How much does studio management software really cost in 2026?

The sticker price of studio management software is rarely the real price. In 2026, the total cost of running a boutique studio on a platform comes from four layers: the monthly subscription, any cut the platform takes of your sales (especially via a marketplace), payment processing fees, and add-ons you switch on. This guide breaks down each layer across the category so you can compare like for like — and states KADRE's model plainly. We won't quote competitor prices we can't verify, so where exact numbers aren't public, we describe the pricing model instead.

The four cost layers

1. The subscription

Most platforms charge a monthly (or annual) subscription, often in tiers — a base plan with more features unlocking at higher tiers. This is the number vendors advertise. Watch how it scales: a low entry tier can climb quickly once you need the features a real studio uses.

2. The platform's cut of your sales

This is the layer that's easy to miss. Some platforms are the merchant of record and take a percentage of your sales, or pair the software with a consumer marketplace that takes a cut on bookings it sources. Mindbody, for instance, owns ClassPass; on network-sourced bookings through that marketplace, a cut can apply. Over a year, a percentage of every sale can dwarf the subscription line.

3. Payment processing

Any card payment carries a processing fee — this is unavoidable and goes to a payment processor like Stripe. The question is whether your platform passes through the processor's standard rate, or marks it up. A markup on processing is effectively another cut of your sales, just labeled differently.

4. Add-ons

Branded apps, SMS/text messaging, extra marketing tools, custom domains — these are commonly sold as paid add-ons. They can be genuinely useful, but they're where a "cheap" base plan quietly becomes expensive. The honest way to budget is to add up only the add-ons you'll actually turn on.

How to compare honestly

To compare two platforms, add the layers for your studio:

> Real monthly cost = subscription + (platform cut × your monthly sales) + (processing fee × your card volume) + add-ons you enable

A platform with a low subscription but a marketplace cut can cost far more than one with a slightly higher subscription and 0% cut, once your sales volume is in the picture. Run the math on your own numbers — members, average price, monthly revenue — not on the advertised entry tier.

KADRE's model, stated plainly

KADRE prices only the software, never your sales:

• Free up to 50 active members.
• Then $1 per active member per month, hard-capped at $99/month — so the subscription can never exceed $99, no matter how big you get.
• 0% platform cut. You're the merchant of record; payments go directly to your own Stripe account. The only transaction fee is Stripe's standard processing, paid to Stripe — KADRE adds no markup.
• Add-ons off by default: AI Coach ($79/mo), SMS ($29/mo), branded app ($39/mo), custom domain ($10/mo). You pay for one only if you switch it on.

So for a studio under 50 active members, the software is $0 and you pay only Stripe's processing on what you sell. Above that, the subscription is a predictable, capped line — and there's no percentage of your sales flowing to the platform.

A quick worked example (illustrative)

Say a studio has 120 active members and does $18,000/month in sales. On a platform that takes even a modest percentage of sales through a marketplace on some of those bookings, that layer can add up to hundreds of dollars a month on top of the subscription. On KADRE, the same studio pays $99/month (the cap) plus Stripe's standard processing — and 0% of the $18,000 goes to KADRE. We're using round numbers to show the shape of the math, not to state any competitor's rate; plug in your real numbers and your vendors' current published rates to compare.

See also: KADRE pricing · What 0% platform cut means · Do booking platforms take a cut? · KADRE vs Mindbody

Questions about your studio? Email support@kadre.fit.