Mariana Tek vs. Arketa: Which Fitness Software Is Right for Your Studio?

For boutique fitness studios, choosing the right software partner is one of the most important decisions operators make. If you’re deciding between Mariana Tek and Arketa—whether you’re brand new, on a third platform, or considering a switch—we’ve got you covered.

Mariana Tek vs. Arketa: Comparisons Through a Growth Lens

At Mariana Tek, we consider growth to be a wide category. There are so many ways to grow: Increasing revenue, expanding to new locations, adding to your member base, increasing retention, adding modalities or other offerings, and more. There’s no one right way to grow.

With that in mind, here are 3 ways to look at this decision from a growth mindset:

1) Growth philosophy

Arketa’s pricing structure is built around add-ons and passing payment processing fees directly to members at checkout. While this is one way for a studio to handle growth, Mariana Tek takes a different approach. Instead of adding fees at the point of sale, the platform is built to grow revenue through stronger retention, higher class utilization, member engagement tools like referrals and loyalty, and marketing automation that brings people back. All of these add to the member experience and build trust and retention for the long haul. 

That impact compounds over time: 

2) Data visibility

Knowing your total member count is a good start. Knowing which classes, instructors, locations, and membership types are truly driving growth is what lets an operator make confident decisions.

This is one of the most common reasons studios outgrow Arketa: Reporting that requires manually piecing together data from different places instead of surfacing it in one view. 

Mariana Tek centralizes your reporting from day one. The same visibility that a single location studio uses to spot what’s working is already in place if and when that studio decides to expand. See the insights and reporting that give growing studios a clearer view of their business →

3) Scalability

Mariana Tek is built to support studios wherever they are, whether that’s seamlessly running one location or operating a growing multi-location brand. 

Single location studios

Building long-term, sustainable growth at your studio shouldn’t mean more complexity behind the scenes. The right foundational systems will support your growth without losing what makes your brand special. 

Arketa may help a studio get started, while Mariana Tek gives operators the visibility, control, and infrastructure to scale without outgrowing their software.

Multi-location brands

The difference between Mariana Tek and Arketa becomes even more visible once a studio starts opening new locations. Mariana Tek’s location-level permissions and franchise tools are designed to keep operations consistent as a brand expands, so growth doesn’t require rebuilding your systems from scratch. Studios that have scaled on Arketa have found the platform’s tools weren’t built with that trajectory in mind, particularly around separating performance and revenue cleanly across locations.

Why These Studio Owners Switched From Arketa to Mariana Tek 

For studios already running on Arketa, a few patterns tend to show up right before a switch. Popflow Studios in California hit a wall with Arketa as it expanded from one location to several:

The team also struggled to build the automated marketing workflows needed to convert first-time visitors into long-term members, and found it difficult to separate revenue and performance across studios as they added locations. After switching to Mariana Tek, Popflow saw its strongest revenue month to date, nearly three times what it generated on Arketa, with memberships more than doubling.

BODICORE ran into a similar wall as the Lagree studio prepared to expand beyond its original location:

Since moving to Mariana Tek, BODICORE has seen a 119% increase in total purchasers, with location-level reporting now shaping decisions about where to open next.

The common thread: Both studios found that the cracks within their platform started to become more serious when growth started ramping up. They had to either stick with the limited decision-making power, or make a switch to Mariana Tek.

Mariana Tek vs. Arketa: Which is right for your studio?

Mariana Tek is built for premium boutique fitness brands that want to grow without losing what makes their brand special. From your first location to a growing multi-location business, Mariana Tek brings your brand, member experience, team, and growth together on one connected platform.

With member engagement, retention, utilization, revenue, and performance insights connected in one place, operators can spend less time piecing together data and more time creating exceptional experiences and growing their business. As you add locations, modalities, appointments, or wellness services, Mariana Tek gives you the visibility, control, and flexibility to scale without fragmenting your brand or member experience.

It’s a platform powerful enough to run the business, but intentionally designed to stay in the background so your brand remains at the center.

Arketa can be a reasonable fit for studios prioritizing a simple, low-lift setup and easy-to-use UI, and who are comfortable passing processing costs to members at checkout. It may be a fit for studios who want a strong video on demand (VOD) element for their business, along with VOD tools for influencers. Studios in this camp may be early in their growth trajectory and not yet planning the kind of expansion or reporting depth that comes with diversifying revenue streams or adding locations.

The clearest way to know which fits your specific situation is to walk through it with us. Book a demo to see how Mariana Tek supports studios at your stage of growth. You can also check out how Mariana Tek stacks up against Walla and Mindbody.