HOW WE COMPARE
Calisto Pro vs Mindbody & Gymdesk
Mindbody is a scheduling tool that bolted on payments. Gymdesk is a lightweight gym CRM. Neither replaces your full tech stack. Calisto does. Membership management, access control, POS, marketing, portals, and 71 native products under one login.
- Gym Management
Feature by feature
Calisto Pro beside Gymdesk
- 26 Only in Calisto Pro
- 8 In both
| 34 features | Calisto Pro | Gymdesk |
|---|---|---|
| Class Scheduling & Booking | Yes | Yes |
| Membership Management (Tiers, Freezes, Family) | Yes | Yes |
| Recurring Billing & Auto-Pay | Yes | Yes |
| Client Check-In (App & Kiosk) | Yes | Yes |
| Attendance Tracking & Reports | Yes | Yes |
| Staff Scheduling & Payroll Tracking | Yes | No |
| Native Smart Lock Access Control | Yes | No |
| Turnstile & Door Sensor Integration (Signal) | Yes | No |
| Full POS System (Retail, Supplements, Merch) | Yes | No |
| 75 Payment Gateways (Your Choice) | Yes | No |
| Dynamic Pricing for Memberships & Classes | Yes | No |
| Self-Service Member Portal (Navigator) | Yes | No |
| Omnichannel Messaging (WhatsApp, SMS, Email) | Yes | No |
| Marketing Automation & Campaigns | Yes | No |
| Referral & Affiliate Program (Circle) | Yes | No |
| TV Display System (Class Boards, Leaderboards) | Yes | No |
| Digital Contracts & E-Signatures (Sign) | Yes | No |
| Staff Training LMS (University) | Yes | No |
| Native VoIP Calling & AI Phone Booking | Yes | No |
| Video Conferencing for Virtual Classes (Live) | Yes | No |
| Equipment Inspections & Compliance (Assure) | Yes | No |
| Bring Your Own Database (BYOB) | Yes | No |
| Accounting Sync (QuickBooks, Xero) | Yes | No |
| CRM with Universal Contact Record | Yes | Yes |
| Event Ticketing (Workshops, Challenges) | Yes | No |
| Churn Prediction & At-Risk Alerts | Yes | No |
| Retention Cohort Heatmaps | Yes | No |
| No Marketplace Commission | Yes | Yes |
| Corporate Wellness Programs | Yes | No |
| Franchise Royalty Tracking | Yes | No |
| Multi-Location with Member Roaming | Yes | Yes |
| ClassPass & Wellhub Integration | Yes | No |
| Month-to-Month Contract (No Lock-In) | Yes | No |
| Member Portal with VOD Library | Yes | No |
What replaces it
What runs gym management on Calisto
The apps that take over from Gymdesk, each in the words gym management businesses use.
- Member managementCalisto Registry
- Group session & PT schedulingCalisto Bookings
- Retail & equipment stockCalisto Inventory
- AutomationsCalisto Automations
- Club setupCalisto Purview
- Club standardsCalisto Blueprint
- Staff scheduling & payrollCalisto Workforce
- Memberships & retailCalisto Catalog
- Dynamic pricingCalisto Pulse
- Billing & paymentsCalisto Payments
- ProposalsCalisto Proposals
- Contracts & signaturesCalisto Sign
Scheduling tools vs. a complete gym OS
| The Old Way | The Calisto Way | |
|---|---|---|
| Class scheduling | Core feature | Included: recurring, drop-in, waitlist, spot booking |
| Membership management | Basic tiers | Tiers, freezes, family plans, proration |
| Access control | Third-party add-on ($3 to $7/door/mo) | Native smart locks and turnstiles, $0/door |
| POS & retail | Limited or none | Full POS: supplements, apparel, gift cards |
| Client portal | Basic app | Navigator: booking, billing, keys, video |
| Marketing automation | Email only, extra fee | Email, SMS, referral, affiliate, included |
| Payment processor | Locked to platform | 75 gateways, you choose |
| Data hosting | Platform cloud only | Your database or ours (BYOB) |
| TV displays | Not available | Class boards, leaderboards, Apple TV |
| Staff training LMS | Not available | University, included |
| VoIP & messaging | Not available | Native calling & omnichannel inbox |
| Churn prediction | Not available | Cohort heatmaps & at-risk alerts |
What moves
Bringing your data from Gymdesk
Your data is read in your own browser and sent to your Calisto account. Calisto never sees your login for the old system.
