Blog · For gyms · comparisons
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.
The short version: nobody slams the door on Martialytics. Schools outgrow it, and they outgrow specific things: the retention model that records attendance but never raises its hand, the student app that shows schedules rather than building habits, or the mobile admin its own reviewers wish for. Which one ran out for you decides the alternative. Six options below, every price from the vendor's own page, August 2026.
What runs out first on Martialytics
The product's virtues are real and worth naming. Complete published pricing, $69 a month at 50 students to $199 at 200-plus, every feature at every tier. No cut of your payments, standard Stripe rates only. Unlimited locations everywhere, free leads and inactive students, a free student app, and a 4.7 Capterra rating across 21 reviews built largely on support that reviewers rave about. It behaves the way you wish every vendor behaved.
What runs out is capacity, in one of three places. Retention: attendance goes in, but nothing watches it, so a student sliding from three sessions a week to one surfaces only if you go looking. The student app: schedules and updates, useful, but nothing that pulls a teenager back between classes. And mobile admin: reviewers specifically mention wanting more of the system on a phone. None of these is a scandal; each is a ceiling, and schools hit them in that order as they grow. Our Martialytics switching page covers the one-to-one comparison.
Mat Track, for the retention ceiling
Ours, weigh accordingly. Mat Track is the direct answer to the first ceiling: every member watched against their own 60-day attendance pattern, drops flagged while a message still matters, comeback challenges with targets, and a member app built for daily habit, streaks, badges, leaderboards, community, plus multi-art rank ladders with grading criteria students read in the app. Pricing keeps the Martialytics spirit: free to 200 contacts, $99 Growth, $199 Pro, billed monthly, no platform transaction fees, as of August 2026.
Where it wins:
- Watches attendance and flags fading students, the ceiling that sent you looking.
- An app students open between classes, not just to check the timetable.
- Free below 200 contacts, where Martialytics starts at $69.
Where it falls short:
- Contact caps per tier, where Martialytics gives unlimited locations and free inactive students.
- More product to learn than Martialytics's deliberate lightness.
- A younger belt-administration toolset than the specialists below.
Kicksite, for the grading ceiling
If testing events, eligibility rules and promotion records are what outgrew Martialytics, Kicksite is the market's specialist: custom curricula, one-click promotions, full histories, $49 to $199 with everything included, 4.8 on Capterra across roughly 130 reviews.
Where it wins:
- The best belt-testing and grading administration in the market.
- Flat, published pricing with nothing gated by tier.
- A long, trusted history with traditional schools.
Where it falls short:
- Students get a website to log into, not a real app on their phone.
- Nothing watches attendance for you; spotting a fading student is still your job.
- The feature set thins out once you step outside belt administration.
Full treatment in our Kicksite alternatives guide.
MAAT, for doubling down on simplicity
If Martialytics still felt like too much software, MAAT strips further: one plan, $59 a month or $49 billed annually, unlimited members, cancel anytime, plus 1% of transactions on top of Stripe's fees. Model the percentage before switching, an $8,000-a-month school pays about $139 in practice, and note MAAT has zero verified Capterra reviews as of August 2026.
Where it wins:
- One-line pricing simpler even than Martialytics.
- Unlimited members at $59, strong for big rolls with modest payments.
- Month to month, cancel anytime.
Where it falls short:
- The 1% cut of your payments grows with your revenue, forever.
- No verified review base at all, where even small rivals show one.
- Nothing watches attendance for you; spotting a fading student is still your job.
More in our MAAT alternatives guide.
Gymdesk, for joining the mainstream
The most-installed platform in our 5,191-site crawl: $75 to $200 by member count, everything at every tier, website builder included, month to month, 4.8 on Capterra across about 150 reviews.
Where it wins:
- Big, simple and stable, with a website included in the price.
- The most-used platform among martial arts gyms, so help and peers are easy to find.
- Simple, predictable pricing with no surprises.
Where it falls short:
- The branded member app costs an extra $100 a month.
- Belt and rank tracking is basic, a step down from Martialytics.
- You get reports to check, not alerts that tell you when a member is drifting.
Subject of our Gymdesk alternatives guide.
Zen Planner, for maximum depth
The full-stack veteran: native belt testing, a website product, marketing automation, priced as a $99 to $289 core plus modules ($39 app, $99 website, $249 Engage), about $616 configured at 150 members, 4.3 on Capterra across 270 reviews. The whole table is in our Zen Planner pricing breakdown.
Where it wins:
- The most complete martial arts feature set on this page.
- Belt testing refined over two decades.
- A real website product from the same vendor.
Where it falls short:
- The configured bill climbs fast: core plus the app, website and marketing modules reaches about $616 a month.
- The price jumps steeply each time your member count crosses a tier.
- Its own reviewers complain about billing, including being charged after cancelling.
PushPress, for the modern generalist route
Everything published including card rates: $0 Free with unlimited members at 4.99% on cards, $159 Pro and $229 Max at 2.89%, rank tracking in the paid tiers, 4.7 on Capterra across roughly 190 reviews. The free-plan arithmetic is in our PushPress pricing breakdown.
Where it wins:
- Every price is public, down to the processing rates.
- A real free tier with unlimited members.
- Polished, modern software with a strong ecosystem.
Where it falls short:
- The free plan's 4.99% card rate gets expensive once you take real money by card.
- Belt and rank tracking needs the $159 Pro tier.
- Built for functional fitness first; martial arts is a side room, not the main hall.
How to choose software after Martialytics
Name the ceiling before you shop. If it was retention, buy attendance alerts and an app with a daily pull, and read our gym member retention guide for why that timing pays for the software by itself. If it was grading administration, Kicksite and Zen Planner are the deep end. If Martialytics was somehow still too much, MAAT is the floor, with its percentage modelled honestly. And keep the standard Martialytics taught you: published prices, no revenue games, exports that just work. Mat Track's list is at mattrackapp.com/gyms for the disclosed baseline.