Best Martial Arts Management Software 2026 | 8 Platforms Compared

Running a martial arts school involves a lot more than teaching classes. The US martial arts industry now comprises over 72,000 businesses and is valued at $21.2 billion in 2026, growing at 6.3% annually (IBISWorld). Between belt promotions, managing family accounts, student attendance, automated billing, and keeping parents in the loop, the admin side can quietly take over your week.

The right martial arts software removes that friction. The wrong one adds to it.

In 2026, the bar has risen. Schools expect software that handles the fundamentals reliably - and increasingly, they want platforms that help them attract new students, reduce manual work, and give members a modern experience.

At a minimum, your martial arts school software should handle:

• Belt and rank tracking with multi-level progression
• Family accounts with unified billing
• Class scheduling and online booking
• Automated recurring payments and failed payment handling
• Attendance tracking with at-risk student visibility
• Student self-service portal and mobile app
• Email and SMS communication
• Reporting that shows you what's actually happening in your business

Standard gym software often falls short on the martial arts-specific elements like belt tracking, family billing, and promotion management in particular. Platforms built with these workflows in mind save you the workarounds.

Quick Answer: The best martial arts software in 2026 depends on your school's size, budget, and priorities. Top picks include 1club (AI-native, martial arts focused, free plan, belt tracking, transparent pricing), Zen Planner (established platform), and Kicksite (simple pricing). Key factors: martial arts-specific features, ease of use, pricing transparency, and whether it scales with your school.

Key Features of the Best Martial Arts School Software

These are the core capabilities any credible martial arts management software must include:

• Belt & rank tracking: customisable progression systems, promotion history, and rank visibility in student profiles.
• Family accounts & unified billing: manage multiple students under one family account with a single payment method.
• Class scheduling & online booking: publish schedules, set capacity, manage cancellations, and let students book online.
• Automated billing & payments: recurring membership billing, failed payment retries, and payment reminders.
• Attendance tracking: check-in tools, attendance history, and at-risk student flags.
• Student portal & mobile app: self-service access for students and parents to book, pay, and track progress.
• Communication tools: email and SMS for class reminders, promotions, and re-engagement campaigns.
• Reporting & analytics: revenue dashboards, attendance trends, and student engagement data.
• AI-native intelligence: for schools that want more: AI that surfaces insights automatically, flags at-risk students, and helps configure the platform conversationally.

The difference between platforms comes down to how well they handle martial arts-specific workflows, how intuitive the interface is, and whether the pricing is transparent enough to plan around.

Martial Arts School Software Comparison Table 2026

Comparison of Martial Arts School Software Platforms

There are many solid options in this space. The right fit depends on your school size, budget, and what matters most — whether that's martial arts-specific depth, marketing automation, or simply getting started without a big upfront commitment.

We compared the leading platforms across features, pricing, and real user feedback to bring you this list of the 8 best picks.

• 1club - Martial arts school software with belt tracking, family accounts, and automated billing. Clean, modern interface that's easy to set up and simple for staff to learn. Free plan for up to 100 students, paid plans from €63/month.
• Zen Planner - An established, feature-rich platform popular with larger martial arts schools. Solid belt tracking, billing, and reporting.
• Kicksite - A martial arts-native platform built specifically for dojos and schools. Simple pricing, easy to learn, strong customer service.
• Mindbody - A large wellness and fitness platform with broad functionality. Better suited to multi-discipline facilities than dedicated martial arts schools.
• Gymdesk - A value-focused option with clean workflows and a free trial. Good for smaller schools looking for essentials without the overhead.
• Spark Membership - A marketing-first platform with strong automation tools. Designed for schools running active lead generation and student acquisition campaigns.
• Wodify - A performance-tracking platform originally built for CrossFit, with strong metrics and workout tracking capabilities.
• WellnessLiving - A broad fitness and wellness platform with martial arts support, suited to schools that also run other services.

#1 Martial Arts School Software: 1club

1club is an AI-native gym management software built to help martial arts school owners run smoother day-to-day operations and grow, without getting bogged down in complicated software.

It combines the core workflows martial arts schools depend on - members, billing, scheduling, belt tracking, and reporting, with a branded member experience across your website, booking widgets, student portal, and mobile app. Everything works together in one place.

