Most owners who search for this comparison have already decided Mindbody isn't working. What most comparison pages don't tell you is that the answer isn't always WellnessLiving: it depends on whether your business runs on class slots or appointment blocks. Here's the three-way breakdown.
WellnessLiving is better than Mindbody for class-heavy studios, at a published $199–349/month for unlimited staff versus Mindbody's quote-based plans (Grove estimates $260–800/month). Boulevard is the better choice for appointment-based practices such as massage, acupuncture, and float therapy, at $159–455/month with no marketplace commission. The deciding question is whether the business runs on class slots or appointment blocks.
Mindbody publishes only a $79 starting price; Grove estimates a studio on Accelerate or Ultimate with a branded app pays roughly $260–$800 a month, based on reported quotes. WellnessLiving publishes Starter at $69 (one staff member), Business at $199, and BusinessPro at $349, with support included. Boulevard runs $159–$455 a month at regular prices with no marketplace commission. All three figures exclude card processing.
Mindbody and WellnessLiving both handle class scheduling, class packs, and waitlists; Boulevard has no class scheduling. Boulevard leads on appointment scheduling, per-provider service timing, and branded booking on the business's own site. All three include support. Mindbody quotes every plan above its $79 starting price and charges an unpublished fee for its data export service; WellnessLiving doesn't publish its exit terms.
| Feature area | Mindbody | WellnessLiving | Boulevard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class scheduling infrastructure | ✓ Native: originally built for this | ✓ Purpose-built for class studios | ✗ Not available: appointment-only |
| Membership & class pack management | ✓ Strong | ✓ Strong: membership-first design | ~ Available, secondary feature |
| Waitlist management | ✓ Full waitlist functionality | ✓ Full waitlist functionality | ~ Basic |
| Appointment scheduling | ~ Functional | ~ Available, secondary feature | ✓ Purpose-built: per-provider timing |
| Per-provider service timing | ✗ Manual workaround required | ✗ Manual workaround required | ✓ Native: configurable per provider |
| Branded booking (your site) | ✗ Routes through Mindbody app | ~ Booking widget | ✓ Direct: clients stay on your site |
| Marketplace / discovery | ~ Large; 20% of a new client's first purchase, capped at $30 | ~ Pricing page lists no marketplace commission | ~ No marketplace: direct only |
| ClassPass integration | ✗ Built-in: conflict of interest | ~ Optional integration | ✓ Not integrated: no discount conditioning |
| Support | ✓ 24/7 phone, chat, and email included | ✓ Included (chat only on Starter) | ✓ Included in all plans |
| Marketing tools | ~ Automated campaigns on Ultimate; AI Concierge add-on on Accelerate, price unpublished | ✓ Email and text marketing included from Business up | ~ Email allotment included; texts billed per message |
| Data exit fee | ✗ Paid export service, price not published; free CSV exports | ~ Exit terms not published; review before signing | ✓ Monthly or annual billing |
| All-in monthly cost | $260–800/mo (Grove estimate) | $199–349/mo for unlimited staff ($69 solo) | $159–455/mo (regular prices) |
Stay on Mindbody if its marketplace drives new clients, you need multi-location enterprise scale, you rely on ClassPass volume by design, or your renewal is six months out. Switch to WellnessLiving if class schedules, waitlists, and class packs are load-bearing. Switch to Boulevard if you run 60 or 90 minute one-on-one sessions, get few new clients from the Mindbody app, or want clients booking on your own site.
Mindbody acquired ClassPass in 2021, so the company selling a studio its scheduling software also runs a marketplace that resells the studio's services at 50–70% below its published rate. Clients conditioned to ClassPass pricing don't naturally convert to full rate. WellnessLiving integrates with ClassPass optionally, and Boulevard does not integrate with ClassPass at all.
ClassPass works by negotiating access to your services at 50–70% below your published rate, then reselling that access to subscribers as an "unlimited wellness" membership. For new studios building their client base, the volume can be meaningful.
For established studios, the math works differently. Clients conditioned to ClassPass pricing don't naturally convert to full-rate. And Mindbody's own app fee applies whenever the app delivers a new client: 20% of that client's first purchase, capped at $30.
In 2021, Mindbody acquired ClassPass. The two platforms are now owned by the same company. This creates a structural conflict that didn't exist before: the platform you pay for scheduling also runs the discount marketplace that conditions your clients to expect below-rate access.
WellnessLiving integrates with ClassPass optionally: you choose your exposure. Boulevard doesn't integrate with ClassPass at all. Neither is inherently right for every studio, but understanding the ownership structure changes how you evaluate the decision.
Pull your Mindbody reporting and find out: what percentage of your bookings in the last 90 days came through the marketplace? Of those, how many were new clients, the only bookings Mindbody's app fee applies to, at up to $30 each? Compare that number with the new revenue those clients brought.
For studios where the marketplace is still net-positive (where the discovery volume and the revenue outweigh the commission), staying makes sense. For studios where the app mostly recaptures existing clients, the fee is small, but the app still shows those clients other studios every time they rebook.
Studio owners leaving Mindbody raise three concerns. Client records, appointment history, gift cards, and memberships transfer, but Mindbody's paid export service costs extra (amount not published), so run the free CSV exports first. The booking link changes on go-live day, so a week of notice by email, text, and social bio prevents most confusion. WellnessLiving doesn't publish its contract terms, so review them; Boulevard bills monthly or annually.
Client records, appointment history, gift card balances, and active memberships transfer in a standard Mindbody migration. Mindbody's paid data export service is the most common reason owners delay. Mindbody doesn't publish the price; migration vendors report around $499, and free CSV exports of clients, purchases, memberships, and visits are available before you cancel. It catches businesses off guard because you don't encounter it until you're already trying to leave.
Your booking link changes on go-live day. The clients who don't know about the new booking experience will try the old link, find it broken, and some of them will call confused. That's the disruption: a communication gap, not a data problem. A week of advance notice through email, text, and your social bio handles most of it.
The fear of trading Mindbody's constraints for a different platform's constraints is legitimate. WellnessLiving doesn't publish its contract or exit terms: get them in writing before you sign. Boulevard bills monthly or annually, with 10% off for annual. Neither is a lifetime commitment, but the terms are different and they matter.
The class-heavy vs appointment-based distinction gets you 80% of the way there. The other 20% depends on how your membership structure works, how your book is built, how long you've been on Mindbody, and what's been most frustrating. Answer 8 questions and get a specific answer, not a roundup.
Grove only gets paid when a business switches through us, which is why we'll tell you if WellnessLiving is the right fit even though we earn from Boulevard, or if staying and negotiating is the right move for your renewal.
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