A Zen Planner alternative focused on belts, families and billing
Zen Planner serves fitness gyms, CrossFit boxes, yoga studios and martial arts schools in three tiers with add-ons. ClubTide is built for clubs where members progress through ranks and parents pay for several children, with one price per club size, a free trial you can start yourself and members paying into your own Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.net account.
14-day free trial · no credit card · cancel anytime
A fitness platform or a club tool
Zen Planner, operated by Daxko, covers memberships and billing, belts and stripes with skill milestones and testing events, family accounts, digital waivers, online booking with waitlists and appointments. Its Essentials tier adds a website and its Ultimate tier the Engage CRM; a retail point of sale and payroll are included, and a branded app and card readers are available as add-ons.
ClubTide focuses on the club itself: ranks and promotion readiness, attendance from a coach's phone, families with several guardians and one invoice, private lessons and class packs, and the consents, licences and medical certificates that come with youth sport. It runs in English, Romanian, German, Spanish and French, for martial arts, sports, dance and music clubs.
If you need a website, CRM, retail and payroll from one fitness platform, Zen Planner may remain the better fit. If you mainly run classes, ranks and family billing, read on.
ClubTide vs Zen Planner at a glance*
Prices are monthly. ClubTide prices are shown in your page's currency, Zen Planner prices in US dollars as published for its Studio tier.
| What you get | ClubTide | Zen Planner |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 50 active members | $49 | $99 up to 45, $133 for 46 to 60 |
| Up to 100 active members | $79 | $189 for 76 to 100 |
| Up to 200 active members | $129 | $239 for 151 to 200 |
| Who counts as active | Active athletes; archived members, parents and staff never count | Anyone with a membership or event attendance in the past month; staff and prospects free |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card, self-serve | Demo; no free trial published |
| Payment processing | Your own Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.net | Preferred processors led by Daxko Payments |
| Processing rates | Your processor's standard rates, no ClubTide fee | Custom pricing, not published |
| Contract | Monthly or annual, cancel anytime | Month to month, annual on request |
| Belts, stripes and promotion readiness | Yes | Yes |
| Testing events | Yes | Yes |
| Family accounts | Several guardians, each with a login | Yes |
| Member access | Parent portal on any phone, no install | Member app included; branded app $39 a month |
| Check-in | QR code at the entrance | Kiosk mode in the staff app, self check-in in the member app |
| Website | On the roadmap | Essentials and Ultimate tiers |
| CRM and marketing automation | On the roadmap | Ultimate tier or Engage add-on |
| Retail point of sale and payroll | On the roadmap | Yes |
Zen Planner information from zenplanner.com (pricing and active member tier pages, feature pages), checked in October 2026. Essentials and Ultimate tiers cost more than the Studio prices shown. Prices and features change; please confirm them on zenplanner.com. Spotted something out of date? Write to [email protected]. Zen Planner pricing page ↗
One price per club size, every feature included
Zen Planner's Studio tier costs $99 a month for up to 45 active members and $189 for 76 to 100, with the website in Essentials and the CRM in Ultimate at higher prices. ClubTide has one plan per size: $49 a month for up to 50 active athletes, $79 for up to 100 and $129 for up to 200, with every feature, location, coach and parent login included.
Start the 14-day free trial yourself, without a card, and pay monthly or annually once you decide.
- Every feature in every plan
- No setup fee and no contract
- Archived members, parents and staff never count
Your processor, your rates
Zen Planner works with preferred integrated processors led by Daxko Payments, with custom pricing. With ClubTide you connect your club's own Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.net account, pay that processor's standard rates under your own agreement, and ClubTide adds no fee to member payments.
- Payments go straight to your club's account
- Autopay on a saved card for recurring fees
- Per-lesson billing and class packs next to memberships
Parents in the loop, on any phone
In ClubTide the family is the account holder: several guardians, each with their own login, any number of children, one invoice with a sibling discount and one saved card. Parents follow each child's schedule, attendance, rank and progress, pay invoices, sign consents and upload documents in a portal that opens in the phone's browser.
- Several guardians per family, each with their own login
- Sibling discounts and one invoice per family
- Staff and parents each choose their language
Hosted in the EU, with GDPR tools built in
ClubTide's data is hosted in Germany and a DPA is available. Consent forms are versioned with PDF copies, medical notes stay hidden from staff without permission, and member data can be exported or anonymized in one step. Federation licences, medical certificates and insurance are tracked with expiry reminders for families and staff.
- Consents, data exports and anonymization
- Licence and certificate expiry reminders
- Two-factor sign-in, roles and an audit log
When Zen Planner may suit you better
Zen Planner includes things ClubTide does not offer: a website in its Essentials tier, the Engage CRM and marketing automation in its Ultimate tier, a retail point of sale, payroll, a member app with an optional branded version, kiosk mode and card readers. It also offers online booking with waitlists and free onboarding and migration sessions. If you run a fitness gym that needs all of that in one place, Zen Planner is a strong choice.
ClubTide is a better fit when you want a simpler tool focused on ranks, attendance, family billing and parents, a free trial you can start today, and the choice of Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.net through your club's own account.
Bring your members with you
Export your member list from Zen Planner as a CSV file and upload it to ClubTide. The importer matches the columns to ClubTide fields, shows a preview of every row, skips duplicates and only saves when you confirm.
- Columns matched to ClubTide fields
- Preview before anything is saved
- Duplicates skipped automatically
Try it, import, go live
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1
Export your members
Download your member and family list from Zen Planner as a CSV file.
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2
Import and check
Upload it to ClubTide, match the columns, review the preview and confirm.
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3
Connect payments
Connect your Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.net account and invite families to save their card.
More comparisons
See how ClubTide compares with other club software, or explore the features in depth.
Questions about switching from Zen Planner
Still have questions? Email us and we will get back to you.
Can I import my members from Zen Planner?
Yes. Export your member list as a CSV file and upload it to ClubTide. The importer matches the columns, shows a preview and skips duplicates before anything is saved.
Will my members' saved cards move over?
Saved cards cannot be moved between payment providers. Families save their card again in the ClubTide parent portal, either when they pay their first invoice or from the payments page.
Can I try ClubTide before talking to anyone?
Yes. Sign up for the 14-day free trial without a card and set up your club. You choose a monthly or annual plan only when you decide to stay.
Does ClubTide have a CRM or a website builder?
No. ClubTide focuses on running the club once members join: ranks, attendance, billing and parents. Online registration forms let new families sign up, but there is no CRM, website builder, point of sale or payroll.
Is ClubTide only for martial arts?
No. ClubTide is built for martial arts gyms, sports clubs, dance studios and music schools, with rank presets ranging from belts to dance grades and music grades.
Spend less time on spreadsheets and more time on the mat
Set up your club in two minutes and try every feature free for 14 days.
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