How much should I expect to pay?

For a single studio, somewhere between $0 and about NZ$120 a month for the software, plus payment processing fees of roughly 3% that go to Stripe or an equivalent, on any platform. If a platform’s cut is taking you meaningfully past that, look again.

Do I need my own Stripe account?

On some platforms yes, on some no, and on Chocka yes — it takes minutes to set up, and it is the thing that makes the money yours from the first second. If a platform does not require one, ask where your money is sitting between the booking and the payout.

Do I need a mobile app?

Usually not. What members actually want is to book in three taps from their phone without downloading anything, and a good booking site on your own domain does that. If your members are the kind who look for an app icon, that narrows your list to Momoyoga, Mindbody or Punchpass.

Can I move platforms later if I get it wrong?

Yes, and you should choose partly on how easy that would be. Check the minimum term, the notice period, and whether you can export your customers and passes yourself. If you are switching to Chocka we will do the move for you, included on our paid plans.

What about charities and community groups?

Chocka’s Community package gives verified New Zealand charities our Grow capabilities at $0 a month with a 0% platform fee. Several platforms have some form of non-profit offer — worth asking every one on your list what theirs is.

I run a course over a term, not drop-in classes. Does that work?

On Chocka yes — courses that people enrol in once and attend across a block of weeks are a first-class thing, not a workaround. Check this specifically with any platform you are considering, because several treat everything as a drop-in class.

The best class booking software for New Zealand studios in 2026

If you are opening a studio, or running one off a spreadsheet and a Facebook group, choosing booking software is a bigger decision than it looks. It becomes the thing your customers touch most often, it holds your customer list, and — this is the bit people find out late — it usually decides how your money reaches your bank account.

We build one of these platforms, so you should read this knowing that. What follows is the guide we would want if we were choosing, including the parts where we are not the answer.

What actually matters when you are choosing

Ignore feature lists for a moment. Six things determine whether you will still be happy in two years.

1. Whose payment account does the money land in?

This is the least discussed and most consequential difference between platforms. In one camp, the platform processes payments through its own account and pays you out on its schedule — so it holds your money for some period, decides when you get it, and is the party your customer’s bank sees. In the other, the charge is made on your own account: you are the merchant, the money settles in your balance, and the platform takes its fee at the moment of the charge without ever holding the funds. The difference does not show up on a good day. It shows up when you want to leave, when a payout is late, or when there is a chargeback. Ask directly: is the charge made on my payment account or yours, and how long do you hold funds before paying out?

2. What is the real total cost at your turnover?

Platforms price three ways — a monthly subscription, a percentage of every booking, or both — and they are not comparable until you put your own numbers in. A 5% fee on NZ$3,000 a month is NZ$150, more than most flat subscriptions. A 5% fee on NZ$400 a month is NZ$20 and nothing beats it. The trap is picking the platform when you are quiet and paying for it when you are busy, so ask what the total looks like at three times your current volume. And separately: payment processing fees are not the platform’s fee — Stripe or whoever charges its own percentage regardless of platform, and that cost is the same everywhere. Compare the platform’s cut.

3. Can you get your data out — yourself, today, for free?

Every platform will tell you your data is yours. The useful version is much more specific: can I click a button right now, on the plan I am currently on, without contacting anyone and without cancelling, and get a file containing my customers, bookings, passes and payments? If the answer involves a support ticket, a fee, a waiting period, or being an ex-customer, that is worth knowing on the way in. Ask it before you sign up — the answer is much easier to get while they still want your business.

4. Whose brand is on the thing your customers see?

Check two separate things, because they are usually priced separately: whether the platform’s logo appears on your booking page, and whether the page can live on your own domain rather than theirs. Both are commonly two tiers up from the entry plan. If your brand matters, price the tier you will actually end up on, not the one on the front of the pricing page.

5. Does it model how your studio really runs?

This is where feature lists finally matter, but only for the handful of things you touch daily: concession passes with expiry dates and part-used balances; memberships that renew without you chasing anyone; courses and terms that people enrol in once and attend across a block of weeks; waitlists that promote automatically when someone cancels; and free or koha events where you are not taking a card. Most platforms do most of this. The differences are in the details, and you will find them in a trial.

6. What happens when you want to leave?

Ask three questions on the way in: is there a minimum term, how much notice must I give, and what can I take with me. A 90-day minimum plus 30 days’ notice is a four-month exit. A twelve-month contract is a twelve-month exit. Neither is dishonest if it is disclosed — but both should be priced into the decision, because the thing you are actually buying is the ability to change your mind.

A rundown of the main options for a New Zealand studio

All figures checked 17 August 2026 from each company’s own pricing pages. None of these companies publishes a New Zealand dollar price except us; NZD figures are indicative mid-market conversions on that date, not quotes. Check current pricing before you decide.

Momoyoga

The popular small-studio choice

Clean, well liked, quick to set up, and strong on the solo-teacher end. There is a genuine free plan, available in New Zealand, and a free member app for iOS and Android on every plan, including the free one — the only free plan on this list that comes with a member app.

The costs to understand: the free plan carries a 5% platform fee on every online payment on top of Stripe’s fee, and their support site notes a seven-day hold on payments through their integrated option. Using your own Stripe account is a “custom payment integration” at an extra US$15 a month (US$12 on annual, as published on their support site), available only on their Standard and Plus plans. Recurring memberships and removing their branding both sit on Plus (€59/month billed annually). Prices are published in euros ex-VAT, and outside Europe they bill in US dollars.

Best for: a solo teacher or small studio who wants a member app and is not processing enough for 5% to hurt.

