Last Updated: June 2026
If you’re evaluating Momence vs Raklet, the short answer is: they serve different kinds of organizations. Momence is purpose-built for fitness and wellness studios that run classes and appointments. Raklet is a membership and community platform designed for associations, nonprofits, alumni groups, clubs, and professional organizations.
Before deciding, there’s also an ownership development worth knowing: Clubessential Holdings acquired Momence in January 2025, a PE-backed holding company in the Xplor Technologies ecosystem. That changes the long-term vendor calculus for studios evaluating a multi-year commitment.
If you’re a fitness studio evaluating class scheduling and booking tools, you’ll find Momence the more feature-rich solution for your core scheduling needs. If you’re a membership organization, association, or community group, Raklet is the more natural fit. The comparison below covers pricing (including Momence’s dual platform fees, which are not prominent on the pricing page), AI features, company health, and what existing Momence customers say about the platform.
You can also browse alternatives to Momence across multiple categories if you’re still mapping the landscape.
TL;DR: Momence is purpose-built for fitness studios; Raklet is built for membership organizations. Momence carries per-transaction platform fees and annual contract lock-in. The Momence vs Raklet decision comes down to one core question: are you running a class-booking business, or managing an ongoing member community? Clubessential Holdings (PE-backed) acquired Momence in January 2025, which adds long-term vendor uncertainty for studios signing multi-year contracts.
Quick Verdict
| Dimension | Momence | Raklet |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $0 to $199/mo base; platform fees on every transaction (5%+4% on Basic, 2.5% on Pro) | $0 to $399/mo; transaction fees vary by plan |
| Contract | Annual (12-month) contract; not disclosed on pricing page | Month-to-month available on all plans |
| Ownership | PE-owned (Clubessential Holdings / Xplor Technologies) since Jan 2025 | Independent; Techstars-backed; not PE-owned |
| AI features | AI Inbox, AI Corporate Dashboard, AI Insights, Ads Manager (Meta) | Planned, on the roadmap |
| Best for | Fitness and wellness studios running classes and appointments | Membership organizations, associations, nonprofits, clubs |
Platform Overview
Momence launched in 2020 (Y Combinator S2020) as a scheduling and booking platform for class-based businesses: yoga studios, dance schools, gyms, wellness centers, and similar operations. Its core workflow is built around scheduling, payments for classes, and automating the follow-up cycle for fitness clients. The platform added AI features, on-demand video, and a Meta ads integration through 2023 and 2024 before being acquired by Clubessential Holdings in early 2025.
Raklet was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in San Francisco with a remote team. It is designed as an all-in-one membership and community management platform: contact database (CRM), membership dues collection, event management, email and SMS communications, private community portal, fundraising, and custom-branded mobile apps. Organizations use it to manage members, run events, send newsletters, and collect recurring payments without needing multiple third-party tools. It serves associations, nonprofits, alumni groups, professional networks, and hobby clubs.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Momence | Raklet |
|---|---|---|
| Class and appointment scheduling | Yes (core feature) | Limited (events only; not purpose-built for recurring class bookings) |
| Member management / CRM | Limited (client records, not membership organizations) | Yes (full CRM with custom fields, timeline, segmentation) |
| Email marketing | Yes (built-in automations, sequences, bulk) | Yes (built-in; email designer, automated reminders) |
| SMS messaging | Yes (add-on credits required) | Yes (built-in) |
| Mobile app (member-facing) | Yes (custom-branded iOS/Android for clients) | Yes (Raklet-branded app free on all plans; custom-branded app at $299/mo annual) |
| On-demand video / LMS | Yes (video library, course management) | No |
| Public API | Not publicly documented | Yes (documented; available on Premium plan) |
| Multi-location support | Yes (add-on required) | Yes (included) |
| Event management | Yes (workshops, events, hybrid) | Yes (ticketing, QR check-in, RSVP) |
| Membership dues / renewals | No (class passes and packages; not membership org dues) | Yes (recurring dues, auto-renewal, membership types) |
| Digital membership cards | No | Yes (Apple Wallet compatible) |
| Fundraising / donations | No | Yes (donation forms and campaigns) |
| SOAP notes (clinical) | Yes (allied health / wellness) | No |
| ClassPass integration | Yes | No |
| Retail POS | Yes (inventory and point-of-sale) | No |
AI Features
Momence released four AI-driven tools through 2024, included in the Pro and Custom plans:
- AI Inbox: Responds to client inquiries automatically, routes leads, and runs follow-up sequences so studio owners do not need to manually reply to every booking inquiry.
