Gymdesk vs Zen Planner: Pricing and Features Compared

What’s the better value for your money?

Zen Planner vs. Gymdesk: Which gym management software delivers the greatest value for your business? What are the biggest differences between these two software tools? 

Today, we’ll give you a detailed breakdown of these tools and resources. We’re going to take a closer look at:

• What’s the difference between Gymdesk and Zen Planner?
• Key features 
• Pricing structures and plans
• Member management and billing 
• Scalability and Growth Tools for Fitness Businesses
• Who Should Choose Zen Planner vs Gymdesk

Let’s dive in! 

What Is the Difference Between Gymdesk and Zen Planner

They’re both gym management tools. 

They’re both designed to help you manage the day-to-day operations of your gym. These platforms can manage several types of gyms—boxing, MMA, and martial arts software, Pilates and yoga studios, and boutique fitness centers.

Which one is right for you?

Well, let’s start by looking at the specialties of each platform.

1. Zen Planner: They’re industry veterans with a feature-rich platform. Their toolset can handle complex scheduling requirements, as well as member, employee, and schedule management. Their platform can manage your day-to-day operations and handle complex tasks. Zen Planner is comprehensive and can provide you with the level of complexity you need, but it comes with a steep learning curve.
2. Gymdesk: Their platform is purpose-built for specific types of gyms—boutique fitness studios, sports performance and functional fitness, martial arts studios, yoga and Pilates studios, you name it. Gymdesk has deep knowledge and customization for each of these gym types. Gymdesk is focused on simplicity. The platform is simple to learn, easy to use, and intuitive for your members and staff. We want you up and running in minutes. 

What does this look like in a head-to-head comparison?

Aspects	Gymdesk	Zen Planner
User Interface (UX)	Modern, simple, intuitive, easy to navigate	Comprehensive, but complex. Lots to learn
Target Audience	Small to medium-sized gyms, multi-location gyms	Enterprise fitness centers and franchises
Pricing Model	Transparent flat-rate tiers. No setup fees, hidden fees, or contracts	A la carte/tiered pricing that’s feature and member-dependent
Onboarding Speed	Set up in minutes with minimal training required	Complex setup and onboarding. More training required
Customization	Built around the essentials and automations, with integrations added where needed	Very customizable and expansive

Let’s take a closer look at the key features of Gymdesk and Zen Planner. 

Key Features of Gymdesk and Zen Planner

There’s a significant feature overlap with Gymdesk and Zen Planner. That said, there are a few subtle details we’ll point out. 

Membership Management: Gymdesk

With Gymdesk, membership and billing management are simple. You can:

• Capture and store leads and member information
• Manage and track members, leads, and payments
• Sign members up digitally
• Track member and staff attendance
• Handle scheduling for classes, sessions, events, and staff
• Manage digital waivers, e-signatures, and documentation
• Handle member onboarding and training
• Manage member check-ins and online bookings
• Access and update member records
• Control member facility access

With Gymdesk, you can create custom membership types—subscriptions, memberships, punch cards, family bundles, etc. You can also provide members with a self-service option, allowing them to update their profiles, view attendance histories, and manage their billing details. 

Membership Management: Zen Planner

With Zen Planner, you get advanced customization. If your gym has complex contracts, Zen Planner can accommodate that. Maybe you need control over specific conditions (e.g., membership freezes, renewals, or upgrades with flexible terms)? If that’s the case, Zen Planner’s platform may be a good fit. 

Their online portal gives your members detailed control over their account information; like Gymdesk, they also support automated contract renewals. Here’s the thing, though: the advanced customization options they offer require more setup on your part and training if you want to configure your account properly. 

Here’s what you’ll need to set Zen Planner up properly: 

1. Time: Zen Planner has a higher learning curve. This means you’ll need time to (a.) learn about their platform, (b.) gather the data and materials you need to set everything up, (c.) set up the systems, workflows, and policies you need to make their platform work, and (d.) 
2. Training: Their platform is comprehensive, which means you’ll need additional training and support if you want to set things up properly. Why can’t you just figure things out? If you make a mistake, certain actions can’t be undone. 
3. Workflows: You’ll need a clear sense of the policies, procedures, and tasks you need to accomplish in your day-to-day operations. If you’re going to use Zen Planner, it’s a good idea to have your workflows laid out ahead of time. 

