ManageMemberships

VS

Zen Planner

ManageMemberships vs Zen Planner

ManageMemberships is built for owners who want fast daily workflows, a mobile‑friendly admin, and real person support. It includes member management, waivers, access control with door logs, classes, events, resource booking, CRM pipelines, and automation. A custom branded app is included free on Core, and you can add a full POS without stitching together multiple systems.

Zen Planner is widely used by gyms and studios, with tools for member management, scheduling, payments, reporting, plus member and staff apps, belt rank tracking and SugarWOD workout logging. Marketing and CRM come on its top plan or as the Engage add-on, and a branded app is $39 a month. It says more than 5,000 fitness businesses use it. Details vary by package, so anything unclear below is labeled that way rather than guessed. Sources: see list

Why owners switch to ManageMemberships

What you get with ManageMemberships

• Real person support, plus free migration assistance
• No onboarding fees
• Multiple admins with granular permissions
• Custom fields on member profiles
• Waiver customization
• Access control with door access logs
• Classes, events, and resource management
• Member communication and email drip campaigns
• CRM with customizable pipelines
• Integrations with Trello and Zapier
• Time clock component
• Drag-and-drop homepage builder, pages and a blog
• Custom branded app, included free on Core
• Optional POS via ManageRegister

How this page is written

This comparison uses plain language and public information. The Zen Planner column only states what is clearly described on public pages. If something isn’t clearly described there, it’s labeled that way rather than guessed.

Side by side comparison

Designed to scan quickly, similar to common alternatives pages.

The winning conversation is simple

If you want direct support, fast owner workflows, built‑in access control with door logs, a branded app included on Core, and the option to add a full POS without disconnected systems, ManageMemberships is built for that.

If you prefer a widely used platform with member and staff apps, optional branded app, and a partner integration ecosystem, Zen Planner can fit that model, with packaging varying by bundle.

Where Zen Planner wins

Zen Planner has history in martial arts and a big install base. It says it was founded in 2006 by a martial arts school owner, is owned by Daxko, and is used by more than 5,000 fitness businesses. Belt rank management is built in, SugarWOD workout logging comes with Studio, and kiosk mode lets members check in, pay open bills, sign documents and buy retail items on their own.

Its onboarding is hands-on. Zen Planner offers a dedicated onboarding specialist, free onboarding sessions and done-for-you data migration, including saved cards, so members coming into Zen Planner don't re-enter their payment details. It bills only on active members, never prospects or staff, runs month-to-month, and connects to ClassPass, Wellhub, Mailchimp, Shopify and Zapier. For a CrossFit box or martial arts school that wants programming and rank tracking in one established system, it's a solid choice.

Where ManageMemberships wins

Everything you need to grow is in one plan. On Zen Planner, the CRM, lead management and email and text campaigns come with Ultimate, from $348 a month, or the Engage add-on, from $249, and a branded app is another $39. On ManageMemberships Core, $99 a month with unlimited members, the CRM pipelines, email and SMS automations and your branded app are all included.

Door access is native. Zen Planner's unattended 24/7 access goes through its partner HybridAF. In ManageMemberships the door is part of the same system as billing: a declined card or an unsigned waiver is refused at the door, and the same branded app that books classes opens it.

And the price is on the page. Zen Planner's plans are "starting at" prices that scale with active members, with the member tiers and processing rates quoted by its team. Ours are published, processing is one all-in rate, and support comes from the person who built the software. Recharge Health + Wellness made this switch; read how it went.

Pricing comparison

Because Zen Planner's prices are "starting at" figures that grow with active members, compare at your real size. A gym that wants CRM, campaigns and a branded app is looking at Ultimate from $348 plus $39, or Studio from $99 plus Engage from $249 plus $39, before processing. ManageMemberships Core is $99 with all three included, or $188 with door access.

Migration from Zen Planner

Check your agreement first. Zen Planner runs month-to-month by default, but offers annual contracts on request, so confirm which one you're on and what notice it asks for before you set a cutover date.

Export your records. Zen Planner says its reports can be exported to Excel. We use those exports to bring over your members, memberships, billing dates and history, and map your plans to ManageMemberships plans one to one. Belt ranks come across into custom fields on member profiles; if promotions are central to how you run the school, plan how you'll handle rank requirements before cutover.

Ask about cards in writing. Zen Planner documents moving saved cards in, but doesn't publicly state how stored cards move out to another processor, whether you're on Daxko Payments or a third-party processor. When a transfer is available, we coordinate it and members never re-enter a card. When it isn't, we build branded card-update forms and run an email and text campaign so members can update their card in a couple of taps.

Cutover is where double-billing happens, and we handle it by hand. Your old system stays live until you've checked that every member came across, and you pick the cutover date. Then we cancel each member's old billing individually, timed to land just before their next charge date, so nobody pays twice and nobody has a gap. Most migrations take two to three weeks from start to launch, and migration is included on every plan.

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