A Mariana Tek alternative for studios that do classes AND appointments
Mariana Tek doesn’t offer native appointment booking, so privates get run as single-person classes that clients can self-cancel out of without rebooking. Sub coverage typically requires NetGym as a separate paid tool, marketing requires Xplor Growth as a paid add-on, and the all-in stack regularly spans three or four vendors.
Zipper is built for hybrid and appointment-heavy studios — native appointment and class booking in one calendar, sub coverage and marketing automations included on every plan, Stripe at standard rates with no platform markup, and most studios live in days, not weeks.
Zipper vs. Mariana Tek at a glance
A feature-by-feature look at how the two platforms stack up.
| Feature | Zipper | Mariana Tek |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & processing | ✓ Starter $139, Studio $299, Growth $499 — published on the site, with branded website, app, marketing automations, CRM, and reporting all included. Stripe at standard rates with no platform markup. | ✕ Premium base pricing on multi-year terms; once add-ons (marketing, sub coverage, in-app advertising, analytics) are layered in, the all-in stack regularly lands north of $1,200/mo across three or four vendors |
| Native appointment booking | ✓ Native appointments alongside classes — privates, duets, semi-privates, events, and trainings in one calendar with shared client profiles | ✕ Class-first product; native appointment booking has been "in beta" for years and isn’t shipped — privates are typically run as single-person classes |
| Memberships per client | ✓ Clients can hold multiple memberships at once — trial users can upgrade without ending the trial | ✕ Trial-to-paid and overlapping membership flows commonly require manual workarounds |
| Substitute management | ✓ Native sub coverage with instructor accept/decline workflow — included on every plan | ✕ Native sub coverage is limited; studios commonly add NetGym as a separate paid tool to fill the gap |
| Marketing automations | ✓ Tagged segments, exclusion rules, multi-step automated journeys, two-way SMS, and email — all included | ✕ Marketing capabilities require Xplor Growth (formerly Brand Bot) as a paid add-on; studios commonly report the feature set doesn’t match what their marketing needs require |
| Retail & inventory | ✓ Native retail and inventory tracking integrated with checkout | ✕ Studios commonly report accuracy issues with native inventory tracking; some run Shopify in parallel for retail |
| Reporting & financial transparency | ✓ Owner dashboards with month-over-month and year-over-year comparisons; Stripe fees flow into reports so the numbers reconcile to the dollar | ✕ Surface-level reporting; accounting reports don’t cleanly reflect Stripe fees, creating reconciliation friction with QuickBooks |
| Contracts | ✓ Month-to-month, cancel anytime, no auto-renew clause | ✕ Multi-year terms (commonly three years) are standard |
| Admin app | ✓ Staff and admin app for both iOS and Android | ✕ Admin app is iOS-only — a real friction for studios with mixed devices |
| Customer support | ✓ Same-day responses from a U.S.-based team — for the life of the account | ✕ Tiered support with longer response times reported on operational issues |
This comparison is based on information that’s publicly available on the internet and reports from studios who’ve evaluated both. It may not include all recent features. We encourage you to demo all platforms to evaluate for your needs.
Where Zipper differs from Mariana Tek in the side-by-side
Three things studios consistently flag when comparing the two: appointment depth for studios that aren’t pure class-volume franchises, a single platform instead of a four-tool stack, and pricing they can predict.
Native appointments — not promised, shipped
Privates, duets, semi-privates, and trainings live in the same calendar as group classes, with proper booking rules, no-show enforcement, and shared client profiles.
One platform, not four
When marketing, sub coverage, retail, and instructor-to-client communication all live in the same product as your booking, the data stays in sync, the bill is one number, and your team doesn’t spend the morning reconciling between four dashboards.
Pricing you can actually predict
Plans are published on the site. We send a written quote that includes processing rates and any optional add-ons up front — so the number you remember is the number you sign.
Native appointments, built in by default
On Zipper, the appointment side has the same depth as the class side — clients can self-book privates with specific instructors at the times that work for them, and the rules around cancellation, package balance, and overlapping memberships are enforced consistently.
