Mat Track vs 
Zen Planner
The Zen Planner alternative built for combat sports.
Zen Planner is one of the longest-standing names in martial arts software, and the second most-detected platform in our crawl of 5,191 gym websites. It sells a core system and charges for the rest in modules. Mat Track ships the whole thing, member app included, and puts retention at the centre instead of the reports page.
Every figure on this page checked against Zen Planner's public pricing, August 2026.
The fair version first
What Zen Planner is, honestly
Zen Planner earned its place: it has managed martial arts schools for two decades, belt testing and rank tracking are native rather than bolted on, and the core Studio product starts at $99 a month, tiered by active members. In our August 2026 crawl it was the second most-detected platform, on 19.6% of the 1,146 sites with identifiable booking software, and it was the single most common choice among MMA gyms.
The catch is the module bill. The $99 headline covers the core; a website is $99 a month more, the branded member app is $39, and the Engage marketing suite is $249, which is how a fully configured setup reaches about $486 a month. Mat Track takes the opposite view: one price per plan, app and retention tooling included, and a free plan that covers a 200-contact school entirely.
Our data
What 5,191 gym websites told us about Zen Planner
We run the largest open directory of martial arts gyms, and our August 2026 crawl of 5,191 gym websites found identifiable booking software on 1,146 of them. Zen Planner was on 19.6% of those, the second-largest share, and among MMA gyms specifically it was first, on 26% of the sites we could classify. If you run a martial arts school, Zen Planner is one of the two platforms you are statistically most likely to be leaving.
Share of the 1,146 sites with identifiable booking software, not of all gyms. The crawler reads public website signals only, so platforms that leave no public footprint on a gym's own site are not measured.
Side by side
Mat Track vs Zen Planner at a glance
| Mat Track | Zen Planner | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing and plans | ||
| Entry price | Free up to 200 contacts | From $99/mo (tiered by active members) |
| Member app | Included in every plan | Branded app +$39/mo |
| Website | Directory page included; no site builder | Website add-on +$99/mo |
| Marketing automation | Included on Growth ($99/mo) | Engage add-on +$249/mo |
| Fully configured cost | $99/mo (Growth, everything in) | ≈$486/mo (core + website + app + Engage) |
| Member experience | ||
| Reasons to open the app daily | Streaks, badges, leaderboards, community feed | Schedules, workout logging, forms |
| Session logging | One tap, feeds streaks and challenges | Workout tracking included |
| Community features | Feed, challenges, guest passes to share | Not advertised |
| Retention and coaching | ||
| Retention alerts | Each member vs their own 60-day pattern | Reporting tools; no per-member alerts advertised |
| Comeback flows | Comeback challenges built in | Via Engage add-on ($249/mo) |
| Per-coach retention view | Yes | Not advertised |
| Martial arts fit | ||
| Belt and rank tracking | Multi-art ranks per member | Native belt testing and tracking |
| Gradings | Criteria-based, visible to members in the app | Testing events supported |
| Public gym page | Your page on an 11,000-gym directory | Via website add-on |
Sources: Zen Planner's public pricing page and Mat Track's pricing, both checked August 2026. Full breakdown: Zen Planner pricing explained.
The maths
The worked example: matching Mat Track's toolkit on Zen Planner
Price the pieces a modern school actually uses. On Zen Planner that is the core from $99, the branded app at $39 and marketing automation at $249: at least $387 a month before the website module, and about $486 with it. On Mat Track the Growth plan is $99 a month with the app, automations and campaigns included, $1,188 a year. Below 200 contacts the free plan makes the comparison one-sided: $0 against a bill that starts at $99 and climbs with every module.
One bill, not a stack of modules
Zen Planner's model asks you to assemble the product: core, then app, then marketing, then website, each with its own line on the invoice. Mat Track's plans are complete. The free plan runs a whole 200-contact school; Growth adds automations and campaigns for $99; nothing you need for retention or member experience sits behind a second purchase.