Belt & Rank Tracking

Manage student progression without spreadsheets or paper tracking. 1club lets you enable belt tracking in seconds and customise belt levels to match your system - whether you run BJJ, karate, taekwondo, or any other discipline.

Features include:

• Customisable belt levels to match your specific martial arts system
• Multi-belt progression tracking with full history per student
• Update ranks directly from student profiles, no separate tool needed
• Students see their progress in their self-service portal, keeping them motivated

Member & Student Management

Keep every student's details, attendance, payments, and progression in one profile. Staff can help fast, whether at the front desk or managing admin behind the scenes.

Features include:

• Complete student profiles with bookings, payments, attendance, and notes at a glance
• Family accounts - manage multiple students under a single family billing setup
• Automated check-ins via RFID, QR code or PIN for fast, seamless entry
• Student self-service portal - book classes, renew memberships, and manage accounts online

Class Scheduling & Bookings

Manage group classes and private appointments with real-time availability, capacity controls, and booking rules that fit how your school operates. Students can book through your branded website, widgets, and member portal.

Features include:

• Central schedule for classes and appointments with instructor assignment
• Capacity limits, booking windows, cancellation and no-show rules
• Waitlists with automated notifications
• Live schedule sync across the web portal and mobile app

Automated Billing & Payments

Keep revenue predictable with automated recurring billing, flexible payment options, and built-in safeguards for failed payments, so you spend less time chasing and more time coaching.

Features include:

• Recurring memberships and one-time purchases (classes, events, gear)
• Automatic retries for failed payments and expiring card reminders
• Real-time revenue visibility with built-in reporting
• Streamlined checkout for online and in-person payments

Reporting & AI Insights

Know what's happening in your school without spending evenings in spreadsheets. 1club pairs real-time dashboards with AI-native insights so you can spot patterns and act quickly.

Features include:

• Dashboards for revenue, attendance, and retention at a glance
• Class performance visibility (fill rates, trends, peak times)
• Student engagement signals - flag at-risk students before they drop off
• Filter by date range, class type, instructor, and student segments

Branded Student Experience

Your brand lives where students book, pay, and stay connected. 1club helps you deliver a consistent, branded experience across your website, booking widgets, and student portal, so students can self-serve in seconds.

Features include:

• Branded website experience aligned with your school's identity
• Embeddable widgets for schedules, pricing, and bookings
• Student portal and mobile app for 24/7 account management
• Push notifications to keep students informed and engaged

Why Martial Arts Schools Choose 1club

Running a martial arts school is demanding enough without fighting your software. 1club is built to be straightforward — easy to get up and running, easy for staff to learn, and intuitive enough that you're not spending hours in setup or training.

With a free plan and paid plans starting at €63/month, it's one of the most accessible options on the market, without cutting corners on the features martial arts schools actually need. It's a natural fit for smaller schools and those new to management software, but scales comfortably as you grow.

Everything is in one place: belt tracking, family billing, scheduling, payments, and reporting. Less time on admin means more time on the mat.

• Plans & packaging - Free and paid plans starting from $63 per month
• Pricing transparency - Yes, fully public
• Free plan - Yes, up to 100 active students
• Free trial - Yes
• Capterra rating - 4.8

What users say about 1club:

"We've been using 1club for about 8 months now and honestly its been a great fit for our school. Setup was faster than expected and the belt tracking works exactly how we need it for our BJJ and kickboxing programs. Billing runs itself which has been a huge time saver for us. The free plan was a great way to test it out before commiting and the pricing is refreshingly straightforward with no supprises. If I had to pick one thing it would be that some of the reporting could go a bit deeper but for day to day running of the school its everything we need. Would recomend to any martial arts school owner looking to simplify their operations."

Peter P., Head Coach and co-owner

Capterra review

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#2 Zen Planner

• Plans & packaging - Pricing starts at $99/month for up to 45 students, scaling with student count. Website and Zen Planner Engage are separate add-ons.
• Pricing transparency - Yes, public pricing on their website.
• Free plan - No.
• Free trial - No.
• Capterra rating - 4.3

Zen Planner is one of the established martial arts management platforms on the market, used by hundreds of dojos and schools across the US and beyond. It offers a good feature set, including belt tracking, family management, scheduling, billing, marketing automation, and reporting, making it a reliable all-in-one option for schools that have outgrown basic tools.

