WellnessLiving

Overview

WellnessLiving is an operations platform for fitness and wellness businesses that want to manage bookings, payments and client engagement together. It is best suited to studios and gyms that will use that broad toolkit; operators needing several staff accounts should look beyond Starter, which allows only one staff member.

The Explorer business listing is included with a subscription and is designed to help prospective clients find and book services. Separate Achieve client and Elevate staff apps are available, while businesses can also launch branded client apps on Google Play and the App Store. WellnessLiving was founded in Toronto in 2013 by Len Fridman and Sasha Davids.

Key features

• Bookings and payments: Class and appointment booking, online booking, POS and credit card processing, and automated billing address everyday studio operations. That breadth can reduce the need to coordinate separate tools, but the one-person Starter seat limit makes it a poor fit for a team.
• Client records and forms: The Forms tool creates intake forms, surveys, questionnaires and waivers, and stores signed documents on client profiles. Keeping paperwork with client records is useful for businesses that collect forms as part of booking or service delivery.
• Client retention and marketing: Business adds rewards and loyalty, events scheduling, email and text marketing, and lead management. Those additions make it the more relevant tier for businesses actively trying to bring in and retain clients.
• Virtual services: FitLIVE supports live virtual sessions, while FitVID provides customized on-demand video channels. This gives businesses options for delivering services remotely as well as in person.
• Apps and integrations: Achieve serves clients and Elevate serves staff; branded client apps can be published for Android and iOS. Integration partners include Google Reserve, ClassPass, Wellhub, Zoom, Zapier, GoHighLevel, Mailchimp, Constant Contact, QuickBooks, Brivo and Spivi. API access requires approval and credentials arranged through an Account Executive, so businesses that need direct API access should account for that gate.
• Infrastructure and onboarding: WellnessLiving says it uses Amazon Web Services, follows PCI compliance protocols, strives for 99.9% uptime, and has announced SOC 2 compliance covering security, availability and confidentiality controls. Plans include free onboarding and training with a dedicated specialist, a kickoff call and two one-hour sessions.

Pricing

WellnessLiving has both subscription plans and a free client-app plan. The annual-billing figures shown for Starter, Business and BusinessPro sit alongside higher monthly figures for the latter two; compare the billing term as well as the feature set before choosing.

• Achieve Basic: free. It includes booking for appointments and classes, reviews, rewards and loyalty, and digital signatures, with no competitor ads. It is a useful no-cost option for client-facing booking and engagement, but it is not the full business operations package.
• Starter: $62 a month (billed annually). It includes one staff member, class and appointment booking, the Achieve Client App, the Elevate Staff App, POS and credit card processing, and free data migration. It suits a solo operator who needs core booking and payment tools; the single seat is the key constraint.
• Business: $35 a month (billed annually; $179/mo; plus save 80% for 2 months). It includes unlimited staff, rewards and loyalty, event scheduling, email and text marketing, and lead management. It is the practical step up for a staffed business that needs marketing and retention tools, though the displayed promotional terms should be weighed against the annual billing.
• BusinessPro: $62 a month (billed annually; $314/mo; plus save 80% for 2 months). It includes everything in Business and a white-label Achieve Client App. Choose it when custom client branding matters; otherwise Business covers the listed staffing and marketing additions at a lower annual-billing figure.
• Enterprise: custom pricing, with unlimited clients and unlimited staff. Its stated limits suit larger operations, but buyers will need a quote to assess cost.
• Achieve White Label: $209 a month (billed monthly). It provides a dedicated Google Play and Apple App Store download, custom branding, client registration, asset booking, event registration and push notifications. This is the branded-app option with an explicitly monthly term.

Platforms

WellnessLiving supports Android, iOS and web. Branded apps are available for both major mobile app stores, making the platform suitable for businesses serving clients across web and mobile.

Who it's for

WellnessLiving is aimed at fitness and wellness businesses ranging from small yoga studios to multi-location gyms. A solo provider can start with Starter's booking, processing and migration support, while a team is better matched to Business or above because Starter has one staff seat. Businesses that want client acquisition, loyalty and marketing tools have a clearer reason to move up from the core setup.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Broad operating scope: Bookings, payments, staff, marketing and loyalty sit within one platform, with forms and signed waivers attached to client profiles.
• Options for client engagement: The Explorer listing, rewards tools, branded apps and FitLIVE/FitVID cover discovery, retention, mobile access and virtual services.
• Onboarding is included: A dedicated specialist, kickoff call and two one-hour training sessions give businesses a defined start-up process.

Cons

• Starter is tightly limited: Its one staff member allowance rules it out for businesses that need multiple staff accounts.
• Advanced app branding costs more: White Label is $209 a month billed monthly, while BusinessPro adds the white-label Achieve app at a higher displayed monthly figure than Business.
• API access is gated: Approval and credentials through an Account Executive make it less direct for businesses planning integrations through the API.

Alternatives

For salon-focused needs, compare the Salon App Builder Software, Salon Gift Card Software and Salon Membership Software directories. For fitness and bodywork operators, the Gym Management Software, Pilates Studio Software and Massage Therapy Software lists are relevant starting points.

• Appy Pie Salon App Builder is worth considering when the priority is a salon app: its publishing plan is $18 a month and includes hosting, SSL, push notifications, Stripe payments, loyalty and app-store submission.
• Next is a lower-cost option for free booking, scheduling and app features, with unlimited SMS texts as an optional $5 a month add-on.
• Salonist offers a free Market Place Listing plan capped at 50 appointments per month, with booking, scheduling and staff shift management.
• SalonSynq may suit a business that wants unlimited bookings and one user without a monthly fee, but its free Start Plan uses manual payment logging and has no SalonSynq online payment.
• Tonso offers its platform and transaction and card processing at no cost when the business passes the booking fee to clients.
• Aura'd is another freemium option for Android, iOS and web.
• salOWN is a freemium option for web.
• Authic uses custom pricing agreed in the customer agreement, with monthly or yearly fees and possible extra charges for services or features.

Verdict

WellnessLiving is a strong fit for fitness and wellness operators who want booking, payment, staff and client-engagement tools in one system, especially once marketing, loyalty and branded apps become part of the operation. Its main drawback is the combination of a one-seat Starter plan, costly branded-app options and approval-gated API access. Choose it for a broad studio-management setup; look elsewhere if you need several staff on the entry tier or a more direct API route.