Retention that acts, not just reports
Zen Planner gives you reporting tools; acting on them is your job, or Engage's at $249 a month. Mat Track watches each member against their own 60-day attendance pattern and flags drops while a message can still change the outcome, then invites lapsing members back with comeback challenges. The mechanism is covered in our retention guide, and it ships in every plan including the free one.
Belts done properly, on both platforms
Credit where due: Zen Planner's belt testing is real and native, and if that is all you need it works. Mat Track goes further for multi-art gyms: a member can hold a BJJ belt and a striking level at once, each on its own ladder with criteria they can read in the app, so progress stays visible through the long gaps between gradings.
The rest of the toolkit
Also in Mat Track, so nothing is lost in the move
The front desk
- Kiosk and QR check-in. Members self-scan on the way in; the register fills itself.
- Class scheduling. Bookings, waitlists and capacity limits, synced to the member app.
- Digital waivers. Signed on a phone at the door, stored against the member, no paper.
- Guest passes. Members share a pass from the app, so trials walk in pre-registered.
The money
- Stripe and GoCardless billing. Cards and direct debits, with failed payments chased automatically.
- Family and group billing. One payer, several members, one invoice.
- Day passes and drop-ins. Paid at the door with QR entry and a waiver in the same flow.
- No platform transaction fees. You pay your processor's rate and nothing on top.
Keeping people
- Email and SMS inbox. Messages to members from the console, replies back in one place.
- Automations. Welcome sequences, missed-payment chases and comeback nudges on paid plans.
- Multi-location reporting. Every site on one screen, on Pro.
- Your page on the directory. A claimed profile on the 11,000-gym Mat Track directory, pointing searchers at your door.
Who moves
The gyms that switch from Zen Planner
The school tired of the module bill
The pattern we hear most: signed up at $99, added the app, then the website, then marketing, and the invoice quietly tripled. On Mat Track the plan price is the whole price, and a 200-contact school pays nothing at all.
The gym that wants retention handled
Zen Planner will tell you attendance fell if you open the right report. Schools switching to Mat Track want the opposite direction: the software notices Priya has missed two weeks against her own normal and tells the coach today.
The multi-art academy
Zen Planner tracks belts within a programme. Academies running BJJ, striking and kids' classes side by side move for per-art rank ladders, criteria members see in the app, and one member record across every mat.
The part nobody else has
Practitioners in your area may already be on Mat Track
Mat Track is not just gym software; it is the app martial artists use to log their training, keep streaks and find somewhere to train on the 11,000-gym directory. That is a pool of active practitioners no other platform on this page can show you. Claim your gym's page and your timetable, trial offer and grading culture are in front of the people already searching your postcode.
Switching
What moving from Zen Planner looks like
- Export members, memberships and payment history from Zen Planner (CSV exports are in Reports).
- Import into Mat Track and invite members to the app; stored cards and direct debits need fresh consent, which the invite flow collects.
- Run both for one billing cycle, then cancel; Zen Planner is month to month unless you took an annual contract.
The honest bit
When Zen Planner is the better pick
Pick Zen Planner if you want two decades of martial arts pedigree, native belt testing, and a website from the same vendor, and the module pricing does not put you off. It is the most established martial-arts-first platform on the market and that history counts for something. Comparing the whole market rather than just us? Our best Zen Planner alternatives roundup covers the field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mat Track cheaper than Zen Planner?
What does Zen Planner have that Mat Track does not?
Does Mat Track charge for its member app like Zen Planner does?
How long does switching from Zen Planner take?
Can I try Mat Track while still on Zen Planner?
More data-led comparisons from the same team: best muay thai gym software, best MMA gym software, best boxing gym software, Wodify vs PushPress and the retention guide behind our alerts.
Try the switch without the risk
Free up to 200 contacts, no card. Import your members, run one real week, and keep Zen Planner until you are sure. And practitioners already log their training on the Mat Track app; claiming your gym's page puts your timetable in front of them.