Mindbody

The big system

Genuinely powerful, and in a different category from the rest of this list: point of sale, retail, staff management, marketing automation, and a consumer marketplace app that sends studios new clients. Unlimited users on every plan with no per-user charge, which is better than most.

The costs to understand: published Australian pricing starts at A$89 per month per location and runs to A$369; there is no published New Zealand price. Their own documentation describes “a standard 90-day minimum commitment” on month-to-month plans and 30 days’ notice to cancel. Their pricing page lists transaction fees that apply, among other things, “when a new client discovers you on the Mindbody app” — the rate is not published.

Best for: multi-location businesses, or anywhere with a front desk, retail and payroll.

Punchpass

The honest, no-nonsense one

We will say plainly: Punchpass competes on the same principles we do, and on several axes they are as good or better. Their pricing page states “The only fee you pay to Punchpass is our monthly subscription” — no platform cut per booking. No contract: “Punchpass is a month-to-month program… you can cancel at any time.” And on data: “Your data is yours, you can download reports anytime.” All plans include unlimited classes, passes and instructors.

The things to weigh: pricing is in US dollars — $59, $99 and $149 a month (roughly NZ$100, NZ$168 and NZ$253 indicatively) — so their entry plan is above our mid tier once converted, and you carry the FX. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial, though new clients get their first two months at half price. Whether payments settle into your own Stripe account is not stated on their pricing page — worth asking them directly.

Best for: a studio that wants a simple, principled, well-run tool and does not mind paying in US dollars.

Chocka

New Zealand built, priced in New Zealand dollars, and our paid-plan fees are GST-inclusive so a registered studio claims the GST back. Payments are charged on your own connected Stripe account and settle in your own Stripe balance on every plan, including the free one — we never hold your money. Launch is $0 a month with a 2% per-booking fee; Grow is $49 a month with a 0% platform fee, memberships and your own branding; Thrive is $99 with your own domain, multi-staff logins and advanced reporting. No contract, no notice period, and a one-click export of your whole account on any plan at any time. Verified New Zealand charities get Grow capabilities at $0.

The things we do not do, which you should weigh honestly: no mobile app — Chocka is a website, on your own domain, that works well on a phone but is not in the App Store. No Mailchimp integration. No video on demand or online teaching. No point of sale, retail or payroll. No marketplace sending you new customers — deliberately, but it is still a thing you do not get.

Best for: a New Zealand studio that wants its own payments, its own brand and its own customer list, without a contract.

Why we built Chocka

Short version, because you did not come here for our founding story.

We built the first version of this for a single yoga studio in New Zealand. The thing that kept coming up was not features. It was that the tools available either took a cut of every booking, or held the money for a week, or put their own brand on the studio’s page, or made the customer list feel like something the studio was borrowing.

None of that is necessary. Stripe will happily charge a card on a small studio’s own account and settle it into their own balance. A booking platform can take a flat fee and hold nothing. An export can be a button rather than a support ticket.

So that is what we made, in New Zealand, priced in New Zealand dollars, with no contract — on the theory that if we have to be worth paying for every month, we will build a better thing than if we could just hold on to you.

We are also, obviously, the newest and smallest option on this page. That is a real consideration, and if it worries you, the fact that you can export everything in one click on any plan is the honest answer to it.

Questions from studio owners choosing for the first time

How much should I expect to pay?: For a single studio, somewhere between $0 and about NZ$120 a month for the software, plus payment processing fees of roughly 3% that go to Stripe or an equivalent, on any platform. If a platform’s cut is taking you meaningfully past that, look again.
Do I need my own Stripe account?: On some platforms yes, on some no, and on Chocka yes — it takes minutes to set up, and it is the thing that makes the money yours from the first second. If a platform does not require one, ask where your money is sitting between the booking and the payout.
Do I need a mobile app?: Usually not. What members actually want is to book in three taps from their phone without downloading anything, and a good booking site on your own domain does that. If your members are the kind who look for an app icon, that narrows your list to Momoyoga, Mindbody or Punchpass.
Can I move platforms later if I get it wrong?: Yes, and you should choose partly on how easy that would be. Check the minimum term, the notice period, and whether you can export your customers and passes yourself. If you are switching to Chocka we will do the move for you — customer list, passes, gift balances, schedule and upcoming bookings — included on our paid plans.
What about charities and community groups?: Chocka’s Community package gives verified New Zealand charities our Grow capabilities at $0 a month with a 0% platform fee. Several platforms have some form of non-profit offer — worth asking every one on your list what theirs is.
I run a course over a term, not drop-in classes. Does that work?: On Chocka yes — courses that people enrol in once and attend across a block of weeks are a first-class thing, not a workaround. Check this specifically with any platform you are considering, because several treat everything as a drop-in class.

Where to next

Weighing Momoyoga specifically? Chocka vs Momoyoga
Want to understand the payments question properly? Your Stripe, your money

No card, no contract, and you can export everything the day you arrive.

Competitor pricing and terms on this page were taken from momoyoga.com, mindbodyonline.com and punchpass.com on 17 August 2026 and are quoted as published. Currency conversions are indicative mid-market rates per XE.com on 17 August 2026, not the amount a card is charged. Check each company’s own site for their current pricing and terms before you make a decision. If you spot something out of date here, tell us at hello@chocka.co.nz and we will fix it.

Momoyoga, Mindbody and Punchpass are trade marks of their respective owners. Chocka is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or otherwise connected to any of them. Their marks are used here only to identify their products for comparison.

Last reviewed 18 August 2026. Reviewed quarterly; next review due 18 November 2026.