Pulse Studio vs the usual suspects
Most studio platforms are feature-rich, add-on-heavy and price-shy. Here's a straight look at where we win, where we match, and where we honestly don't - yet.
Feature for feature
“Typical platforms” below reflects the big incumbent studio-management suites commonly sold in South Africa. Every claim about us links to a real, shipping feature.
| Capability | Pulse Studio | Typical platforms |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing published openly | On the homepage - R0 to R1,500/mo | Usually gated behind a demo call |
| Member mobile app | Included on every plan | Standard app included; a branded app is usually a paid add-on |
| Move members across without re-billing them | Packages keep original start dates & remaining credits; accounts ready before first sign-in | Usually a bare CSV import |
| Class bookings & capacity | ||
| Waitlist with timed offers | Offer-and-confirm with push + email | Usually a simple first-come list |
| Repeating series edit/cancel with auto-refunds | ||
| Payments in ZAR to your own account - PayFast, Paystack, Netcash or Yoco | Often routed through the platform | |
| Automatic monthly invoicing & pro-rata | ||
| Once-off class packs & drop-ins (no forced subscriptions) | Per-package billing model | Often subscription-first |
| Digital waivers with e-signature | ||
| Room layouts & member spot selection | Bikes, mats, rebounders - your words, your colours | Often spin-only or a paid add-on |
| Family accounts - parents book & pay per child | Children on one login, each with their own pack and attendance | Often one profile per person, email required for each |
| Custom intake forms per member (and per child) | Build your own - medical details, levels, yearly refresh, block booking until done | Usually an external form tool and copy-paste |
| Coach registers, expenses & payroll totals | No-shows with reasons, per-session expenses, rate cards with a month-end CSV | Typically spreadsheets on the side |
| Multiple locations & venues per studio | Second branch, park, client gym - venue shown on every class | |
| QR check-in & attendance | Any phone camera - no hardware | Often a paid access-control add-on |
| Lead capture & pipeline | Included | Typically a paid CRM add-on (R1,500+/mo) |
| Public booking page & website widget | Branded booking page with filters, plus an embeddable widget | |
| Reports: fill rate, revenue, attendance, growth | ||
| AI assistant on your own studio data | Built in - and connects to Claude & other AI apps (MCP) | |
| Accounting sync | Two-way SmrtLedger sync built in; CSV export for Xero & others | Usually manual exports |
| Workout programming & performance tracking | Not our focus - we do operations | Some platforms include this |
| Debit orders | On our roadmap | |
| Setup fees / long-term contracts | None - cancel anytime | Setup fees are common |
Comparison reflects publicly advertised capabilities of major studio-management platforms as at September 2026. Every platform differs - the honest move is a side-by-side trial, which is why ours is free.
Switching is the easy part
The move itself is built into the product - not a spreadsheet exercise you dread for months.
Import quietly
Bring members in by CSV or one at a time - accounts are created without any email going out.
Nobody re-billed
Packages come across with their original start dates and remaining credits. No invoice is raised for anything they already paid.
Launch on your day
Send everyone a "your account is ready" email when you flip the switch - they set a password or just sign in with Google or Apple.
Moving a bigger studio? We'll help with the schedule and class types too - book a demo →
The maths for a 100-member studio
Base subscription plus a member app - the two things every studio ends up wanting.
Pulse Studio
R800/month
Medium plan, member app included, no setup fee, no contract.
Typical platform
R3,000+/month
±R1,900 base band + ±R1,500 branded-app add-on, often plus a setup fee.
That difference pays a coach for a weekend of classes. Every month. See our full pricing →