Did Mindbody get acquired in 2026?

Not acquired exactly — Mindbody's parent company Playlist merged with EGYM in March 2026, creating a combined entity valued at $7.5 billion. The deal included $785 million in new investment from Affinity Partners, Vista Equity, Temasek, and L Catterton. Mindbody continues to operate as a platform, but is now part of a larger corporate structure alongside ClassPass, Booker, and EGYM's hardware and employer fitness business.

What is Mindbody's pricing in 2026?

As of 2026, Mindbody charges $99/mo for Starter, $259–$279/mo for Accelerate, and $499–$699/mo for Ultimate (with higher-tier custom quotes). Payment processing is 2.99% + $0.30 card-present and 3.60% + $0.30 online. The platform also charges a 20% commission (capped at $30) on bookings made through its consumer app or ClassPass.

What are the best alternatives to Mindbody in 2026?

Orhuk offers a full facility operations platform — bookings, memberships, payments, waivers, staff, and inventory — with a free plan and Pro/Business plans starting at $19.99/mo, no per-booking consumer app commissions, and same-hour setup. Other commonly compared platforms include WellnessLiving, Vagaro, and PushPress, each with different strengths depending on facility type and booking complexity.

What does the Mindbody EGYM merger mean for gym owners?

In the near term, Mindbody operators are unlikely to see immediate changes to their dashboard or pricing. The longer-term implication is that the platform is now part of an enterprise-oriented company — EGYM focuses on corporate wellness and large health club chains — which may influence the product roadmap toward larger clients over time. Operators should review their actual all-in costs and understand their migration options as a precaution.

What Mindbody's 2026 Merger Means for Gym Owners

2026-05-04 · 7 min read

Mindbody's parent company merged with EGYM in March 2026 at a $7.5B valuation. Here's what the consolidation means for gym operators currently on the platform — and what questions to ask before you decide what to do.

In March 2026, the company behind Mindbody, ClassPass, and Booker announced a merger with EGYM — the German fitness equipment and software company — at a combined valuation of $7.5 billion.[1] If you run a gym on Mindbody, this is the biggest ownership change the platform has seen in years, and it raises legitimate questions about where the platform is heading.

This post breaks down what actually happened, what it means for day-to-day operations, and what gym owners are doing as a result.

What Actually Happened: The Playlist-EGYM Deal

Mindbody's parent company, Playlist (rebranded from the original Mindbody corporate entity), merged with EGYM in early 2026, with $785 million in new investment from Affinity Partners, Vista Equity Partners, Temasek, and L Catterton.[1] The combined entity brings together Mindbody's 40,000+ connected businesses, ClassPass's 88,000+ partner venues, and EGYM's 20,000+ employer fitness clients.[2]

EGYM is primarily known for smart gym equipment and an employee fitness benefit platform — their hardware includes connected strength machines used in corporate wellness programs. The merger combines software (Mindbody's booking and payments infrastructure) with EGYM's enterprise fitness hardware and employer partnerships.

For operators, the most immediate signal is this: Mindbody is now part of a much larger, more complex corporate structure with enterprise-focused investors and a hardware company's priorities. The $785M in new capital is large — but it's institutional capital from investors expecting returns, not a customer-care fund.

What Mindbody Costs in 2026 (and What's Changed)

Mindbody's current pricing sits at three tiers: Starter at $99/month, Accelerate at $259–$279/month, and Ultimate at $499–$699/month, with higher tiers requiring custom quotes.[3] On top of monthly fees, the platform charges 2.99% + $0.30 for card-present transactions and 3.60% + $0.30 for online payments.[3]

The detail that catches many operators off guard: Mindbody charges a 20% commission on bookings that come through the consumer-facing ClassPass or Mindbody app, capped at $30 per booking.[3] That's a meaningful cost if you rely on those consumer channels for new customer acquisition.

Some operators report that their Mindbody costs have increased substantially over the years as the platform has added tiers and restructured pricing. Whether those increases accelerate post-merger is unknown — but the signals from the new ownership group are enterprise-oriented, not SMB-oriented.

What the Merger Means for Gym Owners Day-to-Day

In the near term, most Mindbody operators won't see immediate changes to their dashboard, workflows, or pricing. Mergers of this scale typically take 12–24 months to produce visible product changes.

What's harder to predict is the long-term product direction. EGYM's focus is enterprise clients — corporate wellness accounts, large health club chains, employer-sponsored fitness. The combined entity has strong incentive to develop features and pricing structures that serve those customers first. Small and mid-size gym operators are profitable customers for Mindbody, but they're not the primary growth thesis for a $7.5B company backed by institutional investors.