Attendance Tracking (Gymdesk & Zen Planner)

With Gymdesk, attendance tracking consists of member check-ins and staff attendance logging, allowing you to record the classes and services members use. Remember Gymdesk’s focus on simplicity? That’s the focus here as well. With Gymdesk, members can check-in via: 

• QR codes or barcodes
• Manual entry from kiosk mode
• From their phones or tablets

Our attendance tracking comes with real-time dashboards that show session/class capacity, attendance trends (to view class popularity), and track absences. With Gymdesk, you can track classes, personals, in-person, and online events. You can automatically manage waitlists, notifying members when an available slot opens up. 

Zen Planner offers the same attendance tracking, with a few minor differences. Zen Planner provides comprehensive options that allow you to use automated emails to check in with members who have been absent for a certain period.

You can use this to recognize member milestones with automations. Zen Planner integrates with another Daxko product, SugarWOD. With SugarWOD, you can incorporate program workouts directly into Zen Planner and share them on your site or on social media. You can keep members engaged by sharing a display of each day’s workout, tracking attendees, performance over time, and leaderboards.

Online Booking and Scheduling: Gymdesk

Gymdesk enables gym owners to manage online booking and scheduling for their members. You can create time slots that visitors and members can book for private and introductory lessons, events such as seminars and birthday parties, or for managing gym capacity. You get a simple, easy-to-use platform gym owners can use to create, edit, and manage class schedules for your members.

What about your members?

With Gymdesk, your members can join waitlists, reserve seats, and even sync events to their calendars. The booking features in Gymdesk seamlessly integrate with check-in and scheduling functions. Members can book sessions via your website and member portal. These booking and scheduling tools are perfect for event-driven tools. Gymdesk is a simple, intuitive system that just works.    

Online Booking and Scheduling: Zen Planner

Zen Planner’s booking and scheduling tools are comprehensive and robust. With their system, gym owners can manage classes, private appointments, seminars, and events. Their recurring bookings and calendar integrations work well with multi-trainer setups. 

Using their platform, gym owners can customize member interfaces, branding, and advanced scheduling rules. Their toolset is powerful, but it’s also time-consuming and complex to configure. 

Reporting and Analytics: Gymdesk

With Gymdesk, you get analytics to track all aspects of your business—traffic and conversions, revenue and billings, bookings, leads, and attendance. Drill down and analyze a specific period, or compare your numbers week by week or month-over-month. Analyze performance by location or in aggregate (multiple locations). 

Measure session attendance to identify A-player instructors who are bringing in members and revenue. Customize reports and export to Excel or CSV. 

Reporting and Analytics: Zen Planner

Zen Planner provides gym owners with reports and analytics. Gym owners can get a detailed breakdown on engagement, attendance, membership, growth, and revenue forecasts, and more. Their dashboards are detailed and fully customizable. With onboarding and training, your team can seamlessly integrate everything through detailed dashboards that offer your management teams clear, concise executive overviews. 

Marketing and Lead Generation: Gymdesk

Gymdesk comes with built-in marketing tools and automation that integrates directly with your member database. You can create referral campaigns, email and SMS promotions, track responses, and monitor engagement from one centralized system.

All features—management, marketing, websites, apps, they’re all included from day one. Gymdesk consists of the following features:

• A free website 
• Marketing automation tools
• CRM tools 
• Built-in tools for marketing and lead generation
• Customizable landing pages
• Online lead capture forms
• Automated email campaigns. 
• Push notifications
• 2-way text messaging
• Send bulk or targeted messages to members
• Referral marketing 
• Automatic member notifications 
• Follow-ups can be triggered automatically, helping owners stay in touch with prospects and retain members through engagement emails, birthday messages, and trial reminders.

Marketing and Lead Generation: Zen Planner

Zen Planner’s Engage platform includes marketing and CRM tools. Their marketing tools come with a sample list of 100+ campaigns, including websites, funnels, and social media campaigns to attract members and generate revenue. Their platform includes: 

• Automated workflows
• 2-way texting
• Lead generation/tracking
• Schedule follow-ups, and streamline communication
• Respond to reviews
• Websites and lead forms
• Funnel visibility

Pricing Breakdowns: Gymdesk vs. Zen Planner

Pricing transparency is one of the biggest differentiators between Gymdesk and Zen Planner.

