The question we hear most from medspa owners isn't "should I leave Mindbody?" It's "what's actually built for us?" Most practices evaluating alternatives have already accepted that Mindbody isn't the answer — they're running a separate EMR, charting in a second system, storing before/after photos on iPhones they shouldn't be using for HIPAA purposes. This page walks through five platforms — what each one handles well, and where each falls short for clinical aesthetics practices.
Mindbody was built for fitness studios. It does class schedules, waitlists, and bulk packages well. It does not have native HIPAA-compliant charting — and that single gap is what defines the medspa experience on the platform. Most practices compensate by running a second system alongside Mindbody: Aesthetic Record, PatientNow, Jane App, or a purpose-built EMR. Two subscriptions. Two logins. A daily manual data transfer to keep them synchronized. (For the bigger picture on how Grove thinks about medspas specifically, start here.)
That transfer averages about 45 minutes a day for a mid-size medspa. Across a year, that's 270 hours of administrative work that exists entirely because the scheduling platform and the clinical platform don't talk to each other.
The five platforms below are evaluated on medspa-specific criteria. Not just pricing. Not just UI. The clinical functionality that determines whether a medspa can actually run on a single system — or whether the workarounds just follow you to the new platform. For the direct head-to-head on Boulevard specifically, see our full Mindbody vs Boulevard comparison.
These are the six areas that separate a platform built for medspas from one that happens to accommodate them.
Ordered by fit for most independent medspa practices — not alphabetically, not by marketing spend.
Eight criteria that matter specifically for clinical aesthetics practices.
| Capability | Boulevard | Zenoti | PatientNow | Aesthetic Record | Jane App |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native HIPAA Charting | ✓ Included | ✓ Yes | ✓ Core feature | ✓ Core feature | ✓ Yes |
| Before/After Gallery | ✓ Native — "game-changing" | ~ Basic | ~ Available | ✓ Strong | ✗ Not native |
| MD Review Workflow | ✓ Native | ✓ Yes | ✓ Core | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Resource Scheduling | ✓ Native | ✓ Yes | ~ Limited | ✗ Not scheduling | ~ Limited |
| Direct Booking (No Marketplace) | ✓ Direct | ✓ Direct | ✓ Direct | N/A | ✓ Direct |
| All-in Pricing Range | $300–600/mo | $500–1,500+/mo | $300–600/mo | $100–300/mo (EMR only) | $200–400/mo |
| Scheduling + Clinical in one system | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial | ✗ Clinical only | ✓ Yes (less aesthetics-specific) |
| Implementation complexity | Medium | High (3–6 months) | Medium | Low | Low |
This table is a snapshot. Every practice is different — number of providers, treatment types, whether you have an MD on staff, how complex your charting needs are. The platforms are best evaluated in the context of your specific setup.
When a medspa owner contacts Grove, the first thing we do is understand the current stack — what's running for scheduling, what's running for clinical documentation, and what the friction points actually are day to day. Sometimes the answer is Boulevard. Sometimes it's a different platform on this list, or staying on Mindbody with a better-configured EMR alongside it. We only get paid when a business switches through us to Boulevard — which is exactly why we tell you when that's not the right call. Curious what HIPAA specifically looks like on Mindbody versus a native-charting platform? We cover that in detail here, and the medspa FAQ answers the questions owners ask most before switching.
Answer 8 questions about your practice and we'll tell you exactly where you stand — what the move would cost, what it would gain, and whether this is the right time. The assessment runs on this site and gives you the answer on the other side.
Grove only gets paid when you switch through us. If another platform serves your practice better, we'll tell you — and explain exactly why.
No email required. Results appear on the page in about 30 seconds.
Want to talk it through instead? Start with the assessment and you'll see the option to book a 20-min call after.