Cheapest fitness studio software (2026)

If you search for the cheapest fitness studio software in 2026, you get a list of sticker prices and very little about what those prices actually become once you are running real classes through them. The monthly subscription line is rarely the biggest number on the bill. This guide breaks the true cost of class-led studio software into the four numbers that decide what you actually pay, shows why three of them are invisible on most pricing pages, and explains where Junocal lands on each — starting from $15 a month flat.

The short version is in the Short answer callout at the top of this page. The reasoning is below.

The four numbers that decide true cost

Every studio software bill is built from four numbers. The pricing page usually shows you one of them clearly and leaves the other three for you to discover after you have migrated your members in.

1. The monthly subscription. This is the headline figure — the number the comparison articles rank. It matters, but it is the one number you can see before you buy, which makes it the least likely place a platform hides cost.

2. The payment processing markup. Many platforms add a percentage fee on top of card processing. This is the number that quietly dwarfs the subscription. A 3% markup on $200,000 a year of card revenue is $6,000 a year — a figure no $15-versus-$29 subscription comparison will ever surface.

3. The per-member or per-booking fee. Some platforms charge for every active member, every booking, or every SMS. This is the number that grows as you succeed, so the cheap plan you signed up on gets more expensive precisely as your studio gets busier.

4. The exit cost. The contract length, the data export fee, and whether your saved card details travel with you. This is the number you only meet when you try to leave — annual lock-ins, export charges, and re-collecting card details from every client all live here.

A platform that wins on number one and loses on numbers two through four is not cheap. It is cheap-looking. The cheapest studio software is the one that holds the line on all four.

Number one: the subscription

Junocal's plans are flat monthly fees, and the number is the same in every currency:

• Starter — from $15 a month ($150 a year). One location, up to 10 rooms, up to 5 instructor seats.
• Studio — $29 a month ($290 a year). Multi-location up to 5 sites, with unlimited rooms and seats.
• Growth — $69 a month ($690 a year). Up to 10 locations, plus QuickBooks.

The same number bills as $15, £15, or €15 — there is no currency surcharge that turns a low US price into a high one elsewhere. Lead with the figure that matters to most class-led studios: from $15 a month, you get a complete operating system, not a teaser tier. There is more detail on the full breakdown on the pricing page and the affordable fitness studio software guide.

Number two: the processing markup that beats the subscription

This is where most "cheap" software stops being cheap. A platform that charges a percentage on top of your card processing is taking a cut of every class pack, every membership renewal, and every drop-in — forever, and growing with your revenue.

Junocal runs payments through your own Stripe account using Stripe Connect Standard. That means the card rate you pay is Stripe's published rate, with no platform fee added on top. You accept cards everywhere, ACH bank payments in the US, and Direct Debit in the UK, all at Stripe's own pricing. There is no marketplace commission and no markup line on your statement.

Put the two numbers side by side. The gap between a $15 plan and a $29 plan is $168 a year. The gap between zero markup and a 3% markup on $200,000 of card revenue is $6,000 a year. The subscription is the number everyone compares; the markup is the number that actually moves your bill. A studio that picks software on subscription alone can pay thousands more per year than a studio that picks on processing — which is exactly why the markup belongs at the centre of any cheapest-software comparison.

Number three: the per-member fee that grows with you

Some platforms in this category bill per active member, per booking, or per message. The cruelty of that model is its timing: the fee scales up exactly when your studio is doing well. The cheap plan you joined on quietly becomes the expensive plan you are stuck on, and there is no single moment where you decided to pay more.

Junocal's plans are flat. The $15 Starter price does not change whether you have 10 members or 200. Add a sold-out term-based course, fill every waitlist, run a packed timetable — the monthly fee is still $15. Your software cost is a fixed line you can plan around, not a variable that tracks your growth. For a class-led studio, that predictability is part of what "cheapest" actually means: not just the lowest number today, but the number that stays put as you grow.

Number four: the exit cost

The last number only shows up when you try to leave, which is why it is the easiest one to ignore at signup and the most expensive one to discover later.

• No annual contract. Junocal does not require an annual commitment on any plan. Pay monthly and leave any month, or take the annual discount if you prefer — the monthly option is not punished with a lock-in.
• Free CSV export. Your client list, your bookings, and your history export to CSV at no charge, any time.
• Free 30-day migration. Moving in is supported and free for your first 30 days, so the switch is not a hidden expense bolted onto a cheap headline price.
• Your card vault stays put. Because payments live in your own Stripe account, your saved client cards and Direct Debit mandates are yours. They do not have to be re-collected from every client if your software ever changes.

A platform that locks you into a year, charges to hand back your own data, or strands your card vault is charging you a cost you cannot see on the pricing page. Counting it is the difference between cheap-looking and cheap.

What the $15 plan actually includes

Cheap usually means stripped down. Here it does not. The Starter plan at $15 a month covers one location with up to 10 rooms and up to 5 instructor seats, and includes the full operating toolkit a class-led studio runs on day to day:

• Online booking and a public class timetable
• Term-based courses, plus 1:1 and duet appointments
• Conditional-logic intake forms
• Class packs and recurring memberships
• Two-mode waitlists and pick-a-spot booking
• Hybrid in-person and online classes
• Automated emails, reviews, and lead capture
• The day-of staff roster and check-in
• Coupons

That is a studio you can actually run, billed at $15 a month, on your own Stripe account, with no per-member fee and no contract. The cheapest fitness studio software is not the one with the smallest headline — it is the one where the headline is close to the whole bill. On all four numbers, that is Junocal, from $15 a month.

Related reading: affordable fitness studio software, fitness studio software, and the full pricing breakdown.