What users say about Zen Planner:

“I was excited to use the program while touring and testing it, but the program performed just under expectations on some features, and mediocre on the rest. I'm sure there have been updates to some of the program since we used it but friends of mine continued on it until this year and always complained about its limitations, so maybe not updated enough (?).”

Alec R. Owner, chief instructor

Capterra review

#3 Kicksite

• Plans & packaging - Student-based flat pricing: $49/month (0–25 students), $99/month (26–50), $149/month (51–100), $199/month (101+).
• Pricing transparency - Yes, fully public and straightforward.
• Free plan - No.
• Free trial - Yes.
• Capterra rating - 4.8

Kicksite is built with a focus on martial arts schools. It covers student management, belt tracking, billing, attendance, and communication tools - all designed around how a dojo operates day to day.

What users say about Kicksite:

"Scanner system for attendance was not reliable, does not have POS system set up have to use landing pages, limited customizing with landing pages.Has a lot of great features, had a very hands on sales guy who did great answering questions.”

Megan F. Owner

Capterra review

#4 Mindbody

• Plans & packaging - Core, Accelerate, Ultimate (and other tiers). Base tier supports essentials; higher tiers unlock marketing, analytics, and integrations.
• Pricing transparency - No public pricing; most plans require a demo or quote to see full costs.
• Free plan - No.
• Free trial - After demo request.
• Capterra rating - 4.0

Mindbody is one of the largest fitness and wellness management platforms globally, serving thousands of gyms, studios, and wellness centres. Its built-in consumer marketplace gives member-facing visibility, and it offers a broad suite of tools including scheduling, POS, marketing automation, and reporting.

For martial arts schools specifically, it lacks native belt tracking and promotion management, which means schools may need workarounds for core martial arts workflows. It's better suited to large multi-discipline facilities or schools that prioritise marketplace exposure over martial arts depth.

What users say about Mindbody:

"Overall it is functional software that supports my business. It does have issues and nuances that can be difficult to work through. A lot of nuances behind the scenes with set up and reporting, plus user experience was not always great. Provided me with the ability to allow patients to book classes online. Does have a user friendly app.

Trish G. Head of Marketing

Capterra review

#5 Gymdesk

• Plans & packaging - Multiple paid plans and a custom Enterprise option.
• Pricing transparency - Yes, publicly available on their website.
• Free plan - Yes, limited to 15 students after the free trial expires.
• Free trial - Yes.
• Capterra rating - 4.8

Gymdesk is designed for small to mid-sized gyms and martial arts schools transitioning away from manual processes. It covers the essentials - attendance, belt tracking, memberships, waivers, scheduling, and billing.

What users say about Gymdesk:

"By every account, we switched to Gym Desk at precisely the worst time. The company has changed in all the wrong ways (acquired by private equity), causing both gym [sensitive content hidden] and members to suffer from this transition. If you are looking for a basic CRM that can process automated monthly payments, Gym Desk is a suitable option. If you require any additional functionality, such as using a schedule, booking, attendance, private lessons, financial reporting, etc. I'd avoid this platform."

Avigayil B.Director

Capterra review

#6 Spark Membership

• Plans & packaging - Single plan at $199/month.
• Pricing transparency - No public pricing breakdown beyond the base plan.
• Free plan - No.
• Free trial - No.
• Capterra rating - 5

Spark Membership is a martial arts-focused platform with a strong emphasis on marketing automation and lead management. It's built for schools running active student acquisition campaigns - with lead funnels, automated follow-up sequences, SMS and email automation, and belt-based automation triggers.

What users say about Spark Membership:

"Spark has been a great support to our school. The customer service is friendly and provides you with tools that will allow you to report an issue clearly so they can better help get it resolved. They will take the time to walk you through the software, even after the onboarding session.The only thing is the initial start-up on the software. Because there are so many things it can do, it starts off a bit difficult to navigate to get to the things you want. This is why I HIGHLY recommend you take full advantage of their onboarding program. It's free and it will allow you to better know the software.”

