Comparison · Arketa alternative

The honest Arketa alternativefor independent studios

Arketa is the modern favourite of US boutique wellness — beautiful UX, strong video and retreat features, and a branded app on higher tiers. But individual plans add a 3% platform fee on top of Stripe, studio pricing is sales-led, and Europe isn't the focus. Class Booking is the transparent, EU-native alternative.

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Studios switching from Arketa typically save €40+/month (plus the 3% platform fee)
Plus our team handles your migration

Why studios switch

The most common reasons studios leave Arketa

A 3% platform fee on top of Stripe

Arketa's individual plans add a 3% transaction fee on top of Stripe's processing. For a studio selling €10,000/month, that's €300/month before the subscription. Class Booking adds nothing on top of Stripe.

Studio pricing is "Let's talk"

Arketa publishes individual-plan prices, but studio plans are quote-only — publicly reported from around $250/month. Class Booking's prices are on one public page, the same for everyone.

Advertised prices assume annual billing

The $49–$124/month individual prices are billed annually. Class Booking is monthly rolling at the listed price — cancel any time.

US-first product and hosting

Arketa is built for the US boutique market. Class Booking hosts in Denmark, supports European payment habits via Stripe, and ships its UI in six languages.

Done-for-you migration

We export your data, import it, verify it with you on a call and switch your domain on a weekend. No migration project on your desk.

Side by side

Class Booking vs Arketa

No spin. Both columns reflect public pricing and published features at the time of writing.

Class BookingArketa
Individual starting price€10 / £8 / $13/month$49/month (billed annually) + 3% fee
Platform transaction feeNone — Stripe only3% + Stripe on individual plans
Studio pricing transparencyPublicSales-led ("Let's talk")
Studio plan price€50 / £40 / $60/monthReported from ~$250/month
ContractMonthly rollingMonth-to-month or annual
Branded member appBranded web app includedNative app on Suite tiers
Retreats & eventsYes — built inYes — a genuine strength
Stripe integrationNative — your own accountNative
EU GDPR-compliant hostingYes — DenmarkNo (US-based)
Multi-language UIEN, DA, DE, SV, NB, ESEnglish-first
Free trial14 daysAvailable on individual plans
Data migrationDone for youOnboarding assistance

Honest take

When Arketa is still the right choice

We're not the right fit for everyone. Here's when you should stay with Arketa.

  • You're a US boutique studio that wants a native branded iOS/Android app and a polished on-demand video platform — Arketa does both very well.
  • Video-on-demand, hybrid and retreat revenue are central to your model; Arketa's creator-style tooling around these is genuinely strong.
  • You're US-based and want a vendor with US-hours support and a US-market feature roadmap.
  • You're big enough that a sales-led studio quote with negotiated fees works in your favour.
Migration, done for you

Switching from Arketa? We do all the work.

Tell us when you want to switch. We export your members, classes, schedules and active subscriptions from Arketa, import them to Class Booking, sit on a video call with you to verify everything looks right, and switch your domain over the weekend. Your customers don't notice.

  • All members & contact info
  • Active subscriptions (no re-auth needed)
  • Class-pass balances preserved 1:1
  • Historical bookings & attendance
  • Personal handover by a real human
How migration works

Typical migration timeline

  1. Day 1Discovery call — we understand your setup and timing.
  2. Day 2–3We export your data from Arketa and import to Class Booking.
  3. Day 4Walkthrough call — we verify everything looks right with you.
  4. Day 5–7You configure final touches (branding, custom pages).
  5. WeekendDomain cuts over. Your customers wake up Monday on Class Booking.

Switching from Arketa — FAQ

Typically 5–7 business days. We export members, class history and pass balances, import everything to Class Booking, verify with you on a video call, and switch your domain on a weekend.

Usually yes, cleanly. Arketa runs payments on Stripe, and so does Class Booking — active subscriptions transfer via Stripe's official tokenisation with billing dates and prices preserved. Members don't notice a thing. We confirm your setup on the discovery call.

A studio selling €10,000/month on an Arketa individual plan pays €300/month in platform fees on top of Stripe, plus the subscription. On Class Booking, the same studio pays €30 / £20 / $35/month total on Pro — Stripe fees are the only per-transaction cost on both platforms, so the €300 simply disappears.

Honest answer: no. We don't host video-on-demand content. If VOD revenue is central to your business, Arketa's video platform is a real reason to stay — or pair Class Booking with a dedicated video service. We'll tell you straight on the call.

We run both systems in parallel and time the cutover to your renewal date so you don't pay double. Start the migration a few weeks before renewal; the parallel period costs you nothing extra on our side thanks to the free trial.

Ready to leave Arketa?

Start a 14-day free trial. We'll migrate your data for you. Cancel anytime.

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Arketa alternative — Class Booking