If you’re running a studio, academy, or camp, you may be searching for Studio Pro alternatives that better fit your growing operational needs. While Studio Pro has long been a go-to dance studio management software, many organizations find themselves needing more flexibility, modern mobile experiences, and built-in communication tools.
In this guide, we compare 12 of the best Studio Pro alternatives, highlighting their features, strengths, and ideal use cases to help you choose the right solution for your organization.
Author’s note: Olivier shares tips and tricks he’s learned over the past decade as the owner of a children’s activity centre. Today, as the co-founder of Activity Messenger, he helps hundreds of dance studios across North America simplify the management of their studio and increase their revenue.
DISCLAIMER: Activity Messenger is our software. We created it after experiencing the various shortcomings of existing dance studio management tools for years.
Studio Pro has served the dance industry well since 2014, offering a comprehensive platform for class management, registration, billing, and recitals.
However, many studios are finding they need more from their management software:
Switching to a modern alternative can consolidate your workflows, improve family experiences, reduce administrative burden, and provide better marketing tools to grow your enrolment.
| Platform | Starting Price | Data Hosting | Mobile Experience | Email / SMS | Marketing Automation | Capterra Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio Pro | $45/mo | US | ⚠️ Limited (iOS only) | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Minimal (requires Zapier) | 4.5/5 |
| Activity Messenger | $89/mo | Canada | ✅ Mobile-first | ✅ Integrated | ✅ Advanced | 4.8/5 |
| Jackrabbit Dance | $49/mo (+ student count) | US | ⚠️ Moderate | ⚠️ Minimal | 4.6/5 | |
| iClassPro | $139/mo | US | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ Email/SMS | ⚠️ Limited | 4.5/5 |
| Studio Director | Custom | US | ⚠️ Moderate | ✅ Email/SMS | ⚠️ Minimal | 4.6/5 |
| Amilia | $99/mo | Canada/US | ✅ Mobile-friendly | ✅ Yes | 4.3/5 | |
| Mindbody | Custom | US | ✅ Mobile-first | ✅ Email/SMS | ✅ Advanced | 4.0/5 |
| WellnessLiving | $69/mo | US | ✅ Mobile apps | ✅ Email/SMS | ✅ Advanced | 4.4/5 |
| Zen Planner | Custom | US | ✅ Mobile-friendly | ⚠️ Limited | 4.3/5 | |
| Akada | $60/mo | US | ⚠️ Moderate | ⚠️ Minimal | 3.2/5 | |
| Pike13 | $139/mo | US | ✅ Mobile-friendly | ✅ Email/SMS | ⚠️ Minimal | 4.1/5 |
| Vagaro | Custom | US | ✅ Mobile-ready | ✅ Email/SMS | ✅ Yes | 4.7/5 |
| ClassJuggler | $61.43/mo | US | ✅ Mobile-friendly | ⚠️ Limited | 4.4/5 |
Activity Messenger is an all-in-one platform offering online registration, payments, digital waivers, email/SMS communication, and automation designed specifically for Canadian and U.S. dance studios, sports programs, and recreation organizations.
Ideal For: Dance studios seeking an all-in-one solution with compliance, or any studio wanting modern marketing automation and mobile-first registration.
1. Customizable Platform to Fit Your Studio’s Needs
One of the most common complaints about Studio Pro is its outdated interface and limited customization options. Activity Messenger solves this with:
How It Works: Choose a pre-designed template or build forms from scratch using the drag-and-drop form builder. Create exactly what you want with the flexibility of Google Forms combined with the power of online registration software.
2. Marketing Tools that Drive Registrations
Studio Pro’s lack of built-in marketing tools is a key limitation. Activity Messenger offers:
How It Works: When a parent starts registration but doesn’t complete it, automated follow-ups are sent via email or SMS. You can offer incentives like first-time client discounts. Analytics show which campaigns work best, allowing you to refine your approach.
