The MassageBook alternative
without the surprise fees.
Riverd is a free MassageBook alternative built for solo therapists. You get online booking, clinical SOAP notes, and client records, with no fee on your client's checkout and no 15% cut of your bookings. MassageBook is capable and massage-native with a real consumer directory, but a client has to create an account to book online.
Riverd starts at $0/month for up to 20 appointments. No client surcharge. No booking cut.
Last updated October 2026
Start Free, No Credit Card3 signs it’s time to leave MassageBook
If any of these sound familiar, you’re not imagining it.
Your schedule went quiet after the booking-gate change
MassageBook requires clients to create an account to book online (its help center says so), and therapists in 2025 App Store reviews report bookings dropping after the change. On Riverd a client lands on your page, sees your real-time availability, picks a time, and signs in with an emailed link at the confirm step.
A client complained about a fee at checkout
MassageBook lets you add a $3.85 convenience fee to online card payments. Your client pays it, you keep $3, MassageBook keeps $0.85, and the amount cannot be changed. If you list in its directory, each new client who books there costs you 15% of the service, with a $6 minimum. Riverd never touches your client's money: there is no checkout fee to switch on and no cut of your bookings.
You've outgrown the massage-only box
MassageBook is built around massage: its brand, its directory, and its note structure all assume it. If you've added bodywork, naturopathic care, nutrition, or coaching, you're forcing your practice into a shape that doesn't fit. Riverd is built for the whole solo wellness category, not one modality.
Side by side
MassageBook tier names and prices last checked against MassageBook’s published pricing page on 20 October 2026 (the Standard Pricing tab; the page opens on the AMTA tab, and AMTA members get 25% off, ABMP members 10%); account requirements against its client account article; fee details last checked against the convenience-fee FAQ and the new-client marketing-fee doc on 22 September 2026, and payment options against MassageBook’s credit card processing help, which covers MassageBook Pay and its Square integration. Riverd’s payment behavior is documented on the card payments feature page, and Client Intake Forms, available to US practices at launch, on the client intake forms feature page. Features and fees can change; check each tool’s current pages before deciding.
The honest summary
MassageBook earns its reputation in a few real ways: phone-based human support that practitioners genuinely praise, an established consumer directory at massagebook.com that sends net-new massage clients, and a massage-native charting style with anatomical body diagrams. If those are the things you need most, MassageBook is a fair choice and we won’t talk you out of it.
Riverd wins when the economics and the client experience matter more than the marketplace. There is a permanently free tier, no convenience fee on your client’s checkout, never a 15% cut of your new-client bookings, and you bring your own Square or just track cash. Client intake forms are included on every plan, filled and signed on the client’s phone before the first session, while MassageBook sells intake on a paid tier. Clients see your availability and pick a time before any sign-in, instead of creating an account first. And Riverd is built for the whole solo wellness category, not massage alone. If MassageBook’s fees and account requirement are the reason you’re reading this page, that’s exactly the gap Riverd closes.
Bring your clients over from MassageBook
One CSV file brings your client list and each client’s next appointment. Past visits, SOAP notes, and intake forms do not import.
1. Export from MassageBook
Download your client list from MassageBook as a CSV file.
2. Import into Riverd
Create your free Riverd account, upload the file on the Import page, and check the list before it saves. Up to 500 clients per file.
3. Share your new link
Share your Riverd booking link. Download any past SOAP notes you want to keep, then cancel MassageBook.
Common questions
Is Riverd a good MassageBook alternative for a solo therapist?
For most independent massage therapists, yes. Riverd covers the core of what MassageBook does for a solo practice, online booking, clinical SOAP notes, a day-before email reminder for every client with an email address, client records, and payment tracking, on a permanently free plan for up to 20 appointments a month. Where Riverd is honestly different: there is no client checkout fee to switch on, no 15% cut on new-client bookings, and clients pick a time before any sign-in instead of creating an account first. Client intake forms are now included on Riverd too, on every plan including free Brook: clients fill and sign on their phone before the first session, and the signed form attaches to their record. MassageBook is the better pick if you specifically need its established consumer directory to find net-new massage clients or its weekday phone support, neither of which Riverd matches today.
Does MassageBook really charge my clients a fee?
Only if you set it up. Per MassageBook's own help center, you can switch on a $3.85 convenience fee on online card payments: the client pays it, you keep $3, and MassageBook keeps $0.85. If you list in MassageBook's directory, a new client who books through it costs you a one-time 15% marketing fee with a $6 minimum. Those are documented in MassageBook's published support articles, linked below. Riverd works differently: we never process or touch your client's payment. You connect your own Square and the money settles directly to you, or you track cash and other methods manually. There is no Riverd-added surcharge on your client's checkout and no cut taken from your bookings.
Does Riverd have SOAP notes like MassageBook?
Yes. Session notes and full client history are included on every Riverd plan, including the free Brook plan. Riverd also includes an AI SOAP Note Generator on every plan that turns a brief session summary into a structured Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan note, which MassageBook does not offer. The honest concession: MassageBook's notes include anatomical body diagrams that are well-loved by massage therapists, and that specific charting style is part of its massage-native DNA. Riverd's session note is an open text field you format yourself, and its body maps live in separate Patient Books instead of inside the note.
When is MassageBook the better choice?
MassageBook is the better choice in a few clear cases, and we won't pretend otherwise. If your main goal is to be found by net-new massage clients through an established consumer marketplace, MassageBook's directory (massagebook.com, used by thousands of practices) is a real lead engine that Riverd's healthcare listing does not match yet. Intake forms used to be on this list, but Riverd now includes them on every plan, so that reason to stay is gone. If phone-based human support is non-negotiable for you, MassageBook offers it on weekdays while Riverd supports you over email and chat. Riverd wins when you want the free tier, no client surcharge, intake forms included free, and booking that lets clients pick a time before any sign-in.
How does Riverd's pricing compare to MassageBook's?
Riverd's Brook plan is permanently free for up to 20 appointments a month, with no credit card required, which MassageBook has no equivalent of. MassageBook starts at $29/mo (Launch), or $21.75 for AMTA members, but the tools most practitioners actually want, text reminders, intake forms, and premium SOAP notes, sit on its Practice tier at $59/mo standard. Riverd's River plan is $39/month (billed annually) and adds text reminders to US and Canadian mobile numbers, more AI credits each month, and unlimited saved Patient Books. Beyond the sticker price, Riverd has no client convenience fee to switch on and never takes a cut of a new-client booking, where MassageBook offers a $3.85 online-payment fee and charges 15% on directory bookings. Prices change, so check each tool's current pricing page before deciding.
What comes with me when I switch from MassageBook to Riverd?
Your client list and your upcoming appointments. Export your clients from MassageBook as a CSV, create your free Riverd account, and upload the file on the Import page in your dashboard. Each file can hold up to 500 clients (200 KB). For each client, Riverd brings in their name, email, phone, a short note, and their next appointment if the row has a date and time. You check the list before anything is saved. Past visits, SOAP notes, and intake forms do not import, so download anything you need to keep from MassageBook before you cancel.
Riverd is a practice management tool, not a medical or legal provider. Clinical documentation features support your own professional judgment and do not constitute medical advice. Always follow your jurisdiction’s scope-of-practice and record-keeping requirements.
Keep the practice. Drop the fees.
Get booking, SOAP notes, client records, and payment tracking in one modern tool, with no client surcharge and no booking cut.
Create Your Free Riverd AccountFree up to 20 appointments/month. No credit card required.