What Does Your Riding School Software Really Cost?
Monthly subscription prices are designed to be eye-catching. Transaction fees, platform charges, and per-booking fees are designed to be hard to notice. This page puts the numbers together so you can compare properly.
When you compare riding school management systems, the monthly fee is the number that gets advertised. Transaction fees, platform charges, and per-booking fees are designed to be harder to notice. This page puts the full picture together.
A centre in Gloucestershire was missing out on over £13,000 a year
That’s the combined effect of a higher transaction rate and booking fees going to the platform rather than the centre — on bookings their riders were already paying. We worked it out in a few minutes. We can do the same for your yard at no charge.
Get My Free CalculationSee how much you could save on transaction fees
Move the sliders to match your yard. Figures show transaction fee savings only and do not include potential booking fee savings.
Transaction fees: the number that changes everything
Some providers charge Stripe’s standard rate. Some charge Stripe’s rate plus a platform fee on top. Some use a percentage-only model with no fixed fee per transaction, which sounds simpler but costs more as your lesson prices go up. These fees aren’t always easy to find, and they’re rarely presented in a way that makes comparison straightforward. That’s not an accident.
Equestrian Systems offers the lowest transaction fee we are aware of in the equestrian software market: 1% + 20p per booking via GoCardless — with no booking fees charged to your riders and no platform markup on top.
Per-booking transaction cost at £50
Based on publicly stated payment processing rates in April 2026.
| Pricing model | Per booking | 100 bookings/month | 400 bookings/month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equestrian Systems GoCardless (1% + 20p) |
£0.70 | £70 | £280 |
| Stripe, standard UK card (1.5% + 20p) |
£0.95 | £95 | £380 |
| Stripe + platform fee (1.75% + 20p) |
£1.08 | £108 | £430 |
| Transaction-only model (3.3% per transaction) |
£1.65 | £165 | £660 |
At 400 bookings a month — roughly 100 bookings a week, which isn’t unusual for an active centre — the difference between the cheapest and most expensive model above is £380 a month, or £4,560 a year. In transaction fees alone, before touching subscription costs.
Annual saving vs other models at 400 bookings/month
Transaction fees only, £50 average booking, compared to Equestrian Systems GoCardless rate.
Booking fees: money you’re leaving on the table
Some systems charge your riders a booking fee on top of the lesson price. It might be £1, £1.50, or £2 per booking, tacked on at checkout. The rider sees it, pays it — and it goes straight to the platform, not to you.
The argument is that it keeps your subscription or transaction costs down. But there’s a problem: your riders are already paying it. If you added that same amount to your lesson price instead, you’d collect it yourself. Riders would pay the same total or less at checkout (no surprise fee), and every penny of it would be yours.
At 400 bookings a month, a £1.50 booking fee that goes to the platform rather than to you is £600 a month — £7,200 a year — that you’re handing over for nothing. Money your riders were already paying.
Equestrian Systems charges no booking fees to your riders. We do not take a cut of your lesson prices.
A real example: £13,000 a year
We recently worked through the numbers for a centre in Gloucestershire that had been using a system with a higher transaction fee and a booking fee charged to riders on every booking. When we looked at the combined effect — the transaction fee difference and the booking fees that could have been going to the centre instead — they were missing out on over £13,000 a year.
That’s not a rounding error. That’s horses, feed, staff hours, capital investment — real money leaving the business quietly, one booking at a time, on fees that were never presented clearly.
If you’d like us to do the same calculation for your centre, just get in touch. It takes a few minutes and costs nothing.
The Fee Comparison: See the Total Cost
How Equestrian Systems compares to other options across the things that actually affect your bottom line.
| Feature / Fee | Equestrian Systems | Budget Systems | Big Corporate Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Fee | Up to £150/mo | £25 – £60/mo | £200+/mo |
| Transaction Rate | 1% + 20p via GoCardless |
1.5%–2.5% + 20p often not prominently stated |
1.5%–1.75% + 20p sometimes + platform fee on top |
| Booking Fees to Riders | None | Varies | Often £1+ per rider |
| Support | Personal, UK-based direct line to the developer |
Email / ticket only often offshore or non-technical |
Large call centres support queues |
| Onboarding | Done-for-you tailored setup, free of charge |
DIY / automated limited options and functionality |
Paid setup fee often £100s |
| Free Trial | 1 month, no card required | Varies | Varies sales-led process |
| Contract Length | Monthly rolling | Varies | Often fixed term with exit penalties |
| Equestrian-specific tools | Full — licensing, weight limits, rider gradings, inspections | Limited or none | Yes but complex built for large operators |
| Customisation | Yes — built around your centre | Minimal | Paid / limited |
Fee structures for other providers based on publicly stated rates at time of publication. Verify current rates directly with any provider before switching.
Equestrian Systems pricing, clearly stated
- Fixed monthly subscription — no hidden extras. See our pricing page for current rates.
- GoCardless: 1% + 20p per transaction — the lowest rate we are aware of in the equestrian software market.
- Stripe also available: 1.5% + 20p — standard Stripe UK rate, no platform markup.
- No booking fees charged to your riders.
- No percentage taken from your lesson income.
If you are currently on a system where the fee structure isn’t this clear, that’s worth asking about.