The platform's existing integrations — point-of-sale, marketing tools, reporting — are unlikely to change overnight. But operators who rely on Mindbody as their only software should factor in how much leverage they have if pricing increases again or features shift to higher tiers.

On the ClassPass side, the merger consolidates ClassPass and Mindbody under one ownership umbrella, which may benefit operators who use ClassPass to fill open inventory — or may concentrate negotiating power further away from individual gym owners.

The Platforms Gym Owners Are Comparing After the Merger

Many gym operators use merger news as a natural trigger to do a software review. If you're evaluating alternatives — or just want to know what's out there — here's what operators are actively comparing:

Orhuk — A full facility operations platform: bookings, memberships, payments, waivers, staff scheduling, inventory, and events in one system. Unlike Mindbody, Orhuk includes an integrated customer-facing booking site as part of the core product — not a separate consumer app. Free plan available; Pro at $19.99/mo; Business at $39.99/mo with a fee cap at $500/mo. No per-booking consumer app commissions. Setup typically happens the same hour you sign up rather than over weeks.

WellnessLiving — A mid-market competitor often cited as a lower-cost Mindbody alternative. Operators on G2 note solid class and appointment management but mixed reviews on customer support responsiveness.

Vagaro — Popular with salon and spa operators; also serves gyms. Add-on pricing model means the base cost understates total spend. Month-to-month contracts available.

PushPress — CrossFit and functional fitness focused. Strong on class-based operations but limited for multi-resource or multi-sport facilities.

The right choice depends on your facility type. Multi-resource operators (courts, rooms, equipment), studios with mixed class and appointment models, and facilities with event or inventory needs tend to look hardest at platforms that offer those as native features — not add-ons.

Questions to Ask Before You Decide

If you're currently on Mindbody and evaluating your options, these are worth answering:

What's your actual all-in cost? Add up your monthly tier, payment processing %, and any consumer app commissions. Compare this against your facility's GMV to get a true total % cost.

Which features are you actually using? Many Mindbody customers pay for tiers that include features they don't use. A smaller platform that covers your actual workflows at lower cost may be a better fit.

What happens if they raise prices? Post-merger, the pressure on pricing is more likely to increase than decrease. Do you have a realistic migration path if that happens?

How long does it take to switch? If your current software took weeks to set up, switching feels expensive. Platforms that configure in the same hour change that math significantly.

The Playlist-EGYM merger is a big industry moment — but it doesn't require an immediate response. Take the time to audit what you're actually spending and compare it against what you actually need.

Sources

[1] TechCrunch — "The Company Behind ClassPass and Mindbody Just Got a Lot Bigger With a $7.5B Merger" (March 2026) [2] Athletech News — "ClassPass, Mindbody, Playlist EGYM Merger $7.5 Billion Deal" [3] FitVizPro — "Mindbody Pricing 2026: Full Cost Breakdown"

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Mindbody get acquired in 2026?: Not acquired exactly — Mindbody's parent company Playlist merged with EGYM in March 2026, creating a combined entity valued at $7.5 billion. The deal included $785 million in new investment from Affinity Partners, Vista Equity, Temasek, and L Catterton. Mindbody continues to operate as a platform, but is now part of a larger corporate structure alongside ClassPass, Booker, and EGYM's hardware and employer fitness business.
What is Mindbody's pricing in 2026?: As of 2026, Mindbody charges $99/mo for Starter, $259–$279/mo for Accelerate, and $499–$699/mo for Ultimate (with higher-tier custom quotes). Payment processing is 2.99% + $0.30 card-present and 3.60% + $0.30 online. The platform also charges a 20% commission (capped at $30) on bookings made through its consumer app or ClassPass.
What are the best alternatives to Mindbody in 2026?: Orhuk offers a full facility operations platform — bookings, memberships, payments, waivers, staff, and inventory — with a free plan and Pro/Business plans starting at $19.99/mo, no per-booking consumer app commissions, and same-hour setup. Other commonly compared platforms include WellnessLiving, Vagaro, and PushPress, each with different strengths depending on facility type and booking complexity.
What does the Mindbody EGYM merger mean for gym owners?: In the near term, Mindbody operators are unlikely to see immediate changes to their dashboard or pricing. The longer-term implication is that the platform is now part of an enterprise-oriented company — EGYM focuses on corporate wellness and large health club chains — which may influence the product roadmap toward larger clients over time. Operators should review their actual all-in costs and understand their migration options as a precaution.