Jeremy T. QA Analyst/Martial Arts Instructor

Capterra review

#7 Wodify

• Plans & packaging - Essentials, Accelerate, and Ultimate plans.
• Pricing transparency - Partly public; some tiers require a custom quote.
• Free plan - No.
• Free trial - No ($1 for the first three months offer available).
• Capterra rating - 4.5

Wodify was originally built for CrossFit boxes and performance-focused training facilities. Beyond standard gym management tools, it stands out for athlete and performance tracking - workout scoring, strength benchmarks, and detailed performance dashboards.

For martial arts schools with a strong competition or performance focus - MMA gyms, BJJ academies tracking athlete metrics - Wodify has appeal. It's less tailored to traditional belt-and-promotion workflows than dedicated martial arts platforms, but works well for schools where training metrics are central to the experience.

What users say about Wodify:

"I like it but it’s too expensive for the amount of glitches I constantly get. The amount of glitches it gets. I have a continuous one right now where when I sent a waiver to someone’s email it gets stuck on gender and they can’t move out. All in one platform. Programming and bill collecting. Along with reports. It does glitch a bit tho.”

Austin B. Owner

Capterra review

#8 WellnessLiving

• Plans & packaging - Starter ($69/month), Business ($199/month), BusinessPro ($349/month).
• Pricing transparency - Yes, public pricing on their website.
• Free plan - No.
• Free trial - No.
• Capterra rating - 4.4

WellnessLiving is a broad fitness and wellness management platform that serves gyms, studios, and martial arts schools alongside other wellness businesses. It offers a comprehensive feature set - scheduling, billing, CRM, marketing automation, branded app, and reporting — with tiered plans that scale with your business.

For martial arts schools that also offer complementary services (fitness classes, personal training, wellness sessions), WellnessLiving's multi-service architecture can be an advantage. Schools focused purely on traditional martial arts management may find it more than they need, with a steeper setup process to reflect the platform's breadth.

What users say about WellnessLiving:

"Overall it works and gets the job done. I just wish I didn’t have to force close it so often and that it loaded quicker.The app sometimes freezes and loads slowly. Sometimes I need to force close the app and restart it to get it working.It does get the job done and at the end of the day works. The data syncs quickly and my clients and sessions always get logged correctly."

Capterra review

Tips for Choosing Martial Arts School Software

The right platform depends on your school's stage, size, and what you actually need day to day. Here's a practical checklist.

1. Start with your must-haves. Belt tracking, family accounts, automated payments, and online booking are non-negotiable for most schools. Make sure any platform you test handles these well before looking at anything else.
2. Test real workflows, not feature lists. Enrol a trial student, update a belt rank, run recurring billing, and send a class reminder. If the basics feel clunky in a demo, they'll feel clunkier when you're busy.
3. Look at the total cost. Monthly prices rarely tell the whole story. Check for setup fees, per-student charges at higher tiers, SMS costs, payment processing markups, and cancellation terms.
4. Consider where you're heading, not just where you are. A platform that works for 30 students should still work( and still be affordable) at 100 or 200.
5. Confirm onboarding and migration support. Switching software is never trivial. Ask how setup works, what data you can import, and what support you'll get after launch.

Summary: Choosing the Right Martial Arts School Software in 2026

There's no single platform that's right for every school. But a few clear patterns emerge:

• For schools starting out or watching costs: 1club's free plan (up to 100 students) or Gymdesk's free trial give you a low-risk way to get started with solid core features.
• For martial arts-native simplicity: Kicksite is purpose-built for dojos and consistently rates highly for ease of use and customer service.
• For established schools with growth ambitions: Zen Planner offers depth in reporting and CRM; 1club's AI-native Pro plan adds intelligent insights and automation that help you spot opportunities and act on them.
• For schools running active marketing campaigns: Spark Membership's automation tools are built for high-volume lead management.
• For multi-service or multi-location schools: WellnessLiving's broader platform architecture handles more complex business models.

Whatever you choose, look for transparent pricing, genuine martial arts features — not generic gym software with a belt tracking checkbox — and a platform your team will actually use every day.

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