Blog
Notes from the mat
Running a gym, keeping a streak, and what we're building. Written by the Mat Track team.
For gyms · 22 October 2026
How much does martial arts gym software cost?
Paid martial arts gym software costs $49 to $289 a month at 50 to 300 students, as of October 2026, with card fees on top. Eight platforms, full bills.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor you · 20 October 2026
How many times a week should a beginner train martial arts?
Two or three classes a week suits most adult beginners in any art. How that changes for BJJ, muay thai, boxing, MMA and karate, and when to add a fourth.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor gyms · 15 October 2026
Spark Membership pricing: $249, $199 and the extras
Spark Membership costs $249 a month, or $199 on an annual plan, at any school size. Text credits, Ignite and card processing come on top. October 2026.
Mat Track team · 7 minFor you · 13 October 2026
Your first MMA class: what to expect
What a first MMA class involves, from sprawls and pad work to takedowns and groundwork, which class to book, whether you spar, and what to wear and bring.
Mat Track team · 10 minFor gyms · 8 October 2026
Kicksite pricing: what a martial arts school really pays
Kicksite costs $49 to $199 a month by student count, plus Basys card fees. The full bill at 25, 75 and 120 students, and the same school on Mat Track.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor you · 6 October 2026
Your first muay thai class: what to expect
What happens in a first muay thai class: the warm-up, the strikes you learn, holding pads for a partner, whether you spar, and what to wear and ask.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor you · 27 September 2026
The best martial art for self-defence
Any art can work for self-defence if the club spars. How boxing, judo, jiu-jitsu, krav maga, karate and MMA compare, and what to ask before you join.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor you · 22 September 2026
What age should a child start martial arts?
There is no magic age. What a proper trial did find is that children behaved better and concentrated better at school after one term of classes.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor you · 20 September 2026
Will martial arts get you fit, and what it will not do
Martial artists test above average for aerobic fitness and below average for strength. What training changes on its own, and what you still have to add.
Mat Track team · 8 minFor you · 16 September 2026
Skin infections in jiu-jitsu, and when to stay off the mat
How long to stay off the mat with ringworm, staph or mat herpes in jiu-jitsu, why taping over it fails, and why skin checks beat soap.
Mat Track team · 7 minFor you · 14 September 2026
The best martial art to start after 40
How soon each art lets you feel like you are getting somewhere, what the injury research really says, and why sticking at it beats picking the safest one.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor you · 12 September 2026
How to remember the techniques you learn in class
You will forget most of what you are taught in your first months, and that is normal. Three lines on the way home fixes more of it than anything else.
Mat Track team · 7 minFor you · 12 September 2026
How to choose between two martial arts gyms
Only one thing can rule a gym out from its website. Everything else you have to see in the room, and this is what to look at when you get there.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor you · 11 September 2026
Your first BJJ class, and which one to book
What to wear, what actually happens, and how to tell a beginners class from an open mat, since around half of gyms label neither on the timetable.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor you · 7 September 2026
Your first karate class as an adult
What actually happens in an adult beginners karate class, which style you have booked without realising, and what to ask before you start.
Mat Track team · 10 minFor you · 4 September 2026
Can you train martial arts around a full-time job?
Two sessions a week on fixed nights, going straight from work. What a weeknight session really costs, and what actually makes working adults stop.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor you · 3 September 2026
How many classes a week does a martial arts gym run?
We counted 35,970 classes across 2,022 published gym timetables. The median gym runs 7 to 22 a week, and only 12% of them are at the weekend.
Mat Track team · 6 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best Zen Planner alternatives for martial arts gyms (2026)
Six Zen Planner alternatives for martial arts gyms: Mat Track, Gymdesk, Kicksite, PushPress, Wodify and Martialytics, priced from each vendor's own page.
Mat Track team · 8 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best Wodify alternatives for martial arts gyms (2026)
There are two Wodifys, the one on the whiteboard and the one on the invoice. Six alternatives with vendor-verified pricing for gyms that liked the first.
Mat Track team · 8 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best TeamUp alternatives for martial arts gyms (2026)
TeamUp is fair, well-liked software with no grading system. Six alternatives for the schools that discover that on grading day, with verified pricing.
Mat Track team · 8 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best Spark Membership alternatives for schools (2026)
Spark Membership costs $199 to $249 a month at any size. Six alternatives with published prices, compared on getting members and keeping them.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
PushPress pricing and what the free plan costs (2026)
PushPress costs $0, $159 or $229 a month, unlimited members on every plan. The real price is card processing: 4.99% on Free, 2.89% on Pro, 2.75% on Max.
Mat Track team · 4 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best PushPress alternatives for martial arts gyms (2026)
PushPress is excellent functional-fitness software. Six alternatives for gyms whose centre of gravity is the mat, with vendor-verified pricing throughout.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Mindbody pricing, the one public number (2026)
Mindbody publishes a single figure, Starter from $79 a month per location. Everything else is a sales quote. What is knowable, and what to demand in writing.