- AI-Powered Insights: Surfaces data-driven suggestions throughout the platform for improving revenue and attendance, drawing on the studio’s own historical data.
- AI Corporate Dashboard: A natural language query interface for multi-location operators. Studio groups can ask questions like “List the top 5 locations by lead-to-member conversion rate” and get live answers without building reports manually.
- Momence Ads Manager: Built-in Meta/Facebook/Instagram ad campaign management that automatically excludes existing members from retargeting audiences.
Raklet does not currently offer dedicated AI features, though AI capabilities are planned and on the product roadmap. The platform’s value proposition is in the breadth and flexibility of its membership and community management tools rather than AI-driven automation. If AI-assisted inbox management and an embedded Meta ads workflow are central requirements for your studio, Momence has a clear advantage in this category.
Pricing Comparison
Momence publishes three plan tiers, but the total cost to a studio can be significantly higher once transaction fees and add-ons are factored in. The Basic plan is priced at $0/month but carries a 5% platform fee charged to the business plus a separate 4% fee charged to the client on every transaction. Standard payment processing fees (3.9% + $0.30 for online card; 3.7% + $0.05 in-person) are additional. A studio processing $10,000 per month on the Basic plan pays roughly $900 in platform fees alone before payment processing costs.
The Pro plan ($60/month) reduces the platform fee to 2.5%, while the Custom plan ($199/month) removes the platform fee entirely.
Additionally, multiple Capterra reviews of Momence note that SMS messaging credits, advanced reporting, and multi-location support require paid add-ons that are not clearly disclosed during the sales process. Real-world costs of $350 to $450 per month have been reported by mid-size studios in Capterra reviews when these add-ons are included.
One more variable: Momence appears to default to annual (12-month) contracts per multiple customer reviews, but this is not stated on the public pricing page. Several reviewers report difficulty canceling or receiving continued billing after cancellation requests.
See Momence’s pricing page for current plan details.
Raklet prices by the number of contacts in the account. Transaction fees apply and vary by plan (4% on the free plan, 3% mid-tier, 2% on the top plan). See Raklet pricing plans for current tier details. Month-to-month billing is available, and the free plan (100 contacts, no credit card required) lets organizations evaluate the platform without a financial commitment.
| Plan | Momence | Raklet |
|---|---|---|
| Free / entry | $0/mo + 5%+4% per transaction | $0/mo (100 contacts; 1,250 emails/mo) |
| Mid tier | $60/mo + 2.5% per transaction | $49/mo (500 contacts) |
| Top published tier | $199/mo; no platform fee | Starting from $399/mo (10,000 contacts) |
| Contract | Annual (undisclosed on pricing page) | Month-to-month or annual |
| Platform transaction fee | 5%+4% (Basic) or 2.5% (Pro) | Vary by plan (1–4%) |
Momence Ownership and Company Health
Clubessential Holdings acquired Momence on January 29, 2025. Clubessential is a PE-backed holding company that is part of the Xplor Technologies ecosystem. The combined Clubessential portfolio includes ClubReady, Exerp, and myFitApp, and serves more than 15,000 locations across 45 countries, processes nearly $4 billion in annual payments, and manages approximately 13 million members globally. You can read the full details in the Clubessential Holdings acquisition announcement.
Vojta Drmota (co-founder, ex-Google Staff Software Engineer) remains CEO. Prior to the acquisition, Momence’s headcount was approximately 75 employees per Y Combinator’s profile. Clubessential has not publicly reported post-acquisition headcount figures.
Product cadence changed materially after the acquisition. Momence ran a high-velocity changelog through Q4 2024, with weekly to bi-weekly releases tracked on the Momence Substack changelog. The last public changelog entry was February 14, 2025. As of June 2026, no further public changelog updates have been posted. Studios evaluating Momence for a multi-year commitment should ask directly about the product roadmap under Clubessential ownership before signing.
Raklet is independently owned (Techstars and Microsoft Ventures, 2016), is not PE-backed, and has no acquisition history. If you’re looking at how PE acquisition affects fitness and wellness software vendors over time, Mindbody vs Raklet and ClubReady vs Raklet offer relevant context on other Clubessential portfolio products.
What Momence Users Say
Momence holds a 4.0/5 rating from 76 reviews on Capterra (listed under its former brand name, Ribbon). The support sub-rating is 3.7/5, the lowest category across the platform’s review profile.
The most consistent themes across reviews in 2023 and 2024:
- Pricing opacity: The dual platform fee structure (business fee plus client fee) was described by multiple studio owners as not clearly communicated during the sales process. Studios on the Basic plan report paying significantly more than the advertised $0/month once fees accumulate at volume.
