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Arketa and Walla are very different competitors in the studio software space. Arketa hides most of its pricing behind demos, with a floor of $49/month. Walla, on the other hand, has a floor of $320, a very different price for entry. When looking at which might be right for your studio, however, pricing isn’t the only thing to consider. What is included in these plans makes a huge difference.
Arketa or Walla: which is right for your studio?
And if you’re anywhere between those two descriptions, neither pricing page has a number for you. We’ll get to that.
What are Arketa and Walla each built for?
Walla, on the other hand, went in another direction. Walla was built for boutique, brick-and-mortar studios with multiple staff members and more complex equipment needs, which its prices reflect.
Does Arketa or Walla have a plan for a solo instructor?
There is, however, a bit of a twist. Arketa adds a 3% transaction fee on top of Stripe’s standard 2.9% +$0.30 per transaction. That can really add up, especially as you grow. If you have $1,000/month in sales, that is $30 on top of Stripe’s cost. We put together more information about transaction fees versus processing fees in another article, if you want to dig into the math more.
Is Arketa or Walla better for a studio with a full team?
When looking at whether Walla or Arketa is better for studios with full teams, you have to look at the features. Walla has two main tiers besides Enterprise: Core at $320 and Pro at $599. These prices are per location, but both have unlimited users, so there is no additional charge per seat.
Walla also has some unique features. WallaPredict is able to flag at-risk clients that are closer to cancellation before they fully lapse. Book-a-Spot allows equipment reservations for things like bikes or reformers. It also has great multi-location features like location-level staff permissions, an owner dashboard, and centralized reporting.
Unfortunately, Walla also has a large group of add-ons that may be essential to your studio. On Core, a branded app costs $149/month plus $500 to build. Two-way texting is $100/month. Both of these features, however, are included in Pro. What both of these don’t include is a website, which costs a whopping $199/month and $2,800 for a one-time build.
On the flip side, Arketa has studio plans as well; however, all prices are hidden behind demos. They offer a large swath of features in their higher studio tiers, like staff management, email campaigns, and automated workflows, but pricing is unknown until you step into a demo.
Is Arketa or Walla better for hybrid and virtual classes?
If virtual classes are your ONLY focus, picking a platform with a lower barrier-to-entry for both website and an unlimited on-demand library may be ideal when comparing to Arketa. OfferingTree, for example, offers a website and unlimited on-demand at their individual entry tier starting at $26/month for an annual plan, or $35/month for month-to-month.
What will a growing or multi-location studio pay on each?
Arketa | Walla | |
| Solo / one person | $49/mo billed annually + 3% transaction fee | No plan available |
| One location, small team | Demo required | $320/mo (Core), unlimited users |
| Full marketing suite | Demo required (Studio Growth) | $599/mo (Pro) |
| Adding a second location | Demo required | Full per-location rate again; Enterprise discounts unpublished |
What should you ask Arketa or Walla before signing?
From Walla: what your full total would be with any critical add-ons, what a second location could cost you, and the contract and cancellation terms.
Is OfferingTree a good fit if you’re choosing between Arketa and Walla?
Individual plans with OfferingTree start at a very low $26/month billed annually ($35 month-to-month) which includes a website with an intuitive website builder (with optional AI site building), unlimited on-demand video, and a CRM.
Studio plans start at $100/month and rise to a ceiling of the Studio Max plan at $225/month. The top-tier Max plan has unlimited team members, and none of the plans include a per-location additional cost. All plans except the very lowest also have a 0% transaction fee, so as you grow there is no additional cost there.
Differently than OfferingTree’s competition, all prices are transparently posted on their website, and there are month-to-month billing plans that allow you to cancel anytime at all. They also have a real person who helps handle your studio’s migration, and studio plans also include free coaching and a studio community, the OT Cooperative.
So, which should you choose: Arketa or Walla?
If you are solo or have a heavy focus on virtual classes, Arketa is probably your best choice between these two. Make sure to run the 3% transaction fee into your pricing calculations, because they addition just won’t make sense for every studio.
If you are a large, established studio with a full team, consider Walla. Make sure to think about their additional per-location pricing, any add-ons you would need, or features it may be missing.
Neither of these a perfect fit? Consider OfferingTree, especially if you feel like the Walla price is just a bit too much for you.
Frequently asked questions about Arketa vs Walla
Does Arketa or Walla have a plan for a solo instructor?
How much does Walla cost per month?
Is Arketa or Walla cheaper for a growing studio?
Does Walla offer a free trial like Arketa?
Is Arketa or Walla better for Pilates or Lagree studios?
Can Arketa or Walla handle multiple locations?
Walla is built for multi-location studios, with features like centralized reporting, location-level staff permissions, and an owner dashboard. Pricing, though, is per-location, so understanding the cost for your situation is critical.
Arketa has features starting at Studio Core for multiple locations, but with no published pricing you will have to compare the two after getting your personalized quote.
Does Arketa or Walla add a fee on top of card processing?
Arketa, at least on its Individual plan, includes a 3% fee on top of Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30.
Walla claims it adds no platform fee on top of standard processing fees.
What does Arketa cost compared to Walla?
It is hard to compare Arketa and Walla pricing since Arketa hides most tiers behind a demo. Arketa’s only published price is its Individual plan, which is $49/month billed annually, plus a 3% transaction fee.
Walla’s lowest tier is Core, at $320/month, followed by Pro at $599/month, both per location. There is a demo-gated enterprise tier.