Platform	Entry Tier	Mid Tier	Top Tier	Member Limits
Gymdesk	$75/mo: All features included, up to 50 members	$100/mo:  all features included, up to 100 members	$150/mo:  all features included, up to 200 members	Based on tier
Zen Planner	$99/mo: Studio plan, 0-45 members	$133/mo: Studio plan,46-60 members	$155+/mo: Studio plan, 61-75 members	Based on tier

Pricing Structures and Plans: Gymdesk

Gymdesk offers flat-rate pricing. We don’t hit you with hidden fees or surcharges. The price you see is the price you pay, and all features are available from day one, regardless of your plan. You don’t have to pay extra to unlock the features or tools you need to grow your business. 

Pricing Structures and Plans: Zen Planner

Zen Planner Studio starts at $99 per mo., but it doesn’t include a website, mobile app, or marketing tools. That price point only gets you to 45 members. After that, you’ll need to upgrade. 

If you want full access to their platforms, you’ll need to pay to play. Here’s a brief look at the costs for each product. 

• Zen Planner Website is an additional $99 per mo. 
• Zen Planner Engage (their marketing product) starts at $249 per mo.
• Zen Planner Branded App $39 per mo. 

So the subtotal at this point is $449 per mo. for the same things you’d get from Gymdesk for $75 per mo. 

There’s more bad news. 

Zen Planner’s pricing goes up as your member count increases. But your pricing also goes up if you want access to advanced features (e.g., website, marketing, branded apps, etc.). If you wanted marketing automation or advanced reporting, for example, that’s only available with the appropriate upgrade. 

What about additional fees? 

Gymdesk:

• No payment processing fees from Gymdesk (just cover your credit card processing fees)
• No setup or onboarding fees
• Fees from third parties for integrations

Zen Planner:

• Additional fees if gym owners use Zen Payments or third-party processors (custom rates may apply)
• A $300 setup fee for Zen Planner Engage
• Extra fees may apply for premium integrations, branded apps, or additional hardware
• Gym owners report additional fees when they try to cancel their accounts

Free Trial or Demo

Which company stands behind their platform? 

Gymdesk offers gym owners a free 30-day trial. Gym owners get full access to their platform, and all features are enabled. Build a website, use our marketing platform, and launch your branded app —it’s all available during your trial. 

The best part?

Your free trial comes with guided onboarding, and there’s no credit card required. It’s a win all around! 

What about Zen Planner? 

The  Zen Planner platform comes with a free demo (live or recorded). If you ask, a limited trial may be available; however, trials may require a credit card. 

How Gymdesk and Zen Planner Handle Member Management and Billing

Here’s how these two platforms compare against each other. 

Payment Processing

• Gymdesk Integrates seamlessly with Stripe and Square. If you already have an account with Stripe, Square, or Authorize.net, set up takes minutes. There are no extra transaction fees, and all fees follow standard rates.
• Zen Planner gives you two options: integrate with Zen Payments (powered by PaySimple) or with other gateways. Rates and contracts vary depending on a variety of factors. 

Failed Payment Handling

• Gymdesk automatically retries failed transactions. Our platform sends out member notifications and can freeze/suspend accounts after repeated failures over a set period of time.
• Zen Planner uses an automated dunning process as part of their failed payment handling. They also provide communication templates and account freeze options.

Billing Flexibility

• With Gymdesk, you can create split payments, family memberships, and custom billing cycles. These options are intuitive and easy to set up. 
• Zen Planner comes with advanced billing options, including installment plans, discounts, and contract add-ons. These features require onboarding and training to set up properly. 

Financial Reporting

• Gymdesk offers clear billing, revenue, and tax reports. We provide forecasting tools and exportable financial data for accounting tools. 
• Like Gymdesk, Zen Planner provides comprehensive reporting, revenue forecasting, and tax management tools.

Scalability and Growth Tools for Fitness Businesses

Which platform is best for expansion? If you’re looking to grow your fitness business quickly, which platform is best for you? Here’s a brief comparison. 