- Privates, duets, semi-privates, events, and trainings live in the same calendar as classes
- Clients can self-book appointments with specific instructors at the times that work
- Hard booking blocks once a client’s package balance is exhausted — no surprise empty slots
- Multiple memberships per client — trials can upgrade without ending the trial
- Native multi-day course and teacher-training support without recreating each session
Mariana Tek: Mariana Tek is class-first; native appointment booking isn’t shipped, and most studios run privates as single-person classes — a workaround that breaks when clients self-cancel.
One platform instead of four
When the booking, marketing, sub coverage, and retail tools all live in one product, milestone follow-ups go out in real time instead of a day late, owner dashboards reflect what actually happened in the building, and your team stops bouncing between four logins.
- Real-time milestone and follow-up triggers — no overnight FitGrid sync delay
- Two-way SMS that reads and writes to the same client profile your bookings live in
- Tagged email segments that update the moment a class is booked or a package expires
- Owner dashboards built on the same data that drives the schedule — no exports needed
Mariana Tek: Mariana Tek studios commonly stitch together Xplor Growth, NetGym, and FitGrid on top of the base subscription, with sync delays and reconciliation overhead between tools.
Month-to-month, live in days
Pre-launch and growth-stage studios can’t commit to a three-year term, especially at quotes that land near $899/mo for the top package. Zipper is the inverse — published pricing, no lock-in, and most studios fully operational in days.
- Month-to-month with cancel-anytime — no auto-renew, no promotional cliff
- A migration specialist runs the project end-to-end; migration is included
- Branded website included, or embed clean booking widgets into the site you already have
Mariana Tek: Mariana Tek contracts commonly run multi-year, with quotes at the top of the category for studios needing the full feature set.
The specific things you’ll stop dealing with
These are the small, recurring frustrations studios on Mariana Tek describe to us most often. On Zipper, none of them are tasks anymore.
Friction you’ll leave behind
- Paying for NetGym on top of the base platform just to manage substitutes.
- Paying for Xplor Growth for marketing automations that should be native.
- Running Shopify in parallel because native retail inventory drifts.
- Recreating a multi-day course as a separate one-off class for every session.
- Recurring class templates that get fragile the moment a sub is added.
Things that just work on Zipper
- Hybrid class support with auto-generated meeting links for every virtual session.
- Two-way SMS that reads and writes to the same client profile your bookings live in.
- Real-time alerts on bookings, cancellations, and payment failures.
- One-step gift cards — the purchaser and the recipient flow are connected.
- Apple Pay, Google Pay, and tap-to-pay in the standard product.
Replace your booking, marketing, sub-management, and CRM tools with Zipper
The next generation of studio software isn’t a better booking tool — it’s a true operating system. More revenue, fewer tool subscriptions, less tech stress.
Classes & Appointments
Group classes, privates, duets, semi-privates, events, and trainings — all in one calendar with shared client profiles.
Learn more →Stripe-native Payments
You own your Stripe account and pay standard Stripe rates — no platform markup on top.
Learn more →Memberships & Packs
Hybrid memberships, combo plans, multiple memberships per client, native auto-renewing packs, and a one-step gift card flow.
Learn more →Branded Client App
A true white-label app — one account, your brand end-to-end, with credits and card-on-file synced across every surface clients touch.
Learn more →2-Way SMS & Email Marketing
Tagged segments, exclusion rules, multi-step automated journeys, two-way texting, and email — all included on every plan.
Learn more →Website Builder
A conversion-tuned branded website included on every plan — or embed clean booking widgets into the site you already have.
Learn more →Zipper vs. Mariana Tek: common questions
Answers to the questions studios ask when comparing Mariana Tek and Zipper.
How does appointment booking compare?
How do the base prices compare?
Do I still need Xplor Growth (or Brand Bot) for marketing?
What about substitute management — do I still need NetGym?
How is reporting different?
Does the admin app work on Android?
How does retail and inventory work?
Are there long-term contracts?
How fast is onboarding?
Mariana Tek has a great customer-facing app — what am I giving up?
Can I migrate my data from my current platform?
See what your studio looks like on Zipper
30-minute demo. No pressure. We’ll walk through your specific mix of classes and appointments, share a written summary of all-in pricing afterward, and show you exactly how migration off your current platform works in practice.