Mat Track team · 4 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best Mindbody alternatives for martial arts gyms (2026)
Leaving Mindbody means giving up its marketplace and its quote-shaped bill at once. Six alternatives with vendor-verified pricing and honest trade-offs.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best Martialytics alternatives for schools (2026)
Martialytics is the likeable small option. Six alternatives for schools that outgrow it, mapped by what actually runs out first, with verified pricing.
Mat Track team · 8 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best MAAT alternatives for martial arts gyms (2026)
MAAT's $59 plan carries a 1% cut of your transactions, a growth tax that compounds. Six alternatives with vendor-verified pricing and honest trade-offs.
Mat Track team · 8 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best Kicksite alternatives for martial arts schools (2026)
Mat Track, Martialytics, Gymdesk, Zen Planner, MAAT and Spark compared as Kicksite alternatives: the student app, belt tools and pricing.
Mat Track team · 8 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Gymdesk vs Zen Planner for martial arts gyms (2026)
Gymdesk vs Zen Planner at 150 members: $250 against $367 a month with app and website, or $517 on Zen Planner Ultimate. October 2026 prices.
Mat Track team · 6 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best Gymdesk alternatives for martial arts gyms (2026)
Six Gymdesk alternatives compared with vendor-verified pricing, real screenshots and honest trade-offs, plus the case for staying where you are.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best Glofox alternatives for martial arts gyms (2026)
Glofox's own reviews tell the story, strong onboarding, then glitches and silence. Six alternatives with published prices and honest trade-offs.
Mat Track team · 8 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best taekwondo school software, 7 compared (2026)
A dojang runs on the testing cycle, and 39% of its classes are kids' classes. Seven platforms compared on cycles, families and fading students.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best martial arts software, 7 compared (2026)
Martial arts schools run on progression, not memberships. Seven platforms compared with fresh data from 5,191 gym websites and verified pricing.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best karate school management software, 7 compared (2026)
One karate class in three is a kids' class, so the parent is the real customer. Seven platforms compared for gradings, families and retention.
Mat Track team · 10 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best gym management software, 8 compared (2026)
The market splits into vendors who print prices and vendors who make you call. Eight platforms compared by gym model, every figure verified.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best gym management software UK, 7 compared (2026)
UK gym revenue runs on direct debit, not cards, and that one rail decides the software choice. Seven platforms compared, every price verified.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best free gym management software, what's really free (2026)
Five gym platforms still publish a $0 plan. How each one recovers its cost, the card volume where a cheap paid plan wins, and the trials on offer.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best dojo management software, 7 compared (2026)
The best dojo management software for karate, judo and aikido schools: seven platforms compared on gradings, family billing and price.
Mat Track team · 10 minFor gyms · 31 August 2026
Best BJJ gym management software, 7 compared (2026)
We run 2,987 BJJ academies on our directory and crawled their websites. The seven picks, what academies actually run, and what a real timetable demands.
Mat Track team · 9 minFor gyms · 30 August 2026
Zen Planner pricing, every tier and add-on (2026)
Zen Planner Studio costs $99 to $289 a month by member count, its packages $198 to $538. Every verified tier, the add-ons and what a real school pays.
Mat Track team · 6 minFor gyms · 30 August 2026
Wodify vs PushPress in 2026, which fits your gym
Wodify lists Essentials at $199, promoted at $99 with a demo. PushPress starts free and publishes everything. The real difference is pricing philosophy.
Mat Track team · 6 minFor gyms · 30 August 2026
Gymdesk pricing in 2026, what you will really pay
Gymdesk costs $75 to $200 a month up to 250 members on Gymdesk Payments, $100 to $240 on your own processor, plus $100-a-month add-ons. October 2026.
Mat Track team · 5 minFor gyms · 30 August 2026
Gym member retention: the complete 2026 guide
The average gym loses a third of its members every year. A retention guide built on verified research and 2,022 real gym timetables, not recycled tips.
Mat Track team · 6 minFor gyms · 30 August 2026
Best muay thai gym software in 2026, 7 compared
Muay thai gym software compared: seven platforms on vendor-published prices, the evening check-in rush, the member app, and which suits your gym.
Mat Track team · 8 minFor gyms · 30 August 2026
Best MMA gym management software in 2026
MMA gym software compared: seven platforms for gyms running striking and grappling classes on one timetable, priced from each vendor's page.
Mat Track team · 7 minFor gyms · 30 August 2026
Best boxing gym management software in 2026
Boxing gym software compared: seven platforms for boxing clubs and studios on vendor prices, day passes and waivers at the door, and which suits your gym.
Mat Track team · 8 minFor gyms · 29 August 2026
Why white belts quit BJJ, according to 1,010 timetables
The 90% dropout figure is folklore. We analysed 1,010 BJJ gym schedules and the retention research to find what actually makes white belts stay.
Mat Track team · 7 minFor gyms · 20 August 2026
Your first 30 minutes with the community features
Eight switches arrived in the member app. Here's the order to turn them on, what to leave for later, and the one mistake to avoid in week one.
Mat Track team · 3 min