Are you looking for a better way to run your gym or fitness studio more efficiently? Managing leads, membership dues, class schedules, finances, marketing, and daily operations can be overwhelming, especially for a small team running multiple gyms or fitness studios.

It is important to choose the right gym management software partner so you can utilize one tool to automate a lot of these manual tasks. Ideally, gym software that can also integrate with any third party software you already use to further simplify operations.

Each gym management software platform is so unique. Here’s our guide so you can review pros/cons and features to find the one that works best for your gym’s business model.

What is Gym Management Software?

Gym management software is a cloud-based application to help gyms and fitness studios operate and monitor different functions of the business without having to access different tools. Gym software can mimic a typical CRM, billing software, or analytics tool but is specifically designed around a fitness-related business.

Some other terms for gym management software are gym scheduling software, club management software, or fitness management software.

The best gym management software solutions accomplishes three main things for gyms, clubs, and fitness studios:

Stores data on members and potential customers
Charges membership dues from gym or club members and monitors revenue
Manages scheduling for employees and classes
Drives leads and maintains member retention through analytics and marketing campaigns

Most Popular Gym Management Software Solutions

PushPress

For running the smaller niched gym

For an all-in-one gym management system, PushPress is a great option. Key features cover mobile class scheduling, member check-in, automated billing, client relations management, and analytics on key metrics around the gym. On a high level, this gym management solution allows gym and fitness owners to track leads, class engagement, revenue, and at-risk members while simplifying tasks like billing and sales activity.

PushPress system has a POS (point-of-sale) platform which allows gyms to easily sell items on-site like apparel, sports equipment, drinks, supplements and memberships. PushPress can also help you build your website and marketing campaigns. They also offer an API and many integrations to automate more tasks within other apps you may use like Mailchimp, Facebook, Wordpress, Google, Instapage, and more.

Pricing is comparable to many gym software competitors but PushPress offers a unique free tier which includes many top features like member management and check-in for small gyms to dip their toes in gym management software and learn how it can be used.

PushPress is a great platform to use for smaller or niched gyms and fitness centers who are looking for one well rounded tool to cover all aspects of their business. PushPress is the swiss army knife of gym management software, and consistently has some of the highest reviews and praises we’ve seen.

Mindbody

For scaling multiple gym locations

Mindbody is wellness management software designed for not only gyms, but spas and salons. The biggest value for using Mindbody Business is the ability to tap into their user community who are searching in the MindBody app for different services offered at gyms, salons, or studios. Mindbody makes it easy for new clients to find you and book services right in their app.

For the management side, Mindbody has a very comprehensive CRM to manage the progress and communication with leads. Gyms can manage classes with waitlists and staff schedules with automated re-scheduling for staff substitutions. There is a POS to sell fitness items on-site as well as a membership billing tool. The Mindbody Business platform also features location analytics and corporate-level reporting for sites and francisches.

The biggest con is the price. In the world of gym management software, it is top tier. This fitness management software is really designed for gym chains with multiple locations. Most likely you would need a dedicated personnel with knowledge of all aspects and features in the Mindbody platform to maximize ROI. If you are scaling several locations with 50+ employees then it makes sense.

Glofox

For gyms focused on a mobile app strategy

Gym management software company Glofox, provides a platform to manage memberships, online booking, lead relations, payment processing, class booking, and reporting on growth and engagement of members. One unique feature the Glofox platform focuses on is helping you create an out-of-the-box branded mobile app for your gym members.

Members can buy merchandise, sign up for classes, and make payments all on your branded app versus having to call or come on-site. With Glofox, you can easily focus on a great mobile user experience for your members. Members can also book classes, make payments, and pay for memberships on web portal or through social media accounts.

Glofox gym management software has a franchise management system for when you scale and open up multiple locations. This fitness franchise solution includes additional features like global payment processing, analytics designed around different chains and locations, and royalty management.

Most negative reviews are from glitches with the platform or wanting features that don’t exist yet. But good news, customer service takes care of most issues right away with low impact on the gyms. Glofox is on the low end for price versus some competitors.

Zen Planner

This one may be the ugly duckling but it can do a lot

Is there anything Zen Planner can’t do? Whether you need billing software, a member app, workout tracking, online class booking, marketing, retail POS, customized reporting, coach check-in, Zen Planner can help you out.

It is worth mentioning off the bat that pricing looks different than many others. They charge based on active members. In other words, as you grow, you pay more. After going over 100 members, the software starts to be more expensive than the competition.

Zen Planner was acquired by Daxko so it has sister brands like Uplaunch (Digital Marketing/Websites) and SugarWOD (Workout Tracking) which is great because customers get more features but there also can be a disconnect in terms of user experience between the tools. Note these additional sister tools are not included in the pricing for ZenPlanner’s gym software.

Cons? ZenPlanner focuses more on functionality then they do UI. So if it is important to you to have a modern look with a mobile app or internal gym management tool then ZenPlanner may not be your choice. A lot of reviews of customers talk about ZenPlanner being a little more old-school and dated.

Virtuagym

For building a community beyond gym workouts

Virtuagym is a cloud-based member management and coaching platform to promote a healthy lifestyle and community in and outside the gym. The biggest value you receive from Virtuagym is the user experience for the members. Create your own app for your members to schedule classes, track workouts and activity, and even get coaching around nutrition.

This gym software is really designed around building community to foster strong member retention and create value beyond the physical gym for your members. Open a dialogue on various topics within the app between members and coaches. If you’re really about the member experience and building a community, Virtuagym is a very good option.

The downside would be that Virtuagym is so focused on the member experience, that the gym management side may not get enough love. Virtuagym gym management platform does include billing software, digital contracts, member check-ins, analytics platform, scheduling, and more. Some reviews of current customers do mention their gym required more functionality on the management side and Virtuagym met only basic needs. But most of their customers are OK with that since the member community and experiences are their priority.

Gymdesk

For gyms who value a modern design to simplify gym management

Gymdesk has a beautiful UI with many of the necessary features to make a great gym management platform. This is no doubt that Gymdesk takes the lead with a modern, sleek design for a gym management platform which makes it easier to monitor memberships, payments, gym activity and more with beautiful dashboards and reports.

This gym software has all the main features you’re looking for - billing, booking, reporting, marketing, point-of-sale, member management and more. Pricing is reasonable compared to competition and has many tiers to help out smaller gyms grow.

The only con would be the lack of a mobile app for the gym. Many of these services allow you to build a branded mobile app for your members to book and track classes, pay bills, and more. Members can do all these things on their browser. Gymdesk helps you build class booking, forms, and other features into your website.

Finding gym management software that works for you

The best thing to do is find a few gym software platforms that meet your gym needs and schedule a demo. Walk them through your business model, tools and apps you already use, and your expectations for how the gym management system should work for your business. Narrow it down to the fitness management platform that works for you and start using it!

The faster you get your team and members to start using the gym software you choose, the easier it will be to run your gym. This software will be essential for really growing your business and multiplying profits. So don’t wait!

Nexkey’s 24/7 Gym Keyless Access Control

If you haven’t also thought about how to manage access to your gym, you should, especially in this post-pandemic world. There are many options out there for both staff and members - keycards, keychain barcodes, fobs, and now the smartphone.

Mobile access control is being adopted by more and more gyms and fitness studios to help simplify access to their facilities and offices. With the smartphone as your key, you can offer members 24/7 access to the building, build a 24/7 membership tier for additional revenue, instantly grant and revoke access to staff with a tap in the app, and monitor when staff and members are coming in.

The top gym management software solutions in 2022