Business Expansion

• Gymdesk supports multi-location management with predictable and transparent pricing. It’s easy to add new classes, programs, and events.       
• Zen Planner is designed for enterprise-level scalability. Their toolset is optimized for franchises, medium to large enterprises, and large staff teams.

Staff Management

• Gymdesk offers scheduling tools, hourly vs. session-based payroll, role-based permissions, and payroll export options.
• Zen Planner offers a complete employee scheduling and payroll system, which is integrated directly into the platform.

Marketing Automation

• Gymdesk offers advanced marketing automation, analytics, and reporting; their toolset includes lead nurturing, push notifications, email marketing, two-way text messaging, referral tracking, retention campaigns, and more. 
• Zen Planner’s marketing suite includes analytics and automation. Their platform is optimized for high-volume gyms.

Integration Ecosystem

• Gymdesk integrates seamlessly with accounting software like QuickBooks, marketing tools such as Mailchimp, and communication apps like Zoom.
• Like Gymdesk, Zen Planner integrates with a range of third-party tools, including fitness tracking apps, marketing CRMs, and specialized processors.

Who Should Choose Gymdesk or Zen Planner?

Which platform is best for your business? 

If you’re a gym owner and you’re looking for a fast, simple setup you can use to grow your business, Gymdesk may be right for you. Gymdesk offers simplicity, transparency, and automation. There are no hidden fees, no unnecessary add-ons, and no forced upgrades.

It’s perfect for small-to-medium boutique studios (e.g., yoga, Pilates), martial arts schools, functional and sports performance gyms, and dance or gymnastics studios. For example, if you’re running a Pilates studio and you’re looking to minimize your day-to-day admin work, Gymdesk is a great fit.

What about Zen Planner?

If you already have an established gym, a medium-to-large enterprise or franchise, and you’re looking for a comprehensive solution, Zen Planner is a better fit. If your gym has a dedicated admin team and you’re looking for a platform that can support that, their platform is better aligned with your business. Managing a well-established, medium-sized fitness franchise? Zen Planner is a better option. 

Gymdesk or Zen Planner: What’s the better value for your money?

Zen Planner is managed by industry veterans; their platform is a comprehensive, feature-rich, and focused on established gyms. As we’ve seen, their toolset can handle complex scheduling requirements, as well as member, employee, and schedule management. 

Their platform is comprehensive, and it can provide you with the level of complexity you need. However, that complexity comes with a steep learning curve.

What about Gymdesk?

Gymdesk is purpose-built for a specific type of gym—boutique fitness studios, sports performance and functional fitness, martial arts studios, yoga and Pilates studios, etc.. Gymdesk has deep knowledge and customization for each of these gym types. It’s probably why our platform emphasizes simplicity. Our tools are simple to learn, easy to use, and intuitive for your members and staff. 

Gymdesk shines with our intuitive design, transparent pricing, and responsive customer support. It’s the perfect fit for small-to-medium gyms, specialty fitness, and performance studios. Use our software to simplify your day-to-day operations without the steep learning curve. 

Ready to get started? 

Try Gymdesk’s free 30-day trial (no credit card required) and see for yourself. 

FAQs About Gymdesk and Zen Planner

How do Gymdesk and Zen Planner handle martial arts rank progression tracking?

Gymdesk includes built-in belt promotion and skill tracking features for martial arts schools, allowing instructors to log achievements and promote students seamlessly. Zen Planner also supports customizable rank tracking but relies on more manual setup and offers deeper analytics.

What payment processing options are available with Gymdesk and Zen Planner?

Gymdesk is designed to work with Stripe, Square, Authorize.net, and others. Our platform keeps things simple, adding fast integrations with no hidden fees. On the other hand, Zen Planner uses Zen Planner Payments or third-party gateways. Setup and transaction fees vary by provider and may include additional charges.

Can I migrate my existing member data from another system to either platform?

Absolutely. Both Gymdesk and Zen Planner offer data import tools and onboarding support to incoming members. Gymdesk offers rock-solid support, helping gym owners migrate their member information, contracts, and payment data from other systems.

What level of customer support does each platform provide?

Gymdesk offers highly responsive chat and email support. We also provide guided onboarding, setup, and support with data migration. Zen Planner offers phone, email, and chat support, and they also provide limited onboarding for larger gyms.