Your studio is paying
for software built
for someone else.
Mindbody and Glofox were built for enterprise chains. Boutique studios pay the same price for a feature set sized for a business they will never become. We build the version that fits.
$349/mo
Monthly studio SaaS cost
50-70%
Features never used
18 mo
Custom build break-even
30k+
US boutique studios
Built for scale you do not have.
Mindbody and Glofox started as tools for boutique fitness operators. Private equity acquisition changed the economics. Prices increased three to eight times over a decade. Customer support shifted behind AI chat walls. Year-long contracts became standard terms.
The platforms still work. But they are now sized for multi-location franchises and enterprise wellness brands. Boutique studios pay for payroll modules, franchise management tools, consumer marketplace listings, and advanced marketing suites they will never open. Industry data puts the unused-feature rate for boutique operators at fifty to seventy percent of plan cost.
The alternative is not a cheaper SaaS plan on a different logo. It is a platform built around your actual operations: your class types, your membership structure, your instructor workflows, and a member experience with your brand on it.
Why BCB knows this vertical
We built and run FitComrade, a client management platform for independent fitness coaches. Real billing, real client data, real scheduling. Shipped in ten weeks on the same stack we bring to studio engagements.
Six systems. One platform.
A custom studio app is not a single feature dressed as software. It covers the full operating surface of a fitness studio.
Class scheduling and booking
Public-facing schedule. One-step booking. Configurable capacity limits, waitlists, and cancellation windows. Admin adds or edits a class in under 30 seconds.
Membership and billing
Recurring memberships, class packs, and drop-in credits on Stripe. No proprietary gateway markup. You keep more of each transaction from day one.
Branded member portal
Your logo, your colors, your domain. Members book, manage memberships, and view history from a mobile-first web app that installs on their home screen.
Instructor management
Class assignments, substitution requests, pay rates, and availability in one view. No more coordinating shift coverage across WhatsApp threads.
Automated communication
Booking confirmations, 24-hour reminders, waitlist promotions, and win-back messages after 14 days of inactivity. Configured once. Runs without you.
Admin dashboard and reporting
Revenue by class, attendance trends, membership churn, and instructor utilization. Export to CSV. No locked reports, no paywalls on your own data.
When the numbers favor custom.
Not every studio needs a custom build. Here is when the math works.
You need a branded app
$10,800/year just to put your name on it.
Mindbody and Glofox charge $199 to $399 per location per month as a branded-app add-on. For three locations that is $10,800 a year for something a custom build includes from day one.
You have multiple locations
SaaS fees multiply. Custom costs do not.
Every new location on Mindbody or WellnessLiving adds another full subscription tier. A custom platform adds a location as a configuration change. No pricing email when you open studio four.
You process meaningful volume
Processing fees compound quietly.
Mindbody charges 3.5% on online transactions. Stripe direct runs at 2.9%. On $75k per month that gap is $4,500 per year. On $150k per month it is $9,000. The gap is yours once you own the stack.
We run the numbers with you.
If the ROI is not there for your studio, we say so in the first call. The engagement only makes sense if the math works on your side. Book 30 minutes and we will tell you exactly where you stand.
The stack, in full.
Every piece chosen for a reason. No framework for its own sake.
Next.js + TypeScript
Member portal and admin dashboard in one codebase. No separate frontend to maintain.
React Native + Expo
iOS and Android from a shared codebase. Submitted to both stores once.
Stripe Billing
Recurring memberships, class packs, drop-ins. No proprietary gateway markup.
PostgreSQL + Prisma
Members, classes, bookings, attendance, and instructor data in one schema.
Resend + Firebase (FCM)
Transactional email and push notifications. Booking confirmations run without you.
Vercel + Supabase
Edge deploys, row-level security, and zero-config backups from day one.
Proof of concept
We already shipped a fitness product.
FitComrade is a client management platform for independent fitness coaches, built and operated by Binary Code Barn. Program delivery, client tracking, billing, and a full SEO content surface. Zero to production in ten weeks. Live with paying users today.
The architecture, quality bar, and delivery process we used to build FitComrade are the same ones we apply to every client engagement. It is the most direct proof of what we sell.
Before you build.
What yoga studio owners, boutique gym operators, and fitness entrepreneurs ask before committing to a custom platform.
We are already on Mindbody. Is switching worth the disruption?
That depends on what you are paying and what you are actually using. Studios on Mindbody's mid-to-upper tiers at one to three locations typically pay $3,000 to $6,000 a year in subscriptions before processing fees. If that number is close for you, a custom platform usually reaches break-even between 18 and 24 months. We model it with you in the first call before anything else happens.
How long does it take to build a custom studio platform?
Ten to sixteen weeks from signed scope to a live production system. That covers the member portal, class scheduling, billing integration, and admin dashboard. A branded mobile app is a separate scope and typically adds six to eight weeks.
Do we need a mobile app, or is a web app enough?
A progressive web app handles most member use cases: booking, schedule, membership management, and purchase history. It installs on the home screen and works offline. If your brand requires a dedicated App Store presence, we scope that separately.
Can you migrate our existing member data?
Yes. We have worked with exports from Mindbody, Glofox, and WellnessLiving. Data quality from these platforms varies, so migration is scoped after we see a sample export. We do not charge until we know what the data looks like.
What happens when we open a second or third location?
Adding a location is a configuration change, not a new engagement. The platform is built multi-location from day one. You will not receive a pricing email because you grew.
Who owns the code after delivery?
You do. Full source code, full IP transfer on delivery. We offer a monthly retainer for ongoing feature work and maintenance, but that is never a condition of delivery. You can hand the codebase to any developer on day one.
What does BCB actually know about fitness studios?
We built and run FitComrade, a client management platform for independent fitness coaches. Real billing, real client data, real scheduling. Shipped in ten weeks. The architecture and delivery process we used are the same ones we apply to every studio engagement.
For yoga studios, boutique gyms, and fitness chains
Ready to own
your platform
and your data?
We scope and build custom studio platforms for operators who have outgrown off-the-shelf tools. Booking and scheduling, memberships, branded member apps, instructor management, and an admin dashboard built around your workflow.
Thirty-minute call. We will tell you whether a custom build makes sense for your studio and what it would take. No obligation.
We build
- Class booking and scheduling
- Recurring membership and billing
- Branded member portal and mobile app
- Instructor and coach management
- Automated email and push notifications
- Admin dashboard and analytics
- Member CRM and retention tools
- Multi-location management