3. Simplified Communication with Your Community
Studio Pro’s communication tools are limited, especially in the base plan. Activity Messenger centralizes all communication:
How It Works: Schedule session start reminders to reach parents automatically. After events or classes, automated surveys collect feedback. All communication is tracked and organized in one central location.
💬 What our customers say:
“This product has been a great addition to helping us organize our waivers and registration. We have been looking for a system that will help mitigate storage as well as the amount of staffing hours being utilized. This system is fast and efficient and user friendly for the customer. The price was a great selling point for the amount of forms we collected a year without breaking the budget. Happy we found a Canadian company as well that understood compliance!” — Kimberly F., Executive Director, Non-Profit Organization Management
“Activity Messenger has seamlessly integrated with our existing registration software and has plugged the existing holes we had with personalized communication as well as form and waiver management. The team is quick to implement fixes and is always available for support.” — Cj P., Gym Director, Sports Centre
📌 Read More: Check out our other blog posts to learn about dance studio management best practices. You may also want to view our YouTube channel for additional insights, feature walkthroughs, and more.
Best for: Established dance studios of all sizes looking for comprehensive, industry-specific features with strong costume and recital management.
Jackrabbit Dance is a top-rated class management software designed for dance studios. It offers a wide range of features to simplify studio operations, including online registrations, automated billing, attendance tracking, recital planning, staff management, and reporting.
Key strengths as dance studio software:
Limitations:
📌 Read More: Discover why Activity Messenger is an effective Canadian alternative to Jackrabbit here.
Best for: Multi-discipline studios (dance, gymnastics, cheer, swim) or organizations needing advanced skill tracking and family management with flat-fee pricing.
iClassPro is a versatile dance studio that offers a wide range of features, including scheduling, online registration, payment processing and attendance tracking. Parents can manage registrations and payments through a customer portal, while staff can use a branded app to manage their schedules and class details on the go.
Key strengths as dance studio software:
Limitations:
📌 Read More: Considering iClassPro? We’ve done a deep dive into iClassPro alternatives as well as a one-on-one comparison with Activity Messenger here.
Best for: Dance studios with significant costume and recital management needs wanting dance-specific software with customizable reporting.
Studio Director is a class management software for dance studios that streamlines essential studio tasks, including class scheduling, billing, and online registration.
Key strengths as dance studio software:
Limitations:
Best for: Multi-location studios or organizations offering both dance and other recreation programs (sports, camps, fitness) with membership and merchandise needs.
Amilia is an all-in-one management platform designed for sports, recreation, and dance organizations, with a strong presence in the Canadian market.
Key strengths as dance studio software:
Limitations:
📌 Read More: Many businesses compare Activity Messenger with Amilia for online registration. Consider checking out this blog to discover how you can replace five separate tools with one unified solution.
Best for: Studios seeking extensive integrations, access to ClassPass client network, or those wanting fitness/wellness industry positioning with advanced marketing automation.
Mindbody is a comprehensive management platform used by fitness, wellness, and dance studios worldwide. It offers a wide range of tools for managing scheduling, booking, payments, marketing and staff coordination.
Key strengths as dance studio software:
Limitations:
Best for: Studios focused on client retention and engagement through marketing automation and loyalty programs, with dedicated mobile apps for clients and staff.
WellnessLiving provides solutions for managing student registrations, memberships, scheduling, and payment processing. With marketing automation tools, the platform allows dance studio owners to send personalized emails, texts, and push notifications to keep students engaged.
Key strengths as dance studio software:
Limitations:
Best for: Studios offering multiple disciplines (dance, martial arts, fitness) or those needing strong family/curriculum tracking with a branded member app.
Zen Planner is a feature-rich software designed to simplify dance studio operations. It includes student management, billing, class scheduling, and skill tracking, all accessible from any device.
Key strengths as dance studio software:
Limitations:
Best for: Traditional dance studios wanting proven, established software with extensive reporting options and 25+ years of industry experience.