From an export file
Export your data from Gymdesk and drop the file in. It is read in your browser and mapped onto Calisto.
Any spreadsheet you export from Gymdesk can be mapped onto Calisto, column by column.
PRICING TRANSPARENCY
1% of revenue on Commerce. Core is included.
Mindbody charges $129 to $699/month per location with add-on fees stacking quickly. Gymdesk charges $75 to $125/month per location. Calisto is free to set up. Core carries no additional cost. Commerce is a 1% revenue share. Every other suite is priced per app in the Marketplace. No per-location fees, no per-member fees. You pay when you earn.
Calisto Pro
Revenue share on Commerce
Mindbody
$129 to $699/mo Per Location
Per-location tiers · Marketing add-on extra · Branded app extra · Locked payments
Gymdesk
$75 to $125/mo Per Location
Per-location pricing · No POS · No access control · Stripe only
WHAT THEY CHARGE EXTRA FOR
Everything included. No surprises.
Other platforms nickel-and-dime you with per-door fees, branded app charges, and marketing add-ons. Calisto includes it all.
Access Control: Included
Mindbody charges $50 to $100/month for third-party access control integrations. Gymdesk has no access control at all. Calisto includes native smart lock integration, turnstile and door sensor monitoring through Signal, and digital key provisioning. Members get digital keys in Navigator that activate and expire with their membership status. Access rules by tier, time of day, and zone. No per-door fees.
Marketing Automation: Included
Mindbody charges $100 to $300/month for marketing add-ons. Gymdesk has no marketing tools. Calisto gives you email, SMS, and WhatsApp campaigns, drip sequences for lead nurture, win-back automations, and a referral programme with tracking and payouts. All included, at $0 per contact.
Member Portal: Included
Mindbody charges $200+/month for a branded member app. Gymdesk offers a basic web portal. Calisto Navigator gives every member a full self-service portal: class booking, rescheduling and waitlists, membership management, payment history, digital keys, messaging with staff, and document signing. $0 per member, included in every subscription.
Choose your processor. Not theirs.
Mindbody forces you onto Mindbody Payments with their rates and their terms. Gymdesk supports Stripe only. Calisto connects to 75 payment gateways across 11 global regions. Your merchant account. Your rates. Zero lock-in.
See every payment gatewayHonest answers
Switching questions
Can I migrate my member data from Mindbody?
Yes. Calisto includes a guided migration wizard that imports member profiles, membership plans, payment methods, class history, and waivers. Most gyms complete migration in under a day. We have done hundreds of Mindbody migrations.
Can Calisto handle virtual classes?
Yes. Calisto Live provides native video conferencing for virtual and hybrid classes. Members join from Navigator with no Zoom subscription, no app download. In-person and virtual classes share the same calendar, and attendance syncs to member profiles.
How does pricing work?
Yes. Start for free with full access to all 57 products across all 8 suites. No credit card required, no time limit, and no feature restrictions. Core carries no additional cost. Commerce is a 1% revenue share. Every other suite is priced per app in the Marketplace.
Why do you charge a percentage of revenue?
Because it makes us partners, not a vendor. A flat subscription means your software company collects the same fee in your best month and your worst. A revenue share means we only grow when you grow. Slow month or off-season? Your bill scales down with you.
Learn more
Everything Calisto does here
The pages behind this comparison: the sector, the apps and the guides.
- SectorCalisto for Gym Management
Calisto Pro integrates turnstile access, session bookings, recurring billing, and trainer schedules on a single engine, delivering a flawless member experience from day one.
Open - Gym ManagementMembership, Scheduling & Programming
One membership record read by every door, invoice and booking, a sub board that fills the slot before the manager wakes up, and blocks scaled to each member's maxes.
Open - Gym ManagementStaff, Instructors & Payroll
Instructor pay calculated from the session, substitution requests filled from the qualified pool, and certification expiry flagged before the session runs unlicensed.
Open - Gym ManagementAccess Control & Equipment
The turnstile reads the membership record with tier-based zone access, and equipment tracked with usage sensors, preventive maintenance and a 7 AM ops dashboard.
Open - Gym ManagementCatalog, Pricing & Retail
Eleven transaction models in one catalog, dynamic pricing that sets itself from capacity, and retail inventory that fires its own reorders.
Open - PricingPricing for Gym ManagementOpen