serves gyms, spas, salons, and swim schools alongside boutique fitness, Mariana Tek was designed from the ground up for studios that compete on client experience, community, and brand. Every feature, every product decision, and every roadmap priority is made with boutique fitness operators in mind. For Australian boutique fitness studios looking for a Mindbody alternative, Mariana Tek is the platform built specifically for your type of business.
Switching from Mindbody to Mariana Tek starts with booking a demo so the team can understand your studio’s specific setup and confirm the platform is the right fit. From there, a dedicated onboarding specialist manages the entire process, from data migration and configuration through to staff training and go-live. The process is structured and guided from start to finish, so you’re never navigating it alone.
Yes. Migrating from Mindbody to Mariana Tek is one of the most seamless transitions available in the boutique fitness space. Client records, credit cards, memberships, and passes transfer directly from Mindbody. There are no CSV exports and no manual re-entry. Your client data moves across cleanly so your studio can launch on Mariana Tek without disruption to your schedule or your members.
Yes. Mariana Tek now has native appointment booking for private training, live and already processing thousands of bookings. It’s built with the same consumer-first philosophy as the rest of the platform, so clients can book directly from your branded app or website. Staff availability, session types, and capacity are all managed in one place alongside your class schedule.
The comparison depends on what you’re actually using. Mindbody’s pricing starts at an entry level tier, but the features boutique fitness operators depend on most, a branded app, marketing automation, and pick-a-spot, all sit behind higher tiers or paid add-ons. By the time a studio has a fully functional setup on Mindbody, the cost is often comparable to or higher than Mariana Tek’s bundled pricing, which includes the branded app, Biz App, Insights, and transactional email from the first tier. The more relevant question is what you’re getting for what you’re paying, and whether the platform is actually built for your type of business.
Yes. Mariana Tek is available in Australia and has a growing customer base of boutique fitness studios across the country. Australian studios including Barre & Bike on the Sunshine Coast, Therapy on the Gold Coast, and Cedar & Salt on Sydney’s Northern Beaches are already running on Mariana Tek. The platform supports Australian payment processing, local onboarding, and AU-based customer support.
Mariana Tek is trusted by some of Australia’s leading boutique fitness studios including Barre & Bike, Therapy, Cedar & Salt, Pilates & Co, and 1R. Globally, the platform powers some of the most recognised boutique fitness brands in the world including Barry’s and pvolve. Australian studios choosing Mariana Tek are joining a platform that the world’s leading boutique fitness operators have already chosen.
by Xplor Mariana Tek
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First published: 01 June 2026
Written by: Xplor Mariana Tek