Akada is a dance studio management platform that simplifies key administrative tasks such as online registration, class scheduling, and billing, allowing dance studio owners to focus more on teaching and less on paperwork.
Key strengths as dance studio software:
Limitations:
Best for: Studios wanting straightforward, easy-to-use software without overwhelming complexity, with a branded mobile app and good reporting tools.
Pike13 is a management software tailored for dance studios, offering a user-friendly interface to streamline operations. It provides features for scheduling, client management, billing, and reporting.
Key strengths as dance studio software:
Limitations:
Best for: Studios offering dance plus other services (beauty, fitness, wellness) or wanting strong marketing capabilities with a multi-industry platform.
Vagaro is a management platform used by dance studios, salons, fitness centers, and more. It offers features for online booking, scheduling, client management, and automated reminders to help streamline daily operations.
Key strengths as dance studio software:
Limitations:
Best for: Studios wanting simple, reliable software without complex features, with secure cloud-based storage and mobile-friendly access.
ClassJuggler is an easy-to-use platform designed to meet the needs of dance studios. It offers robust features for managing student registration, class scheduling and payments, all within a secure, cloud-based system.
Key strengths as dance studio software:
Limitations:
Activity Messenger, Jackrabbit, iClassPro, and Studio Director are top options, each with different strengths. Activity Messenger excels at all-in-one functionality with built-in marketing automation and Canadian compliance. Jackrabbit offers the most comprehensive dance-specific features, including costume management and recital planning. iClassPro provides strong skill tracking and family management with flat-fee pricing. Studio Director specializes in recital and costume management for traditional dance studios.
Yes. Modern all-in-one platforms like Activity Messenger, Mindbody, and WellnessLiving handle registration, automated billing, attendance tracking, parent communication (email/SMS), marketing automation, and reporting in a single system. This eliminates the need for Studio Pro plus separate tools for email marketing, SMS, and forms.
Activity Messenger, Mindbody, and WellnessLiving are built mobile-first, meaning their registration flows are designed primarily for smartphones rather than adapted from desktop. This results in faster load times, simpler navigation, and higher completion rates.
Yes. Activity Messenger, Jackrabbit, and Amilia are designed for multi-location operations with centralized student databases, location-specific scheduling, cross-location enrollment options, and consolidated reporting across all sites. Studio owners can track performance by location while maintaining consistent branding and processes across all studios.
Yes. Activity Messenger, Studio Director, and WellnessLiving provide comprehensive event management, including ticket sales, seating assignments, automated confirmations, rehearsal scheduling, and participant communications. Activity Messenger handles waitlists, early-bird pricing, and volunteer coordination in addition to ticket sales. These features allow studios to manage their biggest annual events without switching to separate ticketing platforms like Eventbrite.
Not all platforms offer the same mobile experience. Studio Pro has an iOS-only app with limited functionality. Modern platforms like Activity Messenger, Mindbody, and WellnessLiving offer mobile-first experiences with comprehensive features on smartphones. When evaluating software, test the mobile experience from a parent’s perspective — can they easily register, make payments, and access information on their phone?
Studio Pro offers flat-rate pricing, which is appealing for growing studios. Jackrabbit Dance uses student-count-based pricing (starting at $49/month, increasing with enrolment). Each model has trade-offs: flat-rate provides budget predictability but may be more expensive for very small studios, while student-count pricing can increase significantly as you grow (and may count inactive students).
Activity Messenger was created to address the shortcomings of traditional dance studio management systems and provide a modern, all-in-one alternative. From personalized registration forms to customized communications, the platform makes it easy to automate routine tasks while maintaining a professional appearance.
The dance studio software landscape has evolved significantly since Studio Pro launched in 2014. Today’s studios have options that combine powerful features, modern user experiences, and all-in-one functionality, reducing administrative burden and improving family satisfaction.
💡 Want a modern alternative to Studio Pro with built-in marketing, Canadian compliance, and mobile-first registration? Book a demo with Activity Messenger to see how registration, waivers, communication, and automation can run from one system.
