Blog · For gyms · comparisons
Best Zen Planner alternatives for martial arts gyms (2026)
Six Zen Planner alternatives with vendor-verified pricing and honest trade-offs, split by the thing that actually divides them, flat bills versus module bills.
The short version: the Zen Planner alternatives divide by bill shape. Zen Planner sells a core at $99 to $289 a month and the rest as modules, about $616 configured for a 150-member school; the strongest alternatives bundle everything into one number, from Mat Track's $99 all-in to Kicksite's $199 ceiling, as of August 2026. Pick by the line items you actually use, and mind the exit terms either way.
Zen Planner's module bill, and who it stops suiting
Zen Planner's structure is honest but cumulative: Studio core tiered by active members, then $39 for the branded app, $99 for the website, $249 for Engage marketing. Schools that use every module get a genuinely integrated stack from one vendor. Schools that only ever wanted the core plus an app end up paying for architecture they do not use, and the eight member-count tiers step the core price up as the school grows, our Zen Planner pricing breakdown walks the full verified table.
The reviews add a wrinkle worth knowing before you decide anything. Zen Planner holds 4.3 on Capterra across 270 reviews, and its customer support is the most-praised thing about it. The recurring complaint is billing: reviewers describe friction around cancellation, including being charged after cancelling. That cuts both ways, it is a reason some schools leave, and a reason to handle your own exit carefully if you do.
Mat Track, the bundled specialist
Disclosure first: Mat Track is ours, so read this entry with that in mind. It is the direct answer to module drift, one price per plan with everything in it: the member app with streaks, badges and community, multi-art rank ladders with grading criteria members see in the app, retention alerts that watch each member against their own 60-day pattern, and automations and campaigns on Growth. Free up to 200 contacts, $99 Growth, $199 Pro, no platform transaction fees, as of August 2026.
Where it wins:
- The $616 configured comparison becomes $99, app and retention included.
- Alerts rather than reports.
- A free plan that covers small schools entirely.
Where it falls short:
- No website product at all, where Zen Planner's is real.
- Two decades younger than the incumbent.
The switch-focused detail is on our Zen Planner switching page.
Gymdesk, the other bundler
If what you like about Zen Planner is the website plus management in one relationship, Gymdesk is the closest like-for-like: a website builder included at every tier, four simple prices from $75 to $200 by member count, month-to-month billing, and a 4.8 Capterra rating across roughly 150 reviews. Its member app is the asterisk, $100 a month on top, and rank tracking is basic next to Zen Planner's.
Where it wins:
- A website builder is included in every plan.
- The simplest transparent pricing in the market.
- The largest install base in our 5,191-site crawl.
Where it falls short:
- The branded app costs an extra $100 a month, which rebuilds the add-on problem you just left.
- Belt and rank tracking is basic.
- You get reports to check, not alerts that tell you when a member is drifting.
Full comparison in our Gymdesk alternatives guide.
Kicksite, the belt specialist at a flat ceiling
Kicksite answers the martial arts half of Zen Planner head-on: custom belt curricula, testing events, one-click promotions, and every feature at every tier from $49 to a $199 ceiling. It rates 4.8 on Capterra across about 130 reviews, praised for being intuitive with responsive support; the recurring wish is for deeper features, reviewers mention gaps like class-specific attendance. Students use a mobile web portal rather than a native app.
Where it wins:
- Belt administration as deep as Zen Planner's at a flat price.
- Nothing gated by tier.
- A loyal traditional-school base.
Where it falls short:
- Students get a website to log into, not a real app on their phone.
- Its automatic messages chase invoices and renewals, not fading attendance.
- The feature set thins out once you step outside belt administration.
Details on our Kicksite switching page.
PushPress, the transparent modern option
PushPress publishes everything including its processing rates: Free at $0 with unlimited members on a 4.99% card rate, Pro at $159 and Max at $229 on 2.89%, rank tracking in the paid tiers, and add-ons priced in the open. It rates 4.7 on Capterra across roughly 190 reviews. The free plan mathematics matter, it is cheapest only below about $7,600 a month in card volume, the arithmetic is in our PushPress pricing breakdown.
Where it wins:
- Total transparency.
- A real free tier.
- Modern, well-supported software.
Where it falls short:
- The free tier's card rate at volume.
- Belts need Pro.
- Functional fitness first, martial arts second.
Wodify, if performance tracking is the point
Wodify offers the strongest workout-performance tracking here plus genuine retention features, and most of its martial arts base is BJJ. Its pricing takes reading: Essentials lists at $199 a month per location, promoted at $99 with a demo as of August 2026, belt tracking sits in the unpriced Accelerate and Ultimate tiers, and cards process from 2.7% plus 30 cents.
Where it wins:
- Performance and whiteboard culture.
- At-risk member identification.
- Polish.
Where it falls short:
- The features martial arts schools want live in quote-only tiers.
- There is an onboarding fee, and the amount is not published.
- It takes a cut of every card payment, from 2.7% plus 30 cents.
More on our Wodify switching page.
Martialytics, the simple fellow specialist
Martialytics is the quiet option: built only for martial arts schools, $69 to $199 a month with every feature at every tier, unlimited locations, a free student app, and standard Stripe rates with no revenue cut. It is a smaller operation than anything else here, which shows in both its likeable simplicity and its lighter feature set, no retention automation, and a student app built for schedules rather than daily habit.
Where it wins:
- Specialist focus with the simplest honest pricing.
- Unlimited locations at every tier.
- Leads and inactive students are free.
Where it falls short:
- Nothing watches attendance for you; spotting a fading member is still your job.
- A lighter app.
- A small company with a small footprint, 0.8% of installs in our crawl.
Our Martialytics switching page has the fuller picture.
How to choose software after Zen Planner
Write down your last three Zen Planner invoices and circle the modules you actually opened last month; that list, not any feature grid, is your requirements document. Schools that used only the core plus app want a bundler, Mat Track if retention is the growth lever, the mechanics are in our gym member retention guide, or Gymdesk if the website matters more. Schools that lived in the belt-testing screens should weigh Kicksite seriously. And before cancelling anything, export your data, verify the export opens, confirm your contract's end date, and run the replacement in parallel for one billing cycle. Mat Track's own pricing sits on one page at mattrackapp.com/gyms for the baseline comparison.