- Contract lock-in: Multiple reviewers report continued billing after requesting cancellation, and describe the cancellation process as unclear. One reviewer raised a cancellation in October and received billing the following month, with no way to remove their payment method from the account.
- Support changes post-acquisition: Momence removed phone support without advance notice. Per multiple Capterra reviews from 2024 and early 2025, customer support moved to email-only, handled by an offshore team. Onboarding managers who left the company received no handoff to replacement contacts.
- Feature gaps: Recurring class setup (needing to create the same class separately for each day rather than selecting multiple days at once) and reporting accuracy issues appear in multiple reviews.
On the positive side: Momence’s UX is generally rated as modern and easier to navigate than older competitors. The AI Inbox and automation capabilities receive positive mentions from reviewers. ClassPass and Meta Ads integrations are cited as useful for studios with paid acquisition budgets and a need to fill class capacity quickly.
Raklet’s support options include email, chat, and phone (phone support available as an add-on). The platform runs on a small, engineering-focused team with no dedicated support outsourcing. Organizations migrating from Momence to Raklet consistently report that Raklet’s support staff have direct product knowledge rather than following a script, which matters most when questions are technical or account-configuration specific.
Switching from Momence
Momence defaults to annual contracts, which creates switching friction if you decide to move platforms mid-year. Multiple reviewers on Capterra report difficulty canceling: continued billing after cancellation requests, inability to remove payment methods, and no self-service data export path. Several platforms including OfferingTree, Punchpass, and StudioBookings actively advertise free migration from Momence.
If you are currently on a Momence contract and evaluating alternatives, the practical steps are: get your cancellation terms in writing, confirm the contract end date before starting any migration, and request a CSV data export early in the process. Raklet’s team can assist with data imports from exported files.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Momence or Raklet better for a fitness studio?
Momence is better suited for fitness studios running classes and appointments as the primary business model. It has purpose-built scheduling, ClassPass integration, SOAP notes for clinical settings, on-demand video, and an AI Inbox for automating client communication. Raklet is designed for membership organizations rather than class-based studios, so features like dues management, digital membership cards, and association CRM are stronger in Raklet, while recurring class scheduling is not a core Raklet capability.
Does Momence charge platform fees on top of the monthly price?
Yes. On the Basic plan ($0/month), Momence charges a 5% fee to the business and a separate 4% fee to the client on every transaction. The Pro plan ($60/month) reduces this to 2.5% per transaction. The Custom plan ($199/month) removes the platform fee entirely. Standard payment processing fees (Stripe/PayPal) apply in addition to the platform fee on all tiers. Raklet’s transaction fees vary by plan (4% free, 3% mid-tier, 2% top plan).
What happened to Momence after the Clubessential acquisition?
Clubessential Holdings (PE-backed, part of Xplor Technologies) acquired Momence on January 29, 2025. Since the acquisition, public changelog activity stopped after February 2025. It is not publicly known how product direction, pricing, or support structures will evolve under Clubessential ownership. Studios signing multi-year contracts with Momence today are committing to a product whose roadmap a PE holding company controls.
Can I switch from Momence without losing my data?
Switching is possible but has friction. Momence does not appear to offer a self-service data export tool based on customer reports. Requesting a CSV export of client records, class history, and payment data early in the evaluation process is the recommended approach. Multiple platforms advertise assisted migration from Momence, so data portability is achievable with planning and some manual work.
Is there a free alternative to Momence for membership organizations?
Raklet offers a permanent free plan supporting up to 100 contacts with no credit card required, which includes CRM, event management, community building, and membership management features. It is not designed for fitness studio class scheduling, but for associations, nonprofits, alumni groups, and clubs, it covers the core workflow at no cost for smaller organizations.
Momence vs Raklet: Which Platform Is Right for You?
Choose Momence if your organization runs a fitness or wellness studio where class scheduling and client booking are the core workflow, you want AI-powered inbox automation and Meta ads integration, and you’re comfortable with per-transaction fees and an annual contract structure. It is a capable fitness studio platform, even with the post-acquisition uncertainty around product direction.
Choose Raklet if you manage a membership organization, association, club, nonprofit, or alumni network. Raklet’s membership dues management, digital membership cards, private community portal, and event management are built for ongoing member relationships rather than one-time class purchases. Transaction fees vary by plan, there are no forced annual contracts, and the platform is independently owned with a transparent pricing structure. The free plan lets you try it without a credit card.
For a broader comparison of fitness and wellness studio software, see how other platforms in the same category compare: Mindbody vs Raklet and ClubReady vs Raklet.
