Switching to StudioCore
From Jackrabbit, Studio Director, DanceStudio-Pro, Akada, Dance Studio Manager, iClassPro, or Mindbody — same offer, same migration.
Moving your studio's records is the job nobody wants. We do it for you. Here is how the main tools compare on their own published terms, what you would give up, and exactly how a switch works.
Three things to check before you renew
Precise, because precision is the whole point.
What your contract says
Read the order form, not the marketing page. Studio Director's FAQ says month to month, while its Agreement sets a one-year term that renews automatically unless the order form says otherwise. Mindbody's 12–36-month lock-in contracts renew automatically too.
Who pays the fees
Some tools add their own fee to card payments, and some let you pass fees on to families. With StudioCore there is no marketplace tax on your own members — Stripe fees only.
How the price grows
Jackrabbit counts every student at month-end, active or not, and Studio Director steps up with student count. iClassPro charges per location. On StudioCore, past students stay on file free, and locations are never limited or priced.
How the dance tools compare
Only what we could verify on each vendor's own site. A dash means we will not guess.
| Tool | Published price | How the price scales | Term | Setup, moving data, fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| StudioCore | $59, $129 or $179 CAD a month. | Three plans by students enrolled this season. Past students stay free. Locations are never limited or priced. | Month-to-month, with 30 days' notice to cancel. | First data load and one onboarding session included. Fees on your members' payments: None from ECW; Stripe's standard processing fee goes to Stripe. |
| Jackrabbit | From $49 a month. | By total student count at month-end, active and inactive. | No contracts. | Free data imports and no setup fee. The Jackrabbit Plus branded app starts at $93 a month, with a $169 setup fee. You can pass surcharges and card fees on to families. Free data export if you cancel. |
| Studio Director | $65 a month software only, or $39 with its payments, up to 100 students. | Steps up with student count. | Its FAQ says month to month. Its Agreement sets a one-year initial term that renews automatically unless your order form says otherwise. | No setup fee; it loads your existing data as part of setup. A complete download of your data on request. |
| DanceStudio-Pro | Essentials $49, Premier $79, Elite $165 a month. | Flat monthly fee, unlimited students. | — | Import at no charge. A 30-day free trial. |
| Akada | $60 a month. | One flat rate, no tiers. | — | — |
| Dance Studio Manager | $40 USD a month. | Flat, with students, classes and locations unlimited. | No long-term contract; cancel any time. | Most routine migrations at no additional charge. With Stripe, a 0.2% DSM platform fee on top of Stripe's fees. Export whenever you like. |
| iClassPro | From $139 USD a month per location. | Per location, with three published plans. | Signature and Elite: no commitment. Premium: 12-month commitment. | One DIY website per location included; a branded app is a paid add-on. All support is subject to U.S. business hours. |
Competitor terms as published on each vendor's own website, re-checked in November 2026; they change, and we re-check them. Dance Studio Manager and iClassPro state US dollars; Jackrabbit, Studio Director, DanceStudio-Pro and Akada print "$" without naming a currency. StudioCore prices are in CAD, before HST. If you know something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
An honest note: if you are on a flat-priced tool like Dance Studio Manager, DanceStudio-Pro or Akada, you may pay less than you would here. Then the reason to talk to us is the done-for-you setup and one local person who knows your studio, not the price.
On Mindbody?
The renewal. Mindbody's fixed terms run for periods such as 12, 24 or 36 months, renew automatically, need at least 30 days' notice before the term ends, and allow no mid-term cancellation unless your order form says otherwise. Most month-to-month contracts start with a 90-day minimum. That is what "12–36-month lock-in contracts" means in practice.
The marketplace fee, precisely. Mindbody's pricing page says the marketplace fee is 20%, capped at $30 USD (about $42.81 CAD at the Bank of Canada rate of 1.4271 on 2026-10-09), and only on the first purchase by someone new to your business whom the Mindbody app delivered. Your existing members' bookings carry none.
Who owns it. Mindbody and ClassPass are owned by Playlist, which completed its merger with EGYM on March 31, 2026. The company that bills you also owns the marketplace that sells your classes at a discount. Your software vendor is competing with you for your own members.
Your data. Mindbody offers a data export service for an added fee, available for up to 30 days after cancellation, so we time the cancellation around it. That fee is yours to pay.
On another fitness platform?
The same offer and the same migration apply. Terms on these tools are often set in a per-customer order form, and they often renew on their own.
And an honest note: Gymdesk has no contract, can be cancelled any time, and includes a gym website; Bookeo can be cancelled any time and takes no commission on payments. If you are on one of those, the reason to talk to us is the member and parent billing and the done-for-you setup, not the fee.
| Platform | Term | Fees on top of the subscription |
|---|---|---|
| WellnessLiving | Auto-renews for another term of the same length; the term is set in your order form. | — |
| ABC Glofox | Auto-renews unless you give 30 days' written notice; with no term in your order form, month-to-month. | — |
| Arketa | Studio plans renew annually. | On the Individual plan, a 3% transaction fee plus Stripe's fees; on studio plans, set in a sales conversation. |
What you give up
A switch is a trade. Here is the other side of it, in plain words, so nothing surprises you later.
-
No consumer marketplace. Your classes are not listed in a consumer app, so there is no app-store discovery. New clients find you through your own site, search, referrals, and local presence — which the Snapshot looks at.
-
No native app. Members register and pay through a mobile-friendly site and member portal, not an installed app. Several of the tools above sell a branded app; StudioCore does not have one.
-
No ClassPass traffic. If discounted marketplace bookings are how you fill classes today, say so on the Snapshot call. We will tell you plainly whether a switch makes sense for you — and sometimes it does not.
How the switch works
Five steps. Your members see one clean change, not a gap.
1 — Free Studio Snapshot
A short review of your current site, registration flow, and billing setup. Plain-English findings, no obligation.
2 — Export request
Requesting the data export is ours to chase; any fee your provider charges for it is yours. We read your terms first, so the timing works around your notice period.
3 — Cards
We ask your current provider, in writing, whether saved cards can be released at all. Plan on members adding a card once, the first time they pay online.
4 — Check and set the date
We check families, current enrolments and classes against the old system and agree the cutover date. Anything newer than your export is yours to enter.
5 — Cutover
One announced date. Registrations and billing run on StudioCore from then on.
Starter
Get organized and take registrations online.
- Up to 75 students
- One owner login
- Classes, online registration & family accounts
- E-transfer & cash tracking
Studio
Payments that run themselves.
- Up to 150 students
- 3 logins, owner included
- Everything in Starter
- Online payments — automatic billing and failed-payment follow-up
- Financial reports
- One ECStores Starter store included, set up when you ask for it
Established
No limits as you grow.
- Unlimited students
- Unlimited logins
- Everything in Studio
Online payments start on the Studio plan. Every plan includes your first data load (one export from one system; unusually large moves are quoted before you commit) and one onboarding session.
What you pay ECW: the plan, and nothing per sale.
ECW never takes a percentage of your sales. Not memberships. Not merch. Ever. Stripe's processing fees apply and go to Stripe. Full plan details are on the studio page.
Questions switchers ask
Ready to stop renewing?
Start with a free Studio Snapshot — we look at your site, your registration flow, and your billing, and tell you plainly whether a switch makes sense and what it would take. No obligation, no sales pitch.