Calisto Pro

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
Calisto Pro beside Gymdesk, feature by feature
34 featuresCalisto ProGymdesk
Class Scheduling & BookingYesYes
Membership Management (Tiers, Freezes, Family)YesYes
Recurring Billing & Auto-PayYesYes
Client Check-In (App & Kiosk)YesYes
Attendance Tracking & ReportsYesYes
Staff Scheduling & Payroll TrackingYesNo
Native Smart Lock Access ControlYesNo
Turnstile & Door Sensor Integration (Signal)YesNo
Full POS System (Retail, Supplements, Merch)YesNo
75 Payment Gateways (Your Choice)YesNo
Dynamic Pricing for Memberships & ClassesYesNo
Self-Service Member Portal (Navigator)YesNo
Omnichannel Messaging (WhatsApp, SMS, Email)YesNo
Marketing Automation & CampaignsYesNo
Referral & Affiliate Program (Circle)YesNo
TV Display System (Class Boards, Leaderboards)YesNo
Digital Contracts & E-Signatures (Sign)YesNo
Staff Training LMS (University)YesNo
Native VoIP Calling & AI Phone BookingYesNo
Video Conferencing for Virtual Classes (Live)YesNo
Equipment Inspections & Compliance (Assure)YesNo
Bring Your Own Database (BYOB)YesNo
Accounting Sync (QuickBooks, Xero)YesNo
CRM with Universal Contact RecordYesYes
Event Ticketing (Workshops, Challenges)YesNo
Churn Prediction & At-Risk AlertsYesNo
Retention Cohort HeatmapsYesNo
No Marketplace CommissionYesYes
Corporate Wellness ProgramsYesNo
Franchise Royalty TrackingYesNo
Multi-Location with Member RoamingYesYes
ClassPass & Wellhub IntegrationYesNo
Month-to-Month Contract (No Lock-In)YesNo
Member Portal with VOD LibraryYesNo

What replaces it

What runs gym management on Calisto

The apps that take over from Gymdesk, each in the words gym management businesses use.

Scheduling tools vs. a complete gym OS

The Old WayThe Calisto Way
Class schedulingCore featureIncluded: recurring, drop-in, waitlist, spot booking
Membership managementBasic tiersTiers, freezes, family plans, proration
Access controlThird-party add-on ($3 to $7/door/mo)Native smart locks and turnstiles, $0/door
POS & retailLimited or noneFull POS: supplements, apparel, gift cards
Client portalBasic appNavigator: booking, billing, keys, video
Marketing automationEmail only, extra feeEmail, SMS, referral, affiliate, included
Payment processorLocked to platform75 gateways, you choose
Data hostingPlatform cloud onlyYour database or ours (BYOB)
TV displaysNot availableClass boards, leaderboards, Apple TV
Staff training LMSNot availableUniversity, included
VoIP & messagingNot availableNative calling & omnichannel inbox
Churn predictionNot availableCohort 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

1%of revenue

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 